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.

The application of the divine and sacred to things or actions that are manifestly sinful

"God is not mocked" (Galatians 6:7). Isn't it a mockery when a guest is asked or the guest himself wants to be treated to a third glass of wine in honor of the Most Holy Trinity? By repeating something up to three times, it is possible to honor the Holy Trinity only in pure objects, following the orthodox. By the Church: for example, in this sense, the Church circumambulates the font three times, pronounces Alleluia three times. But drinking too much wine is a sin: what does it look like to do it for the glory of God?—Thus someone with the holy name of "angel" magnifies orally or in writing ("my angel"!) a woman's face, for whom he has an unlawful love... Thus some weave the name of the saint of God into a riotous song. Oh, man! Do not increase the severity of your already difficult sins by blasphemy!

Indifference is silence at someone's blasphemy and an expression of pleasure in someone's blasphemy

In the Old Testament, to hear someone's blasphemy was considered a terrible surprise: a Jew, in great indignation because God Himself had been offended, tore his clothes (2 Kings 19:1). Should a Christian be indifferent – to remain silent when someone blasphemes his Savior Christ or the Most-Pure Mother of God, or any of the saints, for example, Mary Magdalene? He was taught much more than the Old Testament worshiper of God the concepts of the greatness and attributes of God. He already sees God's promise of redemption of mankind fulfilled and, so to speak, drowns in God's mercies, for example, partaking of God Himself in the mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. Should he, therefore, out of reverence and love for Jesus Christ, for the merciful Mother of God and the holy saints, shudder at someone's blasphemy, immediately rebuke the blasphemer, and in special cases even present this person to the proper authorities, so as not to give freedom to temptation? No, indifferent silence at the blasphemy of another already constitutes involvement in this crime.—Then, let someone personally not allow blasphemy and do not know how to blasphemy: but smile with others when someone sarcastically ridicules sacred objects; but it is pleasant to receive a merry blasphemer as a guest; But to ask and persuade that the blasphemer amuse the assembly, that he may present the reading or singing of some clergyman, that he parody some church service: — all this, on the one hand, is not direct participation in blasphemy, and on the other hand, is it not an encouragement of the blasphemers to their sin? It is said: "It is impossible to restrain oneself from laughing at blasphemous speeches or movements of others: before that, some naturally imitate some church service or rite, or wittily pepper their speech with texts." Pathetic incontinence! But it is this uncontrollable laughter that makes us feel that we are not serious enough for the sacred, that we have not yet deeply developed reverence for the divine and the ecclesiastical. "Sometimes there is no way to stop the blasphemer: because everyone in the living room, everyone, both the highest and the middle, admires him, because he himself is sometimes one of the highest." But for others, it would be necessary to respond to the antics of the blasphemer with a word of truth and reproof: then he would also be more cautious forward, especially before such persons whose inner disposition is unknown to him this time. If it is no longer possible, indeed, to rebel directly against the blasphemer, if it is not possible to hush up his speech with another conversation; in this case, it is no longer necessary "to sit on the seat of the destroyers" (Psalm 1:1), remembering the admonition: "Save your soul in saving" (Gen. 19:17). It is difficult to change the Herods: and it remains more often to remain silent about their blasphemous words and actions... But they answer: "And sometimes it is impossible to leave, for example, from the common table." In this case, one of our appearances remains to express sadness and discontent in view of the blasphemy of others. Oh, good Christian! Do not put up with someone else's blasphemy or blasphemy!