How to overcome irritation and anger: advice from a confessor. Orthodox faith - anger

Hieronymus Bosch. Anger

Do not speak with irritation, but let your words be with wisdom and understanding, as well as your silence... (St. Anthony the Great, 89, 103).

Irritation is the intoxication of the soul, it also brings the soul out of the mind, like wine (St. Basil the Great, 8, 17).

The mind also has anger, which is not alien to nature; without anger, a person cannot have purity, that is, if<человек>he will not be angry at everything that is instilled in us from the enemy ... This anger has turned into such a state in us that we ignite it on our neighbors for some insignificant and useless things (St. Abba Isaiah, 59, 11).

If you are able to cut the bitter root of irritability with a chaste mind, then you will destroy many passions at their very beginning (St. Basil the Great, 8, 153).

It is better to stop irritation with a smile than to rage indomitably (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30, 175).

Four things increase anger in us: when we strive to satisfy desires, when we follow our own will, when we appropriate the right to teach, and when we consider ourselves wise (St. Abba Isaiah, 59, 51).

If you need to (reprove) your brother, and you see yourself in anger and disorder, then do not say anything to him, so as not to become more upset (St. Abba Isaiah, 88, 430).

An irritable and noisy person is generous with oaths, but a silent one is reasonable (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30, 193).

Like the poison of asps, then irritability and memory of malice; because they change the face, and disturb the mind, and weaken the veins, and produce in a person a lack of strength to do things, but meekness and love put all this away (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30, 194).

The Lord threatens the angry in vain with judgment, but does not forbid, where necessary, to use anger, as if in the form of medicine (St. Basil the Great, 8, 151).

Anger is an unsafe adviser for everyone; what is done in anger is never prudent (St. Gregory the Theologian, 15, 362).

When, for some reason, the irritable part of our soul becomes anxious, then the demons offer us hermitage as a good thing, so that, having eliminated the causes of grief, we would not be freed from embarrassment ... (Abba Evagrius, 89, 572).

Just as the stomach cannot accept healthy and solid food when it is weak, so the haughty and irritable soul, becoming powerless and relaxed, cannot receive the spiritual word (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 478).

It is common for people who are faint-hearted, cruel and dejected by grief to get annoyed about insignificant cases ... (St. John Chrysostom, 53, 730).

Being in annoyance, we will not be able to say or hear anything sensible; having freed ourselves from passion, we ourselves will never utter an offensive word, and we will not hear insult in the words of others (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 614).

Many ridicule you as a vindictive person who resorts to poor protection, to irritability, which the Creator gave to help the soul, in order to strengthen bodily strength during laziness and relaxation. Therefore, if those who ridicule you speak the truth, then it is clear that you do not know the purpose of the Creator, using iron for murder, beauty for seduction, tongue for blasphemy, and making the Giver of blessings the perpetrator of evil. Therefore, curb your irritability as soon as possible, so that it does not overthrow<она>you headlong into destruction (St. Isidore Pelusiot, 60, 164-165).

Irritation (φνμος) and anger (οργη) seem to me to be almost the same thing; but the former points to the rapid movement of passion, abducting the ability to think, and the latter to a long-term stay in passion. Why is the first called so from the word inflammation (αναφυμιαδις), and the second from the word sour (οργαν) and desire revenge (αμυνης εραν) (St. Isidore Pelusiot, 62, 137).

If someone ... annoys you, or somehow saddens you, then, according to the word of the fathers, pray for him, as he has done you great benefit and heals your voluptuousness. Through this your irritability will decrease; for, according to the holy fathers, love is a bridle of irritability (St. Abba Dorotheos, 29, 205).

Nothing is more repugnant to penitents than embarrassment from irritability, because repentance requires great humility, and irritability is a sign of great exaltation (St. John of the Ladder, 57, 89).

The passions of irritation are: anger, bitterness, squabbling, irascibility, impudence, arrogance, arrogance, and other similar things (St. Gregory of Sinai, 93, 193).

You will easily succeed in angerlessness and meekness if you turn everything away from yourself, and move your soul to love, keep silent more, moderately saturate yourself with food, and always pray, as the fathers said: “curb the irritable part of the soul with love, wither the desirable with abstinence, inspire reasonable prayer; and the light of the mind will never be darkened in you” (Patr. Kallistos and St. Ignatius, 93, 396).

Irritability must be dealt with. The first step is not to give in... to grit your teeth and move away... (St. Feofan, Zatv. Vyshensky, 82, 249).

"Unjust anger cannot be justified,for the very movement of anger is a fall for a man" (Sir.1, 22)

“No one should justify their irritabilitysome kind of illness - it comes from pride ...Irritability is not tamed by fasting,but humility and self-reproach and consciousness,that we are worthy of such an unpleasant position.”

Rev. Ambrose of Optina

Saint John Chrysostom(347-407): “Anger is a beast, and as much as others try to train lions, show so much diligence on yourself and make your unbridled anger quiet and meek: for anger has such terrible teeth and claws that it will destroy everything if you do not tame it. ... He not only harms the body, but upsets the very mental health, eating, tearing, crushing all his strength and making him incapable of anything. Whoever has worms inside cannot breathe when all his insides are eaten away. How then can we produce anything noble, bearing within ourselves this serpent (I mean wrath), which devours our insides? How can we get rid of this plague? If we use a drink that can kill the internal worms and snakes. But what kind of drink ... has such power? The precious blood of Christ, if accepted with hope. She can heal any disease.

And along with this - attentive listening to the Divine Scriptures and almsgiving added to it. By all these means the passions that weaken our soul can be mortified. And only then will we live, and now we are no better than the dead ...

Nothing so darkens the purity of the soul and the clarity of thoughts as unbridled anger and expressed with great force. Anger destroys and reasonable(Prov. 15, 1) , says the wise one. The eye of the soul darkened by him, as if in a night battle, cannot distinguish friends from enemies and honest from dishonest, but treats everyone equally and, even if some harm is to be suffered, he soon decides on everything to please the soul. For the ardor of anger contains a certain pleasure, and even more than any pleasure takes possession of the soul, overturning all its healthy state. It produces pride, unjust enmity, reckless hatred, often compels indiscriminately and without reason to inflict insults, and compels to speak and do many other similar things, since the soul is carried away by a strong pressure of passion and cannot gather its strength to resist its aspirations.

In order to boldly approach God, do not allow anger when it wants to enter your soul and unite with it, but drive it away like a mad dog.

Saint Macarius the Great (391):“If you, while reprimanding someone, get angry, you will satisfy your passion. Thus, in order to save another, you must not destroy yourself.”

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian(306-378): "If you want to win anger, acquire meekness and generosity and keep in mind how much evil the Jews did to our Lord Jesus Christ, and, however, He, as a God who loves people, did not get angry with them, but, on the contrary, prayed for them, saying: Father, let them go this sin : they don't know what they're doing(Luke 23:34)."

Saint Maximus the Confessor (662): " If the property of love is long-suffering and merciful (1 Cor. 13:4), then it is obvious that one who is angry and spiteful is a stranger to love. But alien to love, alien to God: because God is love(1 John 4, 8).

When you are offended by someone, or humiliated in something: beware of thoughts of anger, so that they, due to this insult, separating you from love, do not move you into the realm of hatred.

Venerable Gregory of Sinai (1360) writes about anger: “Nothing pacifies and tames anger like courage and mercy. They break the enemies besieging the city (souls): the first - external, the second - internal.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783)“Just as fire is not quenched by fire, so anger is not overcome by anger, but is kindled even more. From here arise quarrels, wars, fights, bloodshed, murders and other evils. And with meekness and love, even the most ferocious enemies often bow and reconcile.

Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894):“Irritability must be dealt with. The first step is not to give in… grit your teeth and move away… Pray to tears every time… God will have mercy and heal.”

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908): “It is remarkable that irritable people after the agony of strong and prolonged anger and after experiencing all its torment become, as they say, silky, meek and meek. What has been said about anger and irritability must also be said about other passions. The Lord Himself indicated for them the punishment in themselves, in their extreme agony. This is how pride, hatred, avarice, avarice are punished. Each passion is its own executioner and at the same time the tormentor of every person possessed by it. The human soul is a free force, for it can become either a good or an evil force, depending on what direction you yourself give it.

Rev. Macarius of Optina (1788-1860):“Know also the root of anger and rage: it is pride; with humility opposite to it, cast it out, with the help of God, who looks after the humble.

Rev. Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891):“No one should justify his irritability with some kind of illness - this comes from pride. A husband's anger according to the holy apostle James, does not work the righteousness of God(James 1:20). In order not to indulge in irritability and anger, one should not rush.

Irritability is not tamed by fasting, but humility and self-reproach and the consciousness that we are worthy of such an unpleasant position.

... An irritable state of mind comes, firstly, from self-love, which is not done according to our desire and outlook on things, and secondly, from disbelief that the fulfillment of the commandments of God in the present place will not bring you any benefit.

Rev. Hilarion of Optina (1805-1873):“If you feel that anger has seized you, remain silent and do not say anything until your heart is calmed by unceasing prayer and self-reproach.”

Rev. Anatoly Optina (Zertsalov) (1824-1894):“You complain that passions are fighting you: grumbling and anger! What are we to do with you? .. Where can we run away from ourselves? Be patient... and the Lord will help. But only know that these passions, that is, grumbling and anger, are purely diabolical. Saint Isaac the Syrian says that God has mercy on a sinning person who repents, but a murmurer will not be forgiven if he does not punish. Therefore, humble yourself with all your might. And if you sin because of human weakness, quickly despise yourself and ask the Lord for forgiveness. And if others are strict with you, do not be embarrassed. Severity saved many, and indulgence ruined many. And Chrysostom says that most of those who are saved are saved by the fear of Gehenna.

Rev. Joseph of Optina (1837-1911):“You are embarrassed, and evil boils in your soul for everyone. It comes from selfishness and vanity. Try to always consider yourself before the Lord worse and more sinful than everyone in the world and pray at this time: Lord, have mercy on us sinners understanding both yourself and those with whom you are angry.

Elder Arseny (Minin) (1823-1879):"Lightning rod. If when (which often happens in sorrow) you become angry with someone, then remember that the head of all evil is the devil, he sows discord among people and instead of being angry with your neighbor, turn your anger on the one who is the main cause of all evils. A person is often blind tool of the spirit of malice and therefore deserves condescension and pity.

When you get angry, insist on your will or illegally enjoy something, then the demon, having bribed you, dances around you with triumph, and the guardian angel, sullen, moves away.

Being angry and irritable is nothing but punishing yourself for other people's stupidity.

Elder Schemagumen Savva (1898-1980): “Do not feed, beloved, to anyone evil. When you feel like anger mastered you, then say to yourself: "Lord have mercy!" And then 5 times: breathe in: “Lord” and exhale: “have mercy”, and anger will pass, peace and silence will come. This is the feat!

The second feat is non-judgment, especially of clergy. Try, beloved, to become accustomed to the exploits of love and mercy, forgiveness of insults and non-judgment.

Disgrace and reproach are the essence of medicine for a proud soul Therefore, when they humble you from the outside, humble yourself inwardly, that is, prepare, educate your soul.

Seeing how they suffer from the sin of irritability, anger, the father said: “Some people have such anger, such irritability, as the waves beat, rise, rustle on the sea. But if we are scolded, it is not terrible, as long as we do not do this, do not get angry ourselves. Imagine how hard it is for an angry person, because he has hell in his soul. We need to take pity on him, pray for him.”

“It is important for a person to maintain peace of mind, not to succumb to irritability and anger. And if you are irritated, then it is very important to hold your tongue at that moment or leave. Kill your irritability and anger with the Jesus Prayer or the prayer “Virgin Mary, Rejoice.” Read the Gospel at this moment, if possible. Though you don’t understand anything at this moment, but read it anyway, because through sight the rays of grace will pass into the soul. Note: after such an exercise, you will soon calm down. And if you get irritated and flare up again, do not be embarrassed by failures, disobedience of the heart. Try to gradually eradicate your temper and ask the Lord for help.

At confession, to one servant of God, after listening to her complaint about her temper, the elder said:

- I took on a lot. Do everything according to your strength, then you will not be annoyed and indignant that people do not appreciate your work. Do everything within your power for the sake of the Lord, and do not expect praise and gratitude from people. Always expect rewards from the Lord, not from people! It's clear? So get rid of indignation, and I will pray.

Spiritual daughter remembers: “... I was upset because of the children that they did not help me. I come to the father and ask:

— How to be?

- When you get tired, then cross yourself and say: "I do it for Christ" and Christ will help you.

And so it began to do. My grievances disappeared, and there was no fatigue. As soon as I feel that I am annoyed, I look at the photo of the priest and ask:

- Father Savva, help me, I'm getting irritated.

I come to him, he says:

“Here you are writing to me: "I'm annoyed, please help"(I didn't write). - In his hand he has an icon of the Mother of God "Burning Bush", he gives it to me and says:

- It helps not only from the fire of the house, but also from the fire of the soul. Pray to her.

I began to pray to the Mother of God in front of this icon. I felt at ease, I stopped getting annoyed.

“Everyone here is sick, only in different forms: some have one, some have two, and some have two thousand demons. AND if we are irritated, then we are sick… »

Elder Paisius Svyatogorets (1924-1994):
“... If a person boils anger no matter what you say to him, it will not make any sense. At such a moment, it is better to shut up and say the Jesus Prayer. From prayer, he will calm down, calm down, and then you can come to an understanding with him. Look, even the fishermen do not go out to fish if the sea is rough. They are patiently waiting for the weather to improve.”

A person who succumbs to anger experiences great stress. Both body and soul suffer.

Prayer for anger and irritability helps a person cope with fits of rage.

A person who knows how to forgive his offenders receives harmony with himself as a reward.

Holy Fathers on Anger

Created by the Creator, irritability should help the soul during laziness and relaxation.

Cowardly people get angry at the slightest provocation. Anger is not a safe advisor.

A decision made in such a state is never prudent.

Like a sick stomach that does not take healthy food, a person who is arrogant and irritable is unable to say or hear anything healthy.

Four things that make a person angry:

• the desire to satisfy wishes;
• satisfaction of own interests;
• the right of teaching;
• confidence in your wisdom.

A person possessed by a demon of anger can hurt the closest people.

In those moments when he feels that he is overcome by rage, malice, the Holy Fathers say what is needed, clenching his teeth, move away.

To succumb to anger means to commit sin. Anger can and should be dealt with.

Instructions of the Holy Fathers:

• learn to love;
• pray;
• eat in moderation;
• be more silent.

According to the holy fathers, in order to curb one's irritability, one should pray for the one who offended or grieved, and thank him for the great benefit.

Only with a pure soul can one turn to God. A prayer read with resentment in the heart will not be heard. Appeal to the Creator and anger are not compatible.

Prayer to David for Anger

• calm down;
• cope with difficulties;
• protect yourself from arrogant, irritated people;
• recover from ailments.

It is extremely difficult to read a long prayer when anger or other passion is about to take up. To neutralize outbursts of rage, your own or another person, you need to say a short phrase: "Lord, remember King David and all his meekness."

What is righteous anger in Orthodoxy

Anger directed against sin is considered righteous. It brings spiritual benefit to a person, leaving no malice in the heart.

Just like anger that leads to sin, righteousness is also dissatisfaction with something. This is a weapon given by God to protect against sinful thoughts.

Righteous anger is the desire to push away everything that is wrong and bad.

For righteous anger to “become a habit,” you must be constantly and consciously angry at your own sins. Having such a skill, a person will be able to calmly respond to temptations and not succumb to them.

Why is anger a sin

Anything that deprives a person of God's grace, and leads to a feeling of separation from God, is considered a mortal sin. Anger is a destructive force. It destroys love, friendship, sympathy.

The soul without its Creator dies. In the absence of repentance, she will go to hell. That is why anger is a mortal sin.

How not to get annoyed

It is quite difficult for an angry person to remain calm during a conversation.

The first thing to do in the face of growing anger is to shut up. In order not to get annoyed over trifles, you can prepare in advance.

If you have a meeting with unpleasant people, you should consider all possible options for the development of the scenario and take into account all the details that could piss you off.

In order not to be irritated, demonic thoughts must be cut off immediately. There are the following ways:

1. Opposition to thoughts.
2. The law of spiritual displacement (instead of revenge - prayer).
3. Immersion under thoughts (reflections on future torments in the hellish depths).

The principle of weighing helps to cope with gloomy thoughts and irritability. On one side of the scale, you need to imagine what caused anger, on the other - possible losses (peace, trust, good disposition of neighbors).

Alternatively, to forget about your rage, you can do some work. Irritable thoughts often visit lazy and idle people.

What other prayers are there to pacify anger

To get rid of evil thoughts, you need to read spiritual books, Holy Scripture, the New Testament, the Psalter. Prayers that help in any non-peaceful situation:

1. About reconciliation in the enmity of beings.
2. About those who hate and offend us.
3. From anger and anger to Ephraim the Syrian.
4. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
5. Mother of God.
6. Jesus Christ.
7. Invoking the help of the Holy Spirit.

In order not to turn into an obedient toy of Satan, the embers of passions need to be extinguished, and not inflated. Any quarrels should be avoided. It is better to smile back or joke.

St. Theophilus of Antioch: " Will you tell me: "So God is angry?" Yes, He is angry with those who do evil, but He is kind, generous and merciful to those who love and fear Him; for he is the teacher of the godly and the father of the righteous, but the judge and punisher of the wicked(The Epistle to Autolycus, book 1, part 3).

St. Irenaeus of Lyon: " Since in both Testaments the same truth of God is manifested in the punishment of offenders of God, and there (in the Old) it is representative, temporary and more moderate, but here (in the New) it is true, eternal and much more severe, for eternal fire and the wrath of God revealed from heaven from the face of our Lord, as David says: “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to destroy their memory from the earth” (Ps. 33:17), - causes a great punishment to those who are subject to it; then the presbyters exposed the senselessness of those who, on the basis of what happened to those who had previously disobeyed God, are trying to introduce another Father, contrasting this with how much the Lord did in His mercy, having come for the salvation of those who received Him, and silent about His judgment and about what awaits those who hear His teaching and do not do it, and what would have been better if they had not been born, and that Sodom and Gomorrah would be happier in judgment than the city that did not accept the words of His disciples.

For just as in the New Testament the faith of men in God increased, receiving in addition the Son of God, so that man could become a partaker of God, so the demands regarding the way of life increased, for we are commanded to refrain not only from bad deeds, but even from bad thoughts and from idle conversations, empty speeches and frivolous words; the punishment for those who do not believe the Word of God, despise His coming and turn back, has also increased, and has become not only temporary, but also eternal" (Against Heresies, Book 4, ch. 28, 1-2) .

Shmch.Cyprian of Carthage: " Finally, how inseparable the sacrament of unity is, how hopeless and how great punishment those who cause a schism, and, having left the bishop, set themselves apart from another false bishop, are hopeless and how great punishment they deserve from the wrath of God - this is proclaimed by Holy Scripture in the Books of Kings, which says that ten tribes separated from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and leaving their king, they appointed for themselves another, outside: and the Lord was angry with all the seed of Israel, and I shook, and I gave into the hands of those who plunder, until I rejected from my presence. As if Israel had been cut off from the house of David, and set up for themselves the king Jeroboam the son of Navat (2 Kings 17:20:21). It is said that the Lord was angry and delivered them to destruction because they separated from the unity and set themselves another king. And the wrath of the Lord against those who caused the schism was so great that even when the man of God was sent to Jeroboam to convict his sins and predict his future vengeance; he was forbidden to eat their bread and drink water. And when he did not observe this and, contrary to the commandment of God, dined with them; then he was immediately struck by the greatness of the judgment of God: on the way back, a lion attacked him, and, biting him, took his life"(Letter (No. 62): To Magnus about the baptism of Novatians and about those who received baptism in illness).

St. Anthony the Great: “One commander, named Valakiy, mercilessly persecuted us Christians out of zeal for the wicked Arians. He was so cruel that he beat the virgins, exposed and punished the monks with scourges. Anthony sends him and writes a letter in this sense: “I see the wrath of God that is coming upon you. Stop persecuting Christians, otherwise wrath will overtake you. For he is ready to strike you already." Valakiy, laughing, threw the letter on the ground and spat on it, offended those who brought it and ordered Anthony to say the following: "Because you care about the monks then I will come to you." But five days had not passed before the wrath of God overtook him. Balakiy with Nestorius, the eparch of Egypt, went to the first overnight stay from Alexandria, called Chereus; both rode on horses that belonged to Balakiy, and these horses were more meek As soon as they got to the place, the horses, as usual, began to play among themselves, and the most meek of them, on which Nestorius rode, suddenly began to bite Valakiy and gnawed his leg so much with his teeth that they immediately carried him to the city, and on the third day he died. Then everyone was surprised that Anthony's prediction came true so soon."(St. Athanasius the Great. Life of St. Anthony the Great).

St. Gregory the Theologian: " Hitherto God has withheld and laid aside His wrath for us, has not yet kindled all His jealousy, but only raised His hand high against the wicked, and although he drew and prepared the bow, nevertheless he held it by force and waited until all the malice of Julian would come out, like some malignant and purulent abscess; for such is the law of God's judgment: either save by repentance, or punish with justice"(Word 5th).

He also: " But when matter in the world rebels against itself and, by its confusion preparing destruction, becomes indomitable, or when God, in fear and punishment of sinners, breaks a somewhat harmonious order either by a flood, or an earthquake, or unusual rains, or an eclipse of the sun, or the duration of some some time of the year, or by an eruption of fire, then confusion and fear spread everywhere, and in the midst of confusion it is revealed how beneficent the world is."(Word 6th).

He also: " I know this “purified weapon” (Ps. 7:13), this “drunk sword in heaven” (Ps. 34:5), which is commanded to cut, “destroy”, defile (Ezek. 21:10), not pardon any bodies , no brains, no bones. I know that the Impassionate One is like a “bear without children” and “like a lynx” meeting “on the way the Assyrians” (Hos. 13:7-8), not only the ancients, but also everyone who is now an Assyrian by iniquity; and that it is impossible to escape from the strength and speed of his wrath when he watches over our ungodliness, and when jealousy pursues his enemies, ready to "devour the adversaries" (Heb. 10:27). I know this "plunder, and desolation, and destruction, and contrition of hearts, and weakening of the knees" (Naum. 2:10), and other similar punishments that befall the wicked. Not to mention the courts there, which are given over to those who are spared here, why it is better to undergo admonition and purification here than to endure torture there when the time of punishment comes, and not purification. For just as “God” was “remembered” above death (about which David is excellently philosophic), so for those who departed from here there is no “confession” and correction “in hell” (Ps. 6:6); because God has limited the time of the active life to being here, and has given the life there the study of what has been done"(Word 15th).

St. John Chrysostom: " Indeed, Bethlehem befell considerable sorrows when children were torn away from their mothers' breasts and put to unrighteous death. If you are still cowardly and unable to rise to such wisdom (we are talking about what was said above in this conversation - ed. note), then find out the end of the one who dared to commit such an atrocity, and calm down a little. In fact, the court very soon overtook Herod for his act, and he was worthily punished for his villainy: he ended his life with a grievous death, and even more miserable than the one to which he condemned babies, while suffering countless other sufferings. th" (Conversation 9 on the Gospel of Matthew, part 3).

St. Gregory of Tours: " Herod, fearing for his own power, ordered to kill all the babies, hoping in this way to destroy Christ. Then, by God's will, he died himself"(History of the Franks. Book 1. Chapter 19. About the gifts of the Magi and the beating of babies).

Blessed Augustine of Hippo: " When it is said that God is angry, this does not denote the excitement that occurs in the soul of an angry person, but from the name applied to human passions, His punishment received the name of anger, which can only be just."(Enchiridion, ch.33rd).

He also: " The wrath of God is not the agitation of the Spirit of God, but the Judgment by which the punishment for sin is imposed."(On the City of God, book 15th, chapter 25th).

St. Gregory Palamas: “So, by the crime [of the ancestors] the death sentence was set in motion for the soul according to the Righteousness of the Creator, for He left those who forsook [Him], without compelling those who were created autocratic. This sentence was philanthropicly pronounced in advance by God for reasons that we have already"(One hundred and fifty chapters / / Theological works. Collection 38, Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, M., 2003. p. 63).

St. Dimitri Rostovsky: " After a little time, the troops of Theophilus and Amirmumna met, a great battle took place and many people were beaten from both sides. First, the Greeks overcame the Hagarians, then, by God's permission, the battle changed, for the Lord Christ, angry with Theophilus for his iconoclasm, deprived the Greeks of courage; the Hagarites recovered and began to overcome the Greeks. [...] When this note, tied to an arrow, was found and brought to the Agarian prince Amirmumne, he read it and was very happy. He immediately ordered all his army to approach the indicated wall and, with the assistance of the treacherous Vaditzis, the entire Agarian army entered the city, in which a great massacre took place, so that Christian blood flowed like a river through the city streets, and the city was destroyed not only by the sword, but also by fire. , for it was immediately lit on all sides, and this was the Lord's punishment of the people, for the heresies that had multiplied among the Greeks at that time. Of the inhabitants of this city, almost no one survived then from the Agarian sword or fire, and those who remained unharmed at that time did not subsequently escape mortification, but other captivity. [...] So this beautiful city of Ammorea perished in one day from the sword and fire, for the sins of the impious king Theophilus, who took away the icons from the churches and cruelly tortured many holy confessors for worshiping icons"(The suffering of the holy 42 martyrs of the Amorites).

Anger is a sin. How to deal with anger? Can he be righteous? These questions will be answered by Archpriest Georgy Neifakh in this article!

Archpriest Georgy Neifakh (1952–2005) was a biologist, baptized at the age of 31. Leaving his scientific career at a prestigious metropolitan research institute, he moved to the village of Uspenka, Kastorensky district, Kursk region, to serve as a psalmist in a local church. At 37 he became a priest. He served as rector of the Assumption Church in the city of Kurchatov, for the last six years he headed the Kurchatov deanery of the Kursk diocese. For many years, the priest took care of Father John (Krestyankin), and this instilled in him a serious attitude towards pastoral duty and helped to reveal the gift of reasoning, which is so important in clarifying spiritual issues.

The talks "On the Passions and Repentance" are addressed to modern Christians living an ordinary worldly life. It is no coincidence that the second title of the book is Asceticism for the Laity. Is it possible to preserve Christian values ​​amid the growing temptations of the world? How to protect the soul from mortal sins - the passions of gluttony, love of money, fornication, pride and others? What is the meaning of repentance? How to follow the path of God? Such difficult, but so necessary questions for all of us are discussed in detail in this book. We bring to your attention a conversation about the sin of anger.

Anger is that fly in the ointment that spoils a barrel of honey

We have been postponing for a long time. Several times this conversation was postponed. Today, finally, we will talk about anger. We have reached, “boiled” to this state.

This passion, of course, is familiar to everyone. If some of the things that we talked about earlier, perhaps, fortunately, were unknown to someone, then about the passion of anger, I can lay my head on cutting off, that, unfortunately, it is more or less familiar to everyone present .

And here one should not rejoice at a small degree of acquaintance, because this is the fly in the ointment that spoils a barrel of honey. The Holy Fathers, who through many deeds have achieved amazing strength without anger, unanimously testify that nothing drives away the grace of the Holy Spirit from our hearts like anger. So there is no need to take comfort in the thought that I am a little angry, while others are more angry, especially since you can always find someone who does something even worse than we do. This path in the spiritual sense is a dead end, perilous. And besides, according to the testimony of the Holy Fathers, the demons of anger disguise themselves so as not to cause our concern. In order to leave us careless, they do not deploy at full strength, content with a small but sufficient dose of poison so that a stronger dose does not excite us to fight them. As a confessing priest, I often hear: “I instantly forgive everyone: now I got angry, I started it with a frying pan, and in five minutes I already love it like my own.” A person consoles himself with the fact that, although he is quick-tempered, he quickly leaves. The Monk John of the Ladder writes on this occasion that the demons of anger behave in this way on purpose in order to leave a person careless about his illness (Word 8, ch. 9).

Anger not only drives away the grace of the Holy Spirit from us, but also darkens the mind. In one of the psalms, which we hear especially often during the days of Great Lent, when Great Compline is read, King David says: “My eye is troubled with rage” (Ps. 6, 8). That is, rage darkens our correct vision, both external and internal. Or we can recall other words of Holy Scripture: “The wrath of man does not create the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). That is, in anger, a person loses his mind. He loses the ability to navigate in the life around him, he cannot distinguish truth from untruth and good from evil. And it is clear that when a person walks in the dark, struck by this blindness, he falls into many pits, ravines and all sorts of enemy traps. We can learn all this not only from the writings of the Holy Fathers, but also from everyday life.

Unfortunately, we usually see this not in ourselves, but in others. Well, let's learn from others. We see what happens to a person who is afflicted with the passion of anger. This person, generally speaking reasonable, suddenly loses all objectivity. And with regard to the object of his anger, it is impossible to talk to him, it is impossible to explain something to him, he does not listen to reasonable words. If he wants to do something, then he does not succeed in any reasonable actions. And it doesn't matter what the excuse for anger is.

What does worldly morality teach us? What happens anger is fair and unfair, right and wrong. It's one thing when you yourself offend a person, it's another thing when he offended you, and you only answer him with insult for insult. The second one seems to be acceptable. The courts specifically deal with who offended whom first. If you offended me first, then you will be guilty, but if you responded with an insult for an insult, then you will be right. Even God's law, before the coming of the grace of Christ, seemed to give place to this worldly morality, when the Old Testament said: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (Ex. 21:24). Not that God changed, God was the same. Already in the Old Testament, and in Proverbs and Psalms, it is said that anger is cast out. I have already quoted a psalm to you: "My eye is shattered with rage." And here, for example, the words of Solomon: “He who is patient is better than the brave, and he who controls himself is better than the conqueror of the city” (Prov. 16, 32). These are the words of the Old Testament, but these are words for the best, for people who are spiritually outstanding, people striving for spiritual perfection. And for the national law, due to the hardness of heart of people, even the Lord allowed just revenge, just anger in the times of the Old Testament. He only limited it by law and said: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." That is, if you were deprived of a tooth, then you do not deprive a person of an eye; and if you have been deprived of an eye, then do not deprive the offender of life, but reward him in the same way, no more than he rewarded you.

Being angry in a worldly just way, we do not fix anything

But here comes the grace of Christ. Now, when we have food of grace, when we are the Body of Christ, members of the Church, that is, the members of Christ; when the grace of the Holy Spirit is taught to us both in the sacraments of the Church, and in that special prayerful connection that is established between us and the Lord by the coming of Christ and His atoning sacrifice and sufferings, and in general in all church life, more is already asked of us. We have been given more, and more is asked of us. And the grace of Christ says: “It is said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:38-39). That is, the grace of Christ forbids all anger - both right from the point of view of worldly life, and wrong. Of course, there is a difference in the degree of sin, but this difference is insignificant compared to the harm that sin does to us. And of course, there are other indulgences to the hardness of heart of people: in Christian states there are courts, there is a law. The law, according to this worldly morality, sorts out who is offended, who is the offender; who is right, who is wrong. But if we want to follow Christ; if we want to gain true sight - to see ourselves, to see our sins, our illnesses (and without this we will not be able to heal them); if we really want to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, Who will eternally comfort and delight us, then we must restrain all anger: both right from a worldly point of view, and wrong. This is what it says: the wrath of the righteousness of God does not work. Being angry in a seemingly worldly just way, angry at some bad deed, at some wrong attitude, we, being under the influence of anger, cannot correct anything. Our attempts at correction will only make things worse. We will heal the twig in the eye of our neighbor with the help of a log (see: Mt. 7, 3). And by this we will hurt ourselves and him.

And yet, both in the law of the grace of Christ and in the righteousness of God, there is right and wrong anger. It certainly has nothing to do with worldly classification. But we Christians, hearing the words: “Turn the other on the cheek to the one who gave you, and do not prevent the one who takes your outer garment from taking your shirt” (Luke 6:29), we should not think that there is no righteous anger. Righteous anger is and should be. And it is not in vain that the Holy Gospel says: “He who is angry with his brother is subject to judgment in vain” (see: Mt. 5:22). So, there is also unreasonable anger. When the Holy Fathers discuss where this passion comes from, they conclude that it comes from some distorted property of the human soul, which is created in the image and likeness of God. The Lord, having created man, put into his soul, one might say, anger, one might say, hatred. Here you can recall the words from a poem by Alexei Tolstoy (although he is not a great theologian, but in this case he said correctly): “The Lord, preparing me for battle, put love and anger into my chest.” Indeed, the Lord has put anger and hatred in us. Hatred of evil and sin. The Lord is intolerant of every evil and every sin, even a small speck, and strives to eradicate it completely. It is in this likeness that this property is invested in human nature.

The Lord has not done any evil. The Lord is righteous and all-holy, and, accordingly, He does not tolerate any unrighteousness and any deviation from holiness. So should those who strive for salvation act. One of the Greek elders, close to us in time, Elder Joseph, recalls how he had a dream that people were standing and they were being asked: “Who wants to fight the devil?” And in this dream, he, like David in a fight with Goliath, is called out: “I want!” What drives them? It is this feeling of righteous anger, hatred, the desire to exterminate sin. Depriving us of this feeling is completely wrong and unprofitable for us. We see it often. For example, when a feeling of righteous anger awakens in us Christians, we are even reproached by external people, from worldly people: “What are you doing, you go to church, but you talk about it so sharply. Well, young people are fornicating (or something else like that), you think, it's a young thing. Well, what are you doing." Outward, worldly, our harshness is condemned, righteous anger is condemned in us. And we see unrighteous tolerance in them: “Well, it’s a sin, we must treat it condescendingly, well, we will have a little bit of sin.” Or very often it manifests itself in relation to our loved ones. Especially to our children. Out of love for them, not a holy love of God, but a natural love, which exists in the world of dumb animals, we lose objectivity and condescendingly treat their sins.

Can anger be righteous?

There are many examples of righteous anger in Scripture. When we read the Old Testament, this often leads us into confusion: but how is it? how is it so cruel? There are examples in the New Testament. We remember that the Lord not only spoke words of peace and love, but also twice drove out those who sold whips from the temple (John 2:13–16; Matt. 21:12). (Today I drove out the gypsies, in a sense, for the same reasons. For they are even worse than the merchants. The merchants did at least something useful for the temple, they sold what was necessary for performing sacred rites. And these people come to the house of prayer solely for the sake of personal gain, earn money on it.) There is a terrible and sad example of unreasonable love for children and the loss of a sense of righteous anger in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. I am talking about the high priest Elijah, a righteous man, enlightened by God, who for many years served as the high priest of Israel. He fulfilled his ministry zealously, was a judge and leader of the people, was the tutor of the prophet Samuel, but he did not show due condescension to his children, looked through his fingers at their sins. Since the priesthood was hereditary, they also performed the duties of high priests, but they performed them negligently, committing many iniquities. As a result, the Lord punished these children. But for connivance he punished the righteous Elijah, he allowed a terrible defeat for the people of Israel, so that the Ark of the Covenant was captured; and when Eli, already an old man, heard about it, he fell off his seat, broke his neck and died (1 Sam. 2, 12-4, 18).

How can we distinguish righteous anger from unrighteous anger in our lives? It is important to understand here that righteous anger is directed against sin, and the distortion of this in fallen human nature is that anger is directed against man. Some Holy Fathers, analyzing the command not to be angry with your brother in vain, even said that the word "in vain" can be removed, the words "do not be angry with your brother" are enough. If it is said “at the brother”, then this already means “in vain”, because righteous anger is directed not at the brother, but at sin, untruth. Also, when we review our feelings and decide whether to encourage them or banish them from our heart; we analyze our actions and then pass judgment on ourselves: how we acted, right or wrong; we plan for the future, what we should do - we must, first of all, get to the root and understand: what do we want? what is our feeling of anger aiming at? If this is righteous anger, we must hate sin, and to the bearer of sin they should feel love, wish him well. We must strive to eradicate sin and make man free from it. So, righteous anger is directed primarily against world evil reigning in the world, it is intolerant of it. People who do not have such jealousy, as I have already said, treat evil calmly: “Well, just think, well, the world lies in sin, what is it doing so special? He will listen to some songs, watch TV programs, well, what's wrong? Slightly, of course, obscene, well, nothing, little things. So, a truly zealous person for God hates the evil of the world.

Anger must be directed against one's sin

Second, anger must be directed against his sin. First of all, we must hate our sin - this is what is really given to us in power. Given 100% and absolutely. We must deal with our sin ourselves, with God's help, but on our own. Whether to engage in someone else's sin is a difficult question. Sometimes they should, sometimes they shouldn't; Sometimes we can do it, sometimes we don't. As for myself, there is no doubt about it. We must deal with our sin unambiguously. We are, and only we, and we are first and foremost. Therefore, this is where our hatred for sin, our own sin, should be directed first of all. If we see that in relation to our own sin this feeling is silent, but in relation to the sins of our neighbors it actively cries out, then it is clear that the matter here is unclean. And our anger becomes of dubious quality. Immediately there are strong doubts about its correctness.

If we are to deal with our own sin first, then the sins of our neighbors are only the last thing to be dealt with. We are told: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). St. Gregory the Dialogist, the famous Roman teacher, argues about these words as follows: if we hate sin in ourselves, we must hate it in our neighbor; if we struggle with sin in ourselves, then we must, according to the forces, opportunities, and duties that are entrusted to us, fight it in our neighbors as well. Here, of course, there should be a discussion about our position and duties. At one time, enlightened by Holy Baptism, touched by the grace of God, Saint Prince Vladimir ceased to persecute robbers and thieves in Rus'. And then the bishops and priests sent from Greece explained to him: “What are you doing, you will answer to God, because you left the people defenseless. Your duty, as a ruler, is to pursue, catch and punish the villains, you are put on this. And if you do not do this, you will seriously sin and bear the sin for all the people whom you allowed to be offended and put to shame.

So, besides ourselves, we must attend to those who are entrusted to our care. If we are parents, then these are our children. If we are educators, then these are those who are entrusted with our education. Teachers in relation to students should not, under the pretext of malice, be indifferent to their sins, they have no right to do so. The same applies to all positions of authority in general, because any position requires conscientious performance of one's duties. If the position is connected with subordinates, then we must demand from subordinates that their duties be performed, that the work entrusted to them be performed well. Of course, the main criterion in our actions must be an internal criterion. We must look into our heart and understand what it is striving for. And try to direct it in such a way that it desires precisely the extermination of sin, benefit and good to those who bear this sin in themselves. We must feel compassion for the bearer of sin, as for the sick, the desire to save him, to help him out of this situation. Rescue both him and those who are affected by this sin around, because it often happens that the sin of one strikes many.

It was with this that the seemingly cruel events of the Old Testament were connected. The punishing right hand of God often sought through people so that the sin of one would not strike many. Just as we fight against a destructive infection, so the Lord preserved the chosen people, so that a remnant would be preserved, from which the Blessed Virgin could come, in which the teaching of God would be preserved. This is the place where Christ could be grafted in order to enlighten and save all. For the time being, this remnant was to be preserved from the infection of sin that raged around. Therefore, the punishing right hand of God often acted harshly. This also reveals something that is incomprehensible to worldly people, but is understandable to us. What becomes clear only if you hate sin. If sin is tolerated, it seems like some kind of senseless cruelty. Therefore, we often hear the idea of ​​the outsiders about the cruelty of God or the opposition of the Old Testament and the New: "Behold, Christ is good, but in the Old Testament God was bad." Forgive me Lord.

When we hate the evil in ourselves, it is definitely good. The more we hate, the more we feel hatred for him, the more salutary this state is. Here we may know neither measure nor caution. We can fan the fire of this anger with all the strength of our lungs. Only, unfortunately, it does not burn well. When we feel anger against the evil of the world, we must be careful not to hate people.

Main weapon

It happens, such a church disease really exists. A person ceases to love people, except for a select number of saints and righteous, to which he himself usually does not belong. He begins to dislike all the rest as those afflicted with sin. This can be seen in sects, this can be found in many ancient heresies. And unfortunately, this also happens in our Orthodox Church. Particularly great caution and reasoning must be exercised if we experience supposedly righteous anger against our fellowmen. Then, when we see an obvious sin, we must, I emphasize again, look into our hearts and try to experience it. And here we must admit that we often fall into error. Our eye from rage becomes confused and ceases to see light and darkness clearly, and we do not create the truth. Our hatred of sin is mixed with hatred of our neighbor, with anger at our neighbor, and we do not find ways to help that we could find. And here it must be said that the main remedy that exists against sin is love. Love, mercy - this is the main weapon with which righteous anger is armed willingly. When we hate, it would seem, the sin of our neighbor, we can, mentally checking our heart, imagine: what if we try to correct it with love? If we immediately become somehow unpleasant, uneasy in our hearts, it means that we only think that our anger is righteous. In fact, this is the real anger, the real malice, the enemy that we must cast out. True righteous anger, which hates sin and loves the image of God, even afflicted by sin, always gladly accepts the possibility of healing this disease with love, and with regret and contrition, if necessary, takes up the sword.

Indeed, love brings great results. I will give an example from the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. When the Lord directed His steps to Jerusalem, He passed through the Samaritan village. The Samaritans, who believed that prayers to God should not be offered in the Jerusalem temple, but on the mountain on which they live, did not accept Christ, did not show Him hospitality, but began to drive Him out of the village. Inflamed with jealousy, the two brothers, the apostles John and James, who received from the Lord the name “sons of Thunder”, feeling, on the one hand, jealousy, and on the other hand, the strength that the Lord gives them, say: “If you want, we will call fire from heaven and he will burn this wicked village, as Elijah in the Old Testament burned the wicked, who were sent after him by Queen Jesabelle? And the Lord said, "You don't know what kind of spirit you are." Here, in these future apostles, righteous anger mingled with unrighteous anger. The Lord corrects them: “You don’t know what kind of spirit you are. I came not to burn with fire, but to heal with love” (Luke 9:52-56). And these words bore fruit in the holy apostles, especially in the apostle John. The Apostle James, the eldest of the brothers, was the first of the apostles to die as a martyr shortly after the departure of Christ. The apostle John lived a long life. He was the only one of all the apostles who did not suffer martyrdom and received the title, except for the “son of Gromov”, the “apostle of love”, because in his Scriptures (Gospels and Epistles) he especially emphasized the commandment of love. The holy righteous Alexy Mechev, a Moscow elder, analyzing the exceptional fate of the Apostle John, says that the power of love was so strong in him that he even conquered the wrath of the tormentors, although he, like the other apostles, fearlessly preached the word of Christ. No prohibitions, no prohibitions and no fear stopped him. Repeatedly he appeared before the rulers of different ranks, from the mayors to the emperor. The only thing was that he was exiled, but not executed or tortured, because the spirit of love that emanated from him stopped even the tormentors, and they could not put him to death.

And if we descend from these heavens to our sinful level, we often see how love is stronger in the fight against sin than the action of anger. Often our Lord sets such an example. When you happen to be near him, instead of the expected ban from him or some strict words, you suddenly see outgoing love, which instantly heals everything. I remember we had Vladyka on the Dormition. As usual, there was a meal, after which we climbed up the stairs from the basement. Vladyka, you know, walks heavily, and I led him by the arm up that steep staircase. We go upstairs, and suddenly a shepherd dog rushes at us. I was ready to tell the owner of the dog what I thought about it. And indeed, the subject of indignation is obvious: I found where to walk the dog. If you already pass by the very walls of the temple, then take her at least on a leash, let her go somewhere further. And then, of course, it’s scary for Vladyka too, if he suddenly stumbles, God forbid. Words already came to my throat, and Vladyka said: “Wow, what a pretty dog.” And it immediately decided everything. This person says, "I'm sorry." Instantly he was ashamed of this situation. There are other examples, not only with the Lord. There are many, but not all of them are stored in memory. I recall only some minor episodes, but in these trifles one can see in practice all the lofty theory that I present. Here is an incident that happened recently. I went to Stary Oskol to the factory for cement. Drive far. We've arrived. Everyone is standing in line. Suddenly a "gazelle" drives up, which clearly wants to skip the line to climb through. I didn’t even say anything to our driver, he saw everything himself. And at the moment when she was about to pass, he quickly put our MAZ under loading and began to load. I stand aside. A tipsy young guy comes up to me and begins to “spread his fingers like a fan”. He himself is a reseller, a cement merchant. He buys at the factory and sells in the city. And of course, his income depends on how many times he travels back and forth. He says: “What are you doing here? We need to be let through. Now we’ll puncture the wheels, you won’t go anywhere.” "Well, - I think, - now I'll give you the wheels." He says, and I mentally wind up the pace: firstly, you need to keep the queue; then, you see that the car is from another city, which still needs to return; then, you see a real priest. Even if the priest had received it without a queue, even then you must remain silent - here for the Church, and you trade for your own benefit. “Now,” I think, “I’ll tell you everything, both about the wheels and in general.” And then his son comes up, a boy of seven or eight years old. I can't scold my father in front of a boy, it's absolutely impossible. Thank God, I realized that this is not the way to do it. And, willy-nilly, I had to somehow start speaking softly. And it had such a wonderful effect that we parted as friends. Here is an example when it does not even occur to the head that such a way out is possible. And it should come.

Harsh measures should be used when necessary and cause contrition

I will give another example of healing love, but not from my own experience, but from the biography of Elder Moses of Optina. Once a peasant came, brought a green antonovka and tried to sell it to the monastery for a decent price. At the same time, he said that these are such special varietal apples, they are called “Good Peasant”. Archimandrite Moses approached him and said: “Good peasant? Isn’t his name Anton by any chance?” He was embarrassed, and the Monk Moses said: "Well, buy, buy from him." And this action brought the man to his senses. Thus, righteous anger, when directed against the sin of one's neighbor, first of all seeks to act through love. And this is a certain criterion. The action of love should give us satisfaction, and harsh measures, if we are forced to apply them, should cause us contrition about the need to use them.

Of course, there are cases when we must use tough measures. Especially educators often face this. Here you need to make sure that it is necessity and the only possible solution. There are also cases when we act not out of God's holy love, but out of passion. By addiction to our children or simply to someone for whom we feel increased sympathy for some reason. That is, when we measure on faces. With such an attitude, our love does not bring any benefit, because the person to whom it is directed understands that this is not God's love, which is equal to everyone, but is a certain predilection for him of this person, based on the position of the parent or on something else. anything else. At the same time, not only is he not enlightened by such love, but he begins to exploit this love more and more.

How to deal with the passion of anger? We often find some external means - to escape. Usually this is expressed in various fruitless dreams: “Well, it’s impossible not to sin here, such freaks walk around, how can you not get angry here? If only we could go to a monastery (a forest, a hut, a cave) and pray there.” For us, these are fruitless and harmful dreams that distract from vital activities. And among the monastics, this was also an action. This is evidenced by the Monk John of the Ladder. The monastery, which was under his control, consisted of many cells and, along with the hostel, had separate cells, almost hermits. The Monk John, as a general rector, watching the brethren, walked around them and often sat at the doors of these cells. So he writes that, sitting near the cells, he heard that the brethren, like partridges in cages, in the absence of an external stimulus, walked and became angry with someone, expressing their anger with words, waving their hands, and so on. He usually advised such brethren to return to the hostel (Word 8, ch. 18).

The feeling of anger, when it has already taken root in us and has become our passion, begins to live on its own and requires an outlet. And in the case when it does not find a real way out, we begin to dream, that is, imagine situations in which we are angry somewhere. Or our anger manifests itself on external objects, on circumstances that do not develop according to our will. The Pateriki tells of a brother who, striving for peace of mind and without anger, went to a deserted cell. And there the demon tempted him through the pitcher, which fell from him all the time. And he was angry with this jar with the same ardor and fury with which he would be angry with people. But even if the removal brings us peace, then there is no healing of passion in this.

Passion lives in us. The Holy Fathers compare this situation with a snake, which, being in a closed vessel, does not bite anyone, but this does not stop being a poisonous snake. As soon as she is released, she will bite. Our goal is not to find peace, but to purify the heart. And therefore, when the Fathers were asked about the means of dealing with anger and whether it is good to move away from people, to move to a more deserted place, to a more peaceful life, the answer was that all this is meaningless without the acquisition of inner humility. And it is acquired precisely through communion with one's own kind, through humility before one's own kind. And this requires life in some monastic or lay society.

As applied to us, when we say that it would be good to go to a monastery or a deserted cell, then these are empty dreams. They are harmful, because we are moving from the real world into the world of shadows. There are also practical considerations: to go to a temple where there are fewer people, where we will not be annoyed (this is not always a bad idea); do not go to Sunday services, but go on weekdays when there are few people; to leave one job for another or leave the city for the countryside - such thoughts are sometimes real plans, and worst of all, they are also carried out. This flight never leads to anything, because we leave people, but passions remain with us, and the demons that excite them will also go with us anywhere. And vice versa, we are moving away from those healing remedies that are given to us. Here we come to the wisdom that the Monk John of the Ladder expressed in the following words: “They ask anger: who is your main enemy? This is humility of mind, anger answers, that is, humility, readiness to endure (Word 8, ch. 29).

How much to endure?

Willingness to endure? How much to endure? I can answer this question. The answer is simple. I will answer with the words of the Old Believers. Even if the Old Believers thought of this before, then the more we should know it. When Archpriest Avvakum went into exile, they walked on foot. It was snowing, slippery, they fell all the time. When once again his mother, Nastasya Markovna, fell, she pushed someone, he fell on her. She stood up and said: “How long will this continue?” And Avvakum answers her: "Until death, Markovna." If he, being an immeasurable arrogant, has come to this, then we, imitators of the humble-wise, must firmly strengthen ourselves in this thought. We will endure until death. Let us acquire humility—the Lord will give us rest even before the earthly end. However, practically nowhere in the lives of the saints do we see that the Lord, at least from time to time, would not polish these saints with some kind of trials. As St. Macarius of Optina said: “All these are brushes, without them the monk will rust.” Even from saints, this superficial layer of rust, which forms while a person is in the flesh on earth, must be carefully cleaned off.

Here we read, for example, the life of St. Barsanuphius of Optina. For many years he was an old man, a skete chief. To say that his life was painless and he did not have to endure is an understatement. The feat of old is the hardest work. He had to manage the skete and receive many people coming from outside. But when he lived in Optina Hermitage, his life flowed measuredly, measuredly. And at the end of his life, a story happens, as a result of which he is transferred to another monastery. Transferred with an increase: they are appointed viceroy of the Spaso-Golutvin Monastery. But for him it was the greatest sorrow. All his monastic life (he only went to war, he was a regimental priest) he spent hopelessly in Optina Hermitage, in a skete. And here, at the very end of his life, in his last years, his whole dispensation collapsed. The Lord gave him such final trials. I gave one example, and they can be multiplied and multiplied. So if reasons for patience are sent to such saints, then all the more we have something to endure for. In order for us to remember this, we can cite a poem by St. Ambrose of Optina: “Moses endured, Elisha endured, Elijah endured, I will also endure.” So, we will endure until the very end.

So, patience. In general, it’s good, father, you say it’s beautiful, but where can you get this patience? Here is a more complicated question. It is good to treat anger with humility, but where can you get this humility? And here is where to get it: it is precisely acquired through the transfer of all those life collisions, sorrows, insults (especially sorrows, insults, humiliations, insults) that fall to our lot in everyday life. And here we just come to the completely opposite conclusion that we must not run away from them, but, on the contrary, stand in them. People of a very high spiritual intensity not only stood in them - they were looking for them. Here is a famous story from the Patericons. One widow, a rich, pious woman in Alexandria, came to St. Athanasius the Great and said: “I don’t need anything, I have a sufficient fortune, give me some widow from those who are dependent on the Church, so that I can put her to rest. ". He ordered her to choose a pious widow. After some time, a rich woman comes and says: “Vladyka, why didn’t you fulfill my request?” Vladyka decided that for some reason his order was lost somewhere, he began to check: no, everything is fine, the widow lives with her. “Yes, she lives, but it’s not me who puts her to rest, but she puts me to rest, I need another.” Then Saint Athanasius understood what was the matter, found her a woman with the most vile character, and sent her away. After a while, she comes and says: “Now that's what you need. It's just what I needed."

A similar case, already in our time, is described by Vladyka Veniamin (Fedchenkov). He went to the elder of the Gethsemane Skete, Isidore, and loved him very much. Once he asked the elder: “Batiushka, have you traveled to the Holy places, been to Jerusalem?” He says: “No, where can I get the money to go there.” The future bishop was then an ardent young student of the academy, and he said: “Father, you know, I have a little savings, so I’ll save up some more and give you money so that you can go.” After some time, a letter comes to him from the elder, and on the envelope is written: “The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 18, 9). He opens it and finds there a letter from a certain person who writes to the elder, complaining about his hardships. He is a one-armed invalid, kept some merchant; she went bankrupt with him - and now what to do? The future Vladyka thought and thought - by chance this letter came to him, did the elder mix it up? Then I realized that it was about the same money. And he began to help this man. He turned out to be with a bad and grumpy character. Elder Isidore died a long time ago, the student became a bishop, and the invalid traveled with him all the time, was under his help and often scolded him: “Here is Elder Isidore, he loved me, but you didn’t really.” And then somehow he came and said: "Well, that's it, now I'm getting married, now everything will be different for me." Vladyka says: “How will you get married, who will endure you?” He says: “But I found it.” – “Introduce me.” Brings the bride. Vladyka writes: “I looked at her and realized that this one would endure. Indeed, God sent him a man who, like a deceased elder, will be able to love him with all his shortcomings. Why am I saying this? Time passes, and when they give examples of the ancients, we always think: it was a long time ago, life was different, people were different, there was grace, but what do we have now? But this situation is practically our century, and not Athanasius the Great, but a simple, unknown girl.

While we are in captivity of anger, our prayers are not accepted by Heaven.

So, people of a high spiritual disposition sought to strengthen and toughen the life situation in order to acquire humility. Not to run away from temptations, from what we call temptations, but to strengthen them. (Thinking that this is very pious, we say: “Here, the temptation!” The unbeliever will say: “Here, the bastard!” And the believer: “Here, the temptation!” But the essence, in fact, is the same.) But do not run from temptations, and to strive for them is the lot of the few. This is not for us. For us, this can turn into humility rather than pride. There is such an iron rule for us: we pray and ask the Lord to give us humility, so that He will deliver us from anger; and, according to our prayers, may the Lord send us circumstances commensurate with our strength. And we should only stand in them and not go away either to a cell, or to a monastery, or to a village, or to quiet backwaters and monasteries, calm places. Where the Lord has placed us, to stand and endure what is sent to us. This is the main and necessary saving means, without it we will have nothing.

In addition, there are many different spiritual techniques that experienced people recommend to us. This is the fear of God, the remembrance of the words of the Gospel that if you bring your gift to the altar, and your brother has something against you, then put your gift, go and be reconciled to your brother (Matthew 5, 23-24). As applied to us, it sounds like this: while we are in captivity of anger, even mental, internal, our prayers, no matter how hard and fervently we pray, bow, read the rules, etc., remain like an empty sound and Heaven does not accepted. I hope this audience does not need to explain that anger means not only external actions, but also words, and not only actions and words, but most importantly, the internal state of our heart. This is the fear we must arouse in ourselves, and it will resist our desire to continue to be angry.

What else is needed? We have already said that you need to watch your heart, test it. And, if we see the unrighteousness of our anger, no matter how plausible pretexts it may be caused, take up arms against it, pray for its expulsion and internally resist it. There is one more trick: when we want to perform some action or say some hard word, then do not do it on the first impulse. We must try to contain it, at least for a short time. Go somewhere to pray, judge, and then, having already calmed the seething passion, decide whether it is worth pronouncing it or not. In many cases, having calmed down, we are convinced that it is not worth pronouncing it. If we learn such a rule, it will help us a lot. And, of course, the willingness to endure everything to the end. So that such a question would not even arise in us: how much can you endure? As long as we are alive, we will endure. As long as the Lord gives, we will endure. This is what our life is about. If we want to defeat evil in ourselves, then we must endure. If we don't want to, then the question is different; then there is nothing for us to talk about.

In conclusion, so that we do not consider our task completed if we quickly get angry and quickly retreat, or we simply manage to refrain from hitting or calling bad words, so that we understand where we must reach, I will give you the words Saint John of the Ladder: “I saw three monks who at one time suffered dishonor. One of them was offended, but said nothing; the other rejoiced for his own sake, but grieved for the one who reproached him; the third, imagining the harm of his neighbor, shed warm tears” (Word 8, ch. 27). These are the three steps of fighting anger, acquiring humility and perfecting it. There we must go up. Let the memory of this show us all the time how far we are still from what we should strive for.

Archpriest Georgy Neifakh. "About passions and repentance". Publishing House "Rule of Faith", 2008

Subtitles - website "Orthodoxy and the World"

His Eminence Juvenaly (Tarasov), Metropolitan of Kursk and Rylsk. Since 2004 - retired; accepted the schema.

See: Rev. John of the Ladder. Ladder. Word 8, ch. 14.

Rev. John Cassian the Roman. Scriptures. Book 8, Ch. 1

The Holy Fathers quite vividly described angry people. For example, the words of St. John Chrysostom: “Anger seethes and boils in the chest, the lips breathe fire, the eyes emit flames, the whole face is distorted, the arms are stretched out randomly, the legs jump funny and trample the restrainers, and people are no different not only from raging, but even wild donkeys, kicking and biting others - so obscene is a person in anger ”(Complete collected works. Vol. 12. Book 2. Word 20). However, probably everyone has something to say about this. One priest we know said that his mother, when she gets angry, reminds him of a mixture of a wasp and a shepherd dog.

“If you want, or think that you want to take out the knot of your neighbor, then instead of a medical tool, do not use logs. A log is cruel words and rough treatment; a medical tool is meek admonition and long-suffering reproof” (St. John of the Ladder. Ladder. Word 8, ch. 20).

“In the mind there is anger by nature - and without anger there is no purity in a person, unless he is angry at everything that is instilled into him by the enemy; but such anger has changed in us into another, to be angry with our neighbor because of all sorts of unnecessary and useless things. There is hatred in the mind by nature - and without hatred for enemies, the honor (price and dignity) of the soul is not revealed; but this (natural) hatred has changed in us into an unnatural one, to hate our neighbor and abhor him with disgust” (Teachings of Abba Isaiah the Hermit, Word 2).

“One tall commander approached me and said: “Do you want,” he says to me, “to go fight in the front row?” And I answered him that I very much wished to fight the black ones opposite, who were right in front of us, roaring and emitting fire like wild dogs, so that one sight aroused fear in you. But I had no fear, because I had such a rage that I would have torn them with my teeth ... And when we went through three or four rows in order, he put me in the first row, where there were one or two wild demons opposite . They were ready to rush, and I breathed fire and fury against them. And there he left me, saying: “If someone wants to fight them courageously, I don’t hinder him, but help him.” ).

The Holy Fathers clearly distinguished natural love from holy love. Here is what St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov): “Natural love delivers one earthly thing to your loved one; she does not think about heaven. Our natural love is damaged by the fall; it must be put to death - Christ commands this - and draw from the Gospel holy love for one's neighbor, love in Christ ”(Ascetic Experiences. Vol. 1. On Love for Your Neighbor).

See: Rev. John Cassian the Roman. Scriptures. Book 8, Ch. 5.

Above, advice was repeatedly given to look into your heart, explore it, analyze it, and only then make a decision. That is, our natural feeling of anger must be controlled. This is also mentioned by St. Fathers. “How can we avoid the harm caused by our anger? Thus: if we inspire our irritability, do not forestall reason, but first of all let us take care that it never goes ahead of thought; let us treat it like a horse that is given to us for control and, like a certain bridle, submits to reason, never comes out of its own duty, but goes where reason tells it to. The irritable power of the soul is still suitable for us for many deeds of virtue, when it, like some kind of warrior laying down his arms before the leader, readily gives help where ordered, and helps the mind against sin "(Basil the Great. Creations. M .:" Pilgrim ". 1993. Part 4. S. 173).

See: St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). Pater. Tales from the life of the elders, whose names have not come down to us. Ch. 47.

It is interesting to observe the passion of anger lurking in a person, ancient and new ascetics. Interesting and easily recognizable. “Like all poisonous kinds of snakes or animals, while they are in the wilderness and their lairs, they remain as if harmless; however, because of this, they cannot be considered harmless, because there is no one to harm ... And when they seize an opportunity to bite, they immediately pour out and show the poison hidden in them and the anger of the soul. Therefore, it is not enough for those who seek perfection not to be angry with a person. For we remember that when we were in the desert, we were angry at the writing stick when we did not like its thickness or thinness; also on a knife, when he did not quickly cut with a frenzied blade; also on flint, when a spark of fire did not immediately fly out of it, when we were in a hurry to read. The outburst of indignation extended to such an extent that the indignation of the spirit could not be suppressed and calmed otherwise than by uttering a curse on insensitive things, or at least on the devil ”(St. John Cassian the Roman. Scriptures. Book 8, ch. 18). “Don't blame anyone. You yourself see that when there are no people, you get annoyed with a cat or even with things. This means that anger lives in you, and not people invest in you ”(Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev). Repentance has been left to us. Publishing House of the Sretensky Monastery. M .: 2005. P. 113).

Rev. John Cassian the Roman. Interview 18, ch. 14. A similar story is given in the Spiritual Meadow. Moscow: Rule of Faith, 2004. Ch. 206. S. 255-256.