"Open thy mouth to blaspheme against God, blaspheme His name... and they that dwell in heaven" (Rev. 13:6). The object of someone's blasphemy can be: the Lord God Himself, revered in the trinity of persons, the God-Man Jesus Christ, the Most Pure Lady Mother of God, the holy angels and the holy saints. But why are blasphemous speeches against the Mother of God and the saints also called blasphemy?—Because "God is wondrous in His saints" (Psalm 67:36): as He is glorified and revered among the saints, so He is offended for them when they are blasphemed; — because they are always with them and they are always in Him.—The blasphemy of which we are speaking is not blasphemous thoughts, to which other believing souls are subjected against their will, and which are not imputed to them, as exclusively impudent whisperings into the soul on the part of the devil. No, these are deliberate and deliberate slanders and insults against God or against the saints of God, pronounced either publicly, i.e., more or less in a crowded assembly, or in front of some persons alone (the degree of the latter blasphemy is "written" blasphemy, as being read only by a few persons). This is a monstrous sin. He expresses a kind of hatred for God and the saints, shows the absence of any faith. His first indicator was the devil. When the devil said to Eve in paradise: "What has God spoken" (Gen. 3:1), then here we hear slander against God Himself. What a terrible impudence it is: for a man who is a worm, before God, to utter blasphemy against the Most High Being! What ungodliness it is to lift up one's tongue to the divine purity of the actions of Jesus Christ, Who is the eternal benefactor of men, the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world! what impiety it is to blaspheme the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, Who always prays for sinners, what impudence it is to slander the saints of God or to cite as an example from their earthly life their actual falls, but only to humiliate them, and not for the purpose of teaching or warning themselves! They—the saints of God—have already completed their podvig, are glorified by God Himself, and all in general are "worthy of the whole world" (Heb. 11:38); but even the least of them, for example, who repented not long before his death (like the Martyr Boniface (Thursday under Dec. 19)) and others), is already the appointed judge of the "world" (1 Corinthians 6:2), together with the holy angels and apostles. By his blasphemy he produces universal indignation at faith, which is the sanctity of man, the highest of all blessings. He does significant harm to weak souls, because these souls, after his blasphemy, will sometimes think: "Really, isn't it...?" But even people who are firm in the faith, but also deeply reverent for God and the saints, must strengthen their feelings, so as not to weaken their reverence, for example, for Jesus Christ or the Mother of God, whom the atheist blasphemed in their eyes (Titus 3:10). He is a dangerous member of the state: what evil deed can not be expected from one who is not afraid to blaspheme God Himself and the saints? – In the Old Testament, the death penalty was prescribed for blasphemy: for example, Naboth was stoned for a false accusation of this sin (1 Kings 21:13); in the New Testament this sin is one of the signs of the end times (1 Timothy 1:2, 20). "What can correct a blasphemer?" If blasphemy is uttered out of foolishness, or as a violent abuse in a drunken state, or out of error, as the Apostle Paul called himself a "blasphemer" in the latter sense (1 Timothy 1:13), then it will pass away with the return of a rational consciousness to man, and will not be deprived of mercy. But to bring a conscious, but deliberate and repeated blasphemer to reason and correct only the punishment of God; thus King Antiochus was once punished for his pride and blasphemy: Antiochus began to rot while still alive; the stench from it came over the whole army and was unbearable for all (2 Mac. 9:17, 28, 9).

Murmuring against God

"In this wilderness shall fall the men who murmur against Me," God once said and fulfilled concerning the murmuring Jews (Num. 14:29). Some people murmur for themselves in some extraordinary misfortune or sorrow; for example, they even say: "Why were we born into the world?" Others murmur for others: "Why does God take away (through death) the mother of so many young children?" Still others are confused by the providential actions of God in the history of all mankind at any given time: "Why were wars allowed..., why are there needs of people"? Murmuring does not yet contain hatred of God: but it expresses anger and vexation against God Himself. Obviously, it is vain and reckless; "Who understands the mind of the Lord? or who was His counselor?" (Rom. 11:34). It is impudence before the boundless greatness of God: how can a person who is completely dependent on God demand an account of God's actions? However, murmuring is sometimes excusable. Thus sometimes a deeply believing person murmurs. In his sorrow, this man also seems to be angry with God, saying, for example, to the Mother of God: "Why hast thou forsaken me..."? But his plaintive speeches are more likely to arise from an excess of hope in God than from unbelief. Such, for example, is the state of a person when a grave sin is committed, not by himself, but by a person close to him, and when his oppressed thought involuntarily turns to God with a cry: "Why is this misfortune allowed, why are my merits not mentioned this time?" Righteous Job was in such a state when he struggled with the great horrors of his sufferings (Job ch. 3). If we compare their bitter complaint about a bitter misfortune, the latter will be heavier and their complaint will be even more moderate (Job 6:1). Here a man expresses by murmuring words only his excessive sorrow, and, as it seems to him, undeserved by him (Job 6:26).—How, however, can we restrain ourselves from murmuring against God or against the saints in some sorrow?—By the thought that the greater our misfortune, the less we should judge it—whether it is useful or harmful to us—to judge it only by the present life; we must look at this misfortune in connection with our future life. Another simple but true means: when in misfortune our soul seems to be petrified or deaf, when words of murmur are ready to come from our tongue, we must force ourselves to say aloud and many times "Glory to God." Let us pronounce these words mechanically and with one tongue: but little by little they will revive and soften our soul, and will call it to such a consciousness: "It is good for me, for thou hast humbled me!" (Psalm 118:68).

Blasphemy: a) words and b) actions

"Below let them be called in you... blasphemy" (Ephesians 5:4). Blasphemy is different from blasphemy and murmuring against God. The latter sins concern the very essence of God and the person of the saints: and this refers only to what is God's and what belongs to the saints. In it (judging by the majority of examples) there is neither hatred nor anger in relation to God and the saints: but it expresses a joke, a desire to amuse others, and frivolity. However, it is sometimes even more guilty before God, especially in comparison with murmuring, because of its lack of compulsion and frequency of time. It is revealed by words and actions.

Words; a) they like to speak in sacred texts, in the Slavonic language of the Church, not in order to make their conversation more honorable and edifying, but in ordinary idle talk, solely for the purpose of arousing laughter in others, and in any case out of place; thus, for example, they recall "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Mark 1:3), wishing to express the failure of some work (but at the voice of the Baptist many people gathered in the wilderness (Luke 3:7, 12, 21); thus they often speak of a firm knowledge of some subject: "knoweth how to have mercy on me, O God"; b) they quote the texts of the word of God in secular works, often and without literal exactness—I am again not according to their meaning, but only for the sake of a witty word and one joke, they still think, perhaps, to express that the simple-minded belief of the Bible is the lot of the common people. (Yes; this is the favorite habit of some secular writers to jokingly mix their speech with sacred texts, and this also includes the deliberate writing or printing of the names: "Christ, Mother of God" with small letters: "Christ, Mother of God"), c) they consciously turn to their advantage certain words of the Holy Scriptures in order to justify themselves in violation of their moral duties; For example, when refusing fasting, they say: "That which does not enter into the mouth defileth" (Matt. 15:11), whereas here the general thought of food is taken, without any relation to its quality or quantity, and only food here is contrasted with the impurity of the heart, from which proceeds both unclean and evil speech; 12), whereas in the present case it is understood that the law is not at all fundamental and moral, but ceremonial – Old Testament sacrifices, ablutions, etc.; d) they translate or compose texts in their own way, i.e. the words of the Holy Scriptures. For through the mouth of the apostles and prophets the Holy Spirit Himself spoke (spoke); Thus, for example, the last words in the Epistle reading during marriage are terribly distorted, as well as many things in church songs and readings, for example, "Rest with the saints," always inventing some crude rhyme or consonance this time; e) to speak mockingly or in harsh words about certain high sacred rites (makale, i.e., immersed in baptism); and also the usual mockery for many is "penance"; compose or only repeat after others mocking proverbs about priests and monks, which concern not only the person, but also the service of the former and the rank of the latter. This is the saying about "long hair". But for example, the priests' long hair, and in itself a pleasant appearance, should also be a pleasant reminder to the laity that "among them, and so close, there are men who are consecrated for a special service to God, and to offer prayers and sacrifices to God through them" (Jeremiah 7:27).

By actions, blasphemy (parody) can be: aa) blessing with the hand for fun, following the example of the priest and in view of him, for example, when someone, having come to the house for a guest or on business and having been blessed by him according to a good custom, then approaches others with an outstretched hand to greet him; b) pronounce litenies in the manner of reading a deacon's voice, distorting their voice: c) present (parody) entire services, for example, a moleben with the blessing of water, and a whole gathering, calling one here a psalmist, and others singers, making sacred vestments (for example, instead of a robe for cattails), imitating the appearance of a priest (hair and beard made of linen); and are also indifferent to children's games, the subject of which is a funny representation of some sacrament or rite, especially confession (one boy sits on a chair, and others come up to him and tell him about their sins, and the boy or girl covers them with a large handkerchief); not only that, but adults themselves in some places allow similar games, for example, they marry (crowns of straw), bury the one who skillfully conceals all the signs of life, and even caricature the great sacrament of baptism; d) in a drunken state, they sing spiritual and ecclesiastical songs, replacing this singing with laughter or argument; e) untimely and inappropriately, for example, to test the voice or for the sake of the pleasantness of the melody, they sing from the Liturgy such verses that relate to the performance of the most bloodless sacrifice ("Mercy of the world..." "We sing to Thee"), and which can be sung outside of the divine service only for study or rehearsal, and only lonely, quietly and with deep tenderness; they try to make a person who is standing at prayer laugh with obscene movements and laughter, and sometimes they stop this reading or singing on the kliros; On occasion or deliberately finding where, they put on priestly dress and even church vestments, and in this way they show themselves with laughter in front of others;, zz) in theaters, for the greater amusement of the public, they bring clergymen on the stage for greater amusement of the audience, even naming a local person familiar to the public and known for his severity or teaching; ii) compose and act out in the theaters whole dramas from the Holy Scriptures. books (Zora Opera). And how many different kinds of blasphemy are known!

Unfortunately, this sin is in great demand. For frivolous people, the most favorite pastime, the most pleasant joke: to present in a ridiculous form a church rite or someone from the clergy. Other things will be forgotten for fun, but this is not: so man is damaged by sin, and so cunningly incites him by the enemy, the devil, to ridicule the sacred! Its gravity can be judged first of all by the face of Herod, who showed his example over Jesus Christ (the direction of the murderer of the Baptist is known). Herod heaped sharp ridicule and impudent jokes on Jesus Christ in the eyes of his courtiers (there is no blasphemy without accomplices); and the courtiers followed his example: he also invented for our Saviour a "bright robe" (a long white one), in order to make the picture more ridiculous (Luke 23:11)—Blasphemy, even if it was not allowed in a sense of contempt for sacred persons and objects (yes! there are blasphemers even in the extreme depravity of the heart), but simply for the smile of others, — blasphemy inevitably kills in the soul the reverence befitting the holy things. Usually, much begins in man from the external, as on the other hand, his inner is reflected with force in the external; For example, external attentiveness to his actions and patience in his studies make him inwardly concentrated, correct him from the vice of absent-mindedness. For this reason, just as our outward veneration of holy things disposes the very soul to reverence, and the more signs of such veneration there are, which are revealed in the simplicity of intention, the more our soul begins to revere: so from the opposite side, that is, from blasphemy, the soul grows cold to the sacred. If soon we happen to hear that singing in church, or to see the very sacrament or rite that was blasphemously presented by someone, our imagination is immediately transferred to the previous picture: respect for the sacred and the saints involuntarily ceases in us or diminishes. In itself, the sacred or sacred person and action lose nothing; they remain as before sacred and soul-saving for others who come to them or hear them with confidence: but the blasphemers themselves suffer a great loss from their blasphemy regarding the feeling of the fear of God. Moreover, are there still not enough worldly objects for joke and gaiety? Why touch the sacred? The sacred is given to us not to joke about it, but to revere it. Finally, the gravity of the sin of blasphemy is evident from what happened—the just God immediately punished those guilty of it. In one of the spiritual-narrative books it is said that the children played the Mass blasphemously, and immediately fire appeared from heaven on the things that they had prepared for the bloodless sacrifice, throwing them themselves to the ground in terrible fright: the fright passed only after a day (Meadow Spirit.194). But if God is long-suffering with blasphemers, it is because "He leads them to repentance" (Rom. 2:4) or expects repentance from them. And, oh! if they would understand this.