Amount of records: 113

Hello! I have been serving in Dagestan for 6 years, they do not want to translate us, could you pray for me and my family to be transferred? And today we killed a colleague, we could have prayed for him, 2 children and a wife remained.

sergey

Sergey, God help you. Of course, it is not sweet and very dangerous there. Let us pray, and you yourself also pray. Remember the words of Christ: "He who asks will receive, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Hello. I would like to know the answer to the question: the fact is that I work in a low-paid job and spend a little more than 100 rubles a day on the road (almost a third of my salary per month). To avoid the waste, I borrowed a free pass from my schoolgirl sister, as she does not use it yet. Isn't it a sin? Thank.

Catherine

Hello Ekaterina. You don't ride like a hare, you bought a travel card for money, legally. It would be correct to require the employer to provide travel or compensation for travel costs.

priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Bless! Thanks for the very useful site and this section. I try to read the questions and answers every day, because I get answers to many of my questions. I ask for your advice: I work in a municipal institution, recently they gave me a separate office; Is it possible to read the prayers for the consecration of the office yourself? You can't invite a priest. Thanks for the answer.

Anna

Anna, only a priest can fully consecrate your office. If it is not possible to invite the priest, then you can hang an icon in the office and sprinkle it with Epiphany water with the words: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen". No other prayers should be recited.

priest Vladimir Shlykov

Hello, father. My friend is a workaholic, works 15 hours a day, seven days a week (mental work). He has constantly high blood pressure, smokes, does not play sports, and recently had a microstroke, but he does not want to stay in the hospital, as the doctor recommends. And I feel that he has not made any conclusions that it is necessary to change the way of life. I am worried that it will all end badly, and he says that he cannot but work, because money must be sent to sick parents. How to explain to a person that if he does not take care of his health, he can die or remain disabled ?! I pray for his health 1-2 times a day, but I think that this is not enough, he himself should take it seriously. What words can I find to make him listen, and can I do something in this situation? Thank you for your reply. Please do not post my question on the site.

Helena

Tell him, Elena, that besides work, he has another duty - the cleansing of his soul from the sins. For this matter, his life time and measure of health are measured. No matter how the situation turns out that he will spend all his time and health on things, albeit necessary, but vain, and when he realizes that the Lord requires him to account for his life, the results of his spiritual life and the fruits of repentance, he will already lie without strength and madness, like a vegetable. Let him think.

hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello! I am an Orthodox person, but at work my colleagues of different faiths or even atheists. Since my colleagues and I spend a lot of time together, sometimes there is talk about religion. Some say - there is no God, others argue that the true God is Allah, etc. The question is: how should I behave when such topics are discussed in my presence - to pretend that I do not hear anything, or to express my point of view and shut up, or persistently try to convince your interlocutors of the truth of Orthodoxy?

Valentine

Dear Valentina, in such conversations it is better to speak about your faith only when asked. After all, this is the most precious, intimate. We do not tell everyone and not everywhere about this. We can refuse to participate in disputes, often empty, leading nowhere. “This is a job, not a polemic club. I came to work ”- this attitude will help you to be more calm about these conversations. God help you.

priest Sergiy Osipov

Hello, I am renting out a store, but the contract says that the store is rented out free of charge, although a person pays me money. Do I need to rewrite the contract?

Sergey

Hello Sergey. Do as your conscience tells you. Either pay rent tax, or don’t take money. Help Lord.

priest Sergiy Osipov

Good health, father. I made an agreement with one person after work to go to church for the evening service to confess before the sacrament. Five minutes before the end of the shift, they called from the production site and told them to stay to develop the technology. I replied that the working day was over and they were already waiting for me, I left. In confession, I told this incident. But the bewilderment remained. Have I sinned? Thanks for the answer.

Margarita

Margarita, it all depends on how much your help was needed. It is one thing if the employer often abuses his position and forces employees to stay after work. And it is completely different if they really could not do without your help at that moment. I think to calm your conscience you need to explain yourself with your colleagues.

priest Vladimir Shlykov

Good day. I work in a senior position in the legal department of a very large alcoholic beverage company. I try to fulfill my duties conscientiously. The question is, isn't it a sin to work for a company that produces and sells vodka, wine, etc. in large quantities?

Igor

Formally, there is no sin, because you do not make the drunkard drown in dependence deeper and deeper. Anything people can use in sin, what should all manufacturers do now? But if this question continues to torment you, you still have the opportunity to change jobs sometime. God bless you.

priest Sergiy Osipov

Hello, father! Please help me to solve this problem. I have 2 children, 4.5 and 2.5 years old. In spring my son turns 3 years old, and I will need to go to work. But during the time of the decree, I got so much accustomed to family life, even despite its difficulties. I can't imagine myself at work, I can't imagine that my grandmothers and educators will take care of my children. I am a mother and wife, I know and love these roles with all my heart! God will ask for my children, not for my grandmothers! And I would sit at home, but my husband is convinced that I must work for the sake of seniority and pension. I can’t convince him that children are dearer to me. And I'm not always going to sit at home, but for now the children will not go to school. The financial situation allows me not to work yet. We are in abundance. We cannot yet give birth to a third child, we have no housing of our own, my husband is a military man, we go from place to place. But I would still give birth, and my husband does not want more children yet. Father, sorry for the verbosity, but your opinion is very important to me. Am I right in my position that work can wait, and children need me more now? Should you insist on your own, or go to work for the sake of obedience to your husband, and then God himself will manage everything? Save you Lord!

Tatyana

Dear Tatiana! Is it not the happiness and destiny of the wife - to be the keeper of the house and educator of children? Moreover, everything is fine with your finances, thank God. No one will bring up your children better than yourself. And in our country, a pension is such a ghostly reality ... For example, I cannot believe that when the time comes to receive a pension, what you have earned will be returned to you. It is better to invest your strength, time, youth and health in children, and they will provide you with prosperity in old age with proper upbringing. And the Lord will not leave the one who put all his strength to raise his children in faith and piety. So try to talk to your spouse again and convince him that the children need you more, and not the state. God bless you!

archpriest Andrei Efanov

Hello dear priests. I would like to turn to Father Maxim. I found a lot of useful, intelligible advice from you, written in living language. Advise me, too, how to act in such seemingly mundane situations as childish tantrums. I work as a nanny for a family in the USA. Children are brought up here differently from ours. ALL IS ALLOWED HERE! Children don't know the word no. I am a believer, Orthodox, and I know that you always need to keep peace of mind, not to be angry, but lately I am not just tired of constant hysterics, but I feel a kind of emptiness, even despondency. And today I could not stand it, I burst out, I even raised my voice to the child, I was angry. I cry, I repent, but I understand that I have to be patient, in six months, if God pleases, I want to go home. Therefore, it makes no sense to talk about changing jobs here. Please advise how an Orthodox Christian can exercise restraint in moments of childish tantrums? Where and what can you read about this topic? I confess, I was ashamed later in front of a 3-year-old child, because I was angry, ashamed in front of God. 2.5 years ago I became a church member, regularly participate in sacraments, it seemed that my spiritual life was peaceful and quiet, and suddenly - anger, irritation ... but I really want to please God, be meek, humble. But when children's terrible tantrums - I can not stand it. And what the tantrums of American children are - this is a must see. Help with advice, father. God save you.

Valentine

Yes, Valentina, I saw the tantrums of American children (I spent a month in the USA with friends), my parishioners in this country worked in the same vacancies as you. I think you know that in the States it is unsafe to show irritation towards offspring, especially someone else's. They can blame anything. Once you have decided to return, you just have to endure and pray. Pray for the child too. Peace of mind, I think, is very difficult to preserve here - everything is not ours, everything will somehow be unbalanced. It remains only to endure. Read Abba Dorotheos for patience. There is such a story: adversity drove the monk out of his cell, out of the monastery, but every day he began with the fact that he would still endure and “leave tomorrow”. This "tomorrow" never came. It's good if you manage to finish your business in the USA by a certain time. And if not, then live by this principle.

archpriest Maxim Khizhiy

Hello! Please tell me if I did the right thing. In early November I got a job at a bank as a lawyer, on the second day the deputy director told me that I should be her right hand and report on what was going on in the department. I didn't do it. After two weeks of work, this deputy director accused me of non-professionalism (with a legal experience of 8 years) and asked me to write a letter of resignation. When I wrote the application the next day, she apologized and said that she had changed her mind, while she called my head of department and accused her of my dismissal. Then she tore up my application, but I wrote another, and she was angry with me, because it threatens her with dismissal. The only thing that saved me when working between "two fires" was reading Psalm 90 and the Psalter. But I quit, despite all the persuasions from the management to stay and survive, having worked only three weeks. Maybe I'm wrong, because I have a wife and two kids, and I left a well-paid position? it turns out that God gave me a test that I could not endure? On the other hand, I am 34 years old, and practically throughout my life I tried not to change my word and never loyally looked people in the eyes, no matter if they offered me money or other benefits. I ask for advice, father.

Evgeniy

Eugene, gone - and gone, no need to look back. Otherwise, you will begin to regret something, to think that it could have been different. The situation you had there was really nasty, and turn it this way - it's bad, and so it is even worse. Let's be more courageous: they closed the door - period. We will not regret it! And the Lord will help you, will not leave you for being honest and straightforward.

hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello, Father! For a very long time I have been tormented by the question - at my work, many people believe that it is NECESSARY to pull money from men and behave in such a way that they fully provide a luxurious life (with fur coats, apartments, cars and trips abroad every month). Both 20 and 30 year olds think so! And they are happy, and they have something to develop their children for! Doctors and children's clubs are prohibitively expensive. Children in kindergartens and schools brag about clothes, toys, trips, etc. Isn't it a sin to “pull money from men”? How to explain to a child that this is not the main thing? Or are they right that in this way they provide for themselves and the stable future of the child? Sometimes I catch myself thinking. that I just envy. Thank!

Helena

Elena, you are asking a question to which you yourself know the answer! Another thing is that you are oppressed by your own situation ... This should be discussed. What's going on at home. Does your husband not work? Does it work a little? Doesn't care about children? What are you yourself trying to do about it? And what to pay attention to these predators! Their husbands, too, will soon grow wiser ... What will they do then?

archpriest Maxim Khizhiy

Hello! Tell me please, is it a sin to work in a bank related to attracting clients?

Svetlana

Svetlana, if deception is needed to attract customers, then it counts. I hope this is not about your work. God help!

priest Sergiy Osipov

Good day! Father, my question is: in the future I want to open a small pastry shop purely for my family, so that I can work in silence and prayer. My husband and I are believers, we try to live according to the law of God. The husband says that it is wrong to have a business, that money spoils people, makes them greedy and dissolute, and much more! Like, if there are fasting days, and I will sell to people who do not fast, I will be responsible for their sins. Help, advise what to do.

Hello! I don't see anything wrong with a small pastry shop. After all, it is not the amount of money that matters, but our attitude to it. You can leave some of your income for charity, you can feed the poor with your buns, or you can sell lean pastries at the post. That is, you will bring real benefits to people. But, like any believer, you must first discuss this with your confessor, or with a priest in confession, and take a blessing from him.

priest Vladimir Shlykov

Hello, father! My wife and I bought an already operating clothing store with two sellers. One of the sellers is a 57-year-old woman, worked in it almost from the very opening (about 3 years) of a very capricious nature, constantly contradicted us in everything, was late for work, was often absent from her workplace and, in addition, began to complain about us sellers of neighboring stores that she is unhappy with the new owners. As a result, we fired her, paying her the due salary and explaining the reason. Is this a sin for us?

Alexei

Hello Alexey. If you did not insult her, did not demonstrate rejection and did not seek to get rid of her for the sake of your own reassurance, and not out of production necessity, then you have not sinned. We did everything right.

priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Hello! I am a military pensioner, 52 years old, my pension is enough for life. I started reading spiritual literature, watching video lectures by A.I. Osipov. Now they have offered a job in another region. Please advise me if I should change my usual way of life and agree to move?

Sergius

Hello Sergiy! I think it would be best to consult a priest who knows you personally on this matter. But from your letter I see no obstacles to moving. It all depends on your desire and capabilities.

priest Vladimir Shlykov

Hello, does a church minister have the right to work in other, additional work, besides the ministry, is this permitted by church laws or not? Thank.

Dmitry

Hello Dimitri. A clergyman who is a member of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church receives support from his parish, if he is a parish priest, or from the diocese, if he bears diocesan obediences. In case of insufficient maintenance, and often this happens in small parishes, a clergyman can work in a secular job, if this does not prejudice his direct duties. Of course, this cannot be an activity that is associated with a violation of the commandments of God or is directly prohibited by the canons of the Church. In particular, the priest is prohibited from participating in elections and working in any power structures. And, for example, a teacher, doctor, orderly, electrician ... you can.

priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Hello! The fact is that when opening my own business, I named my enterprise "Svarog". As far as I know, this is a mythical Slavic god-blacksmith. Since I'm dealing with metal, that's what I called it. Without any ulterior motive, because I am Orthodox, and I know that God is one and there are no others. Is it a sin, and can things go badly because of it? What am I supposed to do? Renaming is a big problem. Or is there nothing wrong with that? Even if I repent and confess, the name will still remain.

Vladislav

Vladislav, of course, for an Orthodox person, the name is somewhat strange, thoughtless, but, probably, nothing needs to be changed, and indeed, nothing is necessary, especially since it is very difficult and costly in our country. Pray, do charity work, the Lord will not leave you, will give you everything you need and bless your work. Let your "Svarog" be at the service of Orthodox Christians.

hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello, father! I have a question on the professional side. I am studying to be an economist, but lately I have doubts about the fact that this profession is fundamentally focused on the material, the result of labor is the saved material values, and structures such as banks, for example, profit from people with interest on loans, which radically against what the Almighty bequeathed to us, and the same stock exchanges, investing in stocks ... Please tell me how the Orthodox Church approaches this issue, is the profession of an economist suitable for a Christian, and what you need to know about its value for humanity, for if I don’t do any good with my work, and even worse, if there is harm, then I don’t see the point and motivation in such activity. Thank!

Victor

The economic component is not only in banking or stock exchange. Every production has its own economy - food, clothing, even icons and liturgical vestments. So this specialty has very wide applications. For example, you can be an economist at a charitable foundation and engage in the redistribution of money from benefactors to people in need. So almost any profession can be rewarding if you find the right point for the effort.

deacon Ilya Kokin

Hello. I have done a terrible thing. There was a holiday at work, everyone drank, then went to a cafe. What happened next, I practically do not remember what it was myself to blame. I remember that one colleague began to pester me, we kissed, then I don't remember anything. I’m afraid to even think that we could have something with him, I really hope that nothing happened, but the very fact of what happened ... I don’t know how to live on, this act is corroding me, I think I am a vile creature after all this, I am in great despondency, what should I do?

Reader question:

Good day! I work in a team and cannot find a common language with people. The thought already comes that, probably, I myself am doing something wrong. The new manager accused me of deliberately leaving on sick leave with my child and shirking work. I try to work in what I think is right and fair. Of course, a small child is sick and I need to take care of him. I tried to explain the situation, but received a bunch of accusations in response. Now he doesn't greet me.
If I don’t like something and have questions, I try to say about it and solve everything. Of course, not swearing, but for some reason my point of view is not always accepted positively, and this brings alienation, although I try not to offend anyone. And the worst thing is that I absolutely do not want to establish relations with the team where I work. It seems to me that these people are alien to me. How can I be? Although I try to calm myself down, in my heart I worry that people have a bad opinion of me.

Archpriest Andrei Efanov answers:

Dear reader, your situation is one of those that cannot be solved on the Internet, here you need to come and talk personally with a priest and a psychologist, because a letter alone is not enough, you need a serious conversation and serious work on yourself. Not in the sense that you are worse than someone, but in the sense that, since you feel bad and uncomfortable, it means that you need to change something in yourself or in relation to what is happening. And this is better done under the guidance of a priest and a psychologist. I would now draw your attention to the fact that you are too worried about the opinion of others. Do not. Understand why it is so important to you, what do you expect from the team, in addition to effective professional interaction and why you expect it in the team, although, in principle, you should look for this in your family, relatives, friends, and so on.

So come to the temple and see a specialist, it should help a lot.

As a recommendation, I can advise you to seek help from the Center for Crisis Psychology at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Semyonovskaya (Moscow), it is located next to the Semyonovskaya metro station. There are highly professional Orthodox psychologists who have already helped thousands of people.

Help is provided to adults and children, members of any religious confessions, those of little faith, doubters and atheists.

If you have a difficult financial situation, then in no case should this stop you from receiving psychological help at the Center. Donations to the center are determined only by your capabilities and gratitude. The provision of assistance in the Center has nothing to do with the donation amount (or its complete absence).

I get annoyed with my colleague all the time! How to coexist together 8 hours at work?
The Holy Fathers teach us that, first of all, the root of sin must be sought in ourselves; if we are irritated, then perhaps something else would irritate us elsewhere. The Lord sends you communication with your colleague so that you see passion in yourself, because, perhaps, without communication with her, you would not have known about the existence of this passion in you. In many ways, you yourself have answered your own question - try to politely avoid idle conversations. Watch what you say and try to work harder at work, and most importantly, earnestly repent of your sins and sincerely pray for the salvation of your colleague's soul. God help you! Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

I answered politely and restrainedly to the questions of a colleague from another region. But when she left, she said that I was very rude to her and when I got sick, I would remember her. What should I do? Katerina.
Dear Kate! Sometimes, when communicating with other people, we ourselves, unwittingly and without noticing, say something that may seem offensive to the interlocutor, or our intonation will seem, for example, somewhat arrogant. As F.I. Tyutchev: “We cannot predict how our word will respond ...” In order to overcome this conflict, pray for the health of your colleague.

To I am constantly nagging one employee ... I moved to a new place of work (I am a secretary) and faced the fact that one employee constantly nags at me: shouts, does not give a word to say, insults? Julia.

Dear Julia! First of all, try to figure out when your employee is making a fair comment to you, and try to improve. This is the most straightforward part of the task at hand. The second harder is learning to forgive. As the French say, "Small gifts strengthen friendship." Try to take some steps forward. Pray to the Mother of God for the salvation of her soul.
God help you, priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Can you do business in business with people of other faiths? Among my partners there are people who wear the cross, they have Orthodox icons in their offices, but at the same time they often talk about the higher matter, who is open or closed to whom. Can I do business with them in business? Pavel

In my opinion, it is possible to work with people professing a different faith. Our Christian example and our Christian life should have a positive influence on the people around us, for we are called to be distinguished by spiritual nobility and sacrifice. priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Wouldn't it be a sin to make a living by opening a game room (slot machines)? .. Dmitry.

Hello Dimitri!
Of course, for a Christian, "gambling" is an unworthy, sinful business. It is built on deceiving people, on the exploitation of their base, sinful passions. Try to find a different, maybe less profitable, but healthy type of activity. God help you find a job worthy of an honest person, priest Alexander Ilyashenko

How to start a business? I get to a certain point in the development of my business, and problems begin - everything stalls, people scatter, the number of transactions falls, debts, problems, showdowns begin.

Hello, you have probably confused the Church of Christ with a school of managers. The Lord saves from sin and death every person who wants to be with Him. And in what social state we are saved from a spiritual point of view, it is not so important. Yes, and "it is difficult for a rich man to enter Paradise." However, if you fulfill the will of God: “Love your neighbor as yourself”, then there will be less “showdowns”, and the people will “scatter” only in case of extreme need and with tears in their eyes. If God wants you to be a successful businessman, then you will. Just remember that those who do His will are pleasing to Him.
God help you, priest Dimitri Lin

I am a manager and I am unhappy with this job. Maybe look for something other? I work in commerce, but I am even more dissatisfied. a completely different level of relationships in the team. There is absolutely no respect for employees, only a consumer attitude, as for a labor force. Therefore, I am in constant irritation, waiting for changes for the better ... Lydia.

Lida, all our failures, as well as successes, are our handiwork. First, we need to learn to take responsibility upon ourselves, and not expect from others that they will create some conditions for us. We cannot change the others. And ourselves, if we want, we can.
God help you, priest Mikhail Nemnonov

How to relate to a colleague at work, if he lives life in the temple to such an extent that he doesn't even care about work. Helena.
Dear Elena!
Treat, in any case, you need to be good. Your question is complex: if a colleague does not fulfill his work and obligations, then undoubtedly he is doing the wrong thing, neglecting the work. After all, the Holy Scripture says "Work the Lord with fear." Therefore, it is the duty of an Orthodox person to carry out one's duties at work and do it well.
On the other hand, if your colleague, while doing his job, keeps aloof from idle conversations and discussions, which, it is no secret, often take up a significant part of the working day, if the inner church is more important to him than work, then this is a matter of the inner world of a person. And it is joyful that in our world, where people sometimes have no other values \u200b\u200band ideals besides material ones, there are people for whom faith is dear.
Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Can an Orthodox Christian work on Sunday?
Peace to you!
If not for the sake of profit, but out of duty (like a doctor, clergyman, soldier, policeman, etc.), for the general benefit or for good, then undoubtedly it can. Other cases can give conscience cause for embarrassment. However, the main thing is not to commit sinful acts on Sunday: “shy away from evil and do good”.
Best regards, Priest Alexy Kolosov

How does it relate to the fact that Sunday is made a working day? What should be done in this case?

Need to be treated with grief. His Holiness the Patriarch has more than once appealed to the authorities of our country so that they strive to avoid such transfers of the sacred Sunday for Christians, making it a working day. And, unfortunately, they have not yet responded properly, which we see in December 2002, in particular. I think that a Christian, in the event that he has any opportunity, to move and supplement Sunday by taking a day off, taken in advance, a short vacation or something else, should try to do this, because Sunday is a holy day. If he does not have this opportunity, then maybe he can go to the temple, where there is an early service. In many Moscow churches there are services at 7 and 10 am on Sunday morning. You can catch somewhere for a seven-hour service to someone who does not have to go to work strictly by 9. Well, if there is no such possibility, then at least after praying more and more attentively at home, knowing that there is no other way out, go to work to fulfill your official duty. Archpriest Maxim Kozlov

I work as a chief accountant, and at the same time I am registered in a neuropsychiatric dispensary. I would like to change jobs, but I can’t do anything else ?!

First of all, it is worth remembering that constant simplification of the type of activity does not solve anything. Cope with God's help? Cope further - if it is completely unbearable, then it will be clear not from your inner self-awareness, but from the situation itself: pray and the Lord will give you strength.
As for apathy ("the desire to do something has disappeared ..."), then ... we often lose the desire for this or that, but we have to force ourselves - so do you: tear yourself off the Internet, wake up and work. Most likely, this is the relaxation that comes from cowardice. How to deal with it? Regular confession and the Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ break the devil's net. In addition, if you have a confessor or priest whom you trust, then talk to him about the possibility of Unction - sometimes this sacrament destroys those bonds that are hidden in the depths of the soul and are not visible to the mind.
Peace and blessings of God to you! Priest Alexy Kolosov

My family is opening their own company, what would you advise to call it? Ksenia.
Dear Oksana!
It is not so important which name you choose for the company. It is much more important to start a business with God's blessing, so I advise you to serve a prayer service for the beginning of a good deed. In relations with employees, partners, and even competitors, be guided by the principle "do not do to another what you do not wish for yourself."
God help you! Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Can an Orthodox woman work in a leadership position? I teach at the university, I am married, I have two sons. Irina.
Dear Irina!
An Orthodox woman can hold a leading position, but she should not forget that she is a woman, has a family, children, who need to be given attention, that she needs to lead at work, and in a family - to obey her husband.
Respectfully,
priest Alexander Ilyashenko

In the book "Detailed Confession" I did not find a sin in the profession of an actor, although I heard many times that this is a sinful occupation. Is this profession always sinful? Or, if the roles are not god-repugnant (witches, etc.), but only serve to eradicate vices, then this is not a sin? What should I do if I have to work in the theater and this is my only profession?Svetlana

Dear Svetlana, you can talk about this in different ways. Indeed, in itself in the profession of an actor there is something difficult for a believer to participate in it. Whatever one may say, dressing up a disguise, which everyone involved in this profession has to face, is not a morally neutral thing at all. But it is not this that is directly unacceptable, but participation in such performances, performances, which from the Christian point of view are morally unacceptable. If you manage to combine your profession with non-participation in what is corrupting, morally offensive, attracting a person to vice or to sticking to the empty and vulgar, then you can engage in this profession. But if the current theater becomes such that it is practically impossible, then, perhaps, one can think about it.

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov.

Not every one of us can say that the work he is doing is to his liking, that he found himself in it and would not want any other place under the sun for himself. Not every job is interesting; not every job can give you what is commonly called moral satisfaction. But can the hours spent at work be considered dead time, erased from real, living life? Perhaps there are too many of them for this - working hours; they make up too much of the time allotted to us on earth. They are also our life - hours spent on "uninteresting", boring, unhappy work; therefore, they should serve our spiritual training, growth and soul salvation. But how can this be achieved?

Suppose you succeed in achieving something: a working day that seemed spiritually meaningless takes on meaning. However, if a person is not deprived of abilities - and abilities, of one kind or another, in fact, none of us is deprived - he inevitably faces the problem of their implementation, in other words, the demand for his talents and knowledge by society. Sometimes this problem becomes a tragedy: a person either blames others for his lack of fulfillment - relatives, associates, colleagues, bosses, “this country” - or falls into fruitless self-flagellation: I am bad, I am weak, I am not good for anywhere. Another, "positive" extreme - a person works and grows, he is confident enough in himself and wants to take place; but forgets that success - whether in art, in science, or in public service - is still not an end in itself, it is good only when it serves something higher and lasting; and egoistic careerism is also a road to a dead end, although this is not immediately realized and not by everyone.

It also happens that a person is not selfish, he wants and can do good and he has the opportunity to work - a lot, interestingly, creatively, helping people, even saving them. At the same time, there are problems and disappointments, of course - there is no such thing in this world without them - but at least no one has cut off the oxygen: work hard, bear fruit. And a person suddenly realizes that he does not want to work; that he had lost interest in the matter; that people who need him no longer feel sorry for him and no fruits please him. Why? Overworked? He takes a vacation, rests, but when he returns to work, he is convinced that it has not gone anywhere ... What is the reason? By the way, about fatigue, fatigue: what to do with it? Is it just a psychological problem or a spiritual one too?

Another situation: a person earns his own bread, while apparently not bringing any harm to anyone. He simply entertains people who want to have fun, occupies those who, it turns out, have nothing to occupy their minds with. He does it well, with invention, or, as they say nowadays, creatively. Well, what's wrong with that, it would seem? Demand gave birth to supply, that's all. But why in a person - not in everyone, of course, but in the one who turned his soul to God, felt in himself the Christian conscience and what is called the spirit - constant pain, discomfort, a feeling of shame, duality, and sometimes just spiritual ruin, ruin? However, this can be connected with many types of activities ... In what cases does a priest advise a parishioner to change jobs? What kind of work can be called mental?

There are professions to which the lofty word "service" is easily applicable. The profession of a doctor, say, a teacher, a soldier, who by definition does not work, but serves; ideally, a policeman, prosecutor, judge; and a priest, of course, if we are not afraid to apply the word "profession" to a priest too. Well, if a person works as an accountant in a private company, as a cashier in a store, as a waiter in a cafe - what kind of service is there ... Or does any work become a service for a Christian? If so, how?

We will try to talk about all this.

Not for fear, but for conscience

We talk with Archpriest Sergiy Ksenofontov, a cleric of the Dukho-Soshestvensky Cathedral in Saratov, about the problems that a parishioner, an Orthodox Christian may have in connection with his work, about how labor activity is combined with spiritual life.

Father Sergiy, do you have to deal with situations when work is a spiritual problem for a parishioner?

Parishioners have problems in connection with their work, this is inevitable. Our labor activity falls on that age, at that time of life, when we are maximally ready for spiritual development. We left childhood and adolescence, entered the era of maturity. And the end of our labor activity precedes old age, the end of the path of life. Old age is the result of life, its assessment, a time of wisdom ... or a time of disappointment. Old age will check what we have managed to earn, save for ourselves for our life and what kind of "pension" (in the spiritual sense) we will now receive from this.

Thus, the working age is the very time that the master gave his slaves to increase their talents (see: Matt. 25 , 14-30), which means that it should become a time of intense spiritual life. But it is precisely at this time that tension is required from us in work. And these two demands on us, these two tensions often collide - this is where our problems begin. It's hard for us, we get tired. While creating the material basis of our life, we do not have time to comprehend it spiritually, to think about what is right in our work and what is not. When we stop, we break out of the bustle of the work for a minute, we try to comprehend: here I am working, I am doing what is necessary for my loved ones, for my family, but where is my spiritual life? It doesn't seem to be there. We have to admit that we devote most of our lives to the race and the hustle and bustle. In the best case, we are trying to separate some part of this life and give it exclusively to spiritual development. But then the question arises: what about the rest of our time, is it spiritless? Is it spiritually dead?

- After all, it is impossible to believe in God from seven in the evening until eight in the morning, and the rest of the time to live as if He does not exist ...

Impossible, but another person unconsciously tries to do just that. He tries to live a spiritual life, prays, goes to church, but, not loving his work, he perceives it as an alien part of his life, as spiritually dead time. He is just waiting for the working day to end and it will be possible to turn to spiritual subjects again. When we try to live like this, Satan laughs at us. He steals our time - hours spent at work. He doesn't even steal - we give them to him ourselves, because he can't take anything from us if we don't give them to him ourselves.

What's happening? The time of a person's life, the time given to him by God, is not spiritualized, and a person suffocates in this time. And the part of life that he tries to devote to spiritual things does not become complete, because it is a chain with missing links. We, perhaps, worked on ourselves spiritually, connected link by link, but now it's time to go to work - and we, willingly or unwillingly, open the circuit. At work, we allow ourselves to behave internally in a way that we would not have allowed at other times. We split in two: I am at work is one thing, I am in the temple is quite another. The dichotomy leads to hypocrisy, which, in fact, is a false link of the very open chain of our spiritual life. The person seems to say to himself: well, I can be both this and that. And where there is duality, there Satan will undoubtedly irritate that side, that half of a person that is available to him. And this half will absorb, eat up the other, the one that we are trying to leave, keep the spiritual. And sooner or later our weakness will drain the strength that we have accumulated. Because you cannot serve two masters (see: Matt. 6 , 24).

I am afraid that there was a period of such duality in my life - although not in the worst against the background of other versions: as a journalist, at least I never sold myself, I never wrote lies for money, this is already good. But I remember what difficult moments these were - when after a working day you find yourself in front of your home icons ... And you understand that there, at work - one thing, here, before the eyes of the Savior and the Mother of God - another, but where am I myself? Where do I live - both there and there? This is a constant embarrassment, reaching the feeling of some absurdity, the absurdity of one's own life.

It's a constant shame. Do you know why sometimes people who meet at work every day try not to meet in the temple? They even change their parish - only because someone else comes to this church from their work. Because there, at work, they are different! And the fact that they go to church is subconsciously perceived by them at work as a kind of shameful act. And here, in the church, it's a shame, because a person came who knows you differently. Anyone who tries to serve two masters is ashamed in front of both!

- What needs to be done so that working time is not dead and that there is no dichotomy, hypocrisy?

Here it is important to realize what is important and what is not important, to prioritize. As the Lord said: where your treasure is, there your heart will also be (Matt. 6 , 21). Where is our treasure, which is the purpose of our whole life? If a person sees his goal in the Kingdom of God, then he knows where to go. And slowly, like a sculptor, he begins to cut off the excess. Excessive fuss, unnecessary anxiety, tension, fear of not being in time and not coping, etc. This does not mean at all that you do not need to be diligent at work, on the contrary. Diligence in everyday affairs, even small ones, can and should be mixed with a spiritual understanding of benefits. And benefit for the soul can be only when you sacrificially serve your neighbor and through him - to God. Our working time can be spiritualized, first of all, by sacrifice.

Sometimes it happens that a person cannot realize whether he acts sacrificially or not, so vanity has tortured him. Then the work turns into a continuous burden. And he no longer sees any meaning in it. But when a person is faithful, a believer, in the church, when he has some kind of spiritual experience, some kind of prayer practice - then the question about the meaning of work, whether there is sacrifice in it, whether it is serving others, is not arises. And if it does arise, the believer can always find the answer in his personal spiritual life. And in the lives of others who have already followed this path. And the saints, whose experience will be reflected, will find some kind of response in his personal experience, and he will understand: thoughts of meaninglessness are a temptation; work is not a senseless exhausting, but a feat to which God has called him.

- But is there a place for feat at any job?

There is a place of sacrifice, a place to serve God wherever a person works, even if he sits in a closed office and does not see people at all, only documents - for obtaining loans, for example. A clear understanding that the fate of people depends on these loans, an awareness of their responsibility - this is a feat and sacrificial service.

I believe that a Christian at any job must be conscientious, responsible, honest, and respect the agreements between him and the employer. This should be a moral, spiritual necessity. So?

There is a saying: not for fear, but for conscience. In Russia, the relationship between the owner and the employee has long been built not only on a contractual basis, but also on the basis of conscience. One of the signs that you are serving sacrificially, with forgiveness and conscience, an awareness of duty, even if your work is boring, hard, uncreative, is that you develop personal relationships with your boss-employer and your workmates. We see this in the lives of Russian saints: the holy righteous John of Russia, being in slavery, in cruel captivity, by his conscientious and diligent work makes the owner change his attitude towards him, see him as a person, and not just a slave, to feel respect for yesterday's slave.

In Russia, it was customary for the owner or, say, the boss to devote his birthday to his subordinates: he laid the table for them, gave them gifts - not they, mind you, but he to them. It was a kind of nepotism, traditional, characteristic of Russian consciousness, going beyond the walls of the house and extending to the entire state: the tsar is the father, we are all his children, his name day (name day) is a national holiday. And nepotism is one of the highest manifestations of the sacrifice that we are talking about: in a family, a person cannot live only for himself. A family, by definition, is a community of people living for each other.

Suffice it to recall such a well-known philanthropist and benefactor as Savva Morozov: his attitude towards the workers was truly Christian and paternal. After all, he organized an insurance system for them, and preferential lending, and everything that we now call social guarantees. He made no profit from it. But, oddly enough, such is the Christian conduct of business - it is beneficial in the end.

Today they are trying to replace this with surrogates - corporate parties, planting the so-called corporate spirit, involving all kinds of psychologists with trainings and role-playing games to create this spirit ... But there is no sacrifice or service behind all this. All this is based not on love, but on the artificial overstrain of certain qualities and abilities of a person: for example, the ability for friendly communication. And it is not built with spiritual goals, but with material ones: the income of each depends on the income of the company, the income of the company from the income of everyone, so let's support each other.

But a person is not as simple as today's business would like. He's not a machine. He is a spiritual being who is actually called to a great work: drawing closer to God, deification, salvation for eternal life. Being in the conditions of commercialization, a person still remains a spiritual being. Sooner or later, this contradiction will sharpen and manifest itself. Violence against him as a spiritual being will bear bitter and at one time terrible results. Why do people often commit the most cruel crimes today in collectives, where they worked or studied? Why do they kill those who worked next to them, those with whom they pushed glasses at corporate parties, with whom they greeted in the morning with emphatically friendly? At first it was in the West, then it came to us. And, mind you, while our official relations were not built on profit, on commerce, this was not the case. As soon as we began to move to the worst case of capitalist relations, it began. This means that there is a system, and the result of this system is a spiritual overstrain, which leads to breakdowns. Spiritual overstrain means activity that is completely cut off from the life of the spirit. Our work must be spiritual.

For some reason, I just thought about the cashier in the self-service store. From a worldly point of view, it is not the most interesting and prestigious job. And with the spiritual - what opportunities! Every day there are thousands of people, and you can be with everyone - either sincerely friendly and warm, or like the cashier in one store I know: she was obliged to say to every customer “Thank you for your purchase,” but she says it through gritted teeth, like this that buyers get scared.

Emotionality of a person cannot be divorced from the spiritual component of his life. If a cashier, a salesman, a hairdresser, or a bank clerk are unwillingly friendly, just because their superiors obliged them to utter polite words, this is clearly different from sincere friendliness and goodwill towards people. When a person's soul is empty, but they demand that he take something warm and heartfelt from there ... as my favorite seminarians say, you can't take it where you didn't put it.

So, work is our Christian feat, the continuation of our spiritual life. And is it psychic, even destructive for the inner person? It happens that a priest advises a parishioner to change jobs?

It happens. How to determine this? For a person, it is harmful that which is harmful to his soul, that opposes its salvation. Let us turn to the experience of Christian states, including pre-revolutionary Russia: laws, albeit imperfect, must take into account Christian commandments. Although everyone understands that it is impossible to convey the heavenly law by earthly means, one can only somehow approach it. Nevertheless, the laws were in force, and this meant that serving the state allows a person to remain a Christian. The state, as it were, guaranteed that it would not have to act in a non-Christian way, that it would not be required of it. And at the moment, many laws contradict the commandments. And from the laws come social norms, social customs, and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, the corporate spirit that has developed in the team may not be Christian at all. And then we must remember the words of the Savior: what good is it to a person if he gains the whole world, but damages his soul? (Matt. 16 , 26).

But here, too, a mistake awaits us: we begin to explain and justify our own weaknesses by work. And we do not see that we do not need to change our job, but try to change ourselves. For example, a person says: "My work is insane, because I am always depressed." But the reason for despondency is not work, but ourselves. Or: “I can’t work there, because they don’t allow me to fast, on New Year's Eve there is certainly a corporate party, on Great Lent the chief’s birthday. So this is a non-Christian job. " But this is not a non-Christian job, and a person himself is not very good with Christianity if he is unable to refuse a corporate party during fasting; if man-pleasing, or perhaps cowardice, does not allow him to calmly explain to the boss his refusal to take a feast.

And it is quite another matter if the worker is required to remove the cross - from some kind of "norms of tolerance." Here we simply have no right to submit and stay at work in this way.

If a person leads an attentive and constant spiritual life, there is no problem for him to determine: where are Christian norms, and where are non-Christian ones, and whether his work really requires him to transgress the Gospel commandments. Let me emphasize that this life should be exactly constant, stable. This stability begins with daily morning and evening prayers, with regular visits to the temple, participation in the Sacraments. All this gives rise to the constancy of our relationship with God.

As for the advice to change jobs - I only advised once (I advised it, because the freedom of choice should remain with a person) to one parishioner. I saw her work tension build up. And she worked as a cleaner in the sauna. Everyone knows that saunas serve us - not at all for health ... While she was just cleaning there, it was still nothing, but then they began to demand from her, in fact, complicity in all the iniquities that were happening there: she had to serve something, bring ... and she immediately felt the incompatibility of this work with the spiritual life. As an honest person, she could not be a hypocrite. She tried, but even a bit of this poison of hypocrisy drove her to despair. It was a real spiritual illness. But when she changed jobs, everything worked out.

Father Sergius, but what if an employee is forced into minor or major dishonesty, deception, lies? A lot of examples can be cited - from school life, from university life, from the life of various power structures, etc. What to do if the bosses once again demand to write a beautiful report, ensure a high indicator, make sure that that girl will certainly receive a medal , and that boy certainly entered the university, even if he makes two mistakes in the word "mother"? To give Caesar what was Caesar's, that is, to fulfill the instruction and not take responsibility, or still try to refuse?

It is impossible to give a single categorical answer here. Each person has his own life situation, his own ability to endure trials, in a word, his own measure. To begin with, it is necessary to speak in confession about participation in dishonest deeds, in lies, even petty and seemingly excusable. Why? Because a lie in any case is an infection, like the flu: if it settles in a person, he will get sick. If you let the disease take its course, it will progress. What does confession give? Sin is highlighted in the light of God's grace. We see him. We gain spiritual experience, including a bitter one - the experience of living with sin. To forgive a sin to oneself (“Well, what can I do if the authorities demand it?”) Means to deprive oneself of God's forgiveness. And then Satan will receive his share in us. This is his area - "dark yati", that is, the area where he takes. If we confessed our own - our own, and not the boss! - a sin, which means we see the problem and can solve it. The first step in resolving the problem is not to perceive the situation of one's own sin as the norm, which is very typical for us: “What is my sin, now they do it everywhere, it’s normal now”. Numerous conversations with people who find themselves in such situations show that a way out of them is found by those people who do not seek excuses for themselves, do not take part in sin as a norm, and confess it precisely as their personal sin. God Himself helps such people by suggesting a solution, and at one time even harassing a person “from the work of Egypt,” giving him another field of activity.

Ideally, work is also the realization of a person's creative abilities. How to live if your work doesn't match your creativity? If education, knowledge, talent remain unclaimed? In late Soviet times, many talented people swept yards, dug graves in cemeteries, worked in stoking rooms, etc. Someone withstood this and later became a big man. And someone jumped out of the balcony or choked on vodka there, in these cemeteries, because this is actually a tragedy. Now the situation is different, but the problem has not gone anywhere, it turns out.

Talent as the ability to create is given to a person by the Creator, and this is really a disaster - if a person with his talents is not in demand and he can only bury them in the ground. The whole history of mankind shows that this problem has always existed. A person realizes that he is capable of more, but, for objective reasons, is forced to "know his six". However, there are a lot of pitfalls here too. This "I am capable of more" may be true, and may be a temptation. For example, a person, out of his vanity and pride, can exaggerate his abilities. It seems to him that a genius writer is dying in him, but in fact this writer never lived in him. Or - a person simply does not realize that he is not ready for the "leading parties", does not understand that he still needs to be patient, to sit where he is sitting, to grow up.

Nothing in our life happens without the will of God. And if we suddenly found ourselves deprived of the opportunity to create, we need to recall the story of John Damascene, who was a wonderful spiritual poet - the Church uses the fruits of his inspiration to this day - and whom his confessor in the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified in the Holy Land forbade to write poetry. But then this ban was lifted and his talent shone even brighter - after John, firstly, humbly accepted a deprivation that was very painful for him, and secondly, when, having violated the ban solely for the sake of his neighbor, with the same humility suffered and the punishment for it. The deprivation of the opportunity to create is sometimes a sharp chisel of humility, cutting off the excess pride that has adhered to our talent.

But the main thing is to ask yourself the question in time: what exactly do I want? And try to answer it honestly. If vanity or avarice is at the forefront, then the person is clearly mistaken. No matter how much he changes his "sixes", he will always lack something. Because vanity and greed are chasms that will never be filled. And it is quite another matter if a person is looking for a better way to serve God and others. Then the Lord Himself will eventually lead him out into the open, give him all the necessary opportunities.

Journal "Orthodoxy and Modernity" № 30 (46)

In past conversations, Abbot Nektariy (Morozov) spoke about obedience between parents and children, between spouses, and today we bring to your attention his reasoning about what obedience should be on the part of a subordinate in relation to a boss.

Endure, love, pray

Coming to this topic, it is necessary to first answer the question: what should be, in principle, the attitude of a Christian towards his boss?

Generally speaking, then, of course, a believer should perceive the boss as someone to whom he is subordinate, to whom he should treat with respect and whom he should try, as far as possible, to obey. And ideally, love him and pray for him. At the same time, the relationship with the leader can be built in different ways, because there are all kinds of bosses. Sometimes this is a person filled with a sense of responsibility, realizing that the people who obey him are in one way or another in his care, responsibly treating the results of joint work - his own and his team. And sometimes the boss can turn out to be an accidental, irresponsible person, moreover, constantly harming the work that the structure under his initial should perform. And in this case, the Christian will also need the patience of the boss, and the bearing of this as a kind of cross.

Whatever the boss is, you need to pray for him

It's one thing when a leader's requirements are conditioned by common sense, another thing is when you see that his task is a professional mistake and its fulfillment will lead to bad consequences. Even worse, if you understand that when you accurately and conscientiously complete the task that is given to you, and the consequences are bad, you will be blamed for this, and he will not even intercede with the employer.

Reason and conscience

Would it be right for a Christian to report them to higher authorities in the event of some gross mistakes that damage both the common cause and employees, or malicious actions? Oddly enough - again, depending on the situation. If we understand that the actions of our boss cause harm specifically to us and this harm, let's say, moderate, that is, not associated with danger to life, health and personal integrity, then it is better to be patient and give in. If we understand that shortcomings and shortcomings in the work of our leader can pose a threat to us and other people, in general are of a criminal nature, then, of course, here, most likely, we will have to notify our higher authorities about this. But again, only if this, according to our common reasoning, will give a result, because the leader may turn out to be only a part of a single system, against which it is either senseless or even dangerous to fight. Although, of course, there are situations when our Christian conscience requires certain actions, regardless of what their consequences will be.

At the same time, you always need to be aware of what you really want to achieve by telling someone about the mistakes or wrong actions of your boss: do you really want to improve the work of your team or are you just trying to sit up with the boss and take his place? In addition, if a manager makes some mistakes, but he is a good person and treats his subordinates well, takes care of them, then declaring to someone that he does not correspond to his position is likely to be dishonorable too. There is no one answer here for all cases.

"I am an unhappy person, no one tells me about my mistakes"

More, probably, a common situation when the opinions of a subordinate and a manager about how to implement a particular work do not coincide. It may be that a subordinate, as a person who practically implements a specific task, project, will have a about more knowledge and they will have some kind of controversy with their boss about this. Here a Christian may have a question: shouldn't I just do, as my boss told me, without polemicizing about anything, not even declaring that I have a different point of view, without proving anything and not defending anything? In my opinion, this is completely wrong. Why?

I remember that once upon a time I came across a book by a famous Japanese businessman. He was the creator of a huge corporation that was engaged in the production of all kinds of electrical engineering. He, being already in his advanced years, once gathered the board of directors, some senior employees of the corporation and said: “You know, I am an unhappy person, because when I am mistaken about something and do something wrong , no one corrects me and my mistakes are made without hindrance. It is very difficult and scary, I need to be told about my mistakes and stupidity. "

I also think that it is good when a subordinate notifies his manager about what certain actions may lead to, speaks of his disagreement. It's just that it shouldn't turn into a fierce struggle, into an argument, it shouldn't turn into the plane of personal relations.

But at the same time, you still need to understand that sometimes one particular case may suffer, but the whole process as a whole will benefit from this. A leader is a person who should care not about one, but about all areas of activity of the structure subordinate to him. And each of the performers most often thinks directly about the area of \u200b\u200bwork that is entrusted to him, and does not see the whole set. But, of course, the leader acts very wisely, who explains this to his subordinate, thus relieving him of the torment of the alleged unreasonableness of decisions.

Of course, there are some bosses who absolutely do not want to listen to any criticism. In this case, experience means a lot. If a person knows that over and over again, talking about the right and how to avoid the inappropriate, he only stumbles upon resentment and anger and such conversations do not bring any positive result, then there is, of course, no point in them. And this, too, must be understood in time and accepted or changed work - sometimes this will be the only way out.

Draw borders

The relationship between a subordinate and his boss is, in general, clearly regulated, but often this model of relationship goes beyond just the workers, when the boss demands obedience already where he has no right. If we see that the leader is encroaching on our personal time, the forces that should be given to the family, on health, on something else, then, probably, we still need to set a certain border, because otherwise there will come a moment when a person will overstrain and will not be able to continue even his usual work. Here it is necessary to show firmness, and at the same time delicacy. And, again, non-conflict. And the leader, of course, must understand that his employees are real people, with their own circumstances, vital interests, problems, and he has no right to take away from them that time and those forces that are intended for their personal, family or social life, for leisure or hobby.

If the boss calls to take part in theft or obvious crime, obedience is out of the question.

There are situations when the boss calls to take part in some kind of theft or to cover it up or to take some other actions of a clearly criminal nature. It is by no means necessary to go for this, and not only from the Christian point of view, but also from the point of view of common sense: the probability is too high that you will be the only person who will be responsible for all this. If we are talking about some small, let's say, private violations, which the manager goes to in order to preserve the team or the enterprise that he heads, then it is difficult for me to offer any one recipe, because there are very different workers situations, and, having said something in common, I will find myself in something wrong and not sincere.

Sometimes bosses morally suppress their subordinates, while any attempt to defend their dignity turns into a threat of dismissal with a damaged reputation. How to behave so as not to contradict the gospel?

If for the chief rudeness, shouting, swearing, obscene language is the norm of communication with subordinates, then, naturally, it is better to leave him. If there is no opportunity to find another job, or this job is important and dear to you, then here, probably, you need to understand that dignity, in principle, cannot be lost: you either have it or you don’t. And when you are insulted, it does not mean that you yourself somehow become worse, weaker from this. And then this abuse may well be tolerated without damage to our own dignity, but at the same time with great damage to our pride, with which it is very important for us Christians to fight. That is, you can turn this whole unpleasant situation to your advantage. And it is not necessary to be morally suppressed. This is the weakness of a particular person, his weakness, and that's it.

But if we see how another person is humiliated in front of our eyes and he is close to breaking down, or someone is unjustly accused of something, persecuted, oppressed, even, perhaps, persecuted in legal terms, then, of course, our Christian duty is to stand up for him. But, again, the success of certain actions depends on how deliberate they are. Therefore, we need to rush headlong into the fight against everything bad in the name of all that is good, but think about what specifically in this situation we can do.

Sometimes, however, it happens that really nothing can be done, but it is important to just raise your voice so that the person with whom some trouble happens, understands that he is not alone and that there are people who are attentive to their own. This is also important because you yourself need to know that you are not a dishonest person and that if you were being handed over to the judgment of Christ and His crucifixion, you would not have shouted: "Crucify, crucify Him!" Or would not have been in this crowd with full approval of everything that is happening.