THE GREAT WAGER A Spiritual Warning from Fotis Kontoglou A couple of days ago, I was reading an old book by Fotis Kontoglou, the great Greek hagiographer and writer. I came across a very beautiful passage that I wanted to share with you. It is called “The Great Wager.” It speaks about the great wager between believers and unbelievers—in other words, about the struggle that takes place between a person who believes in God and one who does not. The believer does not wage war against the unbeliever. Rather, he simply tells him, with love, that he is going down the wrong path and that he should begin to think more seriously about these things—to seriously consider spiritual matters and the truth of Christ. For Christ is the Truth. There is no other truth apart from Christ. Let me read this passage slowly and say a few words about it. A Night Beneath the Stars One beautiful spring night, just before midnight, before I went to sleep, I went into the little garden behind our house. I stood there for a while, looking up at the nearby sky, filled with stars, as though I were seeing it for the first time. Sometimes it seems that a person’s consciousness suddenly opens, and he sees something familiar as though it were completely new. That night I looked at the sky as a child would look at it for the first time. How beautiful the colors seemed to us when we were children! How beautiful the fragrances of the flowers were! Everything had an indescribable, almost virginal beauty. These things filled the space of the child’s soul. And when we grow older, perhaps we retain something of those childhood experiences. Sometimes a particular fragrance, a certain light, or some familiar sight brings those beautiful memories back to us. That night the sky seemed to me to be filled with something profound, as though a distant hymn were coming down from above. It seemed as though I could hear sacred hymns, quietly repeating: “Arise, O Lord, our God, and worship at His feet.” An elderly holy man once told me that at such hours the heavens seem to open, and the air itself becomes filled with the fragrance of musk and with the glory of the Lord. This is why Kontoglou’s description is so beautiful. Who could look at the flowers of spring, smell their fragrance, and gaze upon the stars of a clear night without feeling something great within his soul? My dear friends, look up at the sky on a clear spring night. Look at the stars. You must have felt something. I could have remained there until dawn, as though I had no body and no connection with the earth. But I thought that someone in the house might wake up and worry that I had disappeared. So I went inside, lay down, and soon fell asleep. The Man Who Appeared to Me I do not know whether I was awake or asleep when I suddenly saw before me a strange-looking man. He was pale and yellowish, almost as though he were dead. His eyes were open and he looked at me with terror. His face was like a mask. His skin appeared dark and strangely distorted. With one hand he held his chest, as though he were suffering terrible pain. The sight made me shudder. He kept looking at me without speaking, as though he were waiting for something. Everything was extraordinarily strange. Then I heard a voice. As soon as I heard it, I knew who he was. He opened his mouth and sighed, but his voice seemed to come from very far away—as though it were coming from a deep well. I could see that he was in terrible pain, and I began to suffer with him. His hands, his legs, his eyes—all of him seemed to express unbearable agony. I went toward him because I wanted to help him. But he waved his hands, telling me to stop. Then he began to cry out so terribly that I froze. He said: “I did not come here by myself. They sent me.” I trembled all over. I was completely overwhelmed, and I asked God to have mercy on me. He continued: “I want to die, but I cannot.” Then he said: “What you told me has come true.” “Do you remember a few days before my death, when you came to my house and spoke to me about religion? There were two other friends with me who were unbelievers, just like me. When you spoke, they laughed. They told me that it was a shame for someone with such a good mind to believe such nonsense. They said that these were merely old women’s stories. We had heard such things so many times. And we laughed at you. But now, my friend, I understand what you were telling us.” “I Thought I Would Live Forever” “Do you remember what you told me many times? You told me: ‘My friend, save money if you want, but you will die just like everyone else. Look how much you already have—and yet you always want more.’ And I told you that I had made a kind of agreement with life—that I would live for many more years. You asked me: ‘What do you want to do with all those years?’ And I answered: ‘You will see how old I become. I am seventy-five, and I will live beyond one hundred.’” This, too, was a deception. A person can imagine that he has many years ahead of him, yet the human heart can stop at any moment. Nothing guarantees us another day—or even another minute. The human heart depends upon extraordinarily delicate electrical and biochemical processes. A tiny electrical impulse causes the heart muscle to contract, again and again, keeping the body alive. And yet a person’s entire earthly life can end in a single moment. I thought I had made a contract with life. I said: “I will live beyond one hundred. I have taken care of my children. My son makes good money. My daughter has married a wealthy man. My wife and I have everything we need.” And I thought I was secure. I laughed when Christians spoke about death and the end of life. The Great Irony This is the irony that many secular people and unbelievers use against Christians. When Christians speak about the end of our lives, when we make the sign of the Cross and say that we want our final years—and especially our final moment—to find us as Christians, people sometimes laugh at us. But what does it actually mean? It means that we want to be prepared. We want to leave this world as Christians. That is not something ridiculous. It is something of enormous importance. When we hear in church about death and judgment, we are shaken. We make the sign of the Cross. We understand that our life will end. And we want that end to find us spiritually prepared. Yet some people laugh at this and consider it foolish. But now let us see what happened. “Why Did Your Merciful God Allow Poor People to Exist?” The unbeliever asks: “Why did your merciful God create poor people? Why should I give money to the poor? Why did He bring them into the world?” This is another misunderstanding. We are told to give alms to the poor, not merely because the poor need material help, but because helping them is also for the benefit of our own souls. In reality, the poor often benefit us spiritually far more than we benefit them materially. We may give them a little money, some food, or something they need. But through them, God gives us the opportunity to practice mercy, charity and love. The ideal is not to keep every surplus thing in our own pockets. The Danger of Becoming Dependent And then there is another danger that we should think about. Imagine a society in which everything depends upon cards and electronic systems. You have money, but it exists only through a card. You need the card for everything. Without it, you may find yourself unable to buy what you need. Even today, if you do not have a telephone card, you may have difficulty making a telephone call. You must find another telephone, a public phone, or someone willing to help you. I am not saying that every card is evil or that we should literally reject every modern service. These things can be useful. It is a matter of personal judgment and conscience. We should not condemn someone simply because he uses such services. We do not have that right. But we should remain spiritually alert. We should avoid becoming completely dependent upon systems that could eventually control every aspect of human life. This is an act of vigilance and, where necessary, an act of spiritual resistance. God sees the intention of the heart. Saint Paisios warned that after such systems of identification and cards, even more restrictive forms of identification and control could eventually appear. Whether one agrees with every detail of such warnings or not, the spiritual lesson remains: Do not surrender your freedom of conscience. Do not allow modern conveniences to become chains. “Why Should I Give Anything to the Poor?” The unbeliever continues: “Why should I give anything to poor people who are lazy? Why did God create them? Why should I support them?” But God does not abandon the poor. And He also uses the existence of the poor to test the hearts of those who have more. The poor give us an opportunity to practice mercy. They may receive something from us materially, but we can receive something much greater spiritually. “I Will Live to Be 110” The man continued: “I was a doctor. I had studied. I knew how to speak. I knew how to make fun of religion. I believed only in things that could be seen and measured. I told myself that I would live to be 110 years old. I was certain of it.” But suddenly everything changed. He seemed to be suffering terribly, as though he were being burned. Something came from his mouth. He cried: “Oh! Oh!” Then he became silent for a moment. Finally he said: “What I told you a few days ago has happened. I died. I died—and I lost the wager. What terror! What horror! I cried out: ‘Mercy! Mercy!’ But no one heard me. What torment this is! Everything you told me has come true. You won the wager.” “You Were Right” He continued: “When I was in the world you live in, I thought I was the intelligent one. I was a doctor. I had learned how to speak and how to ridicule religion. I believed only in tangible things. But now I see that what I called fairy tales and superstition is real. Now I understand. Now I see what I refused to believe. But it is too late.” His voice slowly faded away. I fell asleep for a while. Then, suddenly, I felt a cold hand touching me. I opened my eyes and saw him again. This time he looked even more terrible. He appeared smaller, almost like a distorted old Byzantine figure. He opened his mouth and told me: “Soon it will be dawn, and they will come to take me away. Those who sent me will come.” I asked him: “Who sent you?” He answered with confused words that I could hardly understand. Then he told me: “There are many others here like me. They are the ones who mocked you because of your faith. Now they understand that human reasoning does not extend beyond the grave.” The Malice of the Devil He also spoke about people who had received kindness from Christians and yet repaid that kindness with hatred. This is one of the great evils of the devil. Sometimes when we show kindness to someone, that person does not rejoice. Instead, he feels humiliated. He thinks: “They are better than me. They have something I do not have. I am in a worse condition than they are.” And instead of responding to kindness with gratitude, he responds with bitterness. This is a terrible spiritual condition. The man said: “I am being severely tormented because I rejected the love of God. As one of the saints said, the love of God becomes a scourge for those who refuse to accept it.” The Great Wager Then came the most important words: “You who have Christ in your heart, you for whom the word of Christ is the Truth, you have won the great wager. You have won the great wager between believers and unbelievers. I, the miserable one, lost. I perished. I tremble and sigh, and I cannot find peace. Unfortunately, I am in Hell. There is no repentance there anymore. Woe to those who leave this world as we did. While we were on earth, we allowed our passions to intoxicate us. We joined ourselves to those who did not believe in God or in the life to come. And the world applauded us. It applauded us when we mocked those who believed. The world applauds evil. You can see it in the theatres. The more vulgar and obscene a performance becomes, the more applause it receives. And when performers see that obscenity receives applause, they give the people even more of it. It becomes a vicious circle. If the world stopped rewarding obscenity, obscenity would diminish. But instead, the world applauds it.” When Evil Is Crowned and Goodness Is Mocked He continued: “Look at what happens. Evil is crowned, while goodness is condemned. The world applauds those who live according to their passions and mocks those who believe in God and eternal life. People called us clever. They called you fools. And we accepted that applause. We thought we had won. But now I understand. Our wickedness was not a victory. It was our destruction.” He described how the world can insult Christians with every kind of accusation: “Hypocrites! Religious fanatics! Blasphemers! Fascists! Obscurantists!” And many other names. Yet Christians are called to receive such insults with patience rather than hatred. If those who mock Christianity could see, even for a moment, the reality of the spiritual world from which this man was speaking, they would be terrified. I wish they could be warned. I wish they could change their ways. But I have no permission to return and warn them. It is like the rich man in the Gospel who begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers. He was not sent. A Final Warning We will all be judged according to our deeds. Those who live in sin must take seriously the consequences of sin. Those who live in repentance, faith and love place their hope in the mercy of God. These are spiritual flowers from the writings of Fotis Kontoglou, reflections on the immortal values of Orthodox Christian life. This particular passage is deeply moving because it resembles accounts found in the writings of various saints—accounts of visions, of souls experiencing the consequences of their earthly lives, and of the terrible realization that can come after death. My dear friends, those who do not believe may one day be confronted with a reality they did not expect. And then it will be too late to correct what should have been corrected during this earthly life. That is why this message deserves to be taken seriously. Not only by those who believe, but especially by those who mock religion and regard everything spiritual as a joke. It is time to think seriously—very seriously—about God, about Christ, about death, about the soul, and about the life to come. The great wager is not about money. It is about eternity. And every human being is making that wager through the way he chooses to live.

 

 Patristic Wisdom: Do Not Trust Every Vision

The ancient Christian Fathers repeatedly warned believers not to accept every extraordinary vision, dream, voice, or spiritual experience simply because it appears impressive or even benevolent.

St. Peter of Damascus emphasizes the danger of spiritual deception and reminds us that the enemy can present thoughts that appear righteous to those who lack experience and discernment.

This is a profoundly important principle when considering modern accounts of mysterious beings, supernatural encounters, visions, or alleged extraterrestrial communications.

The appearance of something does not, by itself, prove its origin.

A person may see a figure that appears beautiful, peaceful, intelligent, or even “angelic.” That still does not establish that the being is from God. Nor does a message become true simply because it produces powerful emotions or appears to contain wisdom.

The Fathers instead point toward humility, patience, prayer, and spiritual discernment.

In the tradition of the Church, there is even a warning against actively seeking extraordinary visions. The desire to experience supernatural phenomena can itself become a spiritual danger, because a person may become fascinated by the experience rather than seeking God.

This gives us an important question to ask about every extraordinary claim:

Where does this experience lead?

Does it lead a person toward Christ, humility, repentance, prayer, truth, and love?

Or does it lead toward fascination with hidden knowledge, pride, fear, confusion, self-importance, or teachings that contradict the Christian faith?

The Fathers’ answer is essentially: do not be impressed merely because something appears supernatural. Test it. Remain humble. Do not rush to accept what you cannot understand.

And perhaps this is especially relevant in an age saturated with images.

We live surrounded by movies, books, science fiction, television, the internet, artificial imagery, and thousands of representations of angels, demons, aliens, spacecraft, and other worlds. These images can become deeply embedded in our imagination.

Therefore, when someone experiences something unexplained, we should distinguish carefully between the experience itself and the interpretation placed upon it.

What was actually experienced?

What did the person subsequently conclude that it was?

And how much of that interpretation may have been shaped by ideas already present in the person’s mind?

For the Christian, there is an even more fundamental question:

Does the message confess the truth of Christ, or does it draw the person away from Him?

Extraordinary experiences require extraordinary discernment.

As the Patristic tradition repeatedly teaches, humility is safer than curiosity, patience is safer than haste, and the simple prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” is safer than becoming fascinated with unknown spiritual phenomena.

Not everything mysterious is divine.

Not everything beautiful is holy.

And not everything that appears to bring “light” should immediately be accepted as coming from God.

 

2026

 🇬🇷🇷🇺🇹🇷 Η ΠΡΟΦΗΤΕΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΤΟΥΡΚΙΑ — Ο ΧΑΡΤΗΣ ΠΟΥ ΘΥΜΙΖΕΙ ΤΙΣ ΣΕΒΡΕΣ

🇬🇷🇷🇺🇹🇷 ПРОРОЧЕСТВО О ТУРЦИИ — KEHANET — ΠΡΟΦΗΤΕΙΑ

«Τρεις ή τέσσερις περιοχές — Κωνσταντινούπολη, Κουρδιστάν, Αρμενία και η υπόλοιπη Ανατολία. Μια προφητική παράδοση που προκαλεί συζητήσεις μέχρι σήμερα…»

🇬🇷 ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ

✝️ Η προφητική παράδοση που αποδίδεται στον Άγιο Παΐσιο

Η εικόνα αυτή απεικονίζει μια ευρέως διαδεδομένη εσχατολογική προφητική παράδοση που αποδίδεται στον Άγιο Παΐσιο τον Αγιορείτη, έναν από τους πλέον σεβαστούς σύγχρονους Ορθόδοξους ασκητές, ο οποίος εκοιμήθη το 1994.

Σύμφωνα με κείμενα και προφορικές μαρτυρίες που αποδίδονται στον Άγιο Παΐσιο, μια μελλοντική μεγάλη πολεμική σύγκρουση θα μπορούσε, σύμφωνα με την παράδοση, να οδηγήσει σε σοβαρές ανατροπές στην Τουρκία και σε διαίρεσή της σε τρία ή τέσσερα τμήματα.

1️⃣ Κωνσταντινούπολη και Στενά 🇬🇷

Στην παραδοσιακή αφήγηση αναφέρεται ότι η Κωνσταντινούπολη θα αποσπαστεί από την Τουρκία και θα αποδοθεί στην Ελλάδα από τις μεγάλες δυνάμεις. Η ίδια παράδοση συνδέει το γεγονός με την Αγία Σοφία και την επαναλειτουργία της ως Ορθόδοξου ναού.

2️⃣ Κουρδιστάν

Η ανατολική περιοχή παρουσιάζεται ως περιοχή που θα αποσχιστεί και θα αποτελέσει ανεξάρτητο κουρδικό κράτος.

3️⃣ Αρμενία 🇦🇲

Η ίδια προφητική παράδοση αναφέρεται σε επιστροφή ιστορικών αρμενικών εδαφών.

4️⃣ Το υπόλοιπο τουρκικό κράτος

Στο κέντρο του χάρτη παραμένει η εσωτερική Ανατολία. Σύμφωνα με την ευρέως κυκλοφορούσα εκδοχή της αφήγησης, ένα τρίτο του τουρκικού πληθυσμού θα παραμείνει ή θα υποχωρήσει εκεί, ένα τρίτο θα χαθεί στον πόλεμο και το τελευταίο τρίτο θα στραφεί προς τον Χριστιανισμό.

🗺️ Η ιστορική παράλληλος με τις Σέβρες

Ο χάρτης παρουσιάζει αξιοσημείωτες ομοιότητες με τη Συνθήκη των Σεβρών του 1920.

Μετά τον Α΄ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, η Συνθήκη των Σεβρών προέβλεπε σημαντικές εδαφικές αλλαγές στην πρώην Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, μεταξύ άλλων ρυθμίσεις που αφορούσαν την Ελλάδα, την Αρμενία και τους Κούρδους.

Ωστόσο, οι σχετικές προβλέψεις για την Ανατολία δεν εφαρμόστηκαν όπως είχαν αρχικά σχεδιαστεί. Μετά την επικράτηση του τουρκικού εθνικού κινήματος, η Συνθήκη των Σεβρών αντικαταστάθηκε από τη Συνθήκη της Λωζάννης του 1923.

⚠️ Σημαντική σημείωση

Το παρόν κείμενο παρουσιάζει μια προφητική παράδοση που αποδίδεται στον Άγιο Παΐσιο. Οι αναφορές στα μελλοντικά γεγονότα δεν αποτελούν ιστορικά επαληθευμένες προβλέψεις και δεν μπορούν να παρουσιαστούν ως βεβαιότητα για το μέλλον.

🇷🇺 РУССКИЙ

✝️ Пророческое предание, приписываемое святому Паисию Святогорцу

На этой карте изображено широко распространённое эсхатологическое предание, которое приписывается святому Паисию Святогорцу — одному из наиболее почитаемых современных православных монахов, преставившемуся в 1994 году.

Согласно распространённым текстам и устным свидетельствам, приписываемым святому Паисию, будущий крупный военный конфликт, согласно этому преданию, может привести к серьёзным изменениям на территории Турции и её разделу на три или четыре части.

1️⃣ Константинополь и проливы 🇬🇷

В традиционном изложении говорится, что Константинополь будет отделён от Турции и передан Греции великими державами. С этим также связывается возвращение Святой Софии к православному богослужению.

2️⃣ Курдистан

Восточная часть территории представлена как будущая территория независимого Курдистана.

3️⃣ Армения 🇦🇲

Предание также говорит о возвращении Армении некоторых исторических территорий.

4️⃣ Оставшаяся территория Турции

Центральная часть карты представляет оставшееся турецкое государство в глубине Анатолии. В широко распространённой версии предания говорится, что одна треть турецкого населения отступит во внутренние районы, одна треть погибнет в войне, а ещё одна треть примет христианство.

🗺️ Историческая параллель с Севрским договором

Карта напоминает территориальные планы, связанные с Севрским договором 1920 года.

После Первой мировой войны Севрский договор предусматривал значительные изменения территориального устройства бывшей Османской империи, включая положения, связанные с Грецией, Арменией и курдскими территориями.

Однако эти положения в отношении Анатолии не были реализованы в первоначальном виде. После победы турецкого национального движения Севрский договор был заменён Лозаннским договором 1923 года.

⚠️ Важное примечание

Данная публикация представляет пророческое предание, приписываемое святому Паисию. Утверждения о будущих событиях не являются исторически доказанными предсказаниями и не должны восприниматься как гарантированное описание будущего.

🇹🇷 TÜRKÇE

✝️ Aziz Paisios’a atfedilen kehanet geleneği

Bu harita, 1994 yılında vefat eden Aynorozlu Aziz Paisios’a atfedilen, Ortodoks dünyasında yaygın olarak anlatılan eskatolojik bir kehanet geleneğini göstermektedir.

Aziz Paisios’a atfedilen çeşitli metin ve sözlü anlatımlara göre, gelecekte yaşanacağı ileri sürülen büyük bir savaşın ardından Türkiye’de büyük değişiklikler meydana gelebileceği ve ülkenin üç veya dört parçaya ayrılabileceği iddia edilmektedir.

1️⃣ İstanbul ve Boğazlar 🇬🇷

Geleneksel anlatıda İstanbul’un Türkiye’den ayrılarak büyük güçler tarafından Yunanistan’a bırakılacağı ve Ayasofya’nın yeniden Ortodoks ibadetine açılacağı ileri sürülmektedir.

2️⃣ Kürdistan

Doğu bölgesinin ayrılarak bağımsız bir Kürt devletine dönüşeceği öne sürülmektedir.

3️⃣ Ermenistan 🇦🇲

Aynı kehanet geleneğinde bazı tarihî toprakların Ermenistan’a geri verileceği iddia edilmektedir.

4️⃣ Türkiye’nin geri kalan bölümü

Haritanın merkezindeki bölge, Anadolu’nun iç kesimlerindeki geriye kalan Türk devletini temsil etmektedir. Kehanetin yaygın olarak aktarılan versiyonunda Türk nüfusunun üçte birinin iç bölgelere çekileceği, üçte birinin savaşta hayatını kaybedeceği ve son üçte birinin ise Hristiyanlığı kabul edeceği ileri sürülmektedir.

🗺️ Sevr Antlaşması ile tarihî paralellik

Harita, 1920 Sevr Antlaşması ile dikkat çekici coğrafi benzerlikler taşımaktadır.

Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nın ardından imzalanan Sevr Antlaşması, eski Osmanlı topraklarında önemli değişiklikler öngörüyordu. Bunlar arasında Yunanistan, Ermenistan ve Kürt bölgeleriyle ilgili düzenlemeler de bulunuyordu.

Ancak Anadolu’ya ilişkin bu düzenlemeler başlangıçta öngörüldüğü şekilde uygulanmadı. Türk Millî Mücadelesi’nin zaferinden sonra Sevr Antlaşması’nın yerini 1923 Lozan Antlaşması aldı.

⚠️ Önemli not

Bu yayın, Aziz Paisios’a atfedilen bir kehanet geleneğiniaktarmaktadır. Geleceğe ilişkin bu iddialar tarihsel olarak doğrulanmış öngörüler değildir ve geleceğin kesin olayları olarak değerlendirilmemelidir.

🕊️ ΜΙΑ ΠΡΟΦΗΤΙΚΗ ΠΑΡΑΔΟΣΗ — ΜΙΑ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΗ ΜΝΗΜΗ — ΕΝΑ ΕΡΩΤΗΜΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΜΕΛΛΟΝ

🇬🇷 Ελλάδα • Κωνσταντινούπολη • Αρμενία • Κουρδιστάν
🇷🇺 Греция • Константинополь • Армения • Курдистан
🇹🇷 Yunanistan • İstanbul • Ermenistan • Kürdistan

 

 Σύμφωνα με αυτές τις αφηγήσεις, μετά από μια μεγάλη σύγκρουση στην περιοχή, οι μεγάλες δυνάμεις θα αποφασίσουν να παραδώσουν τη διοίκηση της Κωνσταντινούπολης στην Ελλάδα:  

1. Ως ουδέτερη και αξιόπιστη δύναμη για τη διασφάλιση της ελεύθερης ναυσιπλοΐας στα Στενά του Βοσπόρου.  

2. Λόγω της ιστορικής και πολιτισμικής κληρονομιάς της πόλης.  

3. Για την αποφυγή περαιτέρω πολεμικών συρράξεων και αιματοχυσίας μεταξύ των μεγάλων δυνάμεων.  

"Constantinople will be given to the Greeks, because it is the only country you can trust regarding the Bosphorus Straits, plus that it belongs to the Greeks, plus that they do not want any more bloodshed."

My vimeo videos

https://vimeo.com/1211297384 

https://vimeo.com/1228737184 

https://vimeo.com/1228737184 "The New World Order wants to destroy human beings; it wants to lead humans to the 'post-human', to what we call transhumanism.  

So, it tries to destroy human personhood and make the person—which God created us to be—into an isolated individual, to depersonalize humans.  

A person who lives in sin and without repentance lives as an individual; they live for themselves, within their own selfishness. That is an 'individual'. When one comes to repentance, they become a 'person'. Saint Sophronios explains this very clearly. Because God is a Person, when a human enters into repentance, God makes them a person through repentance. A person means someone who interacts and speaks with another—someone who sees the other person and talks with them. When you are an individual, you only look out for yourself, you don't look at anyone else; you are isolated, a number, not a person.  

And now, they are trying to turn us into individuals: to give us a number, to depersonalize us, to make us into robots, because they want us to be easily manipulated, to control us and do whatever they want with us. If we remain 'persons', they cannot do that, because as persons we have freedom, free will, given by God—the ability to choose. But if they take away our ability to think as persons and make us individuals, then they will turn us into machines, into robots. That is what they are striving for.  

However, through the grace of God and repentance, the Church has the power to preserve human beings as persons, so that they do not degenerate into mere individuals. But one must repent and live within God's grace. That is my answer.  

We don't care what Elon Musk is doing with robots or anything else. Technology is good, but only when used for a good purpose. A computer is good, but it depends on how you use it. If you use it to watch pornography, it destroys you; if you use it to do what we are doing right now, it helps you."

The aerial toll houses

https://youtu.be/JrA1xA85_GY?si=a-Hn7owSIqxkGOF1 

THE 20 AERIAL TOLL HOUSES

The Journey of the Soul After Death According to Orthodox Tradition

The Orthodox tradition has preserved a profound description of the condition of the soul after death. One of the most detailed accounts is found in the Life of Saint Basil the New, where Blessed Theodora describes to Gregory the journey of her soul after leaving the body.

In this account, the soul is accompanied by angels and passes through twenty aerial toll houses, where demons accuse it of different categories of sins.

It is important to understand that the “toll houses” should not be imagined as literal customs checkpoints or buildings in the sky. They are a spiritual image of the soul’s postmortem trial and of a person’s accountability for the life they have lived. The account in question is a hagiographical text and not a dogmatic definition issued by an Ecumenical Council.

1. THE TOLL HOUSE OF WORDS

Here the sins committed by a person through the mouth are examined:

vain words, idle talk, obscene language, mockery, ridicule, unnecessary conversations, and words that hurt one’s fellow human being.

Christ warns us that a person will give an account even for his or her useless words.

2. THE TOLL HOUSE OF LYING

Here lies are brought to light:

small and great lies, false promises, false testimony, and every deliberate distortion of the truth.

Tradition emphasizes that truth is not merely a social virtue but a spiritual condition.

3. THE TOLL HOUSE OF SLANDER

Slander and defamation are examined.

A person is called to account for the times when he or she damaged someone’s reputation, spread malicious information, or spoke about someone in a way that harmed them.

4. THE TOLL HOUSE OF GLUTTONY

Here excess in food and drink is examined.

It is not simply about the fact that someone eats. It concerns the enslavement of a person to bodily desires and the loss of self-control.

5. THE TOLL HOUSE OF IDLENESS

Laziness, negligence, and spiritual indifference are examined.

Not only physical laziness, but also negligence toward one’s duties, prayer, repentance, and spiritual life.

6. THE TOLL HOUSE OF THEFT

Here the taking of things belonging to others is examined.

Theft of money, objects, property, or anything that belongs to another person.

Tradition does not limit theft to the act of taking something. It examines the injustice behind it.

7. THE TOLL HOUSE OF LOVE OF MONEY

Here the love of money is examined.

Wealth itself is not the object of condemnation, but rather the transformation of money into an idol and the attachment of the heart to it.

When a person loves money more than God and his or her fellow human being, love of money becomes spiritual slavery.

8. THE TOLL HOUSE OF USURY

Usury and the exploitation of another person through money are examined.

Tradition focuses on the injustice that may lie behind a financial transaction when one person exploits another person’s need.

9. THE TOLL HOUSE OF INJUSTICE

Here the injustices a person committed during life are examined.

Injustice toward one’s fellow human being, deception, dishonesty, and exploitation.

The message is clear: a person cannot truly love God while deliberately committing injustice against his or her fellow human being.

10. THE TOLL HOUSE OF ENVY

Envy is examined.

Sorrow over another person’s happiness, jealousy of their success, the desire for them to lose what they have acquired, and the inner satisfaction when another person fails.

Envy is considered a particularly dangerous passion because it can remain deeply hidden within the heart.

11. THE TOLL HOUSE OF PRIDE

Here lies one of the deepest spiritual passions.

Pride, vanity, self-glorification, contempt for others, and the refusal to recognize one’s dependence upon God.

The Orthodox ascetical tradition considers pride to be the root of many other passions.

12. THE TOLL HOUSE OF ANGER

Anger and wrath are examined.

Outbursts, aggression, insults, and the cultivation of hatred toward another person.

It is not merely about the emotion of anger, but primarily about the state in which a person allows anger to dominate the soul.

13. THE TOLL HOUSE OF REMEMBERING WRONGS

Here resentment is examined—that is, the keeping of evil within the heart.

“I will never forgive him.”

This condition represents a refusal to forgive and continues to poison the soul even many years after the original event.

14. THE TOLL HOUSE OF MURDER

Here the crime of taking a human life is examined.

Tradition regards murder as one of the gravest forms of sin.

In the spiritual interpretation, however, the destructive power of hatred and violence is also examined as a condition of the heart.

15. THE TOLL HOUSE OF SORCERY

Here magic, divination, occult practices, and the search for supernatural power apart from God are examined.

The Orthodox tradition rejects recourse to such practices and calls people to trust in God rather than occult powers.

16. THE TOLL HOUSE OF FORNICATION

Sexual sins and the misuse of human sexuality are examined.

Orthodox teaching regards the body as God’s creation and sexuality as something that should not be separated from love, responsibility, and holiness.

17. THE TOLL HOUSE OF ADULTERY

Here the violation of marital faithfulness is examined.

Adultery is presented not merely as a violation of a social rule, but as a betrayal of a relationship and a destruction of trust.

18. THE TOLL HOUSE OF CARNAL PERVERSION

In the traditional account, there is a separate toll house for particular forms of sexual sin that the Byzantine hagiographical tradition regarded as grave.

Here caution is necessary: this concerns the category as it is presented in the particular hagiographical text and should not be used to humiliate or hate any human being.

Orthodox teaching simultaneously calls for repentance for sin and for love and respect toward every human person.

19. THE TOLL HOUSE OF HERESY

Here departure from the truth of the faith is examined.

Unbelief, apostasy, false teachings, and distortion of the faith are presented as matters for which a person is accountable.

For the Orthodox tradition, faith is not merely a collection of theoretical ideas. It is a relationship with God and a life within the Church.

20. THE TOLL HOUSE OF MERCILESSNESS

The final toll house concerns mercilessness and hardness of heart.

Here we find one of the strongest messages of the entire account.

A person is not examined only for the evil he or she did, but also for the good that could have been done and was not done.

The absence of charity, compassion, and love toward one’s fellow human being reveals a heart that has moved away from the love of God.

WHAT DOES THE ACCOUNT TEACH OVERALL?

The story of Theodora should not be read as a “price list” of sins or as a mechanism in which demons have the authority to decide by themselves the eternal destiny of a soul.

The central message is different:

A person is responsible for his or her life.

According to this tradition, the demons are the accusers who remind the soul of its sins. They are not the final judges.

Judgment belongs to God.

And precisely for this reason, the Orthodox tradition places such great emphasis on repentance, confession, forgiveness, prayer, almsgiving, and participation in the Mysteries of the Church.

Father Seraphim Rose also emphasized that the teaching of the toll houses should not be understood in a crudely literal manner. He presented it as part of the broader Orthodox witness concerning human accountability after death and spiritual warfare.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE “BEING OF LIGHT” IN NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES?

Here we come to an extremely interesting point.

Some people who report near-death experiences speak of an intense light, peace, love, or a luminous presence.

From an Orthodox perspective, however, we cannot conclude merely from the appearance of light that the experience comes from God.

At the same time, it is not correct to say that every experience of light is automatically demonic.

Orthodox spiritual life places great importance on the discernment of spirits.

The real criterion is not simply:

“Was it luminous?”

but:

What was it that appeared? What did it teach? What did it call the person to do? Does it agree with the Gospel of Christ? Does it lead to repentance, humility, and love for God, or to self-deification and spiritual delusion?

This is a much deeper criterion.

THE GREAT MESSAGE

The account of the toll houses was not given to terrify people.

It was given as a warning concerning the life we are living now.

Because the moment of death is not the moment when we begin correcting our soul.

Preparation begins here.

With repentance.

With confession.

With forgiveness.

With love.

With almsgiving.

With prayer.

With participation in the Mysteries of the Church.

And above all:

with Christ.

For the Orthodox faith does not teach that a person is saved because he or she managed to “pass through a toll house” by his or her own strength.

Salvation is the grace of God and life in Christ.

Therefore, the message of the Church to the human person is not:

“Fear the toll houses.”

But:

“Repent, love Christ, forgive, pray, and prepare your soul for eternity.”

And when the time comes to depart from this life, the Christian’s hope is not found in his or her own strength.

It is found in the mercy of God.

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

Βεβαίως. Θα το κρατήσω ολόκληρο και στις τρεις γλώσσες: Ελληνικά → Αγγλικά → Ρωσικά, χωρίς να αλλάξω το νόημα ή τη δομή του. Επειδή το ελληνικό είναι το πρωτότυπο που μου έδωσες, παρακάτω θα έχεις το πλήρες αγγλικό και ρωσικό κείμενο, έτοιμο για copy-paste μαζί με το ελληνικό πρωτότυπο.

🇬🇧 ENGLISH

THE 20 AERIAL TOLL HOUSES

The Journey of the Soul After Death According to Orthodox Tradition

The Orthodox tradition has preserved a profound description of the condition of the soul after death. One of the most detailed accounts is found in the Life of Saint Basil the New, where Blessed Theodora describes to Gregory the journey of her soul after leaving the body.

In this account, the soul is accompanied by angels and passes through twenty aerial toll houses, where demons accuse it of different categories of sins.

It is important to understand that the “toll houses” should not be imagined as literal customs checkpoints or buildings in the sky. They are a spiritual image of the soul’s postmortem trial and of a person’s accountability for the life they have lived. The account in question is a hagiographical text and not a dogmatic definition issued by an Ecumenical Council.

1. THE TOLL HOUSE OF WORDS

Here the sins committed by a person through the mouth are examined:

vain words, idle talk, obscene language, mockery, ridicule, unnecessary conversations, and words that hurt one’s fellow human being.

Christ warns us that a person will give an account even for his or her useless words.

2. THE TOLL HOUSE OF LYING

Here lies are brought to light:

small and great lies, false promises, false testimony, and every deliberate distortion of the truth.

Tradition emphasizes that truth is not merely a social virtue but a spiritual condition.

3. THE TOLL HOUSE OF SLANDER

Slander and defamation are examined.

A person is called to account for the times when he or she damaged someone’s reputation, spread malicious information, or spoke about someone in a way that harmed them.

4. THE TOLL HOUSE OF GLUTTONY

Here excess in food and drink is examined.

It is not simply about the fact that someone eats. It concerns the enslavement of a person to bodily desires and the loss of self-control.

5. THE TOLL HOUSE OF IDLENESS

Laziness, negligence, and spiritual indifference are examined.

Not only physical laziness, but also negligence toward one’s duties, prayer, repentance, and spiritual life.

6. THE TOLL HOUSE OF THEFT

Here the taking of things belonging to others is examined.

Theft of money, objects, property, or anything that belongs to another person.

Tradition does not limit theft to the act of taking something. It examines the injustice behind it.

7. THE TOLL HOUSE OF LOVE OF MONEY

Here the love of money is examined.

Wealth itself is not the object of condemnation, but rather the transformation of money into an idol and the attachment of the heart to it.

When a person loves money more than God and his or her fellow human being, love of money becomes spiritual slavery.

8. THE TOLL HOUSE OF USURY

Usury and the exploitation of another person through money are examined.

Tradition focuses on the injustice that may lie behind a financial transaction when one person exploits another person’s need.

9. THE TOLL HOUSE OF INJUSTICE

Here the injustices a person committed during life are examined.

Injustice toward one’s fellow human being, deception, dishonesty, and exploitation.

The message is clear: a person cannot truly love God while deliberately committing injustice against his or her fellow human being.

10. THE TOLL HOUSE OF ENVY

Envy is examined.

Sorrow over another person’s happiness, jealousy of their success, the desire for them to lose what they have acquired, and the inner satisfaction when another person fails.

Envy is considered a particularly dangerous passion because it can remain deeply hidden within the heart.

11. THE TOLL HOUSE OF PRIDE

Here lies one of the deepest spiritual passions.

Pride, vanity, self-glorification, contempt for others, and the refusal to recognize one’s dependence upon God.

The Orthodox ascetical tradition considers pride to be the root of many other passions.

12. THE TOLL HOUSE OF ANGER

Anger and wrath are examined.

Outbursts, aggression, insults, and the cultivation of hatred toward another person.

It is not merely about the emotion of anger, but primarily about the state in which a person allows anger to dominate the soul.

13. THE TOLL HOUSE OF RESENTMENT

Here resentment is examined—that is, the keeping of evil within the heart.

“I will never forgive him.”

This condition represents a refusal to forgive and continues to poison the soul even many years after the original event.

14. THE TOLL HOUSE OF MURDER

Here the crime of taking a human life is examined.

Tradition regards murder as one of the gravest forms of sin.

In the spiritual interpretation, however, the destructive power of hatred and violence is also examined as a condition of the heart.

15. THE TOLL HOUSE OF SORCERY

Here magic, divination, occult practices, and the search for supernatural power outside God are examined.

The Orthodox tradition rejects recourse to such practices and calls people to trust in God rather than occult powers.

16. THE TOLL HOUSE OF FORNICATION

Sexual sins and the misuse of human sexuality are examined.

Orthodox teaching regards the body as God’s creation and sexuality as something that should not be separated from love, responsibility, and holiness.

17. THE TOLL HOUSE OF ADULTERY

Here the violation of marital faithfulness is examined.

Adultery is presented not merely as a violation of a social rule, but as a betrayal of a relationship and a destruction of trust.

18. THE TOLL HOUSE OF CARNAL PERVERSION

In the traditional account, there is a separate toll house for particular forms of sexual sin that the Byzantine hagiographical tradition regarded as grave.

Here caution is necessary: this concerns the category as it is presented in the particular hagiographical text and should not be used to humiliate or hate any human being.

Orthodox teaching simultaneously calls for repentance for sin and for love and respect toward every human person.

19. THE TOLL HOUSE OF HERESY

Here departure from the truth of the faith is examined.

Unbelief, apostasy, false teachings, and distortion of the faith are presented as matters for which a person is accountable.

For the Orthodox tradition, faith is not merely a collection of theoretical ideas. It is a relationship with God and a life within the Church.

20. THE TOLL HOUSE OF MERCILESSNESS

The final toll house concerns mercilessness and hardness of heart.

Here we find one of the strongest messages of the entire account.

A person is not examined only for the evil he or she did, but also for the good that could have been done and was not done.

The absence of charity, compassion, and love toward one’s fellow human being reveals a heart that has moved away from the love of God.

WHAT DOES THE ACCOUNT TEACH OVERALL?

The story of Theodora should not be read as a “price list” of sins or as a mechanism in which demons have the authority to decide by themselves the eternal destiny of a soul.

The central message is different:

A person is responsible for his or her life.

According to this tradition, the demons are the accusers who remind the soul of its sins. They are not the final judges.

Judgment belongs to God.

And precisely for this reason, the Orthodox tradition places such great emphasis on repentance, confession, forgiveness, prayer, almsgiving, and participation in the Mysteries of the Church.

Father Seraphim Rose also emphasized that the teaching of the toll houses should not be understood in a crudely literal manner. He presented it as part of the broader Orthodox witness concerning human accountability after death and spiritual warfare.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE “BEING OF LIGHT” IN NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES?

Here we come to an extremely interesting point.

Some people who report near-death experiences speak of an intense light, peace, love, or a luminous presence.

From an Orthodox perspective, however, we cannot conclude merely from the appearance of light that the experience comes from God.

At the same time, it is not correct to say that every experience of light is automatically demonic.

Orthodox spiritual life places great importance on the discernment of spirits.

The real criterion is not simply:

“Was it luminous?”

but:

What was it that appeared? What did it teach? What did it call the person to do? Does it agree with the Gospel of Christ? Does it lead to repentance, humility, and love for God, or to self-deification and spiritual delusion?

This is a much deeper criterion.

THE GREAT MESSAGE

The account of the toll houses was not given to terrify people.

It was given as a warning concerning the life we are living now.

Because the moment of death is not the moment when we begin correcting our soul.

Preparation begins here.

With repentance.

With confession.

With forgiveness.

With love.

With almsgiving.

With prayer.

With participation in the Mysteries of the Church.

And above all:

with Christ.

For the Orthodox faith does not teach that a person is saved because he or she managed to “pass through a toll house” by his or her own strength.

Salvation is the grace of God and life in Christ.

Therefore, the message of the Church to the human person is not:

“Fear the toll houses.”

But:

“Repent, love Christ, forgive, pray, and prepare your soul for eternity.”

And when the time comes to depart from this life, the Christian’s hope is not found in his or her own strength.

It is found in the mercy of God.

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

🇷🇺 РУССКИЙ

20 ВОЗДУШНЫХ МЫТАРСТВ

Путь души после смерти согласно православному преданию

Православное предание сохранило глубокое описание состояния души после смерти. Одно из наиболее подробных повествований находится в Житии святителя Василия Нового, где блаженная Феодора рассказывает Григорию о пути своей души после выхода из тела.

В этом повествовании душу сопровождают ангелы, и она проходит через двадцать воздушных мытарств, где бесы обвиняют её в различных категориях грехов.

Важно понимать, что «мытарства» не следует представлять как буквальные таможни или здания на небе. Это духовный образ посмертного испытания души и ответственности человека за прожитую жизнь. Данное повествование является агиографическим текстом, а не догматическим определением Вселенского Собора.

1. МЫТАРСТВО ПУСТЫХ СЛОВ

Здесь рассматриваются грехи, совершаемые человеком посредством уст:

пустые слова, празднословие, непристойные слова, насмешки, издевательства, ненужные разговоры и слова, причиняющие боль ближнему.

Христос предупреждает нас, что человек даст ответ даже за свои праздные слова.

2. МЫТАРСТВО ЛЖИ

Здесь обнаруживается ложь:

маленькая и большая ложь, ложные обещания, ложные свидетельства и всякое сознательное искажение истины.

Предание подчёркивает, что истина является не просто социальной добродетелью, но духовным состоянием.

3. МЫТАРСТВО КЛЕВЕТЫ

Здесь рассматриваются клевета и злословие.

Человек призывается дать ответ за те случаи, когда он разрушал репутацию другого, распространял злонамеренные сведения или говорил о ком-либо так, что причинял ему вред.

4. МЫТАРСТВО ЧРЕВОУГОДИЯ

Здесь рассматривается невоздержанность в пище и питье.

Речь идёт не просто о том, что человек ест. Речь идёт о порабощении человека телесными желаниями и утрате самообладания.

5. МЫТАРСТВО ЛЕНИ

Здесь рассматриваются лень, небрежность и духовное безразличие.

Не только физическая лень, но и небрежность по отношению к обязанностям, молитве, покаянию и духовной жизни.

6. МЫТАРСТВО КРАЖИ

Здесь рассматривается присвоение чужого.

Кража денег, вещей, имущества или всего того, что принадлежит другому человеку.

Предание не ограничивает понятие кражи только самим актом присвоения. Оно рассматривает несправедливость, которая стоит за этим поступком.

7. МЫТАРСТВО СРЕБРОЛЮБИЯ

Здесь рассматривается любовь к деньгам.

Осуждается не само богатство, а превращение денег в идола и привязанность к ним сердца человека.

Когда человек любит деньги больше Бога и ближнего, сребролюбие становится духовным рабством.

8. МЫТАРСТВО ЛИХОИМСТВА

Здесь рассматриваются ростовщичество и эксплуатация другого человека посредством денег.

Предание обращает внимание на несправедливость, которая может скрываться за финансовой сделкой, когда один человек использует нужду другого.

9. МЫТАРСТВО НЕСПРАВЕДЛИВОСТИ

Здесь рассматриваются несправедливости, совершённые человеком в течение жизни.

Несправедливость по отношению к ближнему, обман, нечестность и эксплуатация.

Послание ясно: человек не может по-настоящему любить Бога и одновременно сознательно поступать несправедливо по отношению к своему ближнему.

10. МЫТАРСТВО ЗАВИСТИ

Здесь рассматривается зависть.

Печаль из-за счастья другого, ревность к его успеху, желание, чтобы он потерял приобретённое, и внутреннее удовлетворение от неудачи другого человека.

Зависть считается особенно опасной страстью, потому что она может глубоко скрываться в сердце.

11. МЫТАРСТВО ГОРДОСТИ

Здесь находится одна из самых глубоких духовных страстей.

Гордость, тщеславие, самолюбование, презрение к другим и отказ признать свою зависимость от Бога.

Православная аскетическая традиция считает гордость корнем многих других страстей.

12. МЫТАРСТВО ГНЕВА

Здесь рассматриваются гнев и ярость.

Вспышки гнева, агрессия, оскорбления и культивирование ненависти к другому человеку.

Речь идёт не просто об эмоции гнева, но прежде всего о состоянии, в котором человек позволяет гневу господствовать над его душой.

13. МЫТАРСТВО ЗЛОПАМЯТСТВА

Здесь рассматривается злопамятность — сохранение зла в сердце.

«Я никогда его не прощу».

Такое состояние является отказом от прощения и продолжает отравлять душу даже спустя много лет после первоначального события.

14. МЫТАРСТВО УБИЙСТВА

Здесь рассматривается преступление лишения человека жизни.

Предание считает убийство одной из самых тяжёлых форм греха.

Однако в духовном толковании разрушительная сила ненависти и насилия также рассматривается как состояние сердца.

15. МЫТАРСТВО ЧАРОДЕЙСТВА

Здесь рассматриваются колдовство, гадание, оккультные практики и поиск сверхъестественной силы вне Бога.

Православное предание отвергает обращение к таким практикам и призывает человека доверять Богу, а не оккультным силам.

16. МЫТАРСТВО БЛУДА

Здесь рассматриваются сексуальные грехи и злоупотребление человеческой сексуальностью.

Православное учение рассматривает тело как творение Божие, а сексуальность — как нечто, что не должно быть отделено от любви, ответственности и святости.

17. МЫТАРСТВО ПРЕЛЮБОДЕЯНИЯ

Здесь рассматривается нарушение супружеской верности.

Прелюбодеяние представляется не просто как нарушение общественного правила, но как предательство отношений и разрушение доверия.

18. МЫТАРСТВО ПЛОТСКОГО ИЗВРАЩЕНИЯ

В традиционном повествовании существует отдельное мытарство для определённых форм сексуального греха, которые византийская агиографическая традиция считала тяжкими.

Здесь необходима осторожность: речь идёт о категории, представленной именно в данном агиографическом тексте, и она не должна использоваться для унижения или ненависти к какому-либо человеку.

Православное учение одновременно призывает к покаянию в грехе и к любви и уважению к каждому человеческому лицу.

19. МЫТАРСТВО ЕРЕСЕЙ

Здесь рассматривается отступление от истины веры.

Неверие, отступничество, ложные учения и искажение веры представлены как вопросы, за которые человек несёт ответственность.

Для православного предания вера — это не просто совокупность теоретических идей. Это отношение с Богом и жизнь в Церкви.

20. МЫТАРСТВО НЕМИЛОСЕРДИЯ

Последнее мытарство связано с немилосердием и жестокостью сердца.

Здесь находится одно из самых сильных посланий всего повествования.

Человек рассматривается не только за то зло, которое он совершил, но и за то добро, которое он мог совершить, но не совершил.

Отсутствие милосердия, сострадания и любви к ближнему раскрывает сердце, удалившееся от любви Божией.

ЧЕМУ В ЦЕЛОМ УЧИТ ЭТО ПОВЕСТВОВАНИЕ?

Историю Феодоры не следует читать как «прейскурант» грехов или как механизм, в котором бесы самостоятельно имеют власть решить вечную участь души.

Главное послание иное:

Человек ответственен за свою жизнь.

Согласно этому преданию, бесы являются обвинителями, которые напоминают о грехах души. Они не являются окончательными судьями.

Суд принадлежит Богу.

И именно поэтому православное предание придаёт такое большое значение покаянию, исповеди, прощению, молитве, милостыне и участию в Таинствах Церкви.

Отец Серафим Роуз также подчёркивал, что учение о мытарствах не следует понимать грубо и буквально. Он представлял его как часть более широкого православного свидетельства об ответственности человека после смерти и духовной брани.

А ЧТО НАСЧЁТ «СВЕТОВОГО СУЩЕСТВА» В ОПЫТАХ, БЛИЗКИХ К СМЕРТИ?

Здесь мы подходим к чрезвычайно интересному вопросу.

Некоторые люди, рассказывающие об околосмертных переживаниях, говорят о ярком свете, мире, любви или светящемся присутствии.

Однако с православной точки зрения нельзя заключать только по появлению света, что переживание исходит от Бога.

В то же время неправильно утверждать, что всякий опыт света автоматически является демоническим.

Православная духовная жизнь придаёт большое значение различению духов.

Настоящий критерий — не просто:

«Было ли это светлым?»

но:

Что именно явилось? Чему оно учило? К чему призывало человека? Соответствует ли это Евангелию Христову? Ведёт ли оно к покаянию, смирению и любви к Богу или к самообожествлению и духовной прелести?

Это гораздо более глубокий критерий.

ГЛАВНОЕ ПОСЛАНИЕ

Повествование о мытарствах было дано не для того, чтобы терроризировать человека.

Оно было дано как предупреждение о той жизни, которой мы живём сейчас.

Потому что момент смерти — не тот момент, когда мы начинаем исправлять свою душу.

Подготовка начинается здесь.

С покаяния.

С исповеди.

С прощения.

С любви.

С милостыни.

С молитвы.

С участия в Таинствах Церкви.

И прежде всего:

со Христом.

Потому что православная вера не учит, что человек спасается потому, что собственными силами смог «пройти мытарство».

Спасение — это благодать Божия и жизнь во Христе.

Поэтому послание Церкви человеку — не:

«Бойся мытарств».

Но:

«Покайся, возлюби Христа, прощай, молись и приготовь свою душу к вечности».

И когда придёт время уйти из этой жизни, надежда христианина заключается не в его собственных силах.

Она заключается в милости Божией.

«Господи Иисусе Христе, помилуй меня».