How to get rid of sin sermon. Orthodox prayer to the Lord God for sins

The word “sin” itself in Russian could initially be interpreted as “error,” as evidenced by such cognate words as “ogresha” and “error”. By the way, in other languages this word had a similar meaning. In Greek, this concept was denoted by the word ἁμάρτημα (ἁμαρτία), which is most accurately translated as “fault, fault,” and the Jews denoted an unintentional transgression by the word “het,” which can also be translated as “blunder.”

In modern society, if we do not take into account the religious aspect, the concept of “sin” is perceived as a violation of the laws of public morality, as well as state laws. Thus, a person who observes the laws of society, does not commit crimes provided for by the criminal code, and does not violate secular moral and ethical standards, no longer sins.

The situation is somewhat more complicated with the religious concept of sin, because each religion interprets the concept of sin in its own way.

Consciousness of sinfulness.

Nevertheless, people often feel sinful, worry that they are living incorrectly, and act unfairly towards others. Living with such thoughts is not easy. But the truth is that no person can be absolutely good or hopelessly bad.

If you are tormented by the consciousness of your own imperfection, you can try to solve this problem by working with internal feelings of guilt, as well as developing your own empathy. By ceasing to feel guilty for something for which a person is not actually to blame, it will become easier for him to accept himself and believe that he is not so bad, and make his own life more joyful. And developed empathy, i.e. The ability to feel the experiences and emotions of those around you, the ability to put yourself in the place of another, to understand what he experiences when he is treated in one way or another, will help you treat your neighbor more carefully and not hurt him with your actions, and therefore objectively become better, i.e. e. stop sinning.

Get rid of guilt.

Sometimes the feeling of guilt is mistakenly confused with conscience, when a person worries about unseemly acts he has committed and strives to correct them. But guilt is something else. This is a feeling of personal responsibility for something for which a person, in principle, cannot be responsible.

You need to work with feelings of guilt, and usually the process is long. Sometimes you can’t do without the help of a psychologist. You can start by understanding the following important principles.

1. Each person is different from those around him, and has the right to live as his conscience, reason, common sense, religious beliefs, and intuition tell him. It is impossible to please everyone, it is impossible to become good to everyone. Of course, reasonable compromises with others are the best way out of possible conflict situations, but concessions must be mutual and not harm the individual.

2. You shouldn’t allow people to blame you for something for which you cannot be held responsible: bad weather and a tense international situation, the fact that a child brought another “D”, a retired mother’s joints hurt, and the boss is in a bad mood. If you feel that the interlocutor is trying to do just that, it is better to simply walk away from communication and postpone the resolution of important issues until later.

3. You are not responsible for the consequences of your actions that you could not expect. So, it’s not your fault that you gave your mother a travel package, and she broke her leg while making this trip.

4. It is not your fault that you live richer, more comfortable or happier than your relative, friend or colleague (unless, of course, you achieved this at his expense). If you still feel guilty about this, do something useful for others without demanding gratitude from them: create a flowerbed in front of the house, help a neighbor load things for moving to the dacha.

Guilt is a destructive state that can lead a person to a consciousness of his own inferiority, so it is necessary to start working with it as early as possible.

Develop empathy.

The ability to empathize with another, to understand exactly what emotions and feelings he is experiencing, helps to understand the nature of these feelings, which means, if possible, try to make sure that people at least do not experience negative emotions when communicating with you. Isn’t this what Christianity calls “love for one’s neighbor”?

All mentally healthy people and even some animals are capable of empathy, but there is no limit to perfection, and this ability can be developed for the benefit of oneself and others.

1. First, learn to clearly determine what exactly a person is experiencing at a particular moment in time. Notice changes in facial expressions, voice timbre, gestures, and body position.

2. Try to get used to his physical state and feel the same as he does. Copy all the features of changes in his appearance that you notice at the moment of experiencing some emotion and try to feel the same as he does.

3. Having tuned in to the emotions of your interlocutor in this way, you can try to bring him out of a negative emotional state, however, this requires special skills.

Sin- this is a quarrel with God. When we commit a sinful act, we push ourselves away from the Lord, and this leads to misfortunes, troubles, and illnesses.

And then it’s worth thinking about: how to get rid of sin, how to overcome it?

Forgive me, father, of my sins.

The sacrament of confession is provided in Christian religions precisely in order to forgive acts committed against God's covenants. The main element of confession is repentance. Simply telling a person who is only a witness about sin is not enough. It is difficult to atone for a sin without heartily repenting of it, without regretting what you have done. Purifying the soul through confession, a person should strive throughout his life not to do this again. It's good if the confession is sincere. Then the sin will be forgiven.

Prayer and fasting.

In Islam there is no such action as confession. Here it is believed that there should be no intermediaries between God and man. And Muslims ask for forgiveness of sins in their prayers before Allah. If the main Muslim fast - the month of Ramadan - is carried out properly, all sins will be forgiven.

In Orthodoxy, fasting and prayer are only assistants in atonement for sins. However, as you know, there are exceptions to any rule. For example, if it was impossible to receive confession, hermit monks atone for sins with prayer and strict fasting.

Case.

If it is possible to fix it, then you need to do it. At least try. One good parable tells how a man came to an old man who wanted to get rid of the vice of a tongue that was unkind to his words. To the question "how?" The elder ordered first to gut the feather bed from the roof of the house. The man complied, returned joyfully to the elder, to find out whether he had redeemed his deeds. To which I received the answer: “Now collect it.”

It is better not to bring your affairs to such a scale, but if it does happen, then you will have to make every effort to atone. Sometimes something stolen can be returned. Apologize to the offended person. Killed - help someone live or survive. In general, by doing acts of kindness in the name of faith, you can in the coming time tip the scales of judgment in your favor and receive remission of sins.

Depending on the severity of the sin committed, good deeds vary. Some will get used to coping in the world; for some, the soul requires monastic solitude. But that's not the point. The main thing in atonement for sin remains the feeling of regret for what has been done, repentance.

All at once.

Any good housewife understands that fresh water alone is clearly not enough for borscht. There you need to add vegetables, fried meat, etc. I forgot something - and borscht is no longer borscht. The comparison may be rather weak, but it is obvious - in order to atone for sins, you need to do everything possible: confess and receive communion, pray and fast, do good deeds. And strive not to repeat the same mistake in the future.

1. Pray to the Lord. Only he can give you the strength to resist temptation. In your prayer, ask for spiritual strength and protection from sin. Compliance with Orthodox fasts will humble the flesh and direct the mind to prayer. It is useful to cleanse the soul through the sacrament of repentance and the reception of Holy Communion. The priest will tell you how best to improve your life.

2. Do physical labor. The Holy Fathers say that the root of all evil is laziness and idleness. A moderate load will direct your thoughts in the right direction and allow you to escape from any sinful thoughts.

3. Avoid temptations. We must try not to go to places that lead us to temptation, not to read tempting books, not to watch such films. Let the Bible become your reference book, which you can read in the morning, before bed, and on public transport. Seductive clothing, gestures, and freestyle dancing also lead to temptation.

4. Try to idle less. Chatting about nothing with other people, it is very easy to fall into the sin of judging your neighbor, vanity, and pride. Empty talk leads to gossip, envy, and various temptations.

5. In general, almost any sin has its basis in pride. It is because of our sense of self-importance and significance that we condemn, contradict, and exalt our actions. We need to be modest, humble and remember that any of us is nothing before the power of God.

6. Be patient. Where there is no patience, there will be no love. You need to calmly endure the shortcomings of your neighbors and their mistakes. There are no sinless people in the world, try to forgive and forget the bad. This will give you peace of mind and inner peace.

The path to deliverance

Epistle of Rom. 6 lays the foundation for the believer's deliverance from sin. God gives such deliverance to every believer; everyone can use it. Moreover, let it be perfectly clear to us that this liberation from the power of sin can be a personal experience of the sinner at the very hour when he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and is born again. He does not need to be a long-time believer and experience many defeats before accepting this Good News According to Rom. 6, delay in accepting the Good News occurs either because a person has not heard it fully, or because he is not ready to fully accept and submit to it. Meanwhile, this blessing should be the common property of all newly regenerated sinners.

Rome. 6 begins with a call to remember rather than expect. It directs our attention to the past, to what is already ours: “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (v. 6). In this verse alone we find three main elements:
1. "sin" (singular);
2. "old man"; And
3. "t ate sinful".
These three elements are sharply different in character and play exclusive roles in the operation of sin. Sin here is what is generally considered to be the root of sin. The Bible says that we were formerly slaves of sin. Sin was our owner. Therefore, first of all, we need to recognize that sin has power because it enslaves us. He uses this power continuously to subject us to the old man and force us to sin. The old man is the sum of all that we have inherited from Adam. You can recognize the old man by knowing the new, because everything that is not from the new man must be from the old. The new man includes everything that comes into us new from the Lord on the day of regeneration. Consequently, the old man means everything in our personality that is not included in the new and is outside it - our old character and everything that belongs to the old nature. We sin because the old man loves sin and is under its power.
The body of sin is our body. This bodily part of man has become an inevitable puppet in all our sin. It is called the “body of sin” because it is also subject to the power of sin, and is full of sinful passions and lusts. It is through the body that sin manages to manifest itself, otherwise it would only be an invisible force.
Let's summarize the above: sin is a force that pulls us towards sin. The old man is an immaterial inheritance received from Adam. The sinful body is our material body, also inherited from him.
The process of sin occurs in the following order: first - sin; then the old man; and finally - the body. Sin manifests its power to attract a person and force him to sin. Because the old man loves sin, he indulges it and inclines towards it, inciting the body to sin. As a result, the body, like a puppet in the hands of sin, sins. Through the cooperation of these three elements sin is committed. The impulse to sin by the power of sin, the inclination to sin in the old man, and the execution in practice in the body are always present.
How can a person get rid of sin? Some suggest that since sin is the original source, it must be destroyed in order to gain victory. Accordingly, they recommend the complete destruction of sin. If the root of sin is cut out, they think, we will never sin again and will obviously become sanctified. Others insist that we need to humble the body in order to overcome sin, because “is it not with the body that we sin?” - they ask. Thus, a group of defenders of asceticism appeared in Christianity. They use all sorts of methods to humble themselves, in the belief that as soon as they conquer the demands of the body, they will become saints. None of these conclusions are correct or come from God. Rome. 6:6 is transparent about His methods. He does not eradicate sin from within, nor does He subdue the body from without, but instead deals with the old man between the two.

God's fact

Going to the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself not only our sin, but also our entire being. The Apostle Paul emphasizes this fact by saying, “our old man is crucified with Him.” The verb “crucified” in the original is used in the past tense, in a complete form, meaning that the old man was crucified once and for all with Him. Just as the cross of Christ is a completed, accomplished fact, so our crucifixion with Him is also a completed fact. Who questions the reality of Christ's crucifixion? Why should we doubt the reality of the crucifixion of our old man?
Many saints, upon learning the truth of co-crucifixion, immediately assume that they must die and go out of their way to crucify themselves. Such a reaction can only be explained by a lack of revelation or faith. They not only do this themselves, but teach it to others. The consequences are too obvious: they do not have the power to get rid of sin, and they feel that the old man does not die.
This is a sad misconception. The Bible nowhere mentions this kind of self-crucifixion. It says exactly the opposite! When Christ went to the cross of Calvary, He took us there with Him and crucified us in Himself. We are not told to crucify ourselves, but instead Holy Scripture assures us that our old self was dealt with when Christ went to the cross. Only Rome. 6:6 already fully confirms this. There is not the slightest hint of our own self-crucifixion, and the Word of God nowhere implies the implementation of our crucifixion. Verse in Rom. 6 leaves no room for doubt when it categorically declares that we have been crucified with Christ, an already accomplished fact. This is truly the consequence of the most precious saying in the Bible: “in Him.” It is precisely because we are “in Him” and united with Him. we can say that when Christ went to the cross, we went there in Him, and when He was crucified, we too were crucified in Him. What a wonderful reality it is that we are in Christ!
However, a purely cerebral assimilation of these truths cannot resist temptations. The revelation of God is positively significant. The Holy Spirit must reveal to us how we are in Christ and how we are united with Him. He must also clearly show us how our old man was crucified with Christ, for the simple reason that we are in Christ. But this cannot be just mental knowledge, it must be a revelation of the Holy Spirit. When the truth is revealed by God, it most naturally becomes a force in a person, and he then becomes able to believe. Faith comes by revelation. Without the latter, the former is not possible. This explains why many have no faith. Although they understand with their minds, they have not received revelation from God. Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation, that "knowing this," in our spirit, we may truly say, "Our old man is crucified with Him."
What is the consequence of crucifixion of the old man? Again we receive a vague answer: “so that the body of sin might be abolished.” "Abolished" here means "deprived of power" or "deprived of occupation." Previously, when we were provoked by sin, the old man reacted and the body sinned. After the old man has been crucified and replaced with the new, sin can still arise in us and try to exert its pressure, but it does not find the consent of the old man in bringing the body to sin. Sin can no longer tempt the believer because he has become a new man; the old man died. Previously, the body's occupation was to sin, but now it is deprived of this occupation, because the old man has been abandoned. It cannot sin and therefore has lost its occupation. Glory to the Lord, He has given us this!
Why does God crucify our old man with Christ and deprive our body of its occupation? His goal: “that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” What God has done in this regard enables us to no longer succumb to the onslaught of sin, and no longer be under its power. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Hallelujah! We must praise God for such deliverance.

Two essentials

How can we achieve such blessing? Two elements are vitally important and cannot be done without them. First: “Consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). This is an integral part of faith. If God says that our old man has been crucified with Christ, we believe His Word and “count ourselves dead.” But how do we die? "We count ourselves dead to sin." When God says that we have been raised with Christ, we again trust His Word: “We count ourselves... alive.” How do we live? "Consider yourselves...alive to God." Such “reverence” is something other than believing God according to His Word. When God says that the old man has been crucified, we believe Him and count ourselves dead. If He insists that we are made alive with Christ, we count ourselves alive. The problem with many is that they want to feel, see and experience this crucifixion and resurrection before they believe God and His Word. Such do not understand that God has already done this in Christ, and that if only they would believe His Word, considering everything that He did to be true. The Holy Spirit would give them experience. The Holy Spirit would impart to them what is in Christ.
Secondly: “Do not yield up your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness” (Rom. 6:13). This is an integral part of initiation. If we insist on holding on to something that God tells us to give up, sin will rule us and our worship will be useless. If we refuse to yield our members to God as instruments of righteousness, to say and do what He wills, and to go where He directs us, is it any wonder that we are not yet free from sin? Whenever we refuse to surrender ourselves to God or resist Him, sin returns to power. Under such circumstances, we naturally lose the ability to “honor ourselves,” that is, to believe the Word of God. Having ceased to believe and “honor ourselves,” can we all consider ourselves hidden (abiding) in Christ? Yes, but we no longer live in Him in the sense that John says. 15. We are then unfit to experience what is actually ours in Christ, even our crucifixion.
From any defeat we can conclude that it was due to lack of faith or disobedience. No other reason will suffice. It is quite possible that defeat may stem from these two reasons - if not from both at once, then from one or the other. We need to learn to live in Christ by faith, never seeing or imagining ourselves apart from Him. Know daily that you are in Christ, and that whatever is true of Him is true of us. Likewise, our dedication should be kept unsullied day after day. Consider everything as rubbish, for there is nothing in the world that we cannot give up for the sake of the Lord, and there is nothing that we would like to keep for ourselves. Let us be determined to respond positively to the demands of God, no matter how difficult or contrary to the flesh they may be. For the sake of God, no price can be too high, For the sake of pleasing Him, we can sacrifice everything, Let us learn every day to be obedient children.
If we had such respect for ourselves and such devotion, we would already be enjoying what the Word of God openly declares: “Sin shall not have dominion over you.”

The Relationship Between Sin and the Body

The Christian enters a decidedly dangerous period in life when he comes to the knowledge of the truth about co-crucifixion and to the experience of some freedom from sin. If he receives the right instruction at this critical moment, and allows the Holy Spirit to apply the cross to him in a more profound way, he will be able in time to reach spiritual maturity. But if the believer is content to regard his victory over sin as the pinnacle of achievement and does not allow the cross to remove his soul life, he will remain in his soul realm and accept his soul experience as spiritual. Despite the fact that his old man was dealt with, the spiritual life of the believer remained untouched by the cross. Therefore the will, the mind and the emotions will continue to operate uncontrollably, and the consequence will be that his experience will be limited to the soul realm.
What is important for us to know is how much such liberation from sin really affected our being - what it touched, and what still remains untouched and needs its touch. It is especially important that we understand that sin has an exclusive connection with the body. Unlike many philosophers, we do not consider the body to be innately vicious, but we recognize that sin has dominion over it. To Rome. 6:6 we find that the body is called “the body of sin,” because it is such until we submit to the cross and present our members to God as instruments of righteousness. Sin has taken over our body and enslaved it. It became his fortress, weapon and garrison. Therefore, there is no more suitable name for it than “the body of sin.”
A careful study of Rom. 6-8, which speaks of deliverance from sin, will reveal not only the connection between the body and sin, but also the role of God's perfect salvation in freeing our body completely from the service of sin to serve God.
In Romans 6, the apostle Paul makes these statements:
“... so that the body of sin may be abolished” (v. 6).
“Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts” (v. 12).
“Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (v. 13).
To Rome. 7 God prompts the apostle. Paul speaks about the body like this:
“Then the passions of sin, revealed by the law, were at work in our members” (verse 5).
“But I see another law in my members” (v. 23).
“He who makes me captive to the law of sin which is in my members” (v. 23)
“Who will deliver me from this body of death” (v. 24)
To Rome. 8 The declarations of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul are very clear:
"The body is dead because of sin" (v. 10)
“He will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (v. 11).
“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live” (v. 13).
“The redemption of our body” (v. 23).
Based on these passages of Holy Scripture, we can begin to recognize God's specific attitude towards the body - God knows that the body is a special field of action for sin. Man has become a slave of sin, because the body is a puppet of sin. But as soon as the body is freed from sin, that person ceases to be a slave to sin. A person truly freed from sin in this way experiences through experience the liberation of the body from its power and influence.
The purpose of crucifixion of the old man is to free the body from the power of sin. When the old man, who helps sin in the body, is crucified and the new man takes his place, the power of sin over the body is broken, because without the consent of the old man, sin cannot directly use the body.
It is important to emphasize that liberation from sin only means liberation of our body. (Of course, the completion of our redemption, which also includes deliverance from the presence of sin, lies in the future.) The spiritual life on which we rely is not yet finished. If we consider liberation from sin to be life at its highest level, we are extremely foolish. We take the “abolition” of the sinful body for the higher life, ignoring that behind and above the sinful body lies the natural soul, which must be dealt with in the same way as the sinful body. The spiritual odyssey of a believer will certainly be shallow if he is familiar only with the “abolition” of the body (no matter how pleasant it may be), but is not familiar with the experience of the abolition of the soul.
We have already mentioned the active self or soul in the service of God. The body may be “abolished,” but the soul remains very active. She can manifest herself in a variety of ways, but will always revolve around her “I”. Believers who live spiritually will always be inclined towards reason, will or emotions. They can even change their inclinations. But although the outer manifestation may be different, the inner clinging to the soul characterizes them all. Those disposed to self-will will act for their own pleasure and reject the will of God. Those who prefer reason will live by their own wisdom, without relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their intuition. Emotional people will seek sensual sensations and enjoy them. Whatever may be the individual inclination, each will see in his own tendency the higher life. Whatever the direction of inclination, one thing is common to all such people: everyone lives for themselves; everyone lives by what they possessed by nature before believing in God, be it talent, ability, eloquence, intelligence, attractive appearance, zealous spirit or anything else. In principle, the life of the soul is a natural force; in fact, it manifests itself in stubborn intractability or self-importance or pleasure seeking. This means that if a believer lives by the soul, he draws strength from the natural reserve, and shows special strength in one or more of these images. Until the believer gives up his soul life to death, he will cultivate this life, incurring the displeasure of God, and depriving himself of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Soul is like life

When we say that the soul is the natural life of man, we mean the power that keeps us alive in the flesh. Our soul is our life. A living being from the beginning (Gen. 1:21, 22) was called a “living soul,” because the soul is the life of man and all other living beings. This is our natural strength by which we live until our regeneration; this is the life that every person possesses. The Greek lexicon gives the original meaning of the word “psyche” as “animal life”, which means that mental life is what makes a person a living being. It refers to the natural. Although the soul's life may not necessarily be evil - since many sins are overcome by believers through the crucifixion of the old man with Christ - it nevertheless remains natural. She is the life of a person, and therefore she is human. It makes a person exactly a person, i.e. a living being. She may be kind, loving and humble, but she is human nonetheless.
This life is sharply different from the new life that the Holy Spirit gives at regeneration. The Holy Spirit gives uncreated (beginningless) and eternal life, but soul life was created. The Holy Spirit supplies us with supernatural power, but this is only natural. The Holy Spirit gives us "zoe", but this life is only "psyche".
A person’s life is the force in him that gives movement to all his members. Therefore, this mental strength manifests itself in all kinds of physical activity. External activity is nothing more than a manifestation of internal strength. This means that everything that is hidden invisibly behind activity constitutes life. Everything that we “are” by nature is included in this life. This is our mental life.

Soul and sin

Soul life supplies us with the power to carry out every command. If the spirit controls, the soul, at the command of the spirit, by the action of the will, will decide or do what the spirit desires; if sin rules in the body, the soul will be under its influence and will use its will to decide or fulfill its desires. The soul acts under the dictation of its owner, because its job is to carry out orders. Before the Fall of man, she subjected her power to the instructions of the spirit, but after the Fall she began to fully respond to the entreaties of sin. Since man became a carnal being, the sin that began to rule in the human body after the Fall became his nature, enslaving the soul and life of man, and pushing him to sin. Thus sin became the nature of man, while the soul became his life.
We often treat life and nature as synonymous and equivalent concepts. In a strict sense they are different. Life seems much broader than nature. Every life has its own nature, which, being the natural principle of existence, includes the disposition and desire for life. When we were yet sinners, our life was the soul, and our nature was sin. We lived a spiritual life, the disposition and desire of which was sinful. In other words, sin determines our way of life, and the strength for such a (sinful) way of life is given by the soul. The instigator is the nature of sin, and the source of energy is the life of the soul. Sin generates, and the soul brings to execution. This is the state of an unbeliever
When a believer accepts the grace of Jesus Christ, believing that Christ has replaced him on the cross, he receives Divine life and his spirit is quickened with Christ, even if he still knows nothing about co-crucifixion. This new, given life brings with it a new nature. Therefore, from this time on, man has two lives and two natures: on the one hand, mental life and spiritual life, and on the other, the sinful nature and the Divine.
These two natures - old and new, sinful and pious - are essentially (fundamentally) different, irreconcilable and unmixable. The old and the new struggle day after day for power over the whole person. In this primary stage, the believer is a baby in Christ, because he is still carnal. His experiences are varied and painful and full of successes and failures. Later, he becomes acquainted with the liberation of the cross and learns how to faith to honor the old man as crucified with Christ. In this way he gets rid of the sin that had previously paralyzed his body. After the crucifixion of the old man, the believer receives the power to overcome and experiences the fulfillment of the joyful communication: “sin shall not have dominion over you.”
With sin underfoot, and all passions and lusts behind, the believer enters a new realm. He can see himself as completely spiritual. Looking at those who are still immersed in sin, he cannot help but feel joy and wonder how he reached the pinnacle of spiritual life. How little does such a person understand that he is not only far from complete spirituality, but also remains partially carnal, that he is still...

Soulish or carnal believer

Why is this so? Because we see that spiritual life continues, although the cross has dealt with the sinful nature of man. It is true that all sin comes from the sinful nature, and the soul is simply an obliging servant; but, nevertheless, the soul is inherited from Adam and cannot but be infected by the Fall of Adam. It may not be completely defiled, but it is natural, and is far from resembling the Divine life. The corrupt old man in the believer has died, but the soul remains the driving force of his life. On the one hand, the sinful nature is deeply affected, but on the other hand, the life of the “I” continues and cannot but be spiritual. Although the old man may have ceased to guide the soul, the latter continues to drive man's daily walk. Since the Divine nature has replaced the sinful one, all the inclinations and desires of man are by nature good, which is so different from his previous state. However, we must not forget that the fulfillment of these new desires continues to be the old power of the soul.
Relying on soul life to fulfill the desires of the spirit means using natural (human) power to accomplish supernatural Divine good. It is simply an attempt to fulfill God's demands in one's own strength. In such a state, the believer is still weak to do good positively, although negatively he has overcome sin. There are few who honestly admit their weakness and inability to fully rely on God. Who can confess his unfitness without being humbled by God's grace? A man is proud of his valor. For this reason, it is unlikely that the thought of trusting in the Holy Spirit to do good will occur to him, but he will correct and improve his previous behavior by the power of his soul. The danger for him lies in trying to please God in his own strength, instead of learning to strengthen his spiritual life through the Holy Spirit so that he can follow the directions of the new nature. In fact, his spiritual life is still in infancy, and has not yet matured to that degree of maturity when the believer could manifest every virtue of the Divine nature. Unless the believer humbly places his trust and complete trust in the Lord, he will inevitably use his natural, soulish energy to meet the demands that God places on His children. He does not understand that no matter how good his efforts may seem in the eyes of people, they will never be able to please God. Because in doing so, he confuses the Divine with the human, expressing heavenly desires with earthly powers. What about the consequences? He completely fails to become spiritual and remains spiritual.
Man does not know what mental life is. Simply put, this is what we usually call the life of our self. He is seriously mistaken who does not distinguish between sin and self. Many believers believe that these are the same thing. They do not understand that both biblical teaching and spiritual experience are two different things. Sin is that which defiles, that which goes against God and is fundamentally corrupt, and the self is not necessarily that. On the contrary, sometimes it can be quite respectful, helpful and sweet. Take for example the soul in connection with reading the Bible - a very commendable activity. Trying to understand the Bible, the Holy Bible, with one's natural talents or abilities is not in itself considered a sin, and yet such an approach to the Bible certainly comes from the self. The acquisition of souls, accompanied by methods that were invented by the person himself, is also full of his self. And how often the pursuit of spiritual growth originates in the natural self, and therefore, perhaps, we cannot tolerate the thought of falling behind, or because we are looking for personal gain. To put it bluntly, doing good is not a sin, but the methods, manner and motives in such doing good can be satiated by our self. Its source is natural goodness, and not that supernatural one that the Holy Spirit gives through regeneration. Many are by nature merciful, patient and gentle. For them, showing mercy, patience or tenderness is not a sin, but because these “good” traits come from their natural life, and are the work of their self, they cannot be accepted by God as something spiritual. These actions are performed not by complete trust in the Spirit of God, but by trust in one’s own strength.
These few examples illustrate how sin and self are different from each other. As we progress along our spiritual path, we will find many more cases where sin is absent and self is prominently present. The impression is that the “I” inevitably creeps into almost every holy work and noblest spiritual walk of the believer.
Having been in the chains of sin for a long time, a child of God easily accepts liberation from this power as the most perfect life. But it is precisely here that the greatest danger lurks on the further path of one who imagines that everything malignant in him has already been eradicated. He does not realize that although the old man died to sin and the body of sin was abolished, “sin” nevertheless did not die. He simply turned into a king without a throne, who, at the slightest opportunity, will try his best to regain it. A believer may even experience deliverance from sin, but this does not make him perfect. He still needs to deal irrevocably with his “I”.
How sad it is when a believer considers himself to be sanctified, while in seeking sanctification he has actually received deliverance from sin. Such people do not know that deliverance from sin is only the first step to a victorious life. This is only the very first victory that God gives as an assurance of many other victories that are to follow later. Victory over sin is like a door: one step and you are in; victory over the self is like a road: you walk until the end of your days. Having overthrown sin, we must daily set about overthrowing our self - the best in it, the zealous and religious self.
If a person has only received deliverance from sin, but has not yet experienced self-denial, or deliverance from soul life, he inevitably puts himself in the position of restoring his natural soul strength to do God's will in his walk. He does not realize that in addition to sin, two other forces live in him: the strength of the spirit and the strength of the soul. The power of the spirit is God's power, received spiritually through rebirth, while the power of the soul is his own, acquired by nature from birth.
Whether a believer becomes spiritual or not depends largely on how he handles these two forces within himself. The believer enters the ranks of the spiritual, drawing from spiritual strength to the exclusion of spiritual strength. If he uses soul power, or a combination of these two powers, the result will invariably be a spiritual or carnal believer. God's way is clear. We must renounce everything that comes from ourselves: who we are, what we have, what we are capable of - and begin to move exclusively by Him, daily appropriating the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Lack of understanding and obedience will leave us no other choice but to live by the power of our soul. Therefore, a spiritual believer is one whose spirit is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He draws strength for his daily walk from the life given by the Holy Spirit Living in his spirit. He lives on earth, pleasing not his own will, but the will of God. He does not rely on his own intelligence to plan and serve God. The rule of his walk is to live quietly in spirit, no longer being under the influence and control of an external man.
A soulish believer differs significantly from a spiritual one. Although he has fortitude, he does not draw strength from it to live. Day after day, he persistently continues to give free rein to his soul and rely on the power of his self. He follows the directions of what pleases and pleases him because he has not learned to be obedient to God. He brings his own wisdom into God's work, and makes all sorts of intricate plans. His daily existence is controlled and influenced by the outer man.
The conclusion from all that has been said above is this: the problem of two natures has been resolved, but the problem of two lives still needs to be resolved. Spiritual life and mental life coexist in us. Although the first in itself has remarkable power, the second manages to control the entire being, because it is so deeply rooted in a person. Unless the believer decides to renounce the soul life and hand over the reins of the spiritual life, the latter will have no hope of development. This upsets Heavenly Father because the child of God is depriving himself of spiritual growth. He must be taught that victory over sin, blissful as it may be, is the bare minimum of the believer's experience. There's nothing amazing about her. We should be shocked by the lack of victory over sin. Doesn’t Holy Scripture ask a fair question: “We died to sin: how can we live in it?” (Rom. 6:2). After all, the faith that Christ died for us is inseparable from the faith that we died with Him (Rom. 6:6). Therefore, what should surprise us is not that those who died to sin have ceased sinning, but that they continue to sin as if they had not died. The first state is normal, but the second is absolutely not.
Deliverance from sin is not such a difficult matter when it is considered in the light of the complete, complete and complete salvation given by God. The believer, however, must move on to learn a more complex and perhaps more difficult and profound lesson: he must learn to despise his life. We must not only hate the sinful nature that came to us from Adam, but also the natural vitality on which we now rely to live. We must be willing to renounce the good produced by the flesh as well as the evil produced by the flesh. It is necessary not only to forsake sins, but in addition to this, to give up the death and life of sin. Walking in the Holy Spirit does not mean only that a person has stopped sinning, but that he has also evicted his self. The Holy Spirit can only manifest His power in those who live by His power. Anyone who lives in his own strength cannot count on the mighty action of the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to free ourselves from everything natural as well as everything sinful. If we insist on living humanly, that is, according to the dictates of the man in us - sinful or simply natural - we will reject the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. How can He demonstrate His authority and power if we, having been freed from sin, continue to think humanly, desire humanly, and live and work for God humanly? We do not lean entirely on the Holy Spirit of God to work in us. If we sincerely long for His fullness, we must first get rid of the all-encompassing influence of the soul.

Complete collection and description: how to get rid of the sin of fornication, prayer for the spiritual life of a believer.

Information site about icons, prayers, Orthodox traditions.

What kind of sin is masturbation, prayer and how to get rid of it

"Save me, God!". Thank you for visiting our website, before you start studying the information, we ask you to subscribe to our VKontakte group Prayers for every day. Also visit our page on Odnoklassniki and subscribe to her Prayers for every day Odnoklassniki. "God bless you!".

Fornication in Orthodoxy, or as it is also called malakia, is a type of fornication, which in turn is distinguished by the acquisition of pleasant touches, and in the Christian religion such a sinful act is considered as a fornication sin. Let's take a closer look at what kind of sin masturbation is, how clergy speak about it, and how to get rid of this addiction.

What is handjob

In essence, masturbation is a waste of human energy, for which a Christian believer is able to find a more reasonable use, but besides this, this type of satisfaction can tell about the weakness of the Orthodox, in particular the inability to properly manage his lusts.

It should be noted that masturbation is a terrible sin and no matter what it is called in Orthodoxy, such an addiction can push a Christian to commit other sins and it follows from this that, having overcome one, one can also cope with others.

Malakia itself is a product of the gravity of fornication, because unclean, bold intentions have a detrimental effect on human spirituality. Such an addiction is unnatural, since fusion with the opposite sex does not occur, while the Christian Church allows fornication only committed among couples who have legalized their relationship and their goal is procreation.

The Holy Fathers spoke about masturbation as follows:

Rev. Abba Serapion: “There are only three types of lustful passion: the first occurs due to sexual confusion; the next one, for which the Most High defeated the son of the patriarch Judah Onan, is produced without merging with the female sex, in Holy Scripture this type of lustful addiction is called uncleanness, which the Apostle spoke about: for those who are celibate or widowed: it would be good for them to remain like me . However, if they cannot restrain themselves, then let them enter into marriage; after all, creating a marriage is much better than succumbing to an addiction.”

Archpriest Vasily Zenkovsky: “Such an act represents serious sexual corruption, since the meaning of sex lies in the essence of the other sex.”

Masturbation among women in Orthodoxy, as well as among minor children

There is no mention of female malakia in the Holy Scriptures, but this does not mean that they do not commit a sinful act, since women who fornicate receive the same condemnation from the church as men with the same addiction. It follows from this that female representatives must also repent and subject themselves to the same punishment as the opposite sex.

But masturbation by girls or boys occurs in most cases out of ignorance or due to non-observance of personal hygiene, the presence of itching sensations in the genital area, from tight and tight clothing, physical punishment and more.

In order to rid a child of this addiction, parents should:

determine the cause and eliminate it immediately;
It is strongly recommended not to intimidate or scold a child;
do not conduct inspections or interrogations;
try to pay as much attention as possible;
wear looser clothes;
work out the baby’s nutrition;
allow you to spend more time with your peers;
increase the number of water procedures;
try to be outdoors more often.

How to get rid of addiction

Not every person will be able to openly admit to such a shameful sin, however, to overcome this, tips on how to get rid of masturbation can help:

If a person is determined to fight sin, then first of all he should start by confronting the bad habit, and God’s prayer will help in this, but in all other cases the desire to say goodbye to the addiction will remain nothing more than a desire.
The fight with malakia (as well as with other well-known sins) should begin with the understanding of the fact that it is impossible for a Christian to overcome himself on his own (i.e., without the help of the Almighty) and therefore this can only be done with the Lord’s help.
It is necessary to offer prayer. When dirty thoughts appear, it is best to turn to the Heavenly Queen. If the said prayer against hand fornication is sincere and from a pure heart, then you can gain the protection of the Mother of God and receive the long-awaited liberation.
In rather difficult situations of lustful thoughts, surrounding yourself with church paraphernalia, such as a cross or miraculous images of Saints, can help. You can turn to them in moments of greatest temptation, bowing and asking to cast out the demon.
An Orthodox person should lead the most controlled and leisurely lifestyle (naturally, as far as life circumstances allow), while the media and viewing of films of the erotic genre are prohibited.
You should also limit yourself in drinking alcoholic beverages, as they can dull the mind.
You should try to avoid any temptations, such as, for example, taking a long bubble bath.
You should admit your thoughts to yourself as often as possible, which will open your thoughts and increase the power of confrontation against addiction.
Depending on the presence of sins, come to confession in church at least once a week.

The prayer itself against desecration by masturbation looks like this:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, my Savior, have pity on my severe weakness and by your grace heal me from the vile addiction to masturbation. Do not let me fall into this sin and strengthen my will. Have mercy on me, a fornicating abomination, and it is better to kill me than let me fall into this sin again.”

May the Lord protect you!

You can learn how to name the sin of masturbation in confession from this video:

How to get rid of the sin of fornication prayer

Prayers for the passion of fornication

O Mother of the Lord, my Creator, You are the root of virginity and the unfading color of purity. O Mother of God! Help me, the one who is weak with carnal passion and painful, for one thing is Yours and I have intercession through You, Your Son and God. Amen.

1 He who lives in the help of the Most High will dwell in the shelter of the Heavenly God.

2 Says the Lord: Thou art my Advocate and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him.

3 For He will deliver you from the snare of the trap and from the speech of rebellion,

4 His cloak will cover you, and you will trust under His wing; His truth will surround you with weapons.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid from the fear of the night, from the arrow that flies in the days,

6 from the things that pass away in darkness, from the debris, and the demon of the midday.

7 Thousands will fall from your country, and darkness will be at your right hand, but it will not come near you,

8 Behold both your eyes and see the reward of sinners.

9 For You, O Lord, are my hope, You have made the Most High your refuge.

10 No evil will come to you, and no wound will come near your body,

11 As His angel commanded you, keep you in all your ways.

12 They will lift you up in their arms, lest you dash your foot against a stone,

13 Tread on the asp and basilisk and cross the lion and the serpent.

14 Because I have trusted, I will deliver, and I will cover, because I have known My name.

15 He will call to Me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will remove him and glorify him,

16 I will fill him with long days and show him My salvation.

In you, Father, it is known that you were saved in the image of the cross, for you followed Christ, and in your deed you taught to despise the flesh, for it comes: be diligent about the souls, things more immortal: in the same way, Reverend Vitaly, your spirit rejoices with the Angels.

Having divinely armed yourself with spiritual purity, and having firmly handed over unceasing prayers like a copy, you prosecuted the demonic militia of Vitaly, pray unceasingly for all of us.

We bless you, Reverend Father Vitaly, and honor your holy memory, teacher of monks and interlocutor of Angels.

Thy Lamb, Jesus, Thomaida, calls with a great voice: I love Thee, my Bridegroom, and seeking Thee I suffer and am crucified, and I am buried in Thy Baptism, and I suffer for Thy sake, for I reign in Thee, and I die for Thee, and live with by you; but as an immaculate sacrifice, accept me, offering myself to You with love. Through prayers, as the Merciful, save our souls.

Your all-honorable temple, as if you have found spiritual healing, all the faithful cry out loudly to you: virgin martyr, the great Thomaid, pray to Christ God unceasingly for all of us.

Oh, all praise to the martyr Thomaido! For the purity of marriage, even having labored to the point of blood, and having laid down your soul for the sake of chastity, you have found yourself worthy before the Lord, even more honorable than you in the person of the holy virgins. Hear us praying to you, and just as Borimia of old had you as a healer from the flesh, according to the grace given to you from God, grant to those who now resort to your intercession joy and freedom from carnal warfare, and a chaste life and abiding in marriage and virginity with your God-pleasing prayers. Make every effort to intercede, for our bodies will be a temple of the Holy Spirit living in us. Oh, most chosen among wives and faithful servant of Christ! Help us, so that we do not perish with our passions and lusts, but let us be guided by our minds and strengthened in our hearts in all piety and purity, glorifying your help and intercession, the grace and mercy of the Triune God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. . Amen.

Rev. Taisiya was very beautiful and became famous everywhere for the beauty of her face. Seducing her admirers, she brought them to ruin, poverty, and quarrels because of her. After a conversation with the Monk Paphnutius, Rev. Taisiya remained in seclusion in a convent for three years, atonement for her sin of fornication, until the vision of St. It was not explained to Pavel the Simple that the sin of the former harlot Taisia was forgiven.

In you, mother, it is known that you were saved in the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and having taught you to despise the flesh, it passes away: but be diligent about the soul, things that are immortal: in the same way, the angels rejoice, O Venerable Taisie, your spirit.

For the love of the Lord, reverend one, you hated the desire for peace, having enlightened your spirit with fasting: for you have conquered the beasts with great strength: but with your prayers you destroy the vacillation of the opposite ones.

The other Joseph, the great zealot of purity and chastity, all-honorable and equal to the angel Moses, with sacred songs of praise, sinners, we pray to you diligently: pray to Christ God, that he may heal all our passions and bestow great mercy.

Seeing your labors and exploits with passions in your purity, holy one, who does not marvel? For hunger, prison and wounds, you were not enslaved by the sweetness of the Lyakhovitsa, but, like a king, possessing passions, now and then you were glorified by the All-Seeing human heart, from It is unfitting to grant grace to everyone in temptation, grant us, too, who honor your memory, Moses Rev.

In the Highest, seeking the One God, you despised all earthly things, careless about your body, you gave yourself up to manly torments, hunger, thirst, bonds, locked in prison, you valiantly endured beatings, hemorrhage and amputation, pure for the sake of your virginity, You bore courageously. And now with virgin faces standing before the Most Holy Trinity, pray to be delivered from all temptations crying to you: Rejoice, Moses, most blessed father.

Reverend Moses Murin - a repentant murderer and robber - a helper in sobriety and chastity. They pray to him to overcome the passions of drunkenness and fornication, and also for the conversion to Christ of souls who have sinned serious crimes.

Desert dweller, and in the body an Angel and a miracle worker appeared, O God-bearing Father Moses: by fasting, vigil, and prayer, I received heavenly gifts, healing the sick and the souls of those who come to you by faith. Glory to Him who gave you strength, glory to Him who crowned you, glory to Him who heals you all.

Having killed Murina and spat on the faces of demons, you mentally shone like the bright sun, guiding our souls with the light of your life and teaching.

When a harlot, disguised as a wanderer, came to St. Martinian, he stood on burning brushwood to defeat temptation. The harlot, seeing his feat, repented.

As skilful ascetics of piety, and a sufferer of honest will, and a desert dweller and inhabitant, let us worthily praise in song the ever-honorable Martinian: for he has trampled upon the serpent.

From end to end, the broadcast of your red virtues and Divine deeds passed: when you were young in age, you desired to live in the deserts, singing to Christ, singing psalms and prayers ever after: but growing day and night in illnesses and tears, you ended your pure life and, wise, you have put to shame the evil one, for you have trampled upon the serpent.

St. Euthymius had the grace-filled gift of delivering from carnal passion.

Having been chosen by God from his youth, Saint Euthymius, and for this reason he was honored with the rank of bishop, having saved the people who were entrusted to you by God; Likewise, after the repose of miracles, you received gifts from the Lord to heal various ailments. Pray for this for us, who honor your memory, so that we may continually please you all.

As you were a co-throne bishop and a great champion of the saint, Saint Euthymia, do not cease preserving your fatherland, the city and the people who worship you with faith and worship with your honest power, let everyone cry out to you: Rejoice, holy saint God-wise!

Father Saint Euthymius! From your youth you have loved Christ and are strengthened by His grace, you have put to death all carnal wisdom, you have pleased the Lord with a pure life and meek disposition, and by His grace you have labored on the throne of the sanctity, you have appeared to the flock of Christ of Great Novagrad as a good shepherd, laying down your soul for the flock. yours. Likewise, even after your death, the Chief Shepherd Christ glorified you with the donations of miracles flowing from you, showing us the image of a virtuous life in You. In the same way, I, sinful and despondent, falling to the side of your relics, I pray to you earnestly: give me a helping hand, raise me with your prayers from the depths of sin, for I am overcome by waves of carnal passions and despondency, and other countless everyday worries and perish. May I, a sinner of many sins, be a warm intercessor and prayer book for Christ, and may I be delivered from the drowning of sin, to the refuge of an immaculate life by the grace of Christ, and with a pure life I will glorify my Savior, who redeemed me with His blood: and having finished this life, I will receive eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, where the most honorable and magnificent name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is glorified, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

In you, mother, it is known that you were saved in the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and in action you taught to despise the flesh, for it passes away; Be diligent about souls, things that are more immortal. In the same way, O Reverend Mary, your spirit will rejoice with the Angels.

Having escaped the darkness of sin, having illuminated your heart with the light of repentance, you, glorious one, came to Christ, to whom you, the All-Immaculate and Holy Mother, brought a merciful prayer book. You have found forgiveness from your sins and sins, and you will rejoice with the angels forever.

With songs let us now praise the Lamb of Christ and the daughter of Mary, the ever-memorable Egyptian sheep, who has escaped all these deceptions, and who alone has brought a perfect return to the Church, struggling through abstinence and prayer beyond the measure of human nature. Likewise, exalt her life and deeds, the One Almighty, O glorious Mary.

With the righteousness of your mind, having bound your soul into the love of Christ, you passed over the corruptible and the red, and into temporary oblivion, like the words of a disciple: by fasting the first passion, having put to death, you have put to shame the second enemy through suffering. Therefore, Christ vouchsafes a greater crown to you, glorious Evdokia: venerable passion-bearer, pray to Christ God to save our souls.

In your suffering you labored well, and after your death you sanctified us with an outpouring of all-praised miracles, running by faith into your divine church. And we triumphantly pray to you, Venerable Martyr Evdokie, that we may be delivered from spiritual ailments and may receive miracles of grace.

The most powerful Orthodox prayer from the fornication of Mary of Egypt

In the Christian Church, the prayer of Mary of Egypt (the saint lived in the 6th century, and is therefore revered by both Catholics and Orthodox) is considered a strong women’s prayer. This belief is connected with the biography of the holy ascetic, which has come down to us from the depths of centuries. On the icon, Mary of Egypt is always depicted as an emaciated elderly woman, barely covered with rags, often standing next to her is another saint in full priestly vestments.

The Akathist to the Venerable Mary of Egypt, written several centuries after her godly repose, gives readers an idea not only of the depth of her feat, but also of the incomprehensibility of God’s mercy towards repentant sinners.

You can also read the akathist to Mary of Egypt during Lent.

Unlike many other prayer hymns of a similar genre, the akathist to St. Mary of Egypt can be read even during fasting. In her youth, Mary was a harlot, and she sold her body not out of need, but for pleasure. One day she got on a ship with sailors going to worship in Jerusalem, and indulged in debauchery on it. Upon arrival in the holy city, she became interested in getting to know the local shrines, and she, among others, went to the temple.

The akathist of St. Mary of Egypt says that she could not enter it, because an Angel blocked her entrance. Suddenly seeing the depth of her fall, the saint began to pray to the Mother of God for help, after which she was able to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, venerate the Cross and take communion.

Repentance coupled with the prayer of Mary of Egypt helps to receive forgiveness of sins

After this incident, as the akathist to St. Mary says, the future ascetic firmly decided to correct herself. She went to the desert, where she spent 40 years in prayer and strict fasting. The only one who saw her was Elder Zosima, who witnessed the last years of St. Mary’s life. He testified that the saint could perform various miracles, in particular, walking on water, and also had the gift of foresight, since she accurately indicated to him the date of her death. You can also read the prayer of Mary of Egypt on April 14, the day of her special commemoration.

Read the text of the Orthodox prayer to St. Mary of Egypt against fornication

O great saint of Christ, Venerable Mother Mary! Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners (names), deliver us, reverend mother, from the passions that war on our souls, from all sadness and adversity, from sudden death and from all evil, at the hour of separation of the soul from the body, cast away, holy saint , every evil thought and crafty demons, for may our souls be received in peace into a place of light by Christ the Lord our God, for from Him is the cleansing of sins, and He is the salvation of our souls, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit , now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Prayer to Saint Mary of Egypt for carnal passion

O great saint of Christ, Saint Mary! Standing before the Throne of God in Heaven, and abiding with us in the spirit of love on earth, having boldness towards the Lord, pray to save His servants, who flow to you with love. Ask us from the Most Merciful Master and Lord of faith for immaculate observance of our cities and villages, for the confirmation of our cities and villages, for deliverance from famine and destruction, for the afflicted, for consolation, for the sick - healing, for the fallen - rebellion, for the lost - strengthening, in good deeds prosperity and blessing, for orphans and widows - intercession and for those who have departed from this life - eternal rest, but on the day of the Last Judgment, we will all be at the right hand of the country and hear the blessed voice of My Judge: come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, and receive your abode there forever. Amen.

Listen to the video of the akathist to Mary of Egypt for help

Canonical text of the akathist to St. Mary of Egypt

Chosen from the Lord as the image of salvation for all sinners and despairers, who have risen from the depths of sin to the heights of dispassion, we offer you praiseful singing, reverend mother, but you, as if you have boldness towards a generous God, with your prayers guide those who call you on the path of your repentance with love:

Seeing you in the Jordanian desert, the great Zosimas, an angel in the flesh, standing in the air and praying for peace, was overcome with surprise and horror, completely in awe, shedding tears, crying out to you like this:

Rejoice, full of grace and light; Rejoice, freely adorned with insight.

Rejoice, in your prayers to God you were lifted up in the air; Rejoice, desert treasure hidden from the world.

Rejoice, lifeless companion; Rejoice, village of the Holy Spirit.