Advice for beginners. Beginners. How to learn to understand church services

Patrologiae, lat. t. III, p. 427-434.
Beloved brother! If you have already left this vain world and dedicated yourself to God, repent of your sins and keep the intention you have accepted. Do not listen to your thoughts when they begin to torment you, saying: your former sins will never be forgiven you. But follow these rules:

Don't eat with a woman; do not enter into fellowship with the youth; Don’t sleep in the same bed with your boyfriend. When you take off your clothes, do not look at your body.
If you are forced to drink wine, do not drink more than three small cups. Don’t break this rule even for the sake of friendship.
Do not carelessly perform prayers prescribed at certain times, so as not to fall into the hands of your enemies. Work as much as you can to meditate on the psalms; for this will keep you from unclean life.
Love work and self-restraint, so that your passions may calm down. Do not consider yourself anything in any way and you will not stop crying for your sins.
Guard yourself from lies, for they will drive away the fear of God from you. Do not reveal your good deeds to everyone, so that your enemy does not steal them.
Reveal your illnesses to your fathers, so that you can experience help from their advice.
Force yourself to do needlework; and the fear of God will abound in you.
Do not judge your brother who sins and do not despise him; otherwise you will fall into the hands of your enemies.
Do not be argumentative, insisting on your word, so that evil does not take hold in you.
Love humility and do not rely on your own advice. Train your tongue to say: forgive me, and humility will descend upon you.
When you sit in your cell, take care of three things: continuity in prayer, delving into psalms, and handicraft.
Think to yourself: I will not remain in this world beyond this day; and you will be snatched away from sin.
Do not be judgmental (do not satiate your belly. - Ed.), so that your previous sins do not renew in you. Don't be lazy to work; bother to delve deeper into the psalms - and the peace of God will come to you.
Force yourself to cry in prayer, and God will have mercy on you and remove the old man from you.
Know that work, poverty, self-restraint and silence lead to humility; humility brings forgiveness of all sins. Humility consists in the fact that a person considers himself a sinner and unrighteous, does not insist on his word, cuts off his desires, lowers his eyes to the ground, endures insult, hates honor and peace, and says to everyone: forgive me. Through the power of humility, enemies take flight.
Be always sad; but when the brothers come to you, rejoice with them; may the fear of God abound in you.
If you go somewhere with your brothers, step back a little from them to remain silent. Do not turn here and there, but delve into the psalms and pray to God in your mind. Whatever place you come to, do not be too trusting of its inhabitants. Maintain modesty and bashfulness in everything and what is offered to you, do not extend your hand until you are asked.
Don't sleep with someone else under the same blanket. Pray for a long time before going to bed, even if you are tired from the journey.
Do not allow anyone to anoint your body with oil, unless you are seriously ill.
When you sit at the table with your brothers, do not eat with pleasure and stretch out your hand only to what is in front of you. Let your knees be folded. Do not raise your eyes to another. Do not drink water greedily or with a gurgling throat.
If the need comes to you to cough up while you are sitting among the brethren, get up and do it away from them. Don't stretch or yawn when you're around others, and if a yawn hits you, don't open your mouth and it will pass.
Don't open your mouth to laugh; for this will show that there is no fear of God in you.
Don't covet someone else's things. If you buy a book, do not decorate it; for this will reveal in you an addiction to her.
If you sin in any way, do not be ashamed to admit it and do not excuse yourself with lies; but, on bended knee, confess your sin and ask for forgiveness, and it will be given to you.
If someone lies to you, do not be angry, but say: forgive me.
Don't be ashamed to ask your mentor questions.
If someone knocks on the door of your cell while you are sitting, busy with your work; leave the matter and calm him down.
Do not talk to anyone and do not listen to the words of another without benefit.
If your mentor sends you on a journey, ask him how you should behave, and then act according to his commandment. Don't mince words. If you keep your eyes and ears, you will not sin with your tongue.
If you live with any brother, be with him as a stranger; do not order him anything and do not show yourself to be superior to him; If he orders you something that you do not want, cut off your will and do not offend him (by refusal), so that the peace between you is not upset. Know that he who obeys is greatest.
If you live with your brother and he tells you: cook, ask: what do you want? and if he gives you a choice, cook whatever you can get your hands on with the fear of God.
When you get up from sleep, say a prayer before you take up any work; then delve into the word of God; and then get down to business without laziness.
Joyfully meet the stranger and greet him, so that otherwise your meeting will not be harmful to both of you. When he comes in, don’t ask him any empty questions; but ask to pray first; then, when he sits down, tell him: how is my brother? - and then give him some book to read. If he is weary from the journey, give him rest and wash his feet. If he starts talking empty words, tell him: forgive me, my brother; I am weak and cannot hear it. If his clothes are unraveled, sew them up. If he is sick and his clothes are dirty, wash them. But if he is unsteady, and you will have saints at that time, then do not allow him to enter; but give him due greeting and let him go. If, however, he is poor, do not let him go without consolation, but give him what God has sent.
If your brother puts something on you, do not look at it, unless in his presence.
If someone leaves you in his cell and goes out, do not raise your eyes to see what is in it; but when he goes out, tell him: give me something to do and I’ll work while you come back; and whatever he gives you, do it with diligence.
Do not pray lazily and carelessly; for by doing this, instead of pleasing God, you will attract His wrath. Stand in prayer with fear and trembling, without leaning on the wall and without spreading your legs, so that you stand on one and leave the other behind. Resist your thoughts and do not allow them to be preoccupied with carnal things, so that your prayer will be favorable.
When you attend the Liturgy, guard your thoughts and feelings and stand with fear before the highest God, so that you may worthily receive the Body and Blood of Christ and thereby heal your passions.
When you are young, do not wear good clothes until you are old.
When you travel with someone older than you, do not go ahead of him.
If your elder gets up to talk to someone, do not remain seated, but stand with him and stand until he tells you to sit down.
When you enter a city or village, lower your gaze, so that otherwise what you see does not serve as a reason for you to fight in your cell.
Don't sleep in a place where you are afraid of sinning in your heart. Do not eat with a woman and do not look at her - not even at her clothes, if you can.
If you are making a journey with an elder, do not allow him to carry anything himself. If you are young, each bear your part. If the load is small, carry it alternately by the hour. Let the carrier go ahead, as well as the weak one, and when, tired, he sits down to rest, sit down with him.
When you ask an elder about your thoughts, reveal them freely, as they are, to someone in whom you are confident that he will keep your secrets. When choosing an elder, do not prefer one who is of advanced years; but whoever is whitened with knowledge and spiritual experience, so that otherwise you do not receive harm and do not multiply your passions.
Force yourself to pray long at night; may your mind be enlightened. Think about your sins and pray to God about them; and He will forgive you for them.
If someone begins to judge his brother in your presence, then, although the person being judged will be from among those who are judging you, tell him with humility: forgive me, my brother, I am sinful and weak and guilty of what you are talking about; Why can't I hear this?
Prefer other brethren to yourself in everything, and if any friend honors you in front of them, say: it was for your sake that he showed me such honor.
If anyone asks you to borrow something, do not refuse.
Do not often turn in your heart the memory of those whom you left for the love of God; but remember death and judgment, and that none of them can help you at that time.
If, sitting in your cell, you remember someone who has done you harm, stand up immediately and pray for him in your heart, may God have mercy on him; In this way, the passion you have for him will soon disappear.
If you want to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, be careful that anger or hatred toward no one remains in your heart; and if you know that someone is angry with you, first ask him for forgiveness, as our Lord commanded.
If at night (in a dream) you suffer attacks from lust, be careful that during the day you do not repeat in your thoughts those shameful views, so that your heart is not defiled by pleasure; but fall before the Lord, and He will have mercy on you: for He knows human weakness.
If you take on extreme fasting and begin to perform long prayers, do not think that they will save you; but believe that God will be appeased by the bitterness of your body and will help your weakness.
If illness seizes you, do not be discouraged and do not lose heart; but thank God that He intends to bring good to you through this illness.
Living in your cell, set a certain measure and set hour for your food, and do not deviate from that. Give your body as much as it needs, so that it is strong enough to perform God’s prayers and services. If somewhere outside your cell you are offered delicate food, do not take it to your fill.
If the devils inspire you to begin work that you are not strong enough to undertake, do not listen to them; for usually they lead a person’s heart to such things that he is not able to overcome, in order to then plunge him into despondency and laugh at him. And all their undertakings are without measure and without order.
Eat once a day, but not to the full. Give your body as much as nature requires (according to your constitution).
Designate one half of the night for prayer vigil, and the other for the repose of your body. Before going to bed, stay awake for two hours in prayer and praise of God (psalmody), then give your body rest. If your body becomes lazy when the time comes to stand up for prayer, tell it: do you really want to take a little peace at this time, so that later you can go into endless torment? Isn't it better to work a little here so that you can enjoy eternal rest with the saints? Then laziness will leave you and Divine help will come to you.
Having accepted the monastic rank, release your slave; if he wants to follow you and enter monasticism, do not allow him to live with you.
If you go to sell handicrafts, do not argue about the price, as the laity do. Do the same when you buy anything. Know that the poverty of things brings you closer to God.
If your brother puts something on you and you need it, do not touch it, unless with his permission.
If any brother asks you to buy something when you go into town, do it; but if other brothers are with you, do this in their presence.
If any thing is given to you, return it, using it as much as necessary; but do not hold it back until they demand it back from you; If anything goes wrong in it, fix it. If you yourself give someone something to use, do not demand it back if you see that for some reason he cannot return it to you, especially when you do not need it at all.
If, having abandoned your cell, you come back again and find that a brother is already living in it, look for another one, and do not kick him out for anything, lest God be angry with you. But if he voluntarily wants to leave her, then you are right. If at the same time he takes something from her belongings, do not demand it from him.
If you want to leave your cell completely, do not take any of its belongings with you, but give it to some poor brother, and God will reward you wherever you go.
The devils rejoice in nothing more than when someone hides his thoughts from his spiritual mentor. Do not think of becoming like your fathers if you do not imitate their works.
Guard yourself from wealth and love for it; for it damages the fruits of monasticism.
If you are struggling with any temptation that oppresses you, do not weaken; but, prostrating yourself before the face of God, say: help me, Lord, because I, weak, am not able to withstand this battle; and He will help you if your prayer comes from a pure heart. If, after struggling, you overcome, do not boast about it and do not rely on yourself; but be even more careful, because the enemy will not hesitate to launch a new battle against you, stronger than the previous one.

Neophyte (from the Greek νεόφυτος) - in Orthodoxy, a converted Christian or newcomer.

But first about the terms. All those spiritual illnesses that will be discussed below will be called in one word: neophyte (neophyte). Perhaps it is wrong to combine ailments that have different origins and courses. It's probably unscientific. But my article is not a scientific treatise, but the reaction of a living organism to pain.

A tradition has developed in the Church according to which it is believed that a neophyte is a person who has not been in the Church for ten years. But it's not just a matter of time. You can remain a neophyte for life. This period can be shortened. Is it possible to bypass it? Don't know. Not sure. At least, all my friends, and myself first of all, went through this period of time, which seems so sublime and beautiful to you. Beautiful because the Lord gives a newly baptized, church-going person, according to Macarius the Great, a pledge of the Holy Spirit. But to the people around us in this period of our spiritual infancy, the sky seems like a sheepskin from pompous teachings, Pharisaic prayers and seductions into Orthodoxy.

Can't be named normal person, who declares: “It was, they say, the elders who prayed that we would not have television, because it corrupts the soul, and that’s why the Ostankino Tower burned down!” The fact that three people were burned alive was obviously the result of their good prayer. Or, for example, this passage. A woman who may not have read to the end New Testament, but having memorized the Philokalia, abandons her young children, her husband and all worldly filth and goes (often with the blessing of the young elder) to escape to some monastery. Suffice it to recall the recent hysteria surrounding the notorious barcodes. A resolution of the Holy Synod was published on this issue. But the decision of the Synod is not a decree for our Orthodox Christians. The whisper immediately intensified (it, in fact, never ceased) that our bishops, as a matter of fact, are ecumenists, heretics, is it possible to listen to them? These sentiments are spread and supported in every possible way by the so-called “elders” throughout the monasteries and in the world.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), known to the entire Russian Orthodox people, who, I think, can rightfully be called a true elder, writes: “Now these documents in this form and with such presentation do not pose a danger to us. Remember and understand for yourself the will of God: Son, give Me your heart. Not a passport, not a pension card, not a tax card, but a heart! All that confusion, confusion and confusion enters so powerfully that there is no living faith, no trust in God.” But even the opinion of such a person as Father John is nothing for neophytes.

In general, neophyte exists, how much the Church is worth. One might even say that neophyteism is as old as the world. History tells us many facts about overly enthusiastic Christians doing harm to themselves and others. Let me give you a well-known example. A certain old man had a disciple who passionately desired martyrdom. In vain did the elder admonish him: “The time of martyrdom has passed. God calls you to other exploits. Just learn to understand Him.” He didn't want to listen. Bless for martyrdom, and that’s all! Having extracted a blessing from the elder, he went into the desert, came across the Saracens, and, unable to withstand the torture, renounced Christ.

Enthusiasm in itself is not bad. But in spiritual life it can be scary. Amazing thing! It would seem that enthusiasm should indicate the softness of a person’s soul. In my opinion, an enthusiastic person is a big child. The world is surprising and desirable for him, like a gift, which is why it delights him. But the soul of the neophyte is strong as granite and deaf as a tomb.

The English writer Gilbert Chesterton said about someone: “he was healthy in soul, for he knew sorrow.” The neophyte is sick in soul, for he knows no sorrows. He knows neither pity nor mercy. The same Chesterton wrote in another place: “it is not difficult to define a healthy soul: such a person has tragedy in his heart and comedy in his mind.” The neophyte not only does not have tragedy in his heart. He doesn't have a heart. He has common rules for all occasions, and truisms for any human pain. But his truth kills, and does not give life, leads into slavery, and does not make free. The neophyte himself is cheerful and optimistic. True, his optimism is at the expense of others. This is the optimism of a cannibal. He built a high castle out of rituals and law, and from there he looks at the swarming worms.

It is in vain that neophytes are sometimes compared with Pharisees. The Pharisees really didn’t deserve this. If you believe St. John Chrysostom, they are even capable of repentance. This is how he understands the coming of the Pharisees to John the Baptist. When a woman taken in adultery was brought to Christ, a crowd of Pharisees surrounded Him. And, I remember, not a single stone flew at the unfortunate woman. If Christ had been surrounded by neophytes, a whole hail of stones would have fallen on the woman. The Pharisees knew their secret sins, and the words of the Savior shamed them.

The neophyte has no sins. I don’t know what they spend hours repenting of in confession. The words never leave their lips: forgive me, a sinner, “I am the abyss of sin.” But when they find out that their neighbor is doing something that does not fit into their piety, they turn into the same debtor who was ready to strangle him for his hundred denarii. "How! Do you keep a dog at home? This is a nasty animal! You can’t receive communion!” I wish I knew His Holiness Patriarch, who has not one, but two mongrels at home, that he cannot receive communion! “You are constantly sick, it’s clear you have a lot of sins. You need to repent!” I am quite ready to assume that they did not read, and they did not hear about Job’s friends. But they should know about the Russian Orthodox saints who were sick all their lives and sometimes could not move their arms due to weakness. According to their logic, Ambrose of Optina and Ignatius Brianchaninov are the most notorious sinners. Saint John Chrysostom in his first conversation about statues gives eight (!) various reasons for which Christians are sick. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get acquainted with them.

Whatever long-standing friendship you have with the neophyte, if only the neophyte is capable of friendship at all, everything collapses at one moment when he learns something about you. It can be anything. From wearing off-shoulder dresses to watching TV. Then nothing will save your friendship.

Is any sin capable of bringing a neophyte to a sense of repentance? Personal experience communication with people of this kind shows that, even falling into open, gross sins such as fornication, a person with a similar structure of the soul in some incomprehensible way manages to reserve the right to condemn others and even has a self-propelled Jesus Prayer. Such a person is cheerful and cheerful.

In the very first days of his Christianity, he masters pious slang, like “Angel at the table!”, or “God bless!”. I remember one girl at the table asked her neighbor: “Bless the kettle!” Many years later I heard a phrase that could serve as an excellent answer to her: “This teapot is blessed and sanctified!”

The neophyte is in love with himself. He loves his righteousness. On top of everything else, he is a prophet. Yes, yes, he knows the will of God! It was the saints who humbled their flesh so that the spirit would awaken; they humbled their will in order to know the will of God. For a neophyte, everything is much simpler. God's will is what he does. He will never say: I’m sorry, I let you down greatly because of my carelessness. No - it was God’s will for me to oversleep, that’s why I didn’t have time, that’s why I was late for a business date, that’s why I can’t help you. The person who is left in trouble thinks that it was God who abandoned him. It takes a lot of faith to understand that it was not God who abandoned you, but an indifferent neophyte. All others for the neophyte (if they are not priests) are creatures of a lower class. And if this other person is not a Christian, then he is not even a person at all, but dirt.

I remember a story from the Patericon about how Macarius the Great and his disciple once walked through the desert. The student got ahead of Macarius, and he met the priest of the local pagan temple with a bundle of brushwood on his shoulders. The student had everything in his head in perfect order, and so he addressed the priest accordingly: “Where are you going, demon?”, for which he was severely beaten. When Macarius approached politely greeted the priest, he asked in surprise: “Why did you, being a Christian, greet me? One person passed by here before you, also a Christian. So he began to swear, and I beat him half to death.” “I see that you are a kind person and you work hard, but you don’t know why you are doing it,” answered Macarius the Great. After these words, the priest was baptized and became a Christian. In life, unfortunately, we more often come across students, not Macarius.

When a person is very good at doing something, it is easy for him to become proud. Even when a person simply knows a lot, he is not always free from the sin of exaltation. But what’s surprising is that the neophyte simply amazes with his illiteracy. And why should you know anything? The priests will tell you everything you need to know. “We are like blind kittens without our father,” says the neophyte, and is quite pleased with this.

As I said before, the neophyte loves to play obedience. All church trays are littered with monastic books on obedience. Excited by his rapid successes in church life, the Christian wants to fly “into the field of correspondence.” Having imbued himself with such literature, which in the past the elder confessor did not give to every monk in monasteries, the ascetic begins to organize his own Athos.

The abbot of one of the monasteries, then the abbot, Father N, told how he once noticed that young novices began to go crazy from reading the Philokalia. And then he advised them to read something else. That day, a printing artist he knew gave him her latest work: illustrations for “Winnie the Pooh.” Here, read this. The guys were taken aback. And to what point should I read? - they asked, thinking it was a joke. Before catching the Heffalump. This is quite enough. The remedy turned out to be correct - the roof fell into place. In this case, obedience played its good role. But not everyone is lucky with confessors. Unfortunately, neither a long white beard nor length of stay in the Church is a guarantee of spiritual security. But this is a topic for a separate discussion.

Church illnesses are serious. People who suffer from them cause a lot of grief to those around them and, first of all, to their family. They make it difficult for people who are far from the Church to get into it. A person who is sincerely interested in religious life, seeing such a saint, will draw a conclusion about the entire Church from him. Of course, you can explain to him at length (Deacon Andrei Kuraev does this very convincingly) that just as you cannot judge Music by pop hits, and Painting by comics, so we must judge Christianity by Christian saints, and not by the first parishioner we come across. You can tell him that the history of the Church is beautiful only in bad books. That in life everything is much more complicated. Or vice versa it’s easier. But there are such meetings with enthusiastic Christian pioneers, the wounds from which do not heal for a very long time.

One artist I knew told how at the age of twelve he painted a temple not far from his home. The pious grandmothers broke his sketchbook and pushed him out of the churchyard. The next time my friend went to church was only five years later - his fear was so great. But, thank God, the fear passed. And how many people, faced with the spiritual callousness (or even outright rudeness!) of Orthodox Christians, go to the Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mother of God. Or they simply conclude that Christianity, and indeed all religions in general, are nothing but obscurantism. I would not want the reader to get this feeling from my article. Yes, I repeat, church illnesses are serious. But, probably, everyone needs to get over them.

I know one city where, thanks to the local dean, there is a very healthy spiritual climate. A person suffers a neophyte disease in a very mild form and recovers quickly. So, is this good or bad? I don't think it's very good. A Christian there is like an Antarctic penguin who has no immunity, since there are no viruses in Antarctica. What will happen to this person when he encounters the neophyte (and he cannot help but encounter it) in all its splendor? Christian grown in greenhouse conditions is not frost-resistant. It is important to go through the neophyte, but not to linger in it.

Chesterton gives a wonderful, downright patristic definition of a righteous person: a righteous person is strict with himself and lenient with others. At the time of spiritual infancy, we are not always able to understand this. And that is why neophyteism is so unattractive from the outside. But we all need to get over it. And there is no escape from this.

In past centuries, in some ways it was simpler. Church Tradition, living and active, protected man from excessive rigorism. Enthusiasm, for the most part, did not turn into sectarianism, and piety into fanaticism. But it just so happened in our tragic history that the thin mycelium of Church Tradition was torn out after the revolution. The threads, miraculously preserved, are restored very slowly and with difficulty.

IN last years An unprecedented flow of people poured into the Church. On the one hand, this is wonderful. Before our eyes, the persecuted Church is being reborn from the ruins. But on the other hand, the Church has been greatly diluted. Each person, entering it, brings his own passions, his own sinful vision of the world, not yet transformed by Grace. And when a church body, weakened by the communist dictatorship, finds itself with so many new members, the situation resembles medical case. If the body's immunity is weakened, then any virus can easily penetrate it.

The Church is painfully ill with neophyteism. A huge number of excessively Orthodox, as St. Gregory the Theologian called them, rule the House of God as if it were their own. But we have something that strengthens our belief that the disease will pass: “And the Church is in almost the same position as my body: no good hope is visible; things are constantly taking a turn for the worse.” These words belong to Saint Basil the Great. That is, they are more than one and a half thousand years old. Yes, the disease is serious. Yes, the body is writhing in convulsions. But Christ is stronger than our sins. And He will heal us.

Georgy Dublinsky.

When a child is just learning to walk, he very often stumbles and falls. The same thing happens in the Church. Beginners especially often stumble. We will talk about the main mistakes of beginners in this article. And although it is practically impossible to avoid them completely (you learn from mistakes, as they say), we believe that it would not be superfluous to understand their cause and warn against the greatest dangers at the beginning of the spiritual path.

Who is a neophyte?

Neophytes in Christianity are called converts, new people, that is, those who are just beginning to take their first steps in the Church. Translated from Greek, this word also means “newly planted.” This new life, fresh shoots of the grapes of Christ, without which Christianity has no future, without which the planting will never bear fruit.

In other words, neophyteism can be called the first period of beginners’ churching. It is clear that this period has a number of its own characteristics, spiritual joys and pitfalls, but everyone who sooner or later begins to “work for the Lord” inevitably goes through it.

Very often, however, the name “neophyte” is used with a negative connotation, with the meaning of some kind of disease or dangerous syndrome. But in fact, there is nothing wrong with being a neophyte. This is a time of spiritual infancy or maturation, without which becoming an adult Christian is simply impossible.

As Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev wrote, “if neophyteism is a disease, then it is good illness" It becomes bad only when a person gets stuck in this state for a long time, does not outgrow it at a certain moment, or even never at all.

The period of "free grace"

Before talking about the mistakes of beginners, it is important to understand the specifics of this time of the beginning of churching, the basic laws that operate in it. Then the reason for many of the “excesses” associated with the neophyte period will become clear.

When a newly converted person begins to take his first steps in the Church, he is always, by the great mercy of God, given the special grace of the Holy Spirit to help him. Moreover, you don’t need to put in any great effort or labor for this; it is given as if “in advance.” That is why Archimandrite Thaddeus Vitovnitsky also called it “free grace.”

IN initial stage Upon entering the Church, the Orthodox neophyte especially clearly feels that God is nearby, that He loves him very much, the person is literally inspired by this love, he feels like a beloved child of God. And that's true. At this stage of life, the Lord seems to be holding a person by both hands, like a baby, teaching him to walk. But at the same time, this state is as dangerous as the Apostle Peter’s walking on the waters.

The convert's faith is not yet as strong as he thinks, and he can easily drown after his first independent steps. Faith is tempered by time and work. And the neophyte often lives by euphoria, and not by faith. He is inexperienced, confuses one thing with another, mistakes insolence for insolence, and is mistaken. It’s good if he has enough consciousness to admit his mistakes, but this is very rare for beginners.

“Free grace” gives a person a reason to feel special, hence self-confidence, pride, and this is the root of all evil. It is almost impossible to convince a neophyte, which is why beginners’ mistakes are inevitable. This period can last for different amounts of time, for some five, for others ten years, until a certain spiritual crisis or turning point occurs. The once lost “first love” (Rev. 2:4), or “free grace,” as we said, the Christian will now have to earn through long, painstaking work.

The main mistakes of new converts

Although the Lord leads everyone to Himself in his own special way, it is possible to identify some typical mistakes that, perhaps, none of the beginners can avoid.

Imaginary righteousness

One of the most important and most difficult tasks for any person, especially a Christian, is correct self-identification. Many holy fathers considered it the basis, the guarantee of humility: real knowledge of oneself, one’s measure. For the Orthodox neophyte, there are always excesses here, now in one direction, now in the other. By mannerly beating himself on the chest and calling himself “a sinner of sinners,” the newcomer always considers himself better than others and loves his “phony” righteousness.

This is not yet pharisaism, but it is already on the way to it. The search for oneself, one’s identity is quite natural for a convert. It suddenly opened up for him new world, he wants to find himself in it and present it correctly to others. However, the external forms that he focuses on often do not correspond to the internal state.

On the one hand, he feels the obvious effect of grace on himself, but on the other hand, he does not notice that the passionate, sinful side of his nature is still alive. If a beginner follows the path of self-knowledge, he will succeed, but if he continues to externally imitate the behavior of the saints, he will perish.

Another popular mistake among beginners is “zeal not according to understanding,” or “zeal not according to understanding” (Rom. 10:2), as the Apostle Paul calls it. What does it mean? This is an exaggeration of one’s strengths, spiritual maximalism. And it all stems from the same place - from incorrect self-esteem. How can this jealousy manifest itself beyond reason? Yes, in anything! Or rather, for the neophyte it manifests itself in everything.

If a beginner wants to pray, then expect that he will do this all day and night, to the detriment of his family, work and other direct responsibilities. If he wants to fast, then he must do so according to the strictest monastic rules, which usually ends in ruined health for the rest of his life. If the question arises about choosing life path, then, despite all the obstacles, the neophyte will immediately rush to save himself and the whole world, no less to the monastery.

Only a sufficiently authoritative confessor can save beginners from such extremes of churching. Or the Lord Himself will enlighten him with certain life circumstances. The rule of the middle, the “royal path” is the most proven and safest path by which you can reach the end. This must always be remembered.

Condemnation of others

It is perhaps the most common type of sin for everyone without exception. But it manifests itself especially clearly, in all its unsightly severity, in beginners. With the maximalism characteristic of beginners, they, as a rule, begin to be very strict with themselves, but even more vigilantly notice the shortcomings of others.

For them there are no halftones, there is only “white” and “black”; everyone will certainly either die or be saved right now. For the same reason, an Orthodox neophyte is characterized by an arrogant attitude towards people outside the Church. He very quickly forgets that just recently he himself was the same.

Missionary fervor

He wants to talk about God always and everywhere, with believers and non-believers, and often such a “mission” has the opposite effect. People look at such an “abnormal” and, judging by him, they form the most unsightly image of the Church. Those closest to you, relatives and friends, are simply forced to heroically endure such “antics” of the neophyte.

This is one of the most common and sad mistakes beginners make. As Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh said, when a person becomes a church member, everyone around him who is forced to endure his “asceticism” is saved, except himself. Unfortunately, such missionary fervor often comes at a very high cost: because of it, you can lose many acquaintances and friends with whom it will be difficult or impossible to build bridges in the future.

Searching for Deep Experiences

Another serious mistake made by beginners is the search for sublime sensations, deep feelings and experiences. In no other period are people so inclined to look for miracles and signs, phenomena and signs from above at every step, as during the period of beginners becoming churchgoers. In this lies a great danger for the beginner, which can even end tragically - he can fall into spiritual delusion.

You need to understand that all these sensations relate to the sensory sphere, and not to the spiritual. The Holy Fathers strictly forbade seeing, feeling or imagining anything during prayer, or even wishing for it. Patericon cite many cases where, because of this, people fell into a “demonic trap” and died. This is why the holy fathers said:

If you see a young man ascending to heaven of his own free will, grab him by the leg and drag him to the ground, for this is not good for him.

A beginner can avoid this mistake only through humility. If he puts a true feeling of repentance at the center of his spiritual life and approaches himself critically, then he will not face such serious falls. No wonder the holy fathers said:

A person who is privileged to see his sins is higher than one who is privileged to see angels.

Keeping this in mind, the novice will be able to avoid many troubles throughout his entire spiritual life following churching.

The video will tell you more about the problems of converts and how to overcome them:

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