by Fr. Andrey Lemeshonok –
The drama of this world, which has decided to live without God, is unfolding before our very eyes. The world of sin is gaining momentum, destroying the concepts of holiness, homeland, responsibility, and family—the fundamental concepts without which life would have, until recently, seemed impossible.
And to survive in this world, you have to have some support. The more complicated the circumstances around us, the stronger we must cling to Christ and learn to live according to the rules of the Holy Orthodox Church. When a man eases up, when he falls into the stream, into the crowd, he ceases to control himself, yet becomes part of this crowd. And where are the people going—to repent, to go on pilgrimage, to do something good? Or do they themselves not know where the world is leading them?
How quickly everything changes. Church people say today: “My children don’t keep the fasts, but at least they didn’t eat candy—and thank God for that.” But at the time when I came to the faith, there simply could not have been such conversations among the Orthodox.
This world accustoms us to thinking differently, to different values, and we put our “I” and our desires ahead. That is why the life of the holy fathers—St. John Climacus, Abba Dorotheos—bewilders us. Their faith and ascetic way of life doesn’t fit into our minds. Today, it’s impossible to tell someone: “Leave your arguments and opinions and listen to me;” “No one’s asking you your opinion—do as they say.” This is immediately perceived as terror and a mockery of the individual. So we have to say: “Do as you please; God help you, sister.”
Today all ties built on respect for elders, obedience, humility, and not to mention love, are being severed. The world is doing everything it can to depersonalize a man, to make him part of the crowd that isn’t being led by the bright spirits and certainly isn’t being led to the Kingdom of Heaven. I am not speaking on the scale of our country or even Holy Rus’, but on a global scale, which is now entangled in that web.
Even first graders have phones, and there he learns how to build relationships with parents and teachers. And this can’t but enter into the Church. After all, people from the world come into the Church with their experience, values, and concepts, and many believe their experience is more progressive. Supposedly a new age has come—the age of reason and progress, when many important things are called into question. Even the Divine Liturgy—the Mystical Supper, Christ, Who communes His disciples and leads them to a new, eternal life—is called into question. That’s scary!
To build a monastery in this world is the ultimate madness. But God gives grace and we accept it. And God’s grace changes us, who are infected with sin. Such unity in God is a miracle of God’s love. And we are talking about holiness, faithfulness, purity, beauty—about God, Who, despite all human efforts, holds this world in His hands.
The Lord has conquered the prince of this world and wants us to live by this victory. Each of us bears responsibility for our choice of where to go and who to follow. And Christians need to think even more carefully and look for where Christ is and where He simply cannot be.
It’s very important to keep the faith. Christ is and will be in our midst, although the world tries everything it can to deprive us of communion with God, to break the connection of the soul with God, and to bury the soul forever. Forever. And it succeeds. There is a battle on for every person, every soul. And it escalates. That is why it is so difficult to get through to young people and open their eyes—because they have been taught that they know more, that they understand better.
Remember how the Soviet Union collapsed with lightning speed; it was the same with the mighty Russian Empire, which our ancestors had built up for centuries. How much blood was spilled to build such an empire! And then it collapsed overnight. Everything occurs much faster now. It’s enough to push a button and everyone will know where to go, how to behave. And, unfortunately, people have confidence in this.
But who is speaking and why—they don’t even think about this anymore. Therefore, we have to have our own “internet”—prayer for one another, meaning our connection with one another through God. And if we lose this connection, then, of course, we will go the wrong way.
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Excerpts from Orthodox Christianity article. (Bolding of key words and phrases, and some minor content organizational changes made by blog editors to improve readability.)
