(Response to a letter received from abroad from a Russian Orthodox woman married to a Protestant, and regarding the excommunication of Count Leo Tolstoy)
All of us, children of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Universal Church, in perplexed cases concerning doctrine should not be guided by our own understandings, which may be erroneous, but should have guiding rules for this. And these rules are contained first of all in the book called "The Helmsman". This is a collection of the rules of the holy apostles, the Holy Ecumenical and Local Councils and some holy fathers.
At the end of this book, in the chapter "On the Roman apostasy, how they departed from the Orthodox faith and from the Holy Eastern Church," the Pope of Rome and his followers, who wrongly call themselves Catholics, are called heretics. There is nothing to say about other Christian Protestant denominations, since they have deviated even further from Orthodoxy.
In the same “Kormchaya kniga”, in the 10th chapter, in the 6th rule of the Local Council of Laodicea, the following judgment of the Holy Church is pronounced on heretics in general: “It is not fitting for heretics to enter the Church of God.” And in the 33rd rule of the same Council of Laodicea it is said: “Let no one pray with heretics and those who have rejected the Catholic Church.”
But here is the question: what is the view of the Holy Fathers of our Orthodox Church on heresy? In the "Patericon" of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) 1 it is said about the Venerable Agathon. Once some brethren visited him and wanted to test his humility and patience. They reproached him for pride, slander and dissolute life. The elder recognized all these vices in himself and tearfully asked his visitors to pray for him. When they called him a heretic, the elder said that he was not a heretic at all. When the brethren asked why the accusation of heresy alarmed him, he answered: "Because heresy is alienation from God. The heretic is separated from the living and true God and becomes partaker of the devil and his angels. “One who is excommunicated from Christ (of course, through the false teaching about Christ that he professes) no longer has God to Whom he could pray for his sins, and in all respects he is lost.”
And if this were not so, if, that is, heresies, or false teachings as a consequence of freethinking did not have such a pernicious significance in the Holy Church of Christ, then the holy Apostle Paul would not have written such warnings to the first Christians: Brethren, take heed lest any man deceive you through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ ( Col. 2:8 ). And again: there are some which trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach unto you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed ( Gal. 1:7-8 ).
However, our Orthodox Church, by its inherent love for mankind, allows us to pray for those who are cut off from it, that is, for heretics, as can be seen in the same “Kormchaya Book,” in chapter 15, in the 66th rule of the Carthaginian Local Council. But what to pray for? – “Pray that they may leave delusion and know the truth.”
And in another book, “The Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of the East” 3 , in its first part, at the end of the answer to the 92nd question, it is also permitted to pray “for heretics and schismatics, so that they would convert to the Orthodox faith before the end of their lives.”
This is what the Orthodox Church does. For example, in the memorial book (at the end of the Psalter of the Supplement) we pray: “Enlighten those who have fallen away from the Orthodox faith and are blinded by destructive heresies with the light of Your knowledge and count them among Your Holy Apostolic Catholic Church.”
Now let us present some of our considerations. From the above-cited passages it is clear that our Orthodox Church permits prayers for heretics only for the living, not for the dead, and only for their conversion to the Orthodox faith. When, let us add to this, a heretic converts to the Orthodox faith through the prayers of the Holy Church, then the church prayer for him will be completely different, that is, for the salvation of his soul.
How does a person achieve salvation? One of the main conditions for achieving salvation is repentance. We see examples of this in the Holy Gospel. The publican received justification through repentance ( Luke 18:10-14 ). The prodigal son returned to the Father through repentance ( Luke 15:11-32 ). The wise thief, crucified with the Lord Jesus Christ, also entered paradise through repentance ( Luke 23:40-43 ). And the Lord said of Himself that He came to earth to call sinners to repentance ( Matt. 9:13 ). All people have need of repentance. For all have sinned , as the apostle says, and fall short of the glory of God ( Rom. 3:23 ). But if a non-Orthodox or a heretic were to think of bringing repentance for his sins before an Orthodox priest, his repentance would be invalid. We read in the "Orthodox Confession" in the first part of question 113: what should we observe during the sacrament of Repentance? Answer. First, we must see that the repentant is a Christian of the Orthodox and Catholic faith, for repentance without true faith is not repentance and is not accepted by God.
But all this was said about living unrighteous Christians, or heretics. What can be said about their souls that have departed from this life?
Although in the “Extensive Christian Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church” 4 in the 11th article it is said that the souls of the dead can be assisted in attaining a blessed resurrection by prayers offered for them, especially those combined with the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, this is said about the souls of Orthodox Christians, and moreover those who died with faith. What hope can there be for the soul of an unrighteous believer who died in his errors and did not bring sincere repentance for them before the Lord? And how and what can one pray for such a soul? - One cannot pray for its salvation (“With the saints give rest…”), because during his life the unorthodox believer did not renounce his errors and did not bring sincere repentance for them before the Lord. It is too late to pray for the soul to turn to repentance, because the soul cannot repent after being separated from the body, since the future life is not a time for repentance, but for retribution.
And even this must be taken into account: why would the Orthodox Church compose special rites for the conversion of Roman Catholics and Protestants to the Orthodox faith, if it were possible to pray for the salvation of their souls without this? However, our Holy Church certainly demands from every non-Orthodox who wishes to be in communion with her that he publicly – before the whole Church – renounce his errors and accept the pure Christian teaching. And further: if it were possible to pray the Church prayer for the salvation of the souls of deceased non-Orthodox believers or at least for the easing of their fate after death, then special litanies or petitions for them would certainly be used during the services of the Orthodox Church. However, in all our church services there is nothing of the sort. On the contrary, in the first week of Great Lent, celebrating the Triumph of Orthodoxy, our Holy Church pronounces anathema, that is, excommunication from union with itself, of all heretics and apostates from Orthodoxy; consequently, of both the Latins, or Roman Catholics, and the Protestants. How then, we ask, can the Church at the same time both anathematize and pray for them?
In confirmation of what has been said, we will cite here the words of our ever-memorable saint, the late Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow. He says: “It is one thing to pray for the union of non-Orthodox churches with the Orthodox Church in a vast composition of prayers that embrace the entire world, and another to commemorate non-Orthodox in diptychs 5 (synodicons or memorials) during the sacrament of the Eucharist. Non-Orthodox, by their very non-Orthodoxy, have excommunicated themselves from the communion of the sacraments of the Orthodox Church. This corresponds to their non-commemoration during the sacrament of the Eucharist and their exclusion from the diptychs” 6 .
Let us note here that the words “exclusion from diptychs” lead to the idea that the names of non-Orthodox Christians should not be remembered in any Orthodox church service. For how, in fact, should they be remembered when they are excluded from the diptychs?
They will say: it is too strict to reason like that. – What can be done? But you cannot beg mercy from the Lord by force. For our God is a jealous God ( Ex. 20:5 ); the Lord is righteous and loves justice ( Ps. 10:7 ). There were cases when He Himself forbade praying for people. Thus, He spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about His people: But do not pray for this people, and do not ask that mercy may be shown to them, and do not pray, nor come to Me for them, for I will not hear you ( Jer. 7:16 ). And this commandment of the Lord applies to people who are still alive, therefore, who still have the opportunity to repent. And the prophet did not dare to disobey the word of the Lord, justifying his prayer for them by his love for mankind.
However, speaking of this, we have in mind here only the church-public prayer for non-Orthodox Christians, which if actually allowed in the Orthodox Church, will inevitably result in the greatest harm, an inexhaustible evil for Orthodoxy. Let us think, for example: how many Orthodox Christians are there who are firm in the faith they profess? Is it not the case that a large part of them has a weak faith, like a spark, ready to go out at any moment? And if such people hear in Orthodox churches the commemoration of the health or repose of Roman Catholics or Protestants, will they not soon come to the following conclusion: therefore, no matter how you believe, it makes no difference? And because of this, falling away from the Orthodox Church will have to be repeated more and more often, if not formally, then in the soul. And here comes the greatest grief. Unbeknownst to the corrupted person himself, he may be Orthodox only in name, but in the actual fact he may be unorthodox or even completely unbeliever.
Likewise, Christians of other confessions, seeing that the Orthodox Church prays for them, should come to the same conclusion about the equality of all faiths. And this can distract even those who wish to join the Orthodox Church. “After all, the Orthodox are praying for us anyway,” they will say.
However, this is precisely what some people are concerned about, saying that all people, no matter what faith they profess, will be saved, and also: the Lord did not indicate to us what faith to hold. These are false human dreams. That not all will be saved is evident from the Holy Gospel. In depicting His Last Judgment, the Lord directly divides all people into two classes, and places some at His right hand and leads them into the Kingdom of Heaven, while others are placed at His left and sent into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (see: Matthew 25:31-46 ). And those who inherit the Kingdom of Heaven will be a smaller part - even from among the Orthodox, only those who will live in an Orthodox manner. This is also evident from the words of the Lord Himself: For many are called, but few are chosen ( Matthew 20:16 ). As for the second objection, that is, that the Lord did not indicate to us what faith to maintain, it must be said that this is a slander against God. For did not the Son of God descend to earth in order to teach people a clear and detailed teaching about how they should believe and order their lives according to faith? Therefore He says: I did not come to destroy the law of Moses, but to fulfill it ( Matt. 5:17 ). And He also said about Himself: I am the way, the truth, and the life ( John 14:6 ). And His teaching is called the words of eternal life ( John 6:68 ). And therefore He called everyone to Himself, saying: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink ( John 7:37 ). And again: Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, etc. ( Matt. 11:28, 29 ). And after His resurrection, sending His disciples to preach, the Lord commanded them to teach all nations to observe all that He had commanded (see: Matthew 28:20 ). The Apostles set forth in writing all the true doctrine and moral teaching commanded by the Lord in the Holy Gospel and their Epistles. The holy fathers and teachers of the Church of Christ who followed them explained in detail all this true doctrine and moral teaching contained in the Holy Scriptures , in all its fullness and purity, without any admixture of human incorrect opinions and understandings. And in the beginning this Church of Christ was one and only in the whole world. And only from the 9th century did the Roman popes arbitrarily begin to mix their false reasoning with the true teaching of Christ, through which the Roman Church separated from the Eastern Orthodox Church. And the further time went on, the more errors increased in the Roman Church, and it finally came to the point that some Roman Catholics who were dissatisfied with it fell away from it and formed their own churches, Protestant ones, which deviated even further from Orthodoxy.
The Lord Himself said in the Holy Gospel about the importance of obedience to the Holy Church of Christ: if anyone disobeys the Church, let him be to you as a heathen and a publican (cf. Matt. 18:17 ).
But let us return to our main subject. What does this mean: Orthodox Christians do not ask Roman Catholics and Protestants to pray for themselves and for their dead, while the latter, on the contrary, often ask the Orthodox to serve memorial services for their relatives, etc.? What is the reason for this? It is obvious that this reason is the poverty of the inner spiritual content of the Western non-orthodox Christian churches. The soul of a Roman Catholic or Protestant, thirsting for salvation, cannot find satisfaction for its highest spiritual needs in its church, and therefore turns to the Orthodox Church, to which alone are inherent all the Divine powers that lead to life and godliness ( 2 Pet. 1:3 ). And this is confirmed by the deeds themselves. Often, non-Orthodox believers who sincerely joined the Orthodox Church, soon after joining and after partaking of the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, felt in their souls inexplicable spiritual consolations, of which they had no idea before joining the Orthodox Church. And this can also serve as proof of the insolvency of the Western churches, that their defenders always defend their untrue reasoning with passion and bitterness against our Holy Orthodox Church. And it is said in the Holy Scripture about God: in peace is His place ( Psalm 75:3 ). This means that where there is peace and love, there alone is God , and where there is unrest and bitterness, there can be no grace from God, and the Lord does not favor bitter hearts.
However, speaking about the strictness of our Orthodox Church in relation to the commemoration of unfaithful Christians, we do not mean that our Holy Church commands us, her children, not to pray for them in any way. She only forbids us to pray on our own, that is, to pray as we want and as we please. Our Mother Orthodox Church instills in us that everything for us, including prayer itself , should be done in order and decorously (cf. 1 Cor. 14:40 ). We pray at all our church services for all the peoples of different tribes and for the whole world, most often without knowing or understanding it ourselves. Namely, we pray as our Lord Jesus Christ taught his apostles to pray in the prayer given by Him: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ( Matt. 6:10 )! This all-encompassing petition embraces all needs, both ours and those of our blood-related, albeit unorthodox, brothers. Here we ask the All-Good Lord for the souls of deceased non-Orthodox Christians, that He would do with them what is pleasing to His holy will. For the Lord knows immeasurably better than we do to whom and what mercy to show.
So, Orthodox Christian! Whoever you are, a layman or a priest of God, if during any church service you are moved to pray for some Karl or Edward close to you, then during the reading or singing of the Lord's Prayer , sigh for him to the Lord and say: "May Thy holy will be done for him, O Lord!" - and limit yourself to this prayer. For this is how you have been taught to pray by the Lord Himself. And believe that such a prayer of yours will be a thousand times more pleasing to the Lord and more useful for your soul than all your self-imposed church commemorations.
All the thoughts we have expressed, based, as anyone can see, on the Divine Scripture and the tradition of the Holy Fathers, naturally lead us to the following conclusion: “To pray for non-Orthodox Christians with church-public prayer on an equal footing with Orthodox Christians, that is, to commemorate their names in churches in the same way as the names of Orthodox Christians are commemorated, is contrary to the teachings and decrees of our One Holy Catholic Apostolic Ecumenical Church.” This is what we say, and this is what we do. And this is not at all out of hatred for non-Orthodox Christians and not because we do not wish them well, but because our self-willed or arbitrary prayer for them will not please God and will be useless for their souls, and will turn into sin for those praying for them. We can see a clear example of this in the Israeli king Saul 7 . Apparently, he did a good deed when, before the war with the Philistines, he turned to God with prayer and sacrifice. But since he acted arbitrarily in this case, without waiting, as he was told, for the prophet of God Samuel, he not only failed to attract God's favor and blessing, but also deserved God's wrath and punishment. Let us add to this that arbitrariness is a sin in everything , and even an intolerable vice among people. There is a proverb: one's own will is greater than the king. However, let us note that the king punishes those who do not obey the king's laws. Why? Because a arbitrariness harms himself, his family, the society in which he lives, the state, and the Church; in a word, a arbitrariness is an unpleasant person. And arbitrariness itself does not like those who do not obey them and, if they have the opportunity, punishes them. But we all want to live and pray, each in our own way.
Now let us say a few words about private prayer. There is perhaps the only example known in our Orthodox Church of a private prayer of one saint of God helping the souls of deceased non-believers, even pagans. This is how the Venerable Macarius of Egypt told about himself. “Once, walking through the desert, I found the skull of some dead man lying on the ground. When I hit the skull with a palm stick, it said something to me. I asked it: “Who are you?” The skull answered me: “I was the chief priest of the idols and pagans who lived in this place, and you are Macarius the Spirit-bearer. When you, taking pity on those suffering in torment, begin to pray for them, they feel some comfort.” The elder asked him: “What kind of comfort is this? And what kind of torment?” The skull said to him: “As far as the sky is from the earth, so much fire is beneath us, and we stand in the fire from head to toe. It is forbidden for any of us to see another face to face. For us, the face of one is turned to the back of another. But when you pray for us, then each one sees a little of the other’s face. This is our consolation!” The elder wept and said: “Unhappy day on which man was born!” The elder asked further: “Is there not an even more grievous torment?” The skull answered him: “Below us is an even more terrible torment.” The elder asked: “And who is there?” The skull answered: “We, as those who did not know God, have been shown some mercy, but those who have come to know God and have rejected Him (of course, through vain wisdom in faith and wicked life) – they are beneath us.” After this, the elder took the skull and buried it in the ground.” 8 .
From this story of the blessed father we see first of all that his prayer for the pagans suffering in the flames was not a church-public prayer, but a private one. This is the prayer of a solitary hermit, who prayed in the secret cell of his heart. For if he himself had not told others about this prayer, then it would have remained unknown to anyone. Then, this prayer can partly serve as a reason for us, Orthodox Christians, to pray for the living and dead infidels with private, home prayer, but only as a reason, and by no means as an example, for the saint did not tell us how he prayed for the pagans, did not teach us this; this prayer cannot serve as an example for us because the saint who prayed it, Macarius, was a great saint of God, and therefore, one who acquired great boldness before the Lord. Should we, wallowing in the abyss of sin, follow the example of such a prayer book? In only one thing can it serve as an example for us, namely, that the Venerable Macarius prayed for the pagans not with an arbitrary prayer, but as the Spirit of God, dwelling in his pure heart, instructed him, who not only instructed him, but also made him pray for the whole world - for all people, living and dead, as is usual and characteristic of the loving hearts of all the saints of God; as the holy Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: our heart is enlarged : ye are not crowded together in us ( 2 Cor. 6:11-12 ).
So, we can now agree that Orthodox Christians can pray for non-Orthodox Christians – living and dead – through private prayer at home, but we will also remind them: not to pray on their own – not as we think and desire (so as not to bring upon ourselves the wrath of God instead of favor), but according to the instructions of people experienced in spiritual life.
There was an incident during the life of the Optina elder Leonid (in schema Leo), who died in 1841. One of his disciples, Pavel Tambovtsev, lost a parent to an unhappy, violent death – suicide. The loving son was deeply saddened by the news of this and therefore poured out his grief to the elder: “The unfortunate death of my parent is a heavy cross for me. Yes, I am now on the cross, whose illnesses will go with me to the grave. Imagining an eternity terrible for sinners, in which there is no more repentance, I am tormented by the idea of the eternal torments that await my parent, who died without repentance. Tell me, father, how can I console myself in this grief? " The elder's answer: "Entrust both yourself and the fate of your parent to the will of the Lord, all-wise, all-powerful. Do not test the Most High with miracles. Strive to strengthen yourself with humility within the limits of moderate sorrow. Pray to the Most Good Creator, fulfilling thereby the duty of love and the duty of a son." Question: "But how to pray for such?" Answer: "In the spirit of the virtuous and wise thus: "Seek, O Lord, the lost soul of my father; if it be possible, have mercy! Thy judgments are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin . But may Thy holy will be done!" Pray simply, without trial, committing your heart to the right hand of the Most High. Of course, it was not the will of God for such a sorrowful end to your parent, but now he is completely in the will of Him Who is able to cast both soul and body into the fiery furnace, Who both humbles and exalts, deadens and makes alive, brings down to hell and raises up. At the same time, He is so merciful, omnipotent and loving that the good qualities of all earthly beings are nothing before His highest goodness. For this reason, you should not be overly sad. You will say: “I love my parent, which is why I grieve inconsolably.” - True. But God, incomparably more than you, loved and loves him. Therefore, it remains for you to leave the eternal fate of your parent to the goodness and mercy of God, Who, if He deigns to have mercy, then who can resist Him? 9 "
This private, cell, or home prayer given here , taught by the elder Leonid, experienced in spiritual life, to his disciple, can serve as an example or model of prayer for an Orthodox Christian for some non-Orthodox Christian close to him. For example, he can pray in this sense: “Have mercy, O Lord, if possible, on the soul of Thy servant (name), who has departed to eternal life in apostasy from Thy Holy Orthodox Church! Thy judgments are inscrutable. Do not make this my prayer a sin . But may Thy holy will be done!”
We do not know and no one has been told how much benefit such a prayer can bring to the soul of a deceased non-Orthodox Christian . But experience has shown that it moderates the burning heartache of the person praying for the soul of a person close to him, even if he did not die in Orthodoxy.
In conclusion, let us say: let not our hearts be troubled, and let not the strictness of the statutes of our Holy Orthodox Church frighten us! But above all, be bold, be bold, people of God! All this should not lead us to hopelessness of our salvation, but, on the contrary, should arouse our souls to contrite, humble repentance before the Lord for our sins, while the doors of His mercy are not yet closed to us. For, according to the words of the Psalmist, a contrite and humble heart God will not despise ( Ps. 50:19 ). And the more humble and self-condemned the prayer is, the more reliable and successful it is.