Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Summary.

Matt. 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

What kind of bliss are we talking about? First of all, about that full-fledged happiness that embraces the whole soul of a person, the anticipation and search for which is deeply inherent in each of the people. It is, of course, understood differently even in different religions. And Christianity has its own peculiarity.

It says that the goal of the Christian life is not to receive some gifts from God, but to unite with Himself
By God. And since God is love, then union with Him introduces a person to that highest experience, which in human language is called love. There is no higher state for a person. Therefore, the very word “bliss” in this context means communion with God, Who is Truth, Being, Love, the highest Good.

But in the patristic heritage we encounter a firm spiritual law: if a person views Christian life as a way to achieve some heavenly pleasures, special states of grace, ecstasies, then he is on the wrong path, a charming one. Why are the holy fathers so unanimous on this issue? The answer is simple: if Christ is the Savior of humanity, therefore, there is some kind of universal and fatal disease that cannot be eliminated by human forces, from which everyone needs to be saved.

This misfortune is damage to our entire nature: mind, heart, will, body. And just as a seriously ill person seeks not pleasure, but healing, which will naturally bring bliss to a person, so in spiritual life, the Fathers say, the goal is to seek not any high states, but healing from passions and sins that wound and cripple a person. Such healing, of course, brings him joy, peace, love - something that can be expressed in one general word - happiness.

The entire New Testament Gospel has exclusively spiritual content. It does not concern external problems. And the words " poor in spirit" (in some manuscripts it is simply " beggars") they also talk about spiritual poverty, not material. But what is this poverty, why does she promise bliss? This poverty

Blissful Hieronymus of Stridonsky wrote that Christ, saying blessed are the poor, “ added the spirit so that you understand humility and not poverty". Spiritual poverty consists in a person’s vision, firstly, of the damage to his nature by sin, and secondly, the impossibility of healing it on his own, without God’s help. All saints call this vision a necessary condition for acquiring humility, which is the basis and most important criterion for the correct spiritual life of a Christian. St. Isaac the Syrian wrote: " What salt is to all food, humility is to every virtue... because without humility all our deeds, all virtues and every activity»; « Blessed is the man who recognizes his weakness, because this knowledge becomes for him the foundation, root and beginning of all goodness"(Sl. 61). AND " everyone who has put on that robe (of humility) has put on Christ Himself"(Sl. 53) . And St. Barsanuphius the Great teaches that " humility has primacy among the virtues". St. Simeon the New Theologian states: " Although there are many types of His influences, many signs of His power, the first and most necessary is humility, since it is the beginning and foundation» .

Holy righteous John of Kronstadt indicates the signs of this blissful poverty in a believer: “ The poor in spirit will not condemn another or be angry with him, or envy anyone, or offend anyone. He condemns himself and only himself in everything.» .

How is this blissful poverty acquired? St. Simeon the New Theologian answered briefly and clearly: “ Careful fulfillment of the commandments of Christ teaches a person his weaknesses»

Christianity

Commandments

The text of the Ten Commandments according to the Synodal Translation of the Bible.

1. I am the Lord your God; Let you have no other gods before Me.

2. Do not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the water under the earth. Do not worship them or serve them; For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, and showing mercy to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who takes His name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Work six days and do all your work; and the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: on it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

5. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

6. Don't kill.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Don't steal.

9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Christ's Sermon on the Mount

(with comments)

CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT

The Sermon on the Mount is the longest text written on behalf of Jesus Christ. It takes up three chapters in the Gospel of Matthew. There are passages from this sermon in the other Gospels. The proposed comments arose from reflection on the content of this sermon and from comparison with the teachings of other teachers. The author's point is that we are dealing with different versions of the same teaching, which was presented to people in different languages, in different countries and during different periods of time. Therefore, outwardly they may differ due to the characteristics of the culture, the peoples who adopted them and because of the interpretations that the followers of these teachings gave them. The text of the Sermon on the Mount is in bold.

1 When He saw the people, He went up to the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

There is an interesting question here. To whom is the sermon addressed? For example, Uspensky P. divides the teachings of Christ into an exoteric (extroverted) part, addressed to the ordinary population, and an esoteric (introverted) part, addressed to the students of the school that Jesus Christ represents. Although the text directly states that the disciples approached him, the text of the sermon itself concerns the commandments given to the majority of the population, and not to a narrow group of disciples. Therefore, this text should be considered as instructions for living in the world.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

The interpretation of this statement is probably the most difficult. The primitive interpretation that the Kingdom of Heaven will be received by unspiritual people appears to be obvious absurdity and is rejected out of hand. Many believe that the essence of this phrase is that people constantly feel a lack of spirit (poverty in spirit) and are looking for it. The result of the search is the receipt of the Kingdom of Heaven. This is much more plausible and hard to argue with. However, at this point I would like to emphasize the following aspect. Spiritual search in many cases is interpreted as reading spiritual books, observing the norms and rules adopted by a particular church, prayer, meditation, etc. However, all these actions lead to the accumulation of “spiritual wealth of the individual.” Indeed, in real life we ​​can feel a feeling of hunger, lack of water or money, a desire to read another smart treatise about God, etc. But we cannot sense a small amount of the Spirit. We can understand that the search for food, the search for money, the search for “spirituality” never gives contact with the Spirit. And then we can totally understand the lack of spirituality of our searches and tossing and realize the POVERTY OF THE SPIRIT. In this state of poverty, a person may lose interest in spiritual literature and practices of spiritual growth, but it is in this state that it is possible for him to comprehend the Kingdom of Heaven. During such a period, a person is in a state of total life crisis, which can be overcome only in one way: by turning inward in search of God and the answer to the situation that has arisen. The Kingdom of Heaven is within us, so with this approach he has every opportunity to enter it. With this approach, outwardly a person can become like an unreasonable person who does not think about spirituality at all. But this is only an external impression. Such a person has a huge path of searching for Truth and comprehending Wisdom behind him.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Sometimes they say that life is a chance to get a chance to touch God. It is in moments of intense grief and deep experiences that people intensify their tendency to search for answers to the most important questions of existence. By turning inward and revealing their true Self, they come into contact with God and find solace.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

To approach the analysis of this statement, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the concept “meek”. There is an opinion that meek people are those who have tamed their emotions and who behave with restraint and politeness in all situations. Such people do not defend their personal interests and are ready to sacrifice them in conflict situations. It seems to me that this interpretation is completely incorrect. The concept of meek must be related to man’s relationship with God. If a person recognizes the superiority of God and is ready in any situation to follow His providence and fulfill his destiny, then he is meek in essence. Fulfilling his destiny and God's providence, a person can enter into heated debate and take military action. This is the kind of person who will be successful in his life's journey. It is he who inherits the right to manage earthly affairs, and it is such people who can count on success in earthly affairs.
Commandments 3 and 5 provide a complete answer to the relationship between religiosity and everyday life. Complete dedication of energy to the search for “earthly happiness” is also unproductive, as is complete dedication of oneself to the “spiritual search” through external standards of behavior and rituals. Earthly happiness is possible only in contact with a higher spiritual principle and only if one fulfills one’s destiny.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
The unquenchable desire to know the truth always finds a response from God. Therefore, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and truth will not be deprived in their search.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Here the connection with the fundamental law of our existence is used. This law has many formulations. For example: what goes around comes around. Or treat others the same way you want to be treated.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Although literally all religions say that God is an indefinable category and an indescribable concept, Christ points out that purity of heart allows a person to come into contact with God and feel His presence and existence. Purity of the heart is generated by purity of thoughts and actions. Purity of thoughts and actions are closely related to the knowledge and realization of one’s purpose.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
The word peacekeepers is sometimes understood in a completely distorted sense. They believe that these are people who, in any conflict situation, do nothing but utter the magic phrase “Guys, let’s live together.” Christ's instruction that these are sons of God provides the key to understanding this commandment. Like the above commandments, this commandment turns us to the meaning of existence. If we see the meaning of our existence in the search for a higher principle, which can be called Spirit, God, Truth, Love, etc., as well as in strengthening the connection with this beginning and the implementation of this connection in our lives, then we become one with this beginning . And since this beginning is the main force of the creation of the World, then we take part in the process of peacemaking. Therefore, people who create the World are naturally called the sons of God.
If we turn to conflict resolution and the understanding of the term “peacekeepers” in the first sense, as people who help achieve a peaceful resolution of conflicts, then here too the connection of such people with a higher principle is clearly visible. The theory of conflictology says that in every conflict there is a plus-plus solution, i.e. the decision is positive for each side. Such a solution can be found on the basis of understanding the purpose of each of the parties, which are purposes from a single beginning, and which, due to this unity, cannot be antagonistic. By implementing a plus-plus solution, people begin to realize their purpose, i.e. They follow the path of the creation of the World, provided for by a higher principle.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Here we are stating the fact that a person who has cognized the Truth and openly proclaims it despite the errors of the people around him is established in the Kingdom of Truth, i.e. in the Kingdom of Heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of unjust things against you because of Me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: even so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Here Jesus points out the contrast of his views with the existing religious norms of behavior accepted in his contemporary society. Moreover, He points out that this was the case before. All real preachers of truth were persecuted and killed in previous times.
Since the Truth cannot be squeezed into the narrow framework of one specific teaching, then the path to the Truth and the Kingdom of God will always contradict religious dogmas, and the desire to know and proclaim the Truth will always be persecuted and slandered.

Before moving on to the analysis of other statements, let us briefly review the problem associated with Jesus Christ. This problem is who is Jesus? Is it the Son of Man or is it the Son of God?
Jesus Christ himself called himself the Son of Man. The term Son of God was first used by Peter. Before His crucifixion, Jesus confirmed that He was the Son of God. The term Son of Man is not characteristic of the religion of the Jews of that time and was completely incomprehensible to His contemporaries. Therefore, the confirmation of Christ can in some sense be seen as a concession to the social consciousness of that period.
In order to understand the relationship between the terms Son of Man and Son of God, we will proceed as follows. Let us find places in the New Testament in which Jesus Christ self-determinates his place in the universe.

Gospel of John.
Ch. 8.
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “He was from the beginning, just as I tell you.”
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw and rejoiced.
57 At this the Jews said to Him: You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Ch. 14.
6 Jesus said to him: I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
Revelation of John the theologian.
Chapter 1.
8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and was and is to come Almighty.
Let's note the key points here. Christ is the beginning and the end and the support (almighty) of every thing. And also the timeless existence before Abraham and from the beginning of Jehovah.
The next step in our analysis is to search for a similar personality in another religion. Here a comparison with Lord Krishna immediately arises. He also has a self-determination that is exactly the same as the self-determination of Jesus Christ.

Bh. Chapter 4.
5. I have many past births, and you too, Arjuna; I know them all, but you don’t know yours, Parantapa.
Bh. Ch. 7.
6. All beings are her womb, comprehend this. I am the beginning of the whole world and also the end (pralaya).
7. There is nothing higher than me, Dhananjaya, all this is strung on me like pearls on a thread.
8. I am the taste in water, O Kaunteya, I am the shine in the moon and the sun, I am the life-giving Word (Pranava) in all the Vedas, sound in space, humanity in people;
Bh. Chapter 9.
5. But the beings do not abide in me, see my master yoga; the bearer of beings, but not abiding in beings, I myself am the producer of beings.
6. Just as the all-pervading great Wind always abides in space, so all beings abid in me; comprehend this.

16. I am the ritual of sacrifice, I am the sacrifice, I am the libation to the ancestors, I am the roots, I am the mantra, I am the clarified oil, I am the fire, I am the offering.
17. I am the Father of this (transient) world, the Mother, the Creator, the Ancestor, the object of knowledge, the purifier, the syllable AUM, Rig, Sama, also Yajur.
18. Path, Spouse, Lord, Witness, Abode, Cover, Friend, Emergence, Disappearance, Support, Treasure, Enduring Seed;

Bh. Chapter 10.
20. I myself, O Gudakesha, stand in the heart of all beings; I am the beginning, middle, end of creatures.
32. I am the beginning, the end, and also the middle of creation, Arjuna; of the sciences, I am the doctrine of the Supreme Atman; I am the speech of those gifted with words.
33. From the letters I “A”; of combinations I am two; I am endless time, an all-faced creator.
34. I am the all-destroying death; I am the emergence of what must arise;
Here it is clear that Krishna is also the beginning and the end and the almighty and the path and the sacrifice and the truth and the life and the word. Just like Christ Krishna indicates his timeless existence from the beginning.
For our analysis, of particular interest is sloka 7.8, which says that the divine manifestation of Krishna in people is humanity. Once again I would like to emphasize that from our point of view, God is One and Truth is One. There are descriptions of different aspects of Truth in different cultures, given by different Teachers of humanity. Therefore, the analysis of Christian postulates using teachings taken from Hinduism is completely legitimate.
In Christianity, human nature is opposed to divine nature and is considered inferior and sinful. Therefore, the term Son of Man was leveled and replaced with the term Son of God. Taking into account the above, the term Son of Man more accurately and correctly reflects the essence. Jesus uses this term to emphasize that He represents the manifestation of God precisely in human nature in the form of humanity. That is, the Son of Humanity. Thus, the teaching of Christ is a teaching about the humanization of people. About the development of this beginning laid by God. With this approach, the gap between the terms Son of Man and Son of God is practically erased. The term humanization of people was introduced in the book by A.G. Maslow "Motivation and Personality."
It is almost impossible to give a strict and formalized definition of the concept of humanity. But we can illustrate the essence of the problem with an example. When Christ spoke about the need to forgive your neighbor. Peter asked Him whether it was necessary to forgive seven times. In response, Jesus said that one must forgive seven times seven times. It is clear that seven times seven is not a strict requirement. With this answer He wanted to show the vagueness of quantitative characteristics. He sharply increased the number of times in order to show precisely the pointlessness of clinging to an exact number. It is this idea and in this way that He carries through the entire Sermon on the Mount using the example of situations from everyday life.

13 You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its strength, then what will you use to make it salty? It is no longer good for anything except throwing it out there for people to trample underfoot.

Here Christ points to the fact that the humanity inherent in people is the essence of world manifestation. And if it doesn’t exist, then the whole world loses its value. And everything that is in the world can be thrown away.

14 You are the light of the world. A city standing on top of a mountain cannot hide.
15 And having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

In order to correctly navigate the world, you need the light of true knowledge. People who have developed humanity within them are this light. They are like a city on top, visible to everyone. And having awakened this humanity, it is not hidden to feed personal egoism, but is used to enlighten life and awaken humanity in other people.

17 Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

This remark of Jesus is due to the fact that during the adoption of the covenant and before His coming, the wrong practice of fulfilling the law of life had developed. The irregularities were generated by the fact that the interpretation of laws and the regulation of their implementation were carried out by people who were far from understanding the Kingdom of Heaven. They brought a purely formal and logical approach to the analysis of situations. And they completely lost sight of the fact that all laws were aimed at preventing deviations from humanity.
The commandments and fundamental laws were originally formulated by Moses, who grew up and was raised in the court of the Egyptian Pharaoh. The culture of Egypt until the end of the Middle Kingdom was characterized by the ideology of a righteous state. It is quite difficult to describe this concept. It was based on the idea that state power is obliged to ensure righteous, humane order in society. These are not “servants of the people,” as power is sometimes interpreted in our time, and certainly not a structure that stands above society and is not accountable to it. Most likely, power is an instrument for the implementation of divine order on earth and a guarantee of the manifestation of humanity in social relations.
This worldview was alien to most Jews, who have a completely different culture. Therefore, they could not accept it, and therefore there was a constant rejection and killing of the prophets.
Jesus says that He does not bring some completely new teaching, but He draws attention to the fulfillment of the law already given and gives rules for its more complete implementation.

God gave people the Ten Commandments back in Old Testament times. They were given in order to protect people from evil, to warn about the danger that sin brings. The Lord Jesus Christ established the New Testament, gave us the Gospel law, the basis of which is love: I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.(John 13:34) and holiness: be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect(Mt 5:48). The Savior did not abolish the observance of the Ten Commandments, but elevated people to the highest level of spiritual life. In the Sermon on the Mount, talking about how a Christian should build his life, the Savior gives nine beatitudes. These commandments no longer speak of the prohibition of sin, but of Christian perfection. They tell how to achieve bliss, what virtues bring a person closer to God, for only in Him can a person find true joy. The Beatitudes not only do not cancel the Ten Commandments of the Law of God, but wisely complement them. It is not enough simply not to commit a sin or to expel it from our soul by repenting of it. No, we need to have in our souls the virtues that are opposite to sins. It is not enough not to do evil, you must do good. Sins create a wall between us and God; when the wall is destroyed, we begin to see God, but only a moral Christian life can bring us closer to Him.

Here are the nine commandments that the Savior gave us as a guide to Christian deed:

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

First commandment

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

What does it mean to be beggars spirit, and why such people are blessed? Saint John Chrysostom says: “What does it mean: poor in spirit? Humble and contrite in heart.

He called the soul and disposition of man Spirit.<...>Why didn't He say: humble, but said beggars? Because the latter is more expressive than the former; He calls here poor those who fear and tremble at the commandments of God, whom God also calls through the prophet Isaiah pleasing to Himself, saying: to whom will I look: to him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and to him who trembles at My word?(Isaiah 66:2)” (“Conversations on St. Matthew the Evangelist.” 25.2). Moral antipode poor in spirit is a proud person who considers himself spiritually rich.

Spiritual poverty means humility, seeing your true state. Just as an ordinary beggar has nothing of his own, but dresses in what is given and eats alms, so we must realize: everything we have we receive from God. This is not ours, we are only stewards of the property that the Lord has given us. He gave it so that it would serve the salvation of our soul. You can not be a poor person, but you can be poor in spirit, humbly accept what God gives us and use it to serve the Lord and people. Everything is from God. Not only material wealth, but also health, talents, abilities, life itself - all this is exclusively a gift from God, for which we must thank Him. You can't do anything without Me(John 15:5), the Lord tells us. The fight against sins and the acquisition of good deeds are impossible without humility. We do all this only with the help of God.

It is promised to the poor in spirit, to the humble in wisdom Kingdom of heaven. People who know that everything they have is not their merit, but the gift of God, which needs to be increased for the salvation of the soul, will perceive everything sent as a means of achieving the Kingdom of Heaven.

Second Commandment

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are those who mourn. Crying can be caused by completely different reasons, but not all crying is a virtue. The commandment to mourn means repentant crying for one’s sins. Repentance is so important because without it it is impossible to get closer to God. Sins prevent us from doing this. The first commandment of humility already leads us to repentance, lays the foundation for spiritual life, for only a person who feels his weakness and poverty before the Heavenly Father can realize his sins and repent of them. The Gospel prodigal son returns to the Father's house, and, of course, the Lord will accept everyone who comes to Him and wipe away every tear from his eyes. Therefore, “blessed are those who mourn (for sins), for they will be comforted(emphasis added. - Auto.)". Every person has sins, without sin there is only God, but we have been given the greatest gift from God - repentance, the opportunity to return to God, ask Him for forgiveness. It was not for nothing that the Holy Fathers called repentance the second baptism, where we wash away our sins not with water, but with tears.

Blessed tears can also be called tears of compassion, empathy for our neighbors, when we are imbued with their grief and try to help them in any way we can.

Third Commandment

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are the meek. Meekness is a peaceful, calm, quiet spirit that a person has acquired in his heart. This is submission to the will of God and the virtue of peace in the soul and peace with others. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light(Matthew 11:29-30), the Savior teaches us. He was submissive in everything to the will of the Heavenly Father, He served people and accepted suffering with meekness. He who has taken upon himself the good yoke of Christ, who follows His path, who seeks humility, meekness, and love, will find peace and tranquility for his soul both in this earthly life and in the life of the next century. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria writes: “Some by the word earth mean spiritual land, that is, heaven, but you also mean this earth. Since the meek are usually considered despicable and devoid of importance, He says that they primarily have everything.” Meek and humble Christians, without war, fire or sword, despite terrible persecution from the pagans, were able to convert the entire vast Roman Empire to the true faith.

The great Russian saint, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, said: “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved.” He himself fully acquired this peaceful spirit, greeting everyone who came to him with the words: “My joy, Christ is risen!” There is an episode from his life when robbers came to his forest cell, wanting to rob the elder, thinking that the visitors were bringing him a lot of money. Saint Seraphim was chopping wood in the forest at that time and stood with an ax in his hands. Having weapons and possessing great physical strength, he did not want to offer resistance to those who came. He placed the ax on the ground and folded his arms across his chest. The villains grabbed an ax and brutally beat the old man with its butt, breaking his head and breaking his bones. Not finding the money, they fled. The Monk Seraphim barely made it to the monastery. He was ill for a long time and remained bent over until the end of his days. When the robbers were caught, he not only forgave them, but also asked to be released, saying that if this was not done, he would leave the monastery. This is how amazingly meek this man was.

Fourth Commandment

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

There are different ways to thirst and seek the truth. There are certain people who can be called truth-seekers: they are constantly indignant at the existing order, seek justice everywhere and write complaints, and come into conflict with many. But this commandment is not talking about them. This means a completely different truth.

It is said that one should desire truth as food and drink: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. That is, very much like a hungry and thirsty person endures suffering until his needs are satisfied. What truth is being said here? About the highest, Divine Truth. A the highest Truth, Truth is Christ. I am the way and the truth and the life(John 14:6), He says about Himself. Therefore, a Christian must seek the true meaning of life in God. In Him alone is the true source of living water and Divine Bread, which is His Body.

The Lord left us the word of God, which sets forth the Divine teaching, the truth of God. He created the Church and put into it everything necessary for salvation. The Church is also the bearer of truth and correct knowledge about God, the world and man. This is the truth that every Christian should thirst for, reading the Holy Scriptures and being edified by the works of the Fathers of the Church.

Those who are zealous about prayer, about doing good deeds, about saturating themselves with the word of God, truly “thirst for righteousness” and, of course, will receive saturation from the ever-flowing Source - our Savior - both in this century and in the future.

Fifth Commandment

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Mercy, mercy- these are acts of love towards others. In these virtues we imitate God Himself: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful(Luke 6:36). God sends His mercies and gifts to both righteous and unrighteous, sinful people. He rejoices about one sinner who repents, rather than about ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent(Luke 15:7).

And he teaches us all the same selfless love, so that we do acts of mercy not for the sake of reward, not expecting to receive something in return, but out of love for the person himself, fulfilling the commandment of God.

By doing good deeds to people, as creation, the image of God, we thereby bring service to God Himself. The Gospel gives an image of the Last Judgment, when the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners and say to the righteous: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you accepted Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him: Lord! when did we see you hungry and feed you? or to the thirsty and gave them something to drink? when did we see you as a stranger and accept you? or naked and clothed? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? And the King will answer them: Truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.(Mt 25:34-40). Therefore it is said that " gracious themselves will be pardoned" And on the contrary, those who did not do good deeds will have nothing to justify themselves at God’s judgment, as stated in the same parable about the Last Judgment.

Sixth Commandment

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, that is, pure in soul and mind from sinful thoughts and desires. It is important not only to avoid committing a sin in a visible way, but also to refrain from thinking about it, because any sin begins with a thought, and only then materializes into action. From the heart of man come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy.(Matthew 15:19), says the word of God. Not only bodily impurity is a sin, but first of all impurity of the soul, spiritual defilement. A person may not take anyone’s life, but burn with hatred for people and wish them death. Thus, he will destroy his own soul, and subsequently may even go as far as murder. Therefore, the Apostle John the Theologian warns: Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer(1 John 3:15). A person who has an unclean soul and unclean thoughts is a potential committer of already visible sins.

If your eye is pure, then your whole body will be bright; if your eye is evil, then your whole body will be dark(Mt 6:22-23). These words of Jesus Christ are spoken about the purity of the heart and soul. A clear eye is sincerity, purity, holiness of thoughts and intentions, and these intentions lead to good deeds. And vice versa: where the eye and heart are blinded, dark thoughts reign, which will later become dark deeds. Only a person with a pure soul and pure thoughts can approach God, see His. God is seen not with bodily eyes, but with the spiritual vision of a pure soul and heart. If this organ of spiritual vision is clouded, spoiled by sin, a person will not see the Lord. Therefore, you need to refrain from unclean, sinful, evil thoughts, drive them away as if they were coming from the enemy, and cultivate bright, kind thoughts in your soul. These thoughts are cultivated by prayer, faith and hope in God, love for Him, for people and for every creation of God.

Seventh Commandment

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are the peacemakers... The commandment to have peace with people and to reconcile those at war is placed very highly in the Gospel. Such people are called children, sons of God. Why? We are all children of God, his creations. There is nothing more pleasant for a father and mother when he knows that his children live in peace, love and harmony among themselves: How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together!(Ps 133:1). And vice versa, how sad it is for a father and mother to see quarrels, strife and enmity between children; at the sight of all this, the parents’ hearts seem to bleed! If peace and good relationships between children please even earthly parents, all the more does our Heavenly Father need us to live in peace. And a person who keeps peace in the family, with people, reconciles those at war, is pleasing and pleasing to God. Not only does such a person receive joy, tranquility, happiness and blessing from God here on earth, he gains peace in his soul and peace with his neighbors, but he will undoubtedly receive a reward in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Peacemakers will also be called “sons of God” because in their feat they are likened to the Son of God Himself, Christ the Savior, who reconciled people with God, restored the connection that was destroyed by sins and the falling away of humanity from God.

Eighth Commandment

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who are exiled for the sake of truth. The search for Truth, Divine Truth has already been discussed in the fourth beatitude. We remember that Truth is Christ Himself. It is also called Sun of truth. It is about oppression and persecution for the truth of God that this commandment speaks of. The path of a Christian is always the path of a warrior of Christ. The path is complex, difficult, narrow: narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life(Mt 7:14). But this is the only road leading to salvation; we are not given any other way. Of course, living in a raging world that is often very hostile to Christianity is difficult. Even if there is no persecution or oppression for faith, simply living as a Christian, fulfilling God’s commandments, working for God and others is very difficult. It is much easier to live “like everyone else” and “take everything from life.” But we know that this is the path that leads to destruction: wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction(Mt 7:13). And the fact that so many people are following in this direction should not confuse us. A Christian is always different, not like everyone else. “Try to live not as everyone else lives, but as God commands, because... the world lies in evil.” - says the Monk Barsanuphius of Optina. It doesn’t matter if we are persecuted here on earth for our life and faith, because our fatherland is not on earth, but in heaven, with God. Therefore, in this commandment the Lord promises to those persecuted for the sake of righteousness Kingdom of heaven.

Ninth Commandment

Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The continuation of the eighth commandment, which speaks of oppression for the truth of God and Christian life, is the last commandment of beatitude. The Lord promises a blessed life to all those persecuted for their faith.

Here it is said about the highest manifestation of love for God - about the readiness to give one’s life for Christ, for one’s faith in Him. This feat is called martyrdom. This path is the highest, it has great reward. This path was indicated by the Savior Himself. He endured persecution, torment, cruel torture and painful death, thereby giving an example to all His followers and strengthening them in their readiness to suffer for Him, even to the point of blood and death, as He once suffered for all of us.

We know that the Church stands on the blood and steadfastness of the martyrs. They defeated the pagan, hostile world, giving their lives and laying them at the foundation of the Church.

But the enemy of the human race does not calm down and constantly initiates new persecutions against Christians. And when the Antichrist comes to power, he will also persecute and persecute the disciples of Christ. Therefore, every Christian must be constantly prepared for the feat of confession and martyrdom.

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad

About the Beatitudes

Earlier we said that during the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments of the Moral Law, on which, as the cornerstone, the entire diversity of interhuman and social relations is based to this day. This was a certain minimum of personal and public morality, without which the stability of human life and social relations would be lost. The Lord Jesus Christ did not come at all to abolish this law: “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” ().
The Savior's fulfillment of this law was required because since the time of Moses, the understanding of the law has been largely lost. Over the past centuries, the clear and concise imperatives of the Sinai commandments were buried under the layers of a huge number of various everyday and ritual instructions, the scrupulous execution of which began to be given paramount importance. And behind this purely external, ritual and decorative side, the essence and meaning of the great moral revelation were lost. Therefore, the Lord had to appear in order to renew the content of the law in the eyes of people and again put its eternal verbs into their hearts. And moreover, to give a person a means to use this law to save his soul.
Christian commandments, by fulfilling which a person can gain happiness and fullness of life, are called the Beatitudes. Bliss is synonymous with happiness.
On a hill near Capernaum in Galilee, the Lord preached a sermon that became known as the Sermon on the Mount. And He began it with a statement of the nine Beatitudes:
The first acquaintance with this moral program can confuse the spirit of modern man. For everything that is prescribed by the Beatitudes seems infinitely far from our everyday understanding of a happy and full-blooded life: poverty of spirit, crying, meekness, the search for truth, mercy, purity, peacemaking, exile and reproach... And not a hint, not a word about what would fit into the popular idea of ​​earthly bliss.
The Beatitudes are a kind of declaration of Christian moral values. It contains everything necessary for a person to enter the true fullness of life. And by the way he relates to these commandments, one can unmistakably judge his spiritual state. If they cause rejection, rejection and hatred, if there is nothing in common or consonance between the inner world of a person and these commandments, then this is an indicator of a serious spiritual illness. But if interest arises in these strange, disturbing words, if there is a desire to penetrate into their meaning, then this indicates an internal readiness to hear and understand the Word of God.
Let us consider each commandment separately.

Can such a quality as spiritual poverty be considered a virtue? Such an assumption obviously contradicts not only the experience of everyday life, but also the ideals that are instilled in us by modern culture. However, to begin with, let us keep in mind that not every spirit makes a person spiritual, much less happy.
Earlier we talked about the temptations of Jesus Christ in the desert. But there, none other than the spirit of the devil offered the Lord great temptations, which, however, have nothing to do with the fullness of human life. But what will happen to a person in whom this spirit of the devil prevails? Will he find bliss, will he be happy? No, because the unclean spirit will lead him away from the truth, confuse him and lead him astray. Fortunately, only the Spirit of God can lead a person to the fullness of life, because God is the source of life. Life with God is the fullness of existence, human happiness. This means that in order for a person to be happy, he must accept the Spirit of God into himself, freeing up the space of his soul for His presence. After all, this was the case at the dawn of human history, when God was at the center of the life of Adam and Eve, who had not yet known sin. Their refusal of God became a sin. Sin drove God out of people’s lives, and their own “I” reigned in the central place of their spiritual life that belonged to Him.
There has been a mutation of life values, a change in all guidelines. Instead of ascending to God, serving Him and being in saving communion with Him, man directed all his strength to satisfy the needs of his own egoism. This state when a person lives for himself and has his own “I” as the center of his inner universe is called pride. And the state opposite to pride, when a person pushes his “I” to the side and puts God at the center of life, is called humility, or spiritual poverty. In contrast to the devil’s gold, which turns into clay shards, spiritual poverty turns into great wealth, for in this case, in the place of the spirit of malice, selfishness and rebellion, the Spirit of God takes up residence in a person and gives life.
So, what is spiritual poverty? “I believe,” writes the saint, “that spiritual poverty is humility.” What, then, should be understood by humility? Sometimes humility is falsely identified with weakness, wretchedness, downtroddenness, and worthlessness. Oh, this is far from true... Humility is born of great inner strength, and anyone who doubts this should try to slightly move his own self to the periphery of his concerns and interests. And put God or another person in the main place in your life. And then it will become clear how difficult this work is and what remarkable inner strength is required for it.
“Pride,” according to the saint, “is the beginning of sin. Every sin begins with it and finds its support in it.” That's why it is said:
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” ().
In the Old Testament we find amazing words: “The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart.” ().
That is, He will not destroy or destroy the personality of a person who frees himself in order to accept God. And then the Spirit of God dwells in such a person as in a chosen vessel. And the person himself gains the ability to be in communion with God, and therefore to taste the fullness of life and happiness.
So, spiritual poverty and humility are not weakness, but great strength. This is a person’s victory over himself, over the demon of egoism and the omnipotence of passions. This is the ability to open your heart to God, so that He reigns in it, sanctifying and transforming our lives with His grace.

It would seem that what is common between bliss and crying? In the ordinary mind, tears are an indispensable sign of human grief, pain, resentment, and hopelessness. If you take a healthy person and see in what cases he is capable of crying, then by analyzing the connection between tears and the reasons that gave rise to them, you can say a lot about the person’s state of mind. Let's ask ourselves: are we capable of crying with compassion when we see someone else's misfortune? Every day, television brings tragic pictures of human misfortune, death, hardship, and deprivation to our homes from all over the world. How many have they touched to such an extent that they have made them sad, let alone cry? How many times have we walked along the streets of our cities past people lying on the sidewalks? But how many of us have the sight of a man stretched out on the ground made us think or shed a tear?
It is impossible not to recall here the words of the monk: “And what is a merciful heart? The burning of a person’s heart about all creation, about people, about birds, about animals, about demons and about every creature. When remembering them and looking at them, a person’s eyes shed tears from the great and strong pity that envelops the heart. And because of his great patience, his heart is diminished, and it cannot bear, or hear, or see any harm or small sorrow endured by the creature. And therefore, for the dumb, and for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm him, he offers prayer every hour with tears, so that they may be preserved and purified; and also prays for the nature of reptiles with great pity, which is aroused in his heart until he becomes like God in this.”
So let us ask ourselves: which of us has such a “merciful heart”? Human grief has ceased to confuse and excite our souls, to give rise to pain and tears of compassion in us, and to move us to good deeds. But if a person is able to cry out of compassion for his brother, then this indicates a very special state of his soul. The heart of such a person is alive, and therefore responsive to the pain of his neighbor, and, therefore, capable of deeds of kindness and compassion. But aren’t mercy and the willingness to help others the most important components of human happiness? For a person cannot be happy when someone nearby is suffering, just as there is no joy in the midst of ashes, victims and human grief. Therefore, our tears are a direct and morally healthy response to the grief of another person.
Not a single philosophical doctrine, except Christian, has been able to cope with the issue of human suffering. Marxist theory, which claimed to be a universal master key to all the “damned questions” of humanity, from the origin of the Universe to the establishment of a social paradise on earth, tried to avoid the problem of human suffering. Whether there will be a place for suffering under communism, what factors will give rise to it and how a person will cope with it remains unknown. And on the path of other capital philosophical systems, this problem turned out to be a stumbling block. Christianity does not shy away from answering.
“Blessed are those who mourn” means that suffering is a reality of our world, and even more - a component of the fullness of human life. There is no life without suffering, because such a life would no longer be human, but something else. And therefore suffering should be taken for granted, as one of the hypostases of the human lot. Suffering can be beneficial if it mobilizes a person’s inner strength, and then it becomes a source of human courage and spiritual growth.
A person grows internally, overcoming the torment and trials that befall him. Let's remember F.M. Dostoevsky: his entire philosophy of spiritual resistance to circumstances hostile to man is based precisely on the second Commandment of Beatitudes. A thinker and Christian, he teaches us that by going through the crucible of moral and physical suffering, a person is cleansed, renewed, and transformed. These motifs permeate The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, and Crime and Punishment. However, suffering can not only purify and elevate a person, increase his internal strength tenfold, elevate him to the highest level of knowledge of himself and the world, but it can also embitter a person, drive him into a corner, force him to withdraw into himself and make him dangerous for other people. We know how many, going through the close field of suffering and inner struggle, could not stand the test and fell.
In what cases does suffering elevate a person, and when can it turn him into a beast? The Apostle Paul said this about it: “Godly sorrow produces constant repentance leading to salvation, but worldly sorrow produces death.”().
So, the Christian attitude to suffering presupposes the perception of the disasters that befall us as God’s permission, as a kind of Divine temptation. Religiously aware of our adversity as a test sent down to us, through which God takes us for the sake of our salvation and purification, we inevitably think about why the trouble visited us and what is our fault. And if suffering is accompanied by inner work and honest introspection, then the surging tears of repentance give a person consolation, bliss and spiritual growth.
By responding to sorrows and pain with a pure, living and clear religious feeling, we are able to conquer ourselves, and therefore conquer suffering.

It is not difficult to imagine that this commandment can cause a very negative reaction. After all, meekness is, apparently, nothing more than another name for humility, resignation, humiliation? Is it really possible with such qualities to survive in our world, and even to protect someone?
But meekness is not at all what it is unknowingly accused of. Meekness is a person’s great ability to understand and forgive another. It is the result of humility. And humility, as we said earlier, is characterized by the ability to put God or another person at the center of one’s life. A humble person, poor in spirit, is ready to understand and forgive. AND meekness is also patience and generosity. Now let's imagine what our lives could become if we were all able to accept, understand and forgive other people! Even a simple trip on public transport would turn into something completely different. And relationships with colleagues, with family, with neighbors, with acquaintances and strangers who meet on our way... After all, a meek person shifts a heavy burden from another to himself. He first of all judges himself, demands from himself, questions from himself, and forgives others. Or if he cannot forgive, then at least he tries to understand the other person.
Nowadays, our society, which has gone through the trials of general confrontation, through the crucible of internal hostility, is gradually realizing the need to develop a culture of tolerance in social relations. Political leaders, writers, scientists, and the media unanimously call on us to be tolerant, to be able to reconcile interests and take into account different points of view. But is this possible for a person who is not endowed with high poverty of spirit, for a person in whose life the dominant position is occupied not by God, not by another person, but by himself? Indeed, in this case it is very difficult to accept the truth of another, especially if this truth does not correspond to your own views. A person who is unable to understand and forgive another, who is devoid of patience and generosity, will never be able to humble his pride. Therefore, the tolerance to which society is now called, external tolerance, not rooted in internal meekness, is an empty phrase and another chimera.
We can become tolerant of each other and build a calm, peaceful and prosperous society only if we acquire true meekness, gentleness, and the ability to understand and forgive.
Meekness, perceived by many as weakness, turns into a great strength that can not only help a person in solving the tasks facing him, but also lead him into inheriting the earth, that is, ensuring the achievement of the main goal - the Kingdom of God, the symbol of which here is the Promised Land.

In this commandment, Christ combines the concepts of beatitude and truth, and truth acts as a condition for human happiness.
Let us again turn to the history of the Fall, which occurred at the dawn of human history. Sin became the result of an unrejected temptation, a response to the lie with which the devil addressed the first people, inviting them to eat the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in order to become “like gods.”
It was a deliberate lie, but the man believed it, violated the law given by God, succumbed to sinful temptation and plunged himself and all subsequent generations of people into dependence on evil and sin.
Man sinned at the instigation of the devil, he committed a sin under the influence of lies. The Holy Scripture definitely testifies to the nature of the devil: “When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies” ().
And every time we multiply lies, speak untruths or commit unrighteous deeds, we expand the domain of the devil, we work for him and strengthen him.
In other words, a person cannot be happy living in a lie. For the devil is not the source of happiness. Committing untruth connects us with a dark force; through untruth we enter the sphere of evil, and evil and happiness are incompatible. When we commit untruths, we endanger our spiritual life.
What is a lie? This is a situation in which our words do not correspond to our thoughts, knowledge or actions. Untruth is always associated with double-mindedness or hypocrisy; it expresses a fundamental discrepancy between the external and internal aspects of our life. This spiritual fracture is a type of moral schizophrenia (in Greek, “schizophrenia” precisely means “split brain”), that is, a disease. And illness and happiness are incompatible concepts. In fact, by telling a lie, we seem to be divided in two, we begin to live two lives, and this leads to the loss of the integrity of our personality. The Holy Scripture says: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; and if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” ().
A person who commits untruths and sows lies around himself is divided within himself, like a doomed kingdom, and loses the unity of his nature.
The destructive effect of untruth on our lives can be likened to cracks in a building. They disfigure the appearance of the house, but the house continues to stand. However, if an earthquake occurs or a storm hits, the house covered with cracks will not stand and will collapse. Likewise, a person who denies the law of Divine truth and acts according to the teachings of the father of lies, leading a double life and internally divided, can easily live a long century in peace. But if trials suddenly befall him, if circumstances require him to demonstrate the best human qualities and inner strength, then a life lived in a lie will result in an inability to withstand the blows of fate.
A lie destroys the integrity of not only the human personality, it leads to the fact that the family is divided within itself. For it is lies that are the most common cause of family breakdown. When a husband deceives his wife, and a wife deceives her husband, when lies erect barriers between parents and children, the family hearth turns into a pile of cold stones. But lies divide the human community. Let us remember the events of 1917, when the people were divided among themselves, and the Fatherland was plunged into the abyss of disasters and suffering. Was it not by false teaching that we were seduced, was it not by envy and untruth that one part of society was set against another? Lies lay at the heart of the demagoguery and propaganda that split, reared Russia and finally destroyed it.
And the division of our Fatherland at the end of the 20th century - did it happen without lies? Has it not been the interpretation of history that is contrary to the truth that has aroused passions, leading people to enmity and confrontation with their brothers? But lies in the interpretation and application of rights and freedoms, lies in economic relations and business partnerships - doesn’t it lead to alienation, suspicion and conflicts? The same is true in interstate relations, where lies and provocations create conflicts that plunge peoples and states into the abyss of misfortune and war.
Where there is a lie, there are its eternal companions: unbrotherly love, double-mindedness, hypocrisy, division. But where the disease has taken root, there is no place for harmony and happiness. Having stopped lying to himself and deceiving others, a person will definitely feel a surge of enormous inner strength emanating from the restored integrity of his being. Isn’t it possible that the entire society, exhausted by lies, can experience the same renewal? We are talking here primarily about politicians, the masters of the economy and the media, who often communicate with their fellow citizens in the language of disinformation and malicious lies. This is the reason for many disorders, illnesses and sorrows that destroy the social organism. And until we free our personal, family, social and state lives from the harmful effects of lies, we will not be healed.
The Lord not only connects truth with human happiness, but also testifies that the very search for truth gives a person happiness. Blessed is the one who hungers for truth and strives for it, like a thirsty person for a source of spring water. This pursuit of truth can sometimes be fraught with danger. After all, behind lies is the devil himself, its father, patron and protector. From this it follows that he who seeks truth accomplishes the will of God, and he who multiplies lies serves the devil and seeks to seduce a person, to trap him in the snare of untruth.
Therefore, for a champion of lies, it is so important to know how strong the gracious desire for truth is within us. For he himself will stand for lies to the last, not stopping to use power and violence in its name. We have an idea of ​​the price paid to preserve secrets that threaten to expose lies. But we also know about the great sacrifices made by those who seek truth in the world. For the path of a person who rejects existence according to the laws of lies is thorny. Is it not about them that the Lord says: ?
While enduring reproaches and other misfortunes for striving to possess the truth and testify to it, we must clearly realize that our adversary is the devil himself. And therefore, he who destroys his wiles and testifies to the truth will inherit the Kingdom of God.
We can thirst for truth, or lay down our souls for its triumph, or be driven out for the sake of truth. However, we will not find the absolute fullness of truth in this world, where powerful evil is present and where the prince of darkness skillfully mixes lies with the truth. Therefore, in the great and ongoing battle in the name of truth, we must learn to distinguish between good and evil, between truth and lies.
King David in his 16th Psalm says amazing words that sound like this in Slavic: “But I will appear before Your face in righteousness, I will be satisfied, sometimes I will appear before Your glory” ().
In Russian this means: “And I will look upon Your face in righteousness; Having awakened, I will be satisfied with Your image.” A person who hungers and thirsts for truth will be completely satisfied with it and taste the fullness of the truth only when he appears in the face of the Glory of God. This will happen in another world. It is there, at the Throne of the Lord, that the whole truth is revealed and the Truth appears.
So, the Beatitudes testify: there can be no happiness without truth, just as there can be no happiness with lies. And therefore, any attempt to organize personal, family, social or state life on the basis of lies inevitably leads to defeat, separation, illness and suffering. May the All-Merciful God strengthen us in our desire to build a peaceful and happy life on the cornerstone of truth, which serves as the promise of bliss.

What is mercy that the Lord speaks of as a condition of bliss? Grace, or mercy, is, first of all, a person’s ability to effectively respond to someone else’s misfortune. You can respond with a kind word, extend your hand to a person, and support him in grief. We can do more: come to someone in need of our assistance, help him by giving our time and energy. We can also share with the unfortunate what we ourselves own. “Let the healthy and rich comfort the sick and poor; who did not fall - fell and crashed; cheerful - despondent; enjoying happiness - tired of misfortunes,” says the saint. It is precisely this kind of action that the Lord closely connects with the idea of ​​justification.
In the Gospel narrative we find a whole list of good deeds, the fulfillment of which is recognized as necessary for the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven and justification at the judgment of the Lord. All of these are deeds of compassion: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, receive the stranger, visit the sick and the prisoner (See). Those who do not fulfill the law of mercy will receive their punishment on the Day of Judgment. For, according to the word of the Lord, “Because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”().
And we can no longer guess about the future that awaits us in eternity. Everyone, still in this life, is able to foresee what kind of judgment is prepared for him in heaven.
Let us remember how many we fed and watered, how many we invited under our roof, how many we visited and supported in friendship. Each of us can and must, having examined our affairs in the light of conscience, express a judgment about ourselves that precedes the Judgment of God. For we ourselves know ourselves and our lives better than others. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy”- this is how the law of mercy and retribution is read. And since in the grammatical construction of the Beatitudes, God, who is merciful and punishing, is definitely implied here, without being, however, directly named, do we not have the right to expect leniency from people even in this life?
By doing good deeds and helping our neighbors, we discover that the person in whose fate we took part ceases to be a stranger to us, that he enters our lives. After all, people are designed in such a way that they love those to whom they have done good, and hate those to whom they have done harm. Answering the question about who our neighbor is, the Lord says: this is the one to whom we do good. Such a person ceases to be a stranger and distant to us, becoming truly a neighbor, for from now on he owns a part of our heart and a place in our memory.
But if we, living in a family, do not help each other, it means that the people closest to us cease to be our neighbors. When a husband does not support his wife, and a wife does not support her husband, when children do not serve as support for elderly parents, when enmity pits relatives against each other, then the internal bonds that connect man to man are destroyed, and our loved ones, in violation of God’s commandments, become further away from us than those who are distant.
Responsiveness, compassion and kindness that we address to other people connect us with them. This means that their kindness will be our answer, and we will receive mercy from people. A special relationship will be established between us and those to whom we have shown concern. Thus, mercy is like a fabric in which the threads of human destinies are tightly intertwined.

This commandment is about the knowledge of God. From the cultural monuments that have reached us, we can judge that the entire history of human civilization is marked by a dramatic search for God. Ancient Egyptian temples and pyramids, ancient Greek and Roman pagan temples, oriental places of worship are the focus of the spiritual efforts of each national culture. All this is a reflection of the feat of God-seeking that humanity had to go through. Among philosophers, outstanding thinkers and sages, there was also not a single one who remained indifferent to the topic of God. But, despite the fact that it is present in any significant philosophical system, not everyone was destined to reach the heights of the knowledge of God. Sometimes even the most sophisticated and insightful minds turned out to be incapable of real, experienced knowledge of God. The understanding of God by such philosophers, which remained rationally cold, was powerless to take possession of their entire being, to spiritualize and draw them into a truly religious relationship with the Creator.
What can help a person personally feel and know God? This question is especially important for us right now, when, having become disillusioned with fruitless atheism, most of our people have turned to the search for the spiritual and religious foundations of existence. The desire of these people to find and know God is great. However, the paths leading to the knowledge of God are intertwined with many false paths that lead away from the goal or end in dead ends. It is enough to mention the widespread attitude towards unknown and unstudied natural phenomena. Often people fall into the temptation of deifying the unknown, imbued with a pseudo-religious feeling towards an unknown force. And just as the savages worshiped thunder, lightning, fire or strong winds that were incomprehensible to them, our enlightened contemporaries fetishize UFOs, fall under the magic of psychics and sorcerers, and revere false idols.
So how is it possible to find God by rejecting atheism? How not to stray from the path leading to Him? How not to lose yourself and your attraction to the true God among the dangerously multiplying temptations of false spirituality? The Lord tells us about this in the words of the sixth Commandment of Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”.
For God does not reveal himself to an impure heart. The moral state of the individual is an indispensable condition for the knowledge of God. This means that a person who lives according to the law of lies, who does untruth and adds sin to sin, who sows evil and commits lawlessness - such a person will never be given the opportunity to accept the All-Good God into his petrified heart. That is, to put it technically, his heart is not able to connect to the source of Divine energy. Our heart and our consciousness can be likened to a receiving device, which must be tuned to the same frequency at which Divine grace is transmitted to the world. This frequency is the purity of our heart. Isn’t this what the Word of God teaches us: “Wisdom does not enter into an evil soul. She does not dwell in a body guilty of sin” ().
So, purity of thoughts and feelings is an indispensable condition for the knowledge of God. For you can re-read libraries of books, listen to countless lectures, torture your brain searching for an answer to the question of whether God exists, but never get closer to Him, not recognize Him, or accept for God that which is not Him - the devil, the power of darkness.
If our heart is not tuned to the wave of Divine grace, then we will not be able to know and see God. And to see God, to accept and feel Him, to enter into communication with Him means to gain Truth, fullness of life and bliss.

As the saint emphasizes, with this Commandment of the Beatitudes Christ “not only condemns the mutual disagreement and hatred of people among themselves, but demands more, namely, that we reconcile the disagreements and discords of others.” According to the commandment of Christ, we must become peacemakers, that is, those who create peace on earth. In this case, we will become sons of God by grace, because, in the words of the same Chrysostom, “and the work of the Only Begotten Son of God was to unite what was divided and to reconcile what was at war.”
It is often believed that the absence of war or the cessation of conflict is peace. The spouses quarreled, then went to different corners, the shouting and mutual insults stopped - and it was as if peace had come. But in the soul there is no trace of peace or peace, only irritation, annoyance, malice and anger. It turns out that the cessation of hostile actions and open confrontation between the parties is not yet evidence of genuine peace. For peace is not a negative concept, that is, characterized by a simple absence of signs of confrontation, but a deeply positive state: a kind of gracious reality that displaces the idea of ​​enmity and fills the space of the human heart or social relations. A sign of true peace is peace of mind, when anger and irritation are replaced by harmony and peace.
The Old Testament Jews called this state with the word “Sholom”, meaning by it God's blessing, for peace is from God. And in the New Testament the Lord speaks about the same thing: peace as peace and satisfaction is the blessing of God. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians testifies about the Lord: “He is our peace” ().
And the monk describes the state of the world as follows: “The gift and grace of the Holy Spirit is the peace of God. Peace is a sign of the presence of God's grace in human life" And therefore, at the moment of the Nativity of Christ, the angels preached the gospel to the shepherds with the words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace...” For the Lord, the Source and Giver of peace, brought it to people with His birth.
What choice then should a person make and what will his peacemaking work consist of? “The Lord has called us to peace”- says the Apostle Paul (), and the first words of the Risen Lord after His appearance to the apostles were "Peace to you". This is God's call to which man responds. The answer can be twofold: we either open our souls to receive the world of God, or we erect insurmountable barriers to the action of Divine grace in us. If a son not only adopts his father’s family name, but also becomes the successor of his work, then a special successive connection is established between them. Isn’t it in this sense that we should understand the words of the Lord that those who will continue the work of the Father, who organizes the world, will be called sons of God?
Peace is peace, and peace is balance. From physics we know that only a stable equilibrium system is at rest, and, therefore, equilibrium, balance are an indispensable condition for rest.
Under what circumstances does peace reign in a person’s soul? When the various properties of his spiritual nature are balanced, when his inner aspirations are harmonized, when a balance is achieved between the spiritual and physical principles, between the mind and feelings, between needs and capabilities, between beliefs and actions. But such a system will experience a loss of stability whenever the balance between these principles of a person’s inner life begins to be disturbed. As for the external world, it will be achieved only when the interests of the individual, family, society and state come into balance. For stability here is achieved through a fair distribution of rights, duties and responsibilities: it is not without reason that the symbol of fair trial and legal measure are scales in the hands of Themis. In other words, there are deep internal relationships between peace, balance, tranquility and justice.Justice is balanced, therefore it is an indispensable condition for peace. For there can be no peace without justice.
Life constantly puts a person in a situation where he needs to restore balance between conflicting internal aspirations. The simplest example is a mismatch between needs and capabilities: you want to have an expensive car, but you don’t have the means to do so. There are two ways out of this state: either bring your desires and capabilities into balance, or, stopping at nothing, strive with all your might to satisfy your needs. When a person’s capabilities and needs do not achieve harmony, he suffers, and his suffering is further fueled by a feeling of envy. Inner peace will come only if the scales, on the scales of which lie our needs and opportunities, fix the balance.
Another example is from the public sphere: about the relationship between peace and justice. In apartheid South Africa, the black majority fought a bitter struggle for equal rights with the ruling white minority. Once, in a conversation with one of the leaders of the African liberation movement, I asked: “In the difficult life of your people there is already too much violence, so wouldn’t it be better for you to make peace with your opponents?” And he answered me: “But what kind of world will it be without justice? It would be based on a constantly smoldering conflict, fraught with explosion and multiplying human suffering. For there to be genuine peace, there must be a just solution to the problem underlying the conflict.”
The idea of ​​peace and the idea of ​​justice grow from the same root. Internal proportionality and harmony of interests in the family, society and state, as well as in interstate relations, are achieved when everyone is ready to sacrifice their interests. That is why peacekeeping always requires sacrifice and dedication. In fact, if a person is not ready to sacrifice part of his own interests to another, how can he participate in the creation of an equilibrium system? And is someone who is accustomed to putting only himself and his own benefit at the forefront of things capable of doing this? Such a person poses a potential threat to the world; he is dangerous for family and social life. Being unable to bring the forces acting in him to balance, such a person finds himself in the role of a carrier of constant internal conflict, which most often is not limited to personal life, but is projected onto interpersonal and even social relationships.
However, if God occupies a central place in life, then a person becomes able to give up his claims in the name of the good of his neighbor, for God calls us to love. When people who are in enmity demonstrate an inability to self-sacrifice, and therefore to reconciliation, and the conflict in which they participate begins to affect many, gathering a bloody harvest, then they turn to mediators to achieve peace. Performing this function in a peacekeeping mission is a spiritually dangerous task, because the mediator is obliged to demand self-restraint from the warring parties. As a result, their anger and discontent may well be directed at the messenger of peace.
Peacemaking ministry is the duty and calling of the Church. To talk about this conclusively, you don’t need to go deep into history. Suffice it to recall the civil conflict in Russia in the fall of 1993, when it initiated the peacekeeping process, acting as a mediator between the opposing forces. At the same time, she was fully aware that her mission would cause discontent on both sides. And so it happened, because her call to show dignified self-restraint, moderate political ambitions and curb the demon of enmity was not accepted by either one or the other. Newspaper publications that followed these peace initiatives also indicated a lack of understanding of the mission of the Church and dissatisfaction with its position.
But this is the dignity and power of peacemaking ministry: in the name of achieving a fair balance, to directly follow the God-given good goal, affirming the spirit of brotherly love and not being tempted by possible misunderstanding and condemnation. Unfortunately, peacekeeping ministry is often used to their advantage by forces speculating on the tragedy of their neighbor or seeking to earn political capital. But peacemaking is a sacrifice, but not at all a means to cheaply buy public recognition or effectively crown oneself with the laurels of a benefactor of humanity. True peacemaking implies, first of all, a willingness to experience blasphemy and reproach from those to whom you came with an olive branch in your hands. This sometimes happens when resolving interstate, social or political conflicts; the same model is reproduced in our private life.
God is the Creator of the world and life. And peace is an indispensable condition for the preservation of life. Those who serve this purpose show loyalty to the covenant of the Lord and continue His work, which is why they are called the sons of God.

We have already looked at the commandment addressed to those who are ready to live in truth:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”.
The Lord here speaks of a reward for people who seek truth: they will find what their souls strive for. And in the commandment about those expelled for the sake of righteousness, He warns us about the dangers that await a person on this path. For life is truly not easy and is not much like a walk in a well-kept park. Living in truth is hard work and a challenge that involves risk, because there are too many lies in the world we live in. When discussing the origin of evil, we said that the devil is evil personified, or, according to the Word of God, a liar and the father of lies. He is active in our world, spreading lies everywhere.
“Lying is a vile dishonor of a person,” says St. John Chrysostom. Great are the successes of lies. It permeates our social life, becomes a means of achieving power, disintegrates family relationships, deprives a person of internal integrity, for he who multiplies untruth splits himself into two.
If you look around, the first thing that strikes your eye is how widespread the untruth is. One gets the impression of its dynamic growth, an increase in the amount of evil and a multiplication of its positions, including in public life. There are countless examples of this.
Many still remember the campaigns to combat the so-called registrations in the Soviet economy. Postscripts were indeed a scourge and a constant feature of the economic life of those years: the volume of production not completed by an employee, enterprise, district or region was shown in documents as completed, and this led to an imbalance in the country’s economic system, causing significant damage to the entire society. In the 90s of the last century, the desire to enrich oneself by unjust means increased many times, turning into a predatory plunder of national wealth, the acquisition of personal capital by a few at the expense of the public property, created by the hard work of several generations. Before our eyes, a small and at least controllable evil has grown, turning into a threat to the national security of the country and its future.
Even during my childhood, cases of overweighting or shortchanging a customer in a store invariably caused general indignation. The current methods of enrichment have endlessly multiplied and become more sophisticated in comparison with the times of primitive weighing and shortchanging.
Something similar is happening in other countries. In European cities, where 30–40 years ago many people did not lock their homes, crime, including economic crime, has increased many times over. As for the world of politics, it is well known with what ease election promises are made here. However, promises often remain promises. In the world we live in, lying is not exotic, not a rare occurrence, but a widespread means of achieving material well-being or power. But what happens to a person who refuses to live by the law of lies and challenges it? Lies use every means at their disposal to take revenge on the rebellious. However, it does not at all follow from this that today there are no people left who do not want to live by a lie. Such people, thank God, exist.
I have to meet with scientists, designers, engineers, military personnel, factory workers, and rural workers. Many of them, despite everything, continue to live by the truth. In the mid-90s, I had to speak at Moscow University and meet with world-class scientists - mathematicians, mechanics, physicists. Looking at their clothes and appearance, which did not indicate well-being and prosperity, I thought: “What keeps these brilliant scientists on their modest salaries? Why didn’t they, like their other colleagues, disperse to prosperous countries, where well-deserved honor and a completely comfortable existence would await them?” When I asked about this, one of the professors compared himself and his comrades to sentries remaining guarding national science. And in fact, true champions of truth, patriots and devotees of science, these people remained faithful to its ideals, their research and human duty, despite the lack of state recognition and support from those in power at that time.
It is a great consolation and support for us to remember that the man who lives by truth always wins in the end. He wins because the truth is stronger than lies. This conviction lives in the wisdom of our people: “Do not lie - everything will work out in God’s way”, “Everything will pass - only the truth will remain”, “God is not in power, but in truth”... It happens, however, that an individual person does not live to see the moment of the triumph of truth, because 70–80 years of life are just a moment in the face of eternity. However, the truth always triumphs. And if not in this life, then in eternal life, a person who lived in truth will see its triumph. Therefore the Lord says: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”.
And even if the reward for the person who sacrificed himself to the truth does not have time to find him here, then the reward for the righteous will certainly await him in eternal life.
The fight for truth is what Christians are called to in this world. However, when fighting for the truth, one must not only strive for its triumph, but also be extremely sensitive to the question of the cost of victory, for not all means are acceptable for a Christian. Otherwise, the struggle for truth can degenerate into an ordinary quarrel or intrigue. It often happens that people begin by defending great ideals and fighting for a just cause, but end up pushing their neighbors aside in a battle for their place in the sun or spiritual despotism.
What means are prohibited in the fight for truth? It is impossible to affirm the truth through anger and hatred. He who stands for truth cannot harbor low feelings towards his opponents. For our strongest weapon in affirming the truth is the truth itself: the truth is both a goal and a means of struggle. They go out to fight for the truth with an open visor and an open heart in which there is no hatred. This, however, does not mean that a person has nothing to rely on in the fight for the truth.
The Holy Fathers teach us that patience and courage are helpers in this difficult task. Patience makes up for the lack of our weak strength and gives us the ability to overcome sorrow and difficulties. This is how the external enemy is overcome by the inner power of patience. We need courage because lies always try to intimidate a person, resort to insidious and base means, try to break the spirit of their opponent, move the battlefield from an open place to a cramped and dark one. And therefore, the struggle for truth is always inspired by courage and supported by patience.
The Lord does not call us to be passive spectators of evil and untruth. He blesses us to take the side of the champions of truth and justice, so that we always remember the need to maintain the purity of our souls, to protect our Christian dignity and not to stain our vestments with the dirt of lies and evil.

This last Beatitude sounds especially dramatic, for it is about those who accept the crown of martyrdom for confessing Christ the Savior. Why were the disciples of Jesus considered dangerous and why was it necessary to persecute and slander those who brought the word of love into the world? The question is far from idle, because the answer to it will help to understand, perhaps, one of the main conflicts of history.
The fact is that the truth of God was revealed exclusively and absolutely in the person of Jesus Christ. This truth is neither a theory, nor a conclusion, nor an abstract idea, but the most sublime and beautiful reality, which has found vivid expression in the historical personality of Jesus of Nazareth. And therefore, the enemies of God’s truth were fully aware that without fighting Christ and His followers it was impossible to defeat His truth. They saw their task as darkening the image of the Savior, shining with holiness and beauty, if it was impossible to destroy and blot it out completely.
This struggle with Christ began during the life of the Lord. “He is no Messiah,” the Jewish rulers and teachers of that time said, “but just a deceiver from Nazareth, the son of a carpenter.” “He has not risen at all,” they repeated, having learned about the great miracle. “It was the disciples who stole His body.” The rulers of the Roman Empire asserted something similar, calling Christianity a “disgusting superstition” and bringing down the full might of the state repressive apparatus on it as a socially and politically dangerous phenomenon.
Amazingly, the struggle with the Savior and the teaching He proclaimed has been declared since the emergence of Christianity, with the proclamation of the Beatitudes by Christ. In the second half of the 1st century, this struggle took the form of severe persecution. Beginning under the Roman Emperor Nero, they continued for more than 250 years. Nowadays, every day the Saint remembers several martyrs, passion-bearers and confessors, whose names are forever imprinted on her tablets. Hosts of martyrs testified to their fidelity to Christ with their lives and deaths. And about each of them you can tell a story full of drama. Let's focus on the story of just one family.
Many Russian women bear the names Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and Sofia. The Holy Martyr Sophia was born in Italy, was a widow and had three daughters: twelve-year-old Vera, ten-year-old Nadezhda and nine-year-old Love. They all believed in Christ and openly shared His word with people. Someone named Antiochus, the governor of the province where they lived, reported to the Roman emperor about this Christian family. They were summoned to Rome, where they were interrogated and then tortured. There is evidence of the monstrous torture that these little girls endured. They were placed naked on a hot metal grate and poured with boiling tar, forcing them to renounce Christ and worship the pagan goddess Artemis. Not much was required: to bring flowers to the foot of her statue or to burn incense in front of it. But the girls refused, seeing this as a betrayal of their faith in Christ. Lyubov was tortured with particular cruelty: strong warriors tied her to a wheel and beat her with sticks until the girl’s body turned into a bloody mess. The mothers of the young martyrs were given a special torture: Sophia was forced to watch the suffering of her daughters. Then the girls were beheaded, and three days later Sofia died of grief at their grave.
What is striking in this story, in particular, is fanatical hatred and inhuman malice, which cannot be explained by anything other than a diabolical suggestion. For in the Roman Empire the practice of any religious cult was allowed, but war of destruction was declared only on Christianity. Another thing is amazing: how little girls had the courage to endure these unimaginable torments, and a hundredth part of which exceeds everything that even an adult man could endure. The reserve of human strength could not be enough for this. But the spiritual, religious experience of these children turned out to be so rich, so great was the happiness and joyful fullness of life they acquired through their faith, that neither red-hot grates nor boiling tar could separate the young martyrs from Christ. And the Lord strengthened these pure souls in their confession of the Truth and opposition to evil.
An ancient church writer said: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.” And this is truly so, because the torment and persecution to which the followers of Jesus Christ were subjected became false evidence of the true faith and thus contributed to the spread of Christianity, so that even the persecutors themselves were often converted to the Savior by the power of the spirit of those whom they tortured.
The persecution of Christianity ended at the beginning of the 4th century, but in the broad sense of the word it never stopped. To be a Christian, to live openly in accordance with one’s convictions, almost always meant swimming against the tide, taking blows from those for whom Christianity remained a word far from their lives. But, probably, The 20th century became the worst period of persecution of Christians in history. In the post-revolutionary years, our compatriots - bishops, priests, monks, and countless believers - were subjected to sophisticated torture and torment. The people of God were exterminated only because they believed in Christ the Savior. But, as if unconsciously feeling the unrighteousness of what they were doing, the persecutors of Christians tried to present the matter as if they were persecuting believers not for their religious beliefs, but for political sins against the authorities. Such a dirty trick as defamation and discrediting of believers in the eyes of society was also widely used, which, for example, was done more than once in the process of confiscating church valuables. As a result, almost all the bishops and clergy were shot or perished in camps. A handful remained free, truly a “small flock,” who had the lot to preserve our faith in incredibly difficult conditions.
However, there are now some “history researchers” who cynically ask: “Why did these few survive? How dare they stay alive when others were destroyed?” And they immediately answer themselves: “If they were spared, it was only because they had a special relationship with the authorities.” The spiritual fathers and forerunners of these falsely wise “historians” were precisely those who were engaged in the physical extermination of the flower of Russian Orthodoxy. For the current enemies of the Church of Christ want to complete the work of the persecutors of that time and shoot our memory of those who survived the terrible years of repression and brought to us the beauty of the Orthodox faith.
Those who paid with their lives for loyalty to Christ and His Church were martyrs, and those who carried this faith through all the trials and temptations and survived became confessors. It is difficult to even imagine what would have happened to our Fatherland if the confessors of the 20s, 30s and subsequent years had not observed the Orthodox faith among our people! The consequences of this would be catastrophic for our national, spiritual and religious-cultural identity. Devastated, distrustful people, who have lost God and spiritual immunity, would today become easy prey for false teachers and pseudo-missionaries who have flown to our land from all over the world. And therefore, now, as a sign of gratitude and gratitude, we bow our heads both to the memory of those who remained faithful to Christ even to death, and to the confessional labors of those who saved and carried the spark of the Orthodox faith through decades of unheard-of persecution. Now the spark, having kindled into a flame, warms and inspires our Orthodox people, strengthens them in the fight against sin and lies, helps them overcome the temptations of false teachings and repel those who seek to tear them away from their native soil.
It is far from accidental that the final one from the set of Beatitudes is dedicated to those persecuted for Christ. For by accepting Christian teaching and comparing our lives with it, we take a completely definite position in the key conflict of all times - the struggle of God with the devil, the forces of good with the forces of evil. But warfare with the prince of darkness, with the evil inclination and powerful lies, as well as the confession of the Truth of Christ, is not at all a safe matter. For evil is not indifferent to the world and man, it is not neutral: it lies in wait and hurts those who challenge it.
The commandment about those persecuted for Christ’s sake is different from all the others. Let's compare it with the previous one: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”.
That is, blessed is the one who suffered for the truth: his reward is prepared in Heaven. The commandment about those who endured for Christ’s sake sounds differently: “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you unjustly because of Me.”.
That is, blessed not in the future life, but already at the very moment when persecution is endured for Christ. But then why are they blessed? Yes, because it is precisely at the moment of greatest tension of human strength in standing for the truth of God that the fullness of this truth is revealed. It is no coincidence that Faith, Hope and Love remained faithful to Christ even in torment. Because at the moment of confession, in the terrible moment of testing, the Lord Himself was with them.
If we accept the Beatitudes, then we accept Christ Himself. And this means that our highest law and our highest truth is the moral ideal of Christianity, for which we must be ready to suffer, finding both in this ideal and in its confession the fullness of life.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I heard this phrase more than once, but did not perceive it in any way. I am on my own, the phrase is on its own. We coexisted in parallel.

Why did you suddenly get hooked? Don't know. Somehow I missed this moment, but suddenly I realized that I wanted to figure out what was going on here. Why are these poor in spirit so happy (and bliss, as we know, is the highest form of happiness). And who are they? Moreover, questions from friends (believers and doubters) did not bring much clarity.

I had to turn to dictionaries and articles of religious authors.

It turns out that “POOR IN SPIRIT” is not at all a person living by base interests, as many people think.

The church calls “poor in spirit” people who are humble: devoid of pride and arrogance, submissive, meek, modest, harmless, patient and even impersonal, that is, devoid of their individuality, who do not stand out among others.

(The church also called the insane “blessed,” treating them with special attention and reverence.)

At first glance this seems strange.

How are we used to it? Appreciate people who are bright, different from others, leaders who lead, who know how to think outside the box, who have said a new word in science, literature, art, technology... And the slogan “Sit down and keep your head down” is perceived sharply negatively.

On the other hand, pride and arrogance are also condemned by unbelievers. These are far from the best human qualities. And we are ready to grumble for any reason and against anyone. What doesn’t make our life and relationships with people better.

And from this position, the statement “Man sounds proud” has long seemed dubious to me. Look around you. We are persistently deforming our planet and turning it into a garbage dump. Every living thing suffers from us. We don’t know how to treat each other like human beings. But - people!

Another thing is that “man” should sound proud if the owner of this name strives to develop the best moral qualities in himself and “squeezes a slave out of himself drop by drop,” that is, everything base.

How can we understand the essence of the contradiction between secular and religious attitudes towards people? Why does this contradiction arise?

Maybe it arises from who we identify as leaders and who we follow? In secular life, our ordinary life, this is, naturally, a person. And we use earthly criteria for assessing personality. And we value earthly achievements.

In the spiritual – the Lord God. Something mysterious and inaccessible to the human mind. A phenomenon before which we are all nothing. All our virtues, achievements, knowledge... And if we have nothing to be particularly proud of in front of each other, then even more so in front of HIM.

Let us turn to the statements of the people of the church.

ST. PHILARET: “To be poor in spirit means to have the spiritual conviction that we have nothing of our own, but only what God gives, and that we cannot do anything good without God’s help and grace; and thus we must consider that we are nothing, and in everything have recourse to the mercy of God.”

That is, everything that we have achieved has been achieved by the will of God. (Not without our efforts in this direction, of course.) HE wanted it that way. HE considered it necessary to invest in us what He invested. And our creative inspiration is what HE breathed into us. "Why? It's none of our business. For what? It’s not for us to judge,” sang the wise Bulat Okudzhava. And he was right.

The more we become imbued with this humility, the poorer in spirit we become.

ISAAC THE SIRIN: “When you lie before God in prayer, be in your thoughts like an ant, and like the creatures of the earth, and like a bee; and stutter like a peasant, and do not speak before Him in your knowledge. Approach him with the mind of a child.

“With the mind of an infant...” Pure, light, clear, not distinguishing itself from the world. Impersonal. A devoted parent who cannot imagine himself without him. Perhaps this is how it should be understood?

“Do not speak before him in your knowledge...” That is, throw away everything you know. Don't think it's a big deal. Before absolute knowledge, what you know is nothing.

I read somewhere that beyond death, this absolute knowledge is revealed to the soul. But those who were given the opportunity to touch it begin to explore the world with even greater zeal, returning to earthly life.

“Be in your thoughts like an ant...” That is, feel like a creature... living only by vital instincts? Not reflective, not self-aware, having no concept of pride. And then you will be close to God and accept his fatherly care.

O. ALEXANDER ELCHANINOV: “Spiritual poverty is a completely clear awareness of one’s sinfulness and one’s fall. Only with the emergence in us of the ability to see our sins does the enlightenment of our inner eyes begin, the emergence of poverty of spirit begins - the basis of our repentance and salvation.”

That is, be able to see and admit your sins. And this is very difficult. It's difficult... And the more you realize your sins and strive to get rid of them, the more chances you have to rise spiritually and get closer to God.

Archpriest DMITRY SMIRNOV: “Poverty of spirit, according to the teachings of the saints, is such a state of the human soul when a person considers himself not only worse than all people, but also worse than every creature.
THE POOR IN SPIRIT ASKS FOR THE SPIRIT OF GOD. A Christian must feel his spiritual poverty, and, moreover, incessantly, like a beggar - and he is a beggar.”

“Asks for the Spirit of God” doesn’t it mean that a person asks for the merging of the purified human spirit with the Spirit of God?

So, a person, with all his knowledge, achievements, reflections, awareness of himself as an individual, must renounce all this before God, humbly admit his insignificance, his sinfulness, in order to be filled with God’s Spirit - grace, inspiration, influx, revelation.

Some people call Orthodoxy a “religion of slaves.” Yes, a religion of slaves, but slaves of God, where every step towards humility and renunciation of claims to anything brings a person closer to God and the acquisition of eternal life of the soul. To achieve the highest spirituality. This is the highest happiness.

Note, renunciation of achievements and claims BEFORE GOD. In earthly life, where we are all equal as people, we can and should strive for something and achieve something.

The main thing is that it does not harm the living or the non-living, and does not corrupt morality. A person can and must improve in earthly, human understanding.

I also read somewhere that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit in the present life internally and intentionally, through faith and hope, and in the future – completely, through participation in eternal bliss.

The Kingdom of Heaven is, I think, not a paradise where they eat nectar and do nothing, as many imagine. This is a high soaring of the spirit, impossible in earthly life. Remember, Richard Bach wrote in his “The Seagull”: “Heaven is neither a place nor a time. Heaven is the attainment of perfection."

It is quite possible that I am wrong about something, and in my thoughts there is a lot of naiveness and not everything is true. So I don’t pretend to be absolutely right and true. I have no idea of ​​teaching or convincing anyone. I just tried to figure out a little bit about what bothered me. It is very important for me. And these reflections revealed something new to me both in religion and in myself. Maybe they will be useful for someone else too.

It so happened that, having several generations of priests and great-grandfathers behind me, I myself was raised and remained an atheist for a long time, then a doubter, and only recently took my first steps towards the church. I know practically nothing in this area. Therefore, I will be glad to receive any comments, amendments and opinions.

Also, I think I will return to this topic at some point as I continue to reflect on it.

In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used an expression that is often translated as “blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). However, in many languages, due to its literal translation, its meaning is not entirely clear. Sometimes a too literal translation can even create the impression that we are talking about mentally unbalanced or weak, weak-willed people. But in this case, Jesus taught that a person's happiness does not depend on the satisfaction of his physical needs, but on the recognition that he needs God's guidance (Luke 6:20). Therefore, some translations render this expression as “conscious of their spiritual needs” or “conscious of their spiritual need of God,” which more accurately reflects its meaning (Matthew 5:3, Modern Version).

And one more addition: “To be meek means to trust God without fear and doubt and do his will.” These are the words of one of the wonderful authors of “proza.ru” - Ales Krasavin, said in his comments to the miniature “In the Beginning There Was Paradise”. Here is the link

Reviews

Alas, Irina, I don’t have my own opinion, and retelling other people’s is a thankless task. There should be no ambiguity or ambiguity in the interpretation of religious books. I firmly learned this from the example of governing documents regulating aviation work. But what about religion? Try to evaluate the meaning of what was said in comparison with the interpretation of the suras of the Koran.

Vadim Anatolyevich, how right you are: “Faith is an individual feeling.” I’m grateful that we didn’t get into a pointless argument - we didn’t lead anyone into sin. Thank you. Sincerely -