Prophetic vision of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. John of Kronstadt - Prophetic vision of the holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt about the destinies of Russia and the world
Why is the liturgy sometimes called the angelic ministry? Because angels are always present at the Eucharist and help the clergy to celebrate it.
According to the testimony of Elder Jacob of Euboea, who more than once received wondrous visions of God, as soon as the priest says the initial exclamation at the liturgy, the Heavenly Forces immediately flock to the altar. Another righteous man, Saint John of Kronstadt, wrote: “At the proskomedia, all the saints, starting with the Mother of God, are called to participate in the service of the liturgy. All the saints and all the angels participate in the service with the priest.”
The Monk Euthymius the Great († 473) told some of his disciples that he often saw an angel performing liturgy with him.
In 1892, the Monk Anatoly Optinsky (Zertsalov) came to St. Petersburg. Here he met with Righteous John of Kronstadt. Father John invited St. Anatoly to his church in Kronstadt. When the liturgy began, Father John saw that two angels were serving together with the Monk Anatoly.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion, celebrated during the liturgy, unites heaven and earth into one union. This unity, invisible to the eyes of ordinary people, appears in all its beauty before the spiritual gaze of the saints.
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“People are blind and do not see what happens in the church during the Divine Liturgy. Once I served the Liturgy and could not make the Great Entrance because of what I saw. Suddenly I felt someone pushing me on the shoulder and leading me to the holy altar. I thought it was a psalm-reader. I turn around and see a huge wing placed on my shoulder by the Archangel and leading me to the great entrance. What happens in the altar during the Divine Liturgy! Often I can’t stand it and sit down, at which time my co-workers think that something is wrong with my health, but they don’t know what I see and hear.”
Elder Jacob.
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The Monk Seraphim of Sarov was granted a special vision of grace during the Divine Liturgy on Maundy Thursday, which was performed by the rector, Father Pachomius, and Elder Joseph. When, after the troparions, the monk said, “Lord, save the pious,” and, standing at the royal doors, pointed his orar at those praying with the exclamation “and forever and ever,” suddenly a bright ray overshadowed him. Raising his eyes, the Monk Seraphim saw the Lord Jesus Christ walking through the air from the western doors of the temple, surrounded by the Heavenly Ethereal Forces. Having reached the pulpit. The Lord blessed all those praying and entered the local image to the right of the royal doors. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov, looking at the wondrous phenomenon in spiritual delight, could not utter a word or leave his place. He was led arm in arm into the altar, where he stood for another three hours, his face changing from the great grace that illuminated him.
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In his notes, the abbot of Feodosia (Popov; † 1903) cites his grandmother’s memories of her childhood, when she was seven or eight years old. “In church, I stood at the very pulpit, opposite the Royal Doors, and vigilantly watched all the actions of the priest. The reason for my observations of the priest was that once, on a holiday with my parents at mass, I saw above the throne, a little higher than the head of the priest, right above the holy chalice, a soaring Dove, which was white as snow and motionless, barely noticeably fluttering its wings , stayed in the air. And I saw this not once, and not twice, but several times, which I told my friend about, and she and I always, as soon as we heard the bell ringing, we ran with all our might, wanting to outrun each other, and Let us stand together at the pulpit, waiting for the appearance of the brilliant white Dove. And how we loved Him because He was so white and so handsome!
But there were days when we could not wait for this miracle, which took place only during the service of the old priest Rosnitsky. It was only during his service that we always saw our Dove. This did not happen under another priest. When we told our parents about this, and our parents told priest Rosnitsky, since then my friend and I have never seen the wonderful Dove again.”
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The great Athonite ascetic Hieroschemamonk Tikhon († 1968) celebrated the liturgy in his secluded Athonite temple with the help of only one monk-singer. He did this because he wanted to freely indulge in deep prayer in the altar, completely alone. When the Cherubic Song began, Father Tikhon usually plunged into spiritual contemplation for twenty to thirty minutes. Therefore, the monk repeated the Cherubic Song many times until he heard the steps of Father Tikhon walking from the altar to the Great Entrance. Once after the service the singer asked:
- What do you see, old man?
- Cherubim and seraphim praising God. My guardian angel releases me only after half an hour, and then I continue the Divine Liturgy.
Sometimes Hieroschemamonk Tikhon performed the liturgy without the help of a singer. However, there was still singing in the temple! One day Theoclitus Dionysiatus visited the elder. Father Tikhon was in the church, and touching singing was heard from there. Theoclitus wanted to go inside, but the door was closed. Not wanting to disturb anyone by knocking on the door, he decided to wait for the end of the service near the temple. Soon the singing died down, and after a while Father Tikhon opened the door. Going inside, Theoclitus found no one there except Father Tikhon. This amazed him, and he realized that angels were singing at the liturgy.
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The Valaam schema monk Kyriak had a vision during the liturgy. He stood in the altar, and when the serving priest exclaimed: “Thine from Thine, offered to Thee, for all and for all,” an extraordinary fragrance poured out from the throne. When the priest began to pray for the condescension of the Holy Spirit on the presented Gifts, Cyriacus saw that the altar was filled with cherubim, which surrounded the throne. The priest was engulfed in fire, and as soon as he bowed to the ground before the throne, a white dove flew from above and began to hover over the paten. Then the dove flew to the top of the holy bowl and, clenching its wings, sank into it. And immediately the angels, falling on their faces, bowed to the holy throne. When the priest exclaimed: “Exactly about the Most Holy One,” the Heavenly Powers again bowed to the ground. After singing “It is Worthy to Eat,” they bowed for the third time. Then the angels surrounded the priest, overshadowed his head with a wonderful shroud, and after that they became invisible.
Mystical unity with God is often accompanied or preceded by visions, hearings, and generally the appearance in the consciousness of specific specific images.
St. John of the Cross (Spanish saint of the 16th century) finds that this is the “way of the flesh”: everything that appears in a certain, perceived image, he considers not belonging to the sphere of the Divine, but admits that there are souls who move towards God “through sensory objects" (*). Bl. Suso, well acquainted with this experience and, perhaps, more grasping the fullness of mystical life, says: “Since the soul, due to the weakness of the heavy body, cannot always adhere to the pure Good in the holy in one form, then she must have something an image that would take her there. The best thing for this is an attractive image (das liebreiche Bild) of Jesus Christ; in Him man finds life, He is the highest reward and greatest benefit” (**). All life bl. Suso passed in rapturous communion with the angels, Christ, and the Mother of God; he saw them in beautiful images, heard angelic singing and music. As a student and follower of M. Eckhart, he is well acquainted with the teachings of negative theology (***). He recognizes that the more supersensual and ugly the vision, the more noble it is: it contains pure truth, direct contemplation of simple Divinity ti (Gottheit, according to M. Eckhart). However, he adds that the friends of God are also rewarded with visions,
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*) Cm . Baruzi, St. Jean de la Croix et le problème de l'expérience mystique, 504 pp., 500, 510 pp., 267, 386, 525.
**)Seuse, Deutsche Schriften, ed. Bihlmeyer, 391.
***) Seuse, Deutsche Schrifften, Büchlein der Wahrheit, ed. E. Diederichs, ed. and from before W. Lehmann, II vol. pp. 117 pp., 129.
full of images. The conversion from an absent-minded life to God took place in him at the age of eighteen after an unexpected contemplation of the fullness of the Divine Superthing: he “saw and heard something inexpressible in language: it was something without form or appearance, but containing joyful pleasure from all forms and types.” “It was the sweetness emanating from eternal life in a present, abiding calm feeling” (*).
After this contemplation, Suso began to zealously strive for “loving union with Eternal Wisdom” (I, II). Sometimes his theopathic state was something between contemplation of the fullness of the Super-What and the vision of images. The content of one of these contemplations was as follows: Wisdom hovered high above him on a throne of clouds, shone like the Morning Star and shone like a brilliant sun, her crown was eternity, her robe was bliss, her words were sweetness, her embrace was the satisfaction of every pleasure; she was far and near, high and low, she was present and yet hidden; She entered into communication and yet it was impossible to touch her. When he thought about Her, “a kind of primary outflow of all goodness penetrated into his soul, in which he spiritually found everything beautiful, worthy of love and desire” (I, 13). - But most often Suso had visions of Christ, angels in certain images (for example, Christ in the form of a six-winged seraphim) and hearing angelic singing and music.
Life of St. Teresa is filled with visions and hearings no less than the life of Bl. Suso. In her youth, during a vain conversation with visitors to the monastery, she saw Christ with a serious face “through the eyes of the soul.” Describing her life, she says that she saw Him “more clearly than with bodily eyes” and, although 26 years have passed since then, she clearly remembers, as if seeing His face (*). As her religious life grew stronger, she had many visions. One day she saw the hands, then the face of Jesus Christ “in supernatural glory and beauty”; finally, she saw the whole of Christ, as He is depicted in the “Resurrection”; His whiteness and brilliance surpassed human imagination, the clarity of the sun in comparison with Him was darkness; however, this brilliance does not blind (XXVIII. ch., pp. 363-369). She visited sometimes
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*) Ibid., Vol. I, p. 10.
**) Theresia von Jesu. Das Leben der heiligen Theresia von Jesu und die besonderen ihr von Gott erheilten gnaden, auf Geheiss, ihrer Beichtväter von ihr selbst beschrieben, von Fr. Aloisius ab Immaculata Conceptione, Priester aus dem Orden der unbeschuhten Karmeliten, 1919, Ch. VII, p. 69.
and visions of the kingdom of evil. Once she saw the devil: he had a disgusting mouth, flames came from his body; he said that Teresa escaped his power, but he would take possession of her again (chap. XXXI, p. 415).
Visions happen not only to great mystics and ascetics. The visions of children, for example, are especially touching and significant in their consequences for the entire Christian world. the appearance of Our Lady Bernadette and the transformation of Lourdes into a center of pilgrimage and healing for many people. Even more remarkable, perhaps, is the appearance of the Mother of God on September 19th. 1846 to two shepherd children Pierre Maximin Giraud (11 years old) and Melanie Calvat 15 years old) on a mountain in the “Alpes daufinoises” near the village of Salette. Descending from the mountain, the children suddenly saw a ball of fire and a radiance that filled the entire valley. When the radiance parted, the children saw the “Belle Dame” sitting on the stones in inconsolable grief, with her elbows on her knees, her face covered with her hands. She stood up and approached the children. She wore a wreath of roses on her head; her dress shone, on her chest, or rather inside her, was a crucifix with tongs and a hammer. She encouraged the children and gave them important messages. Some of them were addressed to both children, some - only to Maximin, the most significant messages - to Melania alone, with the order to publish them only after twelve years. The Mother of God spoke about the sins of the people and about the heavy punishment for them, about the times when there would be famine, the death of children, etc. (*) She said that the time would come when the church and civil authorities would be destroyed, when there would be no love for anyone to the fatherland, not to the family; the new authorities will instill materialism, atheism, and vices; churches will be closed and profaned; many people will fall away from the faith (**).
Our Lady also spoke about the bad life of the modern clergy (“cloaques d’impureté”), about their love of money, etc., and also advised not to trust the “double-minded” Napoleon, etc. Apparently, this part of the message was the reason for the resistance to printing stories of Melania and the suppression of them by the clergy. The full text was published only in 1879 by order of Pope Leo XIII. Most surprising is the circumstance that prompted L. Blois (L. B. l ou ) write a book about this vision “Celle qui pleure” (1908). Our Lady ordered the founding of a new religious order, "Les Apôtres des Derniers Temps"; Pope Leo XIII ordered
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*) Monseigneur J. Giray, l "eveque de Cahors. Les miracles de la Salette, 2 vol., Grenoble 1921.
**) Α . About rent , Le secret complet de la Salette, 1902.
hall in 1878 to introduce the charter of the order in the monastery at Notre Dame de la Salette, but the Bishop of Grenobol, says Blois, did not carry out the order; he died falling to the floor, tormented by a terrible vision *).
We have sufficiently diverse material to now raise the question of the types of visions and their source. Most often, mystics, saints, and spirit seers talk about spiritual seeing and hearing. St. Teresa says that she saw Christ “with the eyes of the soul” (chap. VII, 69); when Christ appeared before her in all his splendor and glory, she described her experience as a “vision in the imagination,” but with the confidence that it was not a subjective creation of her imagination, but the appearance of Christ himself (chap. VII, 69; ch. XXVIII , 365 pp.). Bl. Suso speaks of "inner vision." (*) Swedenborg calls his experiences “inner vision”, “inner hearing”, “inner speech” (**).
Catholic literature on mysticism calls this kind of vision and hearing imaginative (occurring in the imagination) and distinguishes from them sensory visions and intellectual contemplation. In the spirit of the doctrines of perception developed by intuitionism, the difference between sensory and imaginative vision can be defined as follows: in sensory vision, sensory qualities are given as felt, and in imaginative vision, as imagined (for example, as they appear to the subject in memory, and memory considered to focus on the authentic past itself). Intellectual contemplation is carried out without seeing images and hearing words. Yes, St. Teresa once on St. Petra experienced “neither with her eyes nor with her imagination” the clear presence of Christ beside her; the certainty of His presence was complete (chapter XXVII, 345-350). In such contemplations, despite the absence of an image, she knows what individuality she is dealing with - with Jesus Christ, with the Apostle. Peter, Ap. Pavel; she also knows which side of her they are on (***). Also, the perception of the “heavenly language”, the revelation of truth, was sometimes carried out purely “spiritually” - without hearing words, sometimes even without any words at all. “Lovers,” says St. Teresa, “understand each other without signs” - (Chapter XXVII, 350-355). Visions and contemplations of St. Teresa, they usually say about her, was always
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*) L.B l ou, 80.
**) M. Lamm, Swedenborg, trans. On him. language (1922), pp. 148, 232, 236.
***) Delacroix, 100.
Yes, imaginative or intellectual, but not sensory. Only once in her life story does she report that while praying for a person who was planning to commit a sinful act, she heard a whisper with her “bodily ears” that calmed her down (chap. XXXIX, 566). Swedenborg also had some visions of a sensory nature (*).
Mystics describe their imaginative contemplations in the same words (“inner vision”, etc.) as do patients experiencing pseudohallucinations. This term denotes a special type of hallucination, studied most thoroughly by the Russian psychiatrist V. Kandinsky. In his monograph on pseudohallucinations, Kandinsky gives the following definition of this concept: pseudohallucinations are “very vivid and sensually definite images to the extreme, which, however, sharply differ for the most perceiving consciousness from true hallucinatory images in that they do not have the inherent character of objective reality. but, on the contrary, they are directly recognized as something subjective, but at the same time as something abnormal, new, something very different from the images of memory and fantasy” (**).
In modern psychology, thanks to E. R. Iaensch and his school, research is being carried out that can be used to explain pseudohallucinations. I mean the study of the characteristics of memory in persons whom Iaensch calls eidetics: what is remembered appears in their memories with sensory completeness, equal completeness of perception, so that they, for example, can distinguish and observe in what is remembered what they did not have time to notice at the moment of perception (***).
Every healthy person, in some exceptional conditions, can have such ideas. Thus, a person engaged in any anatomical preparation, for example. by dissecting the muscles of the arm and intensely concentrating attention on this object for several hours in a row, a person who has been examining the preparations under a microscope for a long time experiences, when going home and while resting, the repeated appearance of these objects in the field of vision. Even those objects that were not long-lasting
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*) Lamm, 178.
**) V. X. Kandinsky. About pseudohallucinations. St. Petersburg. 1890, p. 26.
***) See the works of E. R. J ae ns with h, “Ueber den Aufbander Wahrnehmungswelt und ihre Struktur im Jugendalter”, “Die Eidetik und die typologische Forschungsmethode”, etc.
but are fixed, often appearing in consciousness in its entirety if for some reason they strike the imagination. The face of a girl, striking a young man with its beauty, can appear in this consciousness with such vividness and fullness as at the moment of perception. In the same way, sometimes an aria sounds intrusively in the ear for several days after listening to an opera.
Those who have lost euletics, so common in childhood and adolescence, or have never possessed it to a significant extent, regard such contemplations as abnormal, different from ordinary memories, but without seeing anything pathological in them. An experienced adult does not accept these contemplations as perceptions of existing reality, although they appear in consciousness with some shade of receptivity. This is probably explained by the fact that such memories emerge in consciousness not on the initiative of the subject, but on the basis of the excitation of certain centers of the brain.
Pseudohallucinations can be considered in some cases completely, as eidetic memories, and in other cases, as an imaginary synthesis such eidetically remembered elements. This synthesis can be produced not by the subject himself, but by subordinate substantial figures who are part of the brain centers; Therefore, people suffering from pseudohallucinations in a pathological and obsessive form, although they do not take them for perceptions, still see in them some kind of receptive nature and build hypotheses corresponding to this, for example, they think that these ideas are the result of the influence of persecutors on their consciousness or that they are a kind of revelation from God, etc. (*)
In pseudohallucinations, according to the intuitionistic-realistic interpretation of them, it is given transsubjective material, colors, sounds, etc., not through sensory perception, but through another intentional act, through memory, i.e. kind spiritual visions. Patients clearly see and note this. Kandinsky, an attentive observer who himself was periodically exposed to mental illness, which was accompanied by the experience of many pseudohallucinations and actual hallucinations, in his book especially emphasized, on the basis of introspection, the testimony of other patients and the observations of other psychiatrists, that distinctive feature of pseudohallucinations,
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*) Kandinsky, pp. 36, 38 pp., 129.
which I call their spirituality. A patient, for example, experiencing an auditory pseudohallucination, says that he silently hears the thoughts of other people (9). One of Kandinsky's patients says that he hears internally, and not with the ear, that he sees brightly colored images mentally(28). A recovered doctor describes his visual pseudohallucinations as expressively plastic representation(33). Kandinsky himself, wanting to clarify his observations, exposed himself to opium; At the same time, he experienced both real hallucinations and pseudohallucinations; when he experienced pseudo-hallucinations, for example. the faces of his acquaintances, a yellow rose, etc. appeared in front of him; he saw these objects not with external eyes, but with internal eyes, located somewhere behind the external eyes (41). Patients characterize their experiences as “seeing in the spirit,” “clairvoyance,” “hearing in the spirit,” hearing “inner voices,” “spiritual hearing,” “auditory sensation,” as opposed to mental suggestion, etc. (70-87).
The characteristic words that mark the difference between pseudohallucinations and sensory perception and real hallucinations coincide with the expressions that mystics, saints, and spirit seers use to describe their visions. Therefore, modern researchers usually classify such visions as pseudohallucinations. However, such a solution is a dubious simplification of the question of visions. The term pseudohallucination should be used to designate the spiritual contemplation of an object that does not belong to the composition of reality of either this world or the other world: it is an object composed of transsubjective elements subjected to subjectivism or, in general, mental synthesis that does not create real existence. There are, however, cases of spiritual contemplation of sensory data relating to objects that are part of the real world. Thus, according to intuitionism, any eidetic memory, for example. anatomical specimen, the face of a beautiful girl, etc. there is spiritual contemplation of real objects. Even in normal perception, for example, when we hear only sounds like barking dogs, others like a ringing bells without seeing these objects, we see softness velvet, rigidity metal inkwell, without touching these objects, the presence in the consciousness of these sensory data is their spiritual contemplation, more direct than memory (*). The ability of such
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*) See my theory of perceptions in the article “Intuitionism and the doctrine of transsubjectivity of sensory qualities”, Zap. Russian Scientific Institute in Belgrade, vol. 5, 1931.
spiritual contemplation of sensory data is explained by the coordination of the subject with all objects of the world, the presence of the entire cosmos in the preconscious of the subject and the possibility of cases when the stimulus for their recognition is not irritation of the senses, but some other conditions - sometimes psychophysiological, and sometimes purely mental or spiritual .
Bearing in mind the possibility of spiritual contemplation of sensory objects, one should not rush to equate the imaginative visions of mystics with the pseudo-hallucinations of the mentally ill. Indeed, firstly, great mystics are in no way mentally ill people. The psychiatrist Quercy, in his remarkable study "L" hallucination, proves that St. Teresa's neuropathic conditions in no way undermine her "highly normal mental activity." In her activities, amazing in intensity and variety, she displays a rare combination of high virtues: generosity and humility, courage and modesty, firmness and obedience, the wisdom of the serpent and the meekness of the dove (*). Secondly, the great mystics have a particularly refined ability of self-observation. St. Teresa, for example, distinguishes in her consciousness the “words” emanating from her spirit from the "words" attributed by her to an external cause. If the words in my consciousness come from my own soul, then, she says, the activity of my mind is noticeable, at least to the weakest degree; moreover, these words are not clear, do not cause self-confidence, they can be stopped; if the words come from God, then there is no activity of the human mind, the words are completely clear, they cannot be stopped, they are extremely effective: these words are affairs, they bring with them genuine consolation and reassurance; they have greatness and irresistible persuasiveness, they are unforgettable. They are obtained regardless of our desire: when you want to hear them, you do not receive them; when you don't think about them at all, they appear. Once or twice St. Teresa experienced words from the devil; in content they were kind, but after them there remains dryness and anxiety in the soul. She also says about visual images that some of them come from one’s own imagination, others from an evil spirit, and others from God. The latter surpass the power of human imagination, enrich the soul, strengthen the health of the soul and body, and free one from evil habits and characteristics (**). Thirdly, about many of my visions
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*) G . Quercy, L" hallucination, I, vol. Philosophes et mystiques, (1930), pp. 183, 218.
**) Ch. XXV, pp. 318-325; Ch. XXVIII, pp. 372-375.
mystics say that the presence of God in them has the character of complete certainty.
Is it possible to allow the Lord God himself to enter into human consciousness in a certain, limited image? This question can be answered like this. The super-personal aspect of God does not prevent Him from having at the same time a personal aspect, even from being a trinity of Persons; in the same way, the super-imagery of God does not exclude the availability for Him of an image, or rather, of any images possessing, of course, the highest degree of perfection. Some theologians believe that Christ, while remaining the Supermundane principle, at the same time creates a real one on earth. an object, visible to the person honored with this appearance of Him (*).
According to Christian teachings, the Church is the Body of Christ, it is the perfect aspect of the world, embracing the universe; therefore, the Body of Christ embraces the whole world, it is cosmic body. In the same way, the members of the Kingdom of God, the Mother of God, angels, saints, embracing the whole world with their love, can have nothing other than cosmic bodies; their bodies are individual aspects of the Body of Christ, encompassing the entire universe (**). For such creatures, in their essence, super-spatial, it is quite possible to appear in a particular limited image in a certain place in space, which does not, of course, exhaust their existence, and does not exclude the possibility of their appearance simultaneously in other places in other images. About such multipraesentia, for example, of Christ, the Church speaks in both hymns: “In the carnal tomb, in hell with the soul like God, in paradise with the thief, and on the throne you were, Christ, with the Father and the Spirit, fulfilling all the Indescribable "(***). The vision caused by such a phenomenon of the celestials must be of a sensory nature. Perhaps this was, for example, the appearance of the Mother of God to the children Maximin and Melania near Salette.
Imaginative visions can be interpreted differently. The super-existent God is closer to every existing thing, to every person, to every particle of matter, to an atom, an electron, than they are to themselves (****); He comprehends everything, embraces everything, for everything
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*) Cm . Qu e r su , I 335; theologians Saudreaux, Etats mystiques, 211; Poulain, Grâces d'oraison, 325; Farges, Théologie mystique, II, 51.
**) See my article “On the Resurrection in the Flesh”, “The Way” 1931.
***) Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. About multipraesentia in the space of super-dimensional beings, see my article: “The intellect of primitive man and the enlightened European,” in “Sovr. Zap.”, 1926, issue. 28.
****) Cm. Seuse, I vol., 82.
influences, being inseparably connected with everything, although not merged. He can therefore appear to a person to a certain extent “from within” in the imagination and, nevertheless, really: in fact, He can influence the human body and cause those changes in it that serve as a stimulus for eidetic memories. Members of the Kingdom of God who participate in Divine life and power can also have an effect on the human body in the same way. In such cases they are clothed in those transsubjective sensory qualities that serve as the subject of memory. They can be embodied in them, really “imagined.” From this it is clear why God and the members of the Kingdom of God appear “according to the soul of the one who receives them,” as W. Lehmann put it in the preface to the works of Suso (*) published by him: they are present in visions through statues, paintings, icons seen by the subject, says Quercy ( **). Otherwise, those who appear would not be recognized by man.
Quercy is very close to the theory I develop of the embodiment of celestial beings in images of the imagination. It is possible that the difference between our views boils down only to the fact that I, as an intuitionist, consider the recalled sensory qualities to be transsubjective and in this sense give a more real character to the image. Quercy speaks concerning the visions of St. Teresa, that if she had a hypnotist, it was God himself. He explains the visions by saying that God influences the activity of our faculties of memory and refers to the words of John of the Cross: “Deus omnia mo vet secundum modum eorum.” The mechanism of visions, he says, is the same as that of hallucinations; nevertheless, we must decisively distinguish between natural visions (hallucinations), demonic and divine, depending on the reason affecting our body. In the case of vision caused by the influence of God, the mechanism of our process is filled with His presence (***).
Intellectual contemplation can be explained by the direct influence of God or the members of the Kingdom of God on a person, prompting him to focus on the transsubjective Divine world itself, bearing in mind its non-sensory essence or the non-sensory content of truth communicated from this sphere.
From all that has been said, it is clear how one should treat Delacroix’s final conclusion in his valuable study “Etudes d’histoire et de psychologie du mysticisme”.
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*) Page XXXVIII.
**) L "hallucination, pp. 175-179.
***) P. Quercy, pp. 185, 336 pp.
Having looked at the experiences of brilliant mystics with a great breadth of outlook and recognizing their high character, he nevertheless ends, apparently in the spirit of psychologism, with the thought that all the peculiar phenomena in the consciousness of mystics should be explained by the activity of the subconscious (*). That the area of the subconscious plays a significant role here, there can be no doubt. However, where Delacroix stops, it is for the first time that the main and final problem arises: is this a purely subjective activity of the subconscious or is the reason for it the genuine influence of the higher world on a person, and the contemplated content is a higher transsubjective reality. An answer in the spirit of pure psychologism would be untenable. If any phenomenon in consciousness has the character of “given to me,” then it is a manifestation of my self: it comes from some substantial agent. True, this may be an actor of a lower type than the human self, part of the human body, for example, the head of some nerve center. But one has only to recognize this possibility, and it will become clear that the given manifestations of other figures are also possible, standing above the human “I” or on an equal basis with it and who entered into close connection with it only for a short time.
Many visions are symbolic in nature and contain the expression of such truths and aspects of the world or Divine life that cannot be given in an image other than symbolically. It does not follow from this that such images are subjective actions of the human “I”. They can be real symbols, specific symbolic phenomena of the Divine world (**). Bl. Suso, for example, once saw Christ and many people as his members (***). St. Teresa says that through the vision of the humanity of Christ she often comes to comprehend the mysteries of God (****).
Thoughts of remarkable depth were sometimes revealed to Swedenborg under the guise of living, concrete events. So, one day he wondered: how is it possible for the goodness of the Lord to allow demons to remain in hell forever? “As soon as I thought this,” says Swedenborg, “how one of the angels of the right heart fell extremely quickly into the ischial region of the great Satan
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*) Page 405 pp.
**) On real symbolism, see N. Berdyaev “Philosophy of the Free Spirit”, I volume, 101 pp.
***) II, 125.
****) Ch. XXII, 280.
and from there, by inspiration from the Lord, he extracted one of the worst demons in order to bring him heavenly bliss. But it was given to me to see that as the angel ascended to the heavenly spheres, his captive changed the proud expression of his face to a suffering one, and his body turned black; when, despite his resistance, he was drawn into the middle heavens, terrible convulsions occurred to him, with all his appearance and movements he showed that he was experiencing the greatest and unbearable torment; when he approached the heart region of heaven, his tongue came out far out, like that of a very tired and thirsty dog, and his eyes burst, as if from a burning heat. And I felt sorry for him, and I prayed to the Lord to tell the angel to let him go. And when, by the permission of the Lord, he was released, he threw himself head down with such swiftness that I could only see his extremely black heels flash. And then it was suggested to me: whether someone is in heaven or hell depends not on the will of God, but on the internal state of the being, and moving by someone else’s will from hell to heaven would be as painful for those being moved as moving from heaven to hell ... And thus I understood that the eternity of hell for those who find their pleasure in it equally corresponds to both the wisdom and the goodness of God” (*). It should be noted, however, that many revelations appeared in Svendenborg’s consciousness in the form of “inner speech” with beings of other kingdoms of the world (**).
So far we have been talking about visions of bodily images, which cannot otherwise be interpreted as single, individual acts of communication of the other world with an individual; they most often provide consolation, reinforcement, and instruction to an individual, but sometimes also through this person revelation to the whole world (for example, through the biblical prophets). But in addition to such individual manifestations of corporeality, the members of the Kingdom of God and the very head of it, the Divine Logos, in that aspect in which He is the God-man Jesus Christ, possesses a transfigured spiritual corporeality, which is also significant for the Kingdom of God itself: in this corporeality it has fullness existence and perfect beauty.
Without a doubt, each of us, to the extent of our love for good or need for its revelation, more or less joins the vision of reflections of this Kingdom, for example, in that
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*) Arcena coelestina, girolozh. Memoraliabia.
**) Lamm, 236.
sublime perception of the beauties of nature or the beauty of man, which fills the soul with indestructible confidence in the existence of God and His Kingdom. A particularly in-depth vision of this Kingdom, which clearly leads to the realm of the other world, requires a different psychophysical organization, more or less deviating from that which we consider normal for a person. In fact, if the stimulus for the perception of the external world is the irritation of our nervous system caused by it, then it is clear that this system and the whole body must deviate from the general human type in persons who have an increased sensitivity to other worlds, will it be a higher world, the Kingdom God's, or the lower - the kingdom of evil. Dostoevsky clearly expressed this idea in the words of Svidrigailov, who joined the kingdom of evil. Svidrigailov reasons as follows: They say: “You are sick, therefore, what seems to you is nothing but non-existent nonsense.” But there is no strict logic here. I agree that ghosts are only sick; but this only proves that ghosts can appear only to the sick, and not that they do not exist on their own.”
A theory of visions, similar to the one developed by me, apparently was outlined in Vl’s mind. Solovyova. This can be seen from the following story about him by his friend, Prince. E. Trubetskoy. “Early in the morning, immediately after his awakening, an oriental man in a turban appeared to him. He uttered extraordinary nonsense about the article Solovyov had just written about Japan (“I was driving along the road; I read about Buddhism; here’s Buddhism for you”) and poked him in the stomach with an unusually long umbrella. The vision disappeared, and Solovyov felt severe pain in the liver, which then lasted for three days.”
“He almost always experienced such pain and other painful phenomena after visions. On this occasion, I once told him: “your visions are simply hallucinations of your illnesses.” He immediately agreed with me. But this agreement cannot be interpreted in the sense that Soloviev denies the reality of his visions. In his mouth, these words meant that illness makes our imagination susceptible to influences from the spiritual world to which healthy people remain completely insensitive. Therefore, in such cases he did not deny the need for treatment. He recognized hallucinations as phenomena of subjective and, moreover, sick imagination. But this did not prevent him from believing in the objective cause of hallucinations, which is in us imagined, embodied through
a means of subjective imagination in external reality.” (*).
Before the war, the most talented young Russian philosopher D.V. began to develop the theory of perception of the Divine world. Boldyrev, who considered himself a follower of intuitionism. He spent the summer of 1914 in the Pyrenees, keeping in mind that apparitions of the Mother of God often occurred there and wanting to get a vivid idea of the nature in whose setting they occurred. He outlined his impressions of this trip and hints about his theory in the article “Fire Font” (in “Russian Thought”, 1915). It is possible that later, as a professor in Perm, he developed his theory in a precise philosophical form and presented it in a manuscript, which was kept after his death in his family in the Far East.
Among people whose consciousness is attached to “other worlds”, there are often people in whom two planes of existence are mixed and confused with each other; they cannot really identify the data of their experience, cannot express it in a meaningful form. Typically, such persons, wishing to expand their philosophical education, are drawn to exotic literature, especially Hindu; reading European philosophical classics, for example, Descartes, which would help discipline their thoughts, turns out to be boring for them. They cannot fit their experiences into any framework, since they cannot find their connection with the rational aspects of existence; therefore philosophically they turn out to be sterile. Some of these individuals still find the strength to express their experiences in literary works, but they contain a strange mixture of great and small, otherworldly and this-worldly. These are, for example, in Russian literature the “revelations” of Anna Schmidt “On the Future”, “The Third Testament”, etc.; By the way, she was inclined to consider herself the embodiment of the Church, and Vl. Solovyov - the incarnation of Christ (**).
In Western European literature, an example of confused mysticism can be Swedenborg's reports of his visits to other planets and his conversations with their inhabitants; Vl. Solovyov considers them “essentially delusional in nature” (***).
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*) Book. E. Trubetskoy, World Outlook Vl. Solovyova, I, p. 20 p.
**) From the manuscripts of Anna Nikolaevna Schmidt, with letters to her from Vl. Solovyov (Moscow 1916), Preface, p. XIV.
***) V. Soloviev, vol. IX, p. 241.
Great mystic philosophers, on the contrary, have increased sensitivity to the rational aspect of existence. They enter the realm of the superrational not only on the basis of mystical intuition, but also because the strict consistency of rational thinking obliges them to ascend to a higher sphere. This is the thinking of Plotinus, Proclus, Ertigen, Anselm of Canterbury, Hugo Victorinian, Richard Victorinian, John Bonaventure, Raymond Lull, Roger Bacon, Nicholas of Cusa, Pascal, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Vl. Solovyov, from. P. Florensky.
From the works of such mystics, who know the connection between the superrational and the rational, it is clearly seen that mystical systems of philosophy are not a set of incoherent vague broadcasts: on the contrary, for the first time these systems achieve the greatest consistency and understandability of the world accessible to the human mind, since they eliminate the incoherence and gaps of one-sided rationalism . Hegel says: “The mystical, it is true, is mysterious, but only for the understanding and, moreover, simply because the principle of the understanding is an abstract identity, and the mystical (as equivalent to the speculative) is the concrete unity of those determinations that the understanding considers true only in their separation and opposite." “Thus, everything rational should be designated at the same time as mystical, which, however, only says that it goes beyond the limits of reason, and not at all that it should be considered in general, as inaccessible to thought and incomprehensible” (*) .
The passive nature of visions is fraught with danger. The source of their occurrence can be in some cases the lower substantial figures of our own body, in others - creatures of other kingdoms of existence, and, moreover, as different as members of the kingdom of evil, then - members of the Kingdom of God and even the Lord God himself. If there is the slightest stain of evil in a person’s soul, for example, even an insignificant shade of proud recognition of himself as the exclusive chosen one of God, a special instrument of the Holy Spirit, then he almost certainly falls under “delusion,” i.e. will have false visions coming from evil forces. Artificial training of oneself, the deliberate cultivation of passivity in oneself in order to achieve visions, verbal revelations, and automatic writing is a particularly dangerous soil on which falsifications of communication with the higher world can arise. Mixed-
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*) Hegel, Encycl. I th., Die Logik (1840) VI. B. § 82. Zusatz, p. 159 p. See generally my article: “Hegel as an intuitionist,” Zap. Russian Scientific inst. in Belgrade.
in the last period of his activity the Borg wanted to achieve complete passivity; after one of the visions of Christ, he began to passionately focus on the image of the crucifixion; it is possible that as a result of these exercises he experienced states of doubling of personality. Already in the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church began to develop “spiritual exercises” (exercitia spiritualia), meditations consisting of intense concentration on the suffering of Christ, on various periods of His life, presented with possible sensory specificity. A wonderful system of such exercises was created by Ignatius of Loyola (*). Therefore, perhaps, there are people in the Catholic Church who are capable of contemplating for hours various episodes from the life of Jesus Christ. For example, she became famous for such visions at the beginning of the 19th century. Catherine Emmerich. Clemens Brentano lived with her for several years, recording her contemplations, which resulted in the edifying book “Das bittere Leiden unserer Herrn Jesu Chrsti. Nach den Betrachtungen der gottseligen Anna Katharina Emmerich Augustinerin des Klosters Agnetenberg zu Düllmen nebst dem Latensmris dieser Begnadigten” (**).In our time, Teresa Neumann from Konnerreuth experiences similar experiences ( Konnersreuth ); Her lifestyle (she manages almost completely without food) is also similar to the life of Catherine Emmerich. St. John of the Cross warns against such a life filled with visions: he says that the data of memory can be used by a demon to expose a person to temptation through visions and “revelations.” It is better not to think about the human image of Christ, but to approach Him even closer than in visions by imitating Him (***)
Particularly dangerous is passivity without purification of the soul and aspiration towards God, developed, for example, during spiritualistic sessions with the goal of making oneself an instrument (medium) of beings of another world (automatic writing, spiritualistic phenomena, etc.). At best, we are dealing with the increased activity of lower figures who control our nerve centers (therefore, usually, messages received through automatic writing are colorless and mediocre); at worst, this is the activity of beings from the kingdom of evil taking over our body.
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*) See, for example, the German edition of J. Loyola, Das Exerzitienbuch. Translation. Ferder"a, explanations M. Meschler, S. I., Feb. i Br.
**) Cl.Brentano, Saemmtl. Werne, hrg. von C. Scheddenkopf, 1912, exactly Bd. XIY, I Abth. "Religious Schriften" with the introduction W. Oh ehl" I .
***) In aruzi, 540 pp., 239, 257, 260; cm . Also Qu e r su , 310.
In both cases, we are exposed to the danger of split personality, obsession, hysteria (*).
Some mystics, for example, the quietist Mme Guyon, cultivated in themselves an extreme degree of passivity, considering any manifestation of their will to be evil, and hoping by renouncing their activity to transform themselves into a pure instrument of the will of God. Literature inspired by the extremes of quietism (Fenelon's dispute with Blet and others) correctly points out that evil does not lie in personal activity, but in directing it towards selfish goals. And in fact, if the primordial essence of substantial agents, created in the image and likeness of God, is endowed with creative power, then it is clear that the agents are called to individual creative participation in the Divine plan of the world process. The ideal of communion with the Divine life consists of a harmonious relationship between very heterogeneous processes of creative initiative in goodness, obedient fulfillment of the commands of God and joyful acceptance of the visit of God and members of the Kingdom of God in cases where there is no reason to suspect their authenticity.
The Orthodox Church does not sympathize with artificial exercises that lead to the emergence of visions, but in those cases when they involuntarily arise among holy ascetics, she joyfully notes them; This is, for example, the legend according to which St. Sergius of Radonezh, while performing the liturgy, always saw a concelebrant Angel, whom his disciple Isaac once also saw.
Recognition of the reality of some visions presupposes a transformed physicality and requires an explanation of how light, sound, heat and other sensory qualities are possible where there is no material bodies. To answer this question, you need to realize that even in the material environment, where sound, light, etc. are accompanied by attractions and repulsions of particles of matter or their elements, it is not these repulsions and attractions that are the cause that produces sensory quality. As in all other cases, a new event is a creative act of substantial agents, usually involving a combination of forces of several agents. In the realm of psycho-material being, however, this is not only the unification of several agents for joint activity, but also the exclusion of certain other agents, accompanied by repulsion. These relations of mutual isolation do not strengthen
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*) See about this from. P. Florensky, “The Pillar and Ground of Truth” notes - pp. 697 pp., 706 pp.
They do not improve creative activity, but, on the contrary, weaken it and reduce the value of its results: sound, light, etc., accompanied by processes of repulsion, are sensory qualities containing interruptions, irregularities, chaotic impurities, etc. imperfections that reduce their beauty or even lead to ugliness. In the Kingdom of God, where there are no processes of repulsion, transformed physicality is created by the joint creative acts of many figures without any confrontation or constraint between them; it consists of sensual qualities, pure, perfect, harmoniously related to each other, embodying absolute beauty.
N. Lossky.
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The Solovetsky monks had the gift of foresight. Numerous legends and traditions report meetings of monks with God, the Mother of God and other patron saints of Solovki. Usually during such meetings, the monks learned about important events that would happen to the Solovetsky Monastery in the future.
Visions of the Lord, the Mother of God and the Holy Solovetsky monks on Solovki
Amazing stories of foresight and the gift of vision “through time” are told in the Solovetsky Patericon.
The gift of foresight among the Solovetsky saints
When the hour of death came for Irinarch, Eleazar, being in his monastery, said to the brethren: “My friend and interlocutor about the Lord, Abbot Irinarch, is dying today, I need to hurry to the monastery, but I will no longer find him alive.” Irinarch, on his deathbed in front of the Solovetsky brethren, said: “My spiritual brother, Eleazar, is leaving today from his skete to our monastery and wants to arrive before my death, but, by the will of God, he will no longer see me alive.”
Vision of Zosima Solovetsky in Novgorod
This story of foresight occurred with Zosima Solovetsky and Marfa Posadnitsa. This is how it is described in the Solovetsky Patericon:
Was the vision of Saint Zosima recorded retroactively?
When Novgorod's loss of its independence became a fait accompli, stories and tales on the topic of the final fate of Novgorod appeared retroactively in Novgorod literature. Of these legends, of particular interest is the tale of the vision of the abbot of the Solovetsky Monastery, Zosima, of six beheaded Novgorod boyars, predicting the defeat of the Novgorodians by John III at Shelon in 1478, and the lives of Mikhail Klopsky and Varlaam Khutynsky, predicting the fall of Novgorod and future natural disasters - pestilence and devastating fires." ( Khrapchenko M., Rosenfeld B., Gudziy N., Beletsky A., M. Gabel, A. Tseitlin, B. Mikhailovsky, R. Messer. Russian literature. Literary Encyclopedia: In 11 volumes - Moscow, 1929-1939).
Vision of the Mother of God to the Solovetsky Hermit
Another story of a vision from the Solovetsky Patericon: A Woman, radiant in beauty, with two radiant husbands appeared in a dream to the Solovetsky hermit Theophan and encouraged him, convincing him not to be faint-hearted and not to be afraid of demonic attacks. The vision had not yet ended when hordes of demons appeared with threats. But when they saw Her Appearance, the demons shuddered and cried out: “Woe to us! She who covered him came here. If it weren’t for Her, we would have destroyed this monk long ago.” Having said this, they disappeared. This sleepy vision consoled the elder with the hope of the Mother of God’s help. Every day he bowed a hundred times, saying the Mother of God prayer.
Vision of Saints Zosima and Savvaty
One day Theophan came to the Solovetsky Monastery to venerate the relics of the saints and visit his disciples. Arriving at the church for Matins, the elder stood in the corner and watched as the monks venerated the holy relics. And suddenly he sees that the Monks Zosima and Savvaty are sitting at their shrines, blessing some, and turning away from others. After this, the elder commanded the monks to venerate the shrines of the saints every day. (Solovetsky Patericon)
Twilight on Solovki. 2002. Photo by USA. Vision of the dead Vassian and Jonah
Visions of Monks
Tells Natalya Stepanova, museum employee. ( Newspaper "Young Far East" Khabarovsk. 08/19/1999):
We got caught in a thunderstorm, waited out the rain in some bushes, covered with a plastic raincoat, then went out onto the road again and saw an extraordinary cloud: a monk was flying across the sky. So natural that we were simply stunned. I immediately remembered how one employee of our museum, being late for a plane, also saw a flying monk in the sky and tearfully asked to help him. The flight was delayed, the employee was not late.
Natasha, looking at the sky, shouted: “You’ll help me! There’s no point in wandering around uselessly, let’s do the job. I want a big, big porcini mushroom!” Literally a minute later she squealed joyfully and shouted: “Mushroom!!!” rushed forward. There really was a mighty boletus standing by the side of the road, but... a stone one. It was as if someone had put up a dummy especially for Natasha - a huge mushroom-shaped cobblestone with a white-gray leg and a light brown cap.
You are the one to blame. Visions must be treated with respect.
Vision of an Anzer monk
Warning: the text may cause unpleasant feelings in the believer. By clicking on this link you open the text exclusively at your own request.The Anzer hermit monk came to the monastery. The brethren began to ask him about desert life. The monk talks about the vision:
- I was walking along the shore... It was cold, windy... and suddenly 20 naked women appeared towards me...
- And what?!
- I’m telling you: WHAT-THE-MOOSE!!!
Solovetskaya book catalogue:
Solovki and the rest of the World
General information about Solovki
| What is the "Solovetsky myth"? | | | | | | | | | | | | Encyclopedia "Around the World" | | | | | | Coat of arms of Solovetsky district | | Solovetsky calendar |Solovetsky sensation!
served time in a double ELEPHANT?Tourists beware: on Solovki you can...
...meet a demon
The appearance of a demon in the form of a man with fiery eyes to the Solovetsky monk Pamphilus is described in the Solovetsky Patericon. One night, while standing in prayer, monk Pamphilus was struck by a terrible vision from which he lost consciousness, and the next morning he was found lying on the floor. “I saw then,” Pamphil later said, “a man with fiery eyes, breathing fire, standing in front of the window. He asked to sleep for the night. Then the whole cell was filled with black crows, which flew and circled around me with a loud cawing.”
...survive the attack of ferocious demons
In the morning, when Theophanes was praying, two menacing demons appeared: “See,” they shouted, “the old man doesn’t want to correct himself, we’ll scatter the cell and kill the one living in it.” They began to break the cell, broke the windows, broke the doors and shouted: “Now he will not leave us.” The elder was frightened and fell to his knees, asking God for help and intercession. The demons have disappeared. After praying, the elder stood up and saw that his cell was safe and sound.
...to enter into an argument with Satan
Elder Theophan agreed to teach the two brothers monastic life. One day, an unclean spirit appeared to him and said: “You, evil old man, are praying for disciples, but they will not always be like that... my time will come.” “God will not allow this,” answered Theophanes. Another time the devil told him: “You do yours, and I do mine: I hit one with two arrows, I whisper in the other’s ear.” The elder became sad and, calling his disciples, found some minor sins among them. Having taught and enlightened them, he released them.
...to succumb to the temptation and persuasion of the two-faced devil
The devil is the enemy of people, who desires the destruction of their souls and, seeing the exploits of God's chosen ones, does not sleep. A tempter once appeared to Father Job, the Solovetsky monk, in the form of a doctor he knew.
“Beloved,” said the hypocrite, “you should take care of your health so that, having exhausted the flesh with labor and abstinence, you do not weaken under the yoke that you have taken upon yourself for Christ’s sake. God does not desire labor or fasting beyond one’s strength, but seeks a pure and humble heart ". In your old age, you work for the monks like a bought slave, not accustomed to such labor. You should not work like that because you are a priest. It is enough for you that, having left glory and honor in the world, you have come to squalor and took upon yourself hard labor for the sake of food. I am even surprised how you can accept harsh food after sweet breakfasts. Be careful that your ailments do not multiply beyond measure, then I will not undertake to help you, and you will die before your time. If my advice is not If you listen, I will be very sorry."
“It is good not to spare the flesh, so that it does not rise up to fight with the spirit,” answered Father Job to his imaginary acquaintance, “however, even though the flesh is exhausted, the power of God is made perfect in weaknesses.” The Holy Apostle said more: “The passions of the present time for who wants glory to appear in us." Fasting is the mother of chastity; take heed to yourself and your kind."
Having heard such an answer, as reported in the Solovetsky Patericon, the devil immediately disappeared.
...to become a victim of a werewolf
The Solovetsky abbot Irinarch often visited Saint Eleazar himself or invited him through a servant to his monastery. One day a servant comes to the saint on a sleigh. He conveyed a bow and an invitation to the monastery from the abbot. Eleazar began to get ready for the journey and completed his morning prayer rule earlier than usual. Noticing that the messenger was leaving his cell at that time, he asked him: “Why do you leave your cell so often?” “I’m looking at the horse, it’s standing awkwardly,” was the answer. At the end of the prayer, Eleazar wanted to treat the servant, but as soon as he said: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” the werewolf instantly disappeared. The ascetic looked out the window - neither the horse nor the visitor was there. The saint realized that this was a temptation from the devil, and thanked the Lord God, who did not allow him to be laughed at.
Sometimes some people claim that they had a vision of saints, the Virgin Mary or Angels. The Holy Fathers advise treating such phenomena with caution, so as not to fall into spiritual delusion, since demons can also come in this form. We have collected sayings of Athonite saints that will help you understand which visions are true - from God, and which are false, from the evil one.
1. “It is better to advise such people (ed. - who talk about the visions they have had) to be careful and restrained. This attitude towards visions is more reliable, because not all people are able to discern whether a vision was from God or from the devil.”
2. “A person becomes a laughing stock for demons. And then they mock him with the help of pictures and visions, phenomena and revelations, symbols and numbers, prejudices and fortune-telling and a whole bunch of superstitions. May God protect us from such perversion!”
(Reverend Joseph the Hesychast)
3. “Twice I was delighted, twice I was wrong. Once the enemy showed me the light, and my thought told me: “Accept this, this is grace.” Another time I accepted one vision and suffered a lot for it.”
(Reverend Silouan of Athos)
4. “If the Saint who appeared to a person was really a Saint, and the person did not accept this vision, then God knows in what way to notify the soul of this person and lead it to where He wants. Attention is necessary, because (instead of the Saint) a tangalashka may come, who will turn on the (demonic) “TV” and begin his broadcast...”
(Reverend Paisiy Svyatogorets)
5. “One day at the end of the vigil, when they sang “Let every breath praise the Lord...”, I heard King David in the sky singing praises to God. I stood in the choir, and it seemed to me that there was neither roof nor dome and that I saw an open sky. I told four spiritual men about this, but no one told me that the enemy laughed at me, and I myself thought that demons cannot praise God and that, therefore, this vision was not from the enemy. But the charm of vanity overcame me, and I began to see demons again. Then I realized that I had been deceived, and I revealed everything to my confessor and asked for his prayers; and for his prayers I am now saved, and I always pray to the Lord to grant me the spirit of humility.”
(Reverend Silouan of Athos)
6. “One saw the Most Holy One, the other angels, when his soul departed. And now this happens. That before death they see visions so that God will take them away in peace. And since I heard something like this, I ran when they were dying with a thirst to see, to hear what they were saying.”
(Reverend Joseph the Hesychast about the desert elders)
7. “Even if a vision is from God, a person should not accept it the first time. God, seeing how His creation - man - does not accept the vision (does not become upset, but on the contrary), in some way, becomes touched. After all, such an attitude towards vision shows that a person has humility.”
(Reverend Paisiy Svyatogorets)
8. “What does the Lord say? “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). He does not say: “Blessed are those who see phenomena, visions, revelations.”
(Reverend Joseph the Hesychast)
9. “I remember one woman who did not receive any help from people and therefore had the right to Divine help. God, wanting to help this woman, gave her a certain vision. However, after this vision, the devil inspired her with the following thought: “Who knows, maybe God has honored you with such a vision because He intends you for some higher mission!” From the moment she began to believe such devilish suggestions, the devil began his work and she fell under his power. However, in the end, God again had mercy on her. She had a vision, and she heard a voice telling her: “Write a letter to Father Paisius and describe all the visions that you had.” She wrote me a letter and told me about all the visions she had. The evil one has torn it to pieces. Yes, all her visions were real, but almost all of them were from the tempter. Of all the visions she had, only the first and last were from God. Wanting to bring her to her senses and help her free herself from delusion, God allowed this last vision to happen. Ultimately, the unfortunate woman listened to my advice and managed to extricate herself (from the network) of those diabolical visions that she had.”
(Reverend Paisiy Svyatogorets)
10. “When we cry and humble our souls, then the grace of God protects us, but if we leave crying and humility, we can be carried away by thoughts or visions. A humble soul does not have visions and does not desire them, but with a pure mind it prays to God, but a vain mind is not pure of thoughts and imagination and can even go so far as to see demons and talk to them.”
(Reverend Silouan of Athos)
11. “...so that the devil does not deceive us with the help of fantasies and imagination. Imagination is a good thing, and if used wisely, it has great power. People susceptible to delusion imagine what they see or read the way they want. And then they believe that the picture painted by their imagination is real. In order for these unfortunates to receive help, they must be under constant [spiritual] supervision, because the devil is constantly fooling them.”
(Reverend Paisiy Svyatogorets)
12. “The Fathers say that in the presence of an enemy vision the soul will feel confusion. But it is only a humble soul that does not consider itself worthy of a vision that will feel either embarrassment or fear when the enemy acts, and a vain soul may experience neither fear nor even embarrassment, because he wants visions and considers himself worthy, and therefore the enemy easily deceives his. Fight your enemies with humility. When you see that another mind is fighting with your mind, then humble yourself, and the fighting will stop."
(Reverend Silouan of Athos)
“Lord, bless! I am the sinful servant John, priest of Kronstadt, writing this vision. It was written by me and with my hand what I saw, I conveyed in writing.
On the night of January 1, 1908, after evening prayer, I sat down to rest a little at the table. It was twilight in my cell; a lamp was burning in front of the icon of the Mother of God. Less than half an hour had passed, I heard a light noise, someone lightly touched my right shoulder and a quiet, light, gentle voice said to me: “Get up, servant of God Ivan, come with me.” I quickly stood up.
I see standing in front of me: a marvelous, wonderful old man, pale, with gray hair, in a robe, with a rosary in his left hand. He looked at me sternly, but his eyes were gentle and kind. I immediately almost fell from fear, but the wonderful old man supported me - my hands and legs were trembling, I wanted to say something, but my tongue did not turn. The elder crossed me, and I felt light and joyful - I also crossed myself. Then he pointed with his staff to the western side of the wall - there he drew with the same staff: 1913, 1914, 1917, 1922, 1930, 1933, 1934. Suddenly the wall was gone. I walk with the elder across a green field and see a mass of crosses: thousands, millions, different: small and great, wooden, stone, iron, copper, silver and gold. I walked past the crosses, crossed myself and dared to ask the elder what kind of crosses these were? He kindly answered me: these are those who suffered for Christ and the Word of God.
We go further and see: whole rivers of blood flow into the sea, and the sea is red with blood. I was horrified with fear and again asked the wonderful old man: “Why is so much blood shed?” He looked again and said to me: “This is Christian blood.”
Then the elder pointed his hand at the clouds, and I saw a mass of burning, brightly burning lamps. So they began to fall to the ground: one, two, three, five, ten, twenty. Then they began to fall in hundreds, more and more, and everyone was burning. I was very sad why they did not burn clearly, but only fell and went out, turning into dust and ashes. The elder said: look, and I saw only seven lamps on the clouds and asked the elder, what does this mean? He, bowing his head, said: “The lamps that you see falling, which means the Churches will fall into heresy, but seven burning lamps remain - seven Apostolic Cathedral Churches will remain at the end of the world.”
Then the elder pointed out to me, look, and now I see and hear a wonderful vision: The angels sang: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts.” And a large mass of people walked with candles in their hands, with joyful shining faces; there were kings, princes, patriarchs, metropolitans, bishops, archimandrites, abbots, schema-monks, priests, deacons. novices, pilgrims for Christ's sake, laity, young men, youths, infants; cherubim and seraphim accompanied them to the heavenly heavenly abode. I asked the elder: “What kind of people are these?” The elder, as if knowing my thought, said: “These are all the servants of Christ who suffered for the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ.” I again dared to ask if I could join them. The elder said: no, it’s too early for you, be patient (wait). I asked again: “Tell me, father, how are the babies?” The elder said: these babies also suffered for Christ from King Herod (14 thousand), and also those babies received crowns from the King of Heaven, who were destroyed in their mother’s womb, and the nameless ones. I crossed myself: “What a great and terrible sin a mother will have—unforgivable.”
Let's go further - we go into a large temple. I wanted to cross myself, but the elder told me: “There is abomination and desolation here.” Now I see a very gloomy and dark temple, a gloomy and dark throne. There is no iconostasis in the middle of the church. Instead of icons, there are some strange portraits with animal faces and sharp caps, and on the throne is not a cross, but a large star and a Gospel with a star, and resin candles are burning, they crack like firewood, and the cup stands, and a strong stench comes from the cup, and from there all sorts of reptiles, toads, scorpions, spiders crawl, it’s scary to look at all this. Prosphora also with a star; in front of the throne stands a priest in a bright red robe and green toads and spiders crawl along the robe; his face is terrible and black as coal, his eyes are red, and smoke comes out of his mouth and his fingers are black, as if in ash.
Wow, Lord, how scary - then some vile, disgusting, ugly black woman jumped onto the throne, all in red with a star on her forehead and spun around on the throne, then shouted like a night owl to the whole temple in a terrible voice: “Freedom” - and began, and people, like madmen, began to run around the throne, rejoicing at something, and shouted, and whistled, and clapped their hands. Then they began to sing some kind of song - at first quietly, then louder, like dogs, then it all turned into an animal growl, then into a roar. Suddenly bright lightning flashed and strong thunder struck, the earth shook and the temple collapsed and fell through the ground. The throne, the priest, the red woman all mixed up and thundered into the abyss. Lord, save me. Wow, how scary. I crossed myself. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I looked around. The elder smiled at me: “Did you see it?” he said. “I saw it, Father. Tell me what it was? Scary and terrible.” The elder answered me: “The temple, the priests and the people are heretics, apostates, atheists, who have fallen behind the faith of Christ and from the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and have recognized the heretical, life-renewed church, which does not have the Grace of God. You cannot fast in it, neither confess, nor receive communion, nor receive confirmation." “Lord, save me, a sinner, send me repentance - a Christian death,” I whispered, but the elder reassured me: “Don’t grieve,” he said, “pray to God.”
We moved on. I look - there are a lot of people walking, terribly exhausted, everyone has a star on their forehead. When they saw us, they roared: “Pray for us, holy fathers, to God, it is very difficult for us, but we ourselves cannot do it. Our fathers and mothers did not teach us the Law of God and we do not even have a Christian name. We have not received the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit (and the red banner)".
I cried and followed the elder. “Look,” the elder pointed with his hand, “do you see?!” I see mountains. - No, this mountain of human corpses is all soaked in blood. I crossed myself and asked the elder what does this mean? What kind of corpses are these? - These are monks and nuns, wanderers, wanderers, killed for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, who did not want to accept the seal of the Antichrist, but wanted to accept the crown of martyrdom and die for Christ. I prayed: “Save, Lord, and have mercy on the servants of God and all Christians.” But suddenly the elder turned to the north side and pointed with his hand: “Look.” I looked and saw: the Tsar’s palace, and all around were animals of different breeds and beasts of different sizes, reptiles, dragons, hissing, roaring and climbing into the palace, and had already climbed onto the throne of the Anointed Nicholas II, - his face is pale, but courageous, he reads Jesus prayer. Suddenly the throne shook, and the crown fell and rolled. The animals roared, fought, and crushed the Anointed One. They tore it apart and trampled on it like demons in hell, and everything disappeared.
Oh, Lord, how scary, save and have mercy from all evil, enemy and adversary. I cried bitterly, suddenly the elder took me by the shoulder, “Don’t cry, it’s the Lord’s will,” and pointed out: “Look,” I see a pale radiance appeared. At first I could not distinguish, but then it became clear - the Anointed One appeared involuntarily, on his head was a crown of green leaves. The face is pale, bloody, with a gold cross on the neck. He quietly whispered a prayer. Then he said to me with tears: “Pray for me, Father Ivan, and tell all Orthodox Christians that I died as a martyr; firmly and courageously for the Orthodox Faith and for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and suffered for all Christians; and tell everyone Orthodox Apostolic shepherds, so that they serve a common fraternal memorial service for all the soldiers killed on the battlefield: those who burned in the fire, those who drowned in the sea, and for me, a sinner, who suffered. Do not look for my grave, it is difficult to find. I also ask: pray for me, Father Ivan, and forgive me, good shepherd." Then it all disappeared into the fog. I crossed myself: “O Lord, rest in peace the soul of the departed servant of God Nicholas, eternal memory to him.” God, how scary. My arms and legs were shaking, I was crying.
The elder again told me: “Don’t cry, that’s what God wants, pray to God. Look again.” Here I see a lot of people lying around, dying of hunger, who ate grass, ate the earth, and dogs picked up corpses, everywhere there was a terrible stench, blasphemy. Lord, save us and strengthen us in the holy faith of Christ, we are feeble and weak without faith. So the old man says to me again: “Look there.” And now I see a whole mountain of different books, small and large. Between these books, stinking worms crawl, swarm and spread a terrible stench. I asked: "What kind of books are these. Father?" He replied: “Godless, heretical, who infect all the people of the whole world with worldly blasphemous teachings.” The elder touched these books with the end of his staff, and it all turned into fire, and everything burned to the ground, and the wind scattered the ashes.
Then I see a church, and around it lies a mass of memorials and certificates. I bent down and wanted to pick one up and read it, but the elder said that these are the memorials and letters that have been lying around the church for many years, but the priests have forgotten them and never read them, and the departed souls ask to pray, but there is no one to read and no one to remember. I asked: “Who will be?” “Angels,” said the elder. I crossed myself. Remember, Lord, the souls of Your departed servants in Your kingdom.
We moved on. The elder walked quickly, so I could barely keep up with him. Suddenly he turned around and said: “Look.” Here comes a crowd of people, driven by terrible demons, who mercilessly beat and stabbed people with long lances, pitchforks and hooks. “What kind of people are these?” I asked the elder. “These are those,” the elder answered, “who fell away from the Faith and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church and accepted the heretical life-renewal.” Here were: bishops, priests, deacons, laymen, monks, nuns who accepted marriage and began to live depravedly. There were atheists, sorcerers, fornicators, drunkards, money lovers, heretics, apostates from the Church, sectarians and others. They have a terrible and terrible appearance: their faces are black, foam and stench came from their mouths, and they screamed terribly, but the demons beat them mercilessly and drove them into a deep abyss. From there came stench, smoke, fire and stench. I crossed myself: “Deliver, Lord, and have mercy, all this I have seen is terrible.”
Then I see: a mass of people are walking; old and small, and all in red clothes and carried a huge red star, five-headed and at each corner 12 demons sat, and in the middle sat Satan himself with terrible horns and crocodile eyes, with a lion's mane and a terrible mouth, with large teeth and its mouth spewed out stinking foam. All the people shouted: “Get up, branded with a curse.” A mass of demons appeared, all red, and branded the people, putting a seal on everyone’s forehead and hand in the form of a star. The elder said that this is the seal of the Antichrist. I was very scared, crossed myself and read the prayer: “May God rise again.” After that everything disappeared like smoke.
I was in a hurry and barely had time to follow the elder, but the elder stopped, pointed his hand to the east and said: “Look.” And I saw a mass of people with joyful faces, and in their hands there were crosses, banners and candles, and in the middle, between the crowd, there was a high throne in the air, a golden royal crown and on it was written in golden letters: “For a little time.” Around the throne stand patriarchs, bishops, priests, monks, hermits and laity. Everyone sings: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth.” I crossed myself and thanked God.
Suddenly the Elder waved in the air three times in a cross shape. And now I see a mass of corpses and rivers of blood. Angels flew over the bodies of the murdered and barely had time to bring Christian souls to the Throne of God, and sang “Alleluia.” It was scary to look at all this. I cried bitterly and prayed. The elder took me by the hand and said, “Don’t cry. This is what the Lord God needs for our lack of faith and repentance, this must be so, our Savior Jesus Christ also suffered and shed His most pure blood on the cross. So, there will be many more martyrs for Christ, and These are those who will not accept the seal of the Antichrist, will shed blood and receive the crown of martyrdom."
Then the elder prayed, crossed himself three times to the east and said: “Behold, Daniel’s prophecy has been fulfilled. The abomination of desolation is final.” I saw the Jerusalem Temple, and there was a star on the dome. Millions of people crowd around the temple and try to enter inside the temple. I wanted to cross myself, but the elder stopped my hand and said again: “Here is the abomination of desolation.”
We entered the temple, where there were a lot of people. And then I see a throne in the middle of the temple. Around the throne in three rows, resin candles are burning, and on the throne sits in bright red purple the world ruler-king, and on his head is a gold crown with diamonds, with a star. I asked the elder: “Who is this?” He said, "This is the Antichrist." Tall, eyes like coal, black, a wedge-shaped black beard, a fierce, cunning and cunning face - beast-like, an aquiline nose. Suddenly the Antichrist stood on the throne, straightened up to his full height, raised his head high and extended his right hand to the people - his fingers had claws like a tiger, and growled in his bestial voice: “I am your god, king and ruler. Who will not accept my press - death for them here." Everyone fell to their knees and bowed and accepted the seal on their forehead. But some boldly approached him and loudly exclaimed at once: “We are Christians, we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then in an instant the sword of the Antichrist flashed, and the heads of the Christian youths rolled and blood was shed for the faith of Christ. Here they are leading young women, women and small children. Here he became even more furious and shouted like an animal: “Death to them. These Christians are my enemies - death to them.” Instant death followed immediately. Their heads rolled to the floor and Orthodox blood spilled throughout the church.
Then they lead a ten-year-old boy to the Antichrist to worship and say: “Fall on your knees,” but the boy boldly approached the throne of the Antichrist; “I am a Christian and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and you are a fiend of hell, a servant of Satan, you are the Antichrist.” “Death,” he roared with a terrible wild roar. Everyone fell to their knees before the Antichrist. Suddenly, thousands of thunders thundered and thousands of heavenly lightnings flew like fiery arrows and struck the servants of the Antichrist. Suddenly the largest arrow, a fiery, cross-shaped one, flew from the sky and hit the Antichrist in the head. He waved his hand and fell, the crown flew off his head and crumbled into dust, and millions of birds flew and pecked at the corpses of the wicked servants of the Antichrist.
So I felt that the elder took me by the shoulder and said: “Let's go on our way.” Here I see again a mass of blood, knee-deep, waist-deep, oh, how much Christian blood has been shed. Then I remembered the word that was said in the Revelation of John the Theologian: “And there will be blood by the bridles of the horses.” Ax, God, save me, a sinner. Great fear came over me. I was neither alive nor dead. I see angels flying around a lot and singing: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord.” I looked around - the elder was on his knees and praying. Then he stood up and tenderly said: “Do not grieve. Soon, soon the end of the world, pray to the Lord, He is merciful to His servants. There are no longer years left, but hours, and soon, soon the end.”
Then the elder blessed me and pointed his hand to the east and said: “I’m going there.” I fell to my knees, bowed to him and saw that he was quickly leaving the ground. then I asked: “What is your name, wonderful old man?” Then I exclaimed louder. "Holy Father, tell me, what is your holy name?" “Seraphim,” he quietly and softly told me, “write down what you saw and don’t forget it all for Christ’s sake.”
Suddenly the ringing of a large bell seemed to ring above my head. I woke up and opened my eyes. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead, my temples were pounding, my heart was beating strongly, my legs were trembling. I made a prayer: “May God rise again.” Lord, forgive me, your sinful and unworthy servant John. Glory to our God. Amen."
