A person began to be perceived as a "cog" in a large machine (state). In Stalin's time, researchers and doctors were very careful in pronouncing words such as soul, inner world, personality, for fear of persecution. Everything that could interfere with the party members and their power was expelled and destroyed. From childhood, people were indoctrinated that a small period of time of 6070 years was the only wealth of a person, and, accordingly, career, money, and power became the criteria of well-being.

From the inner life and the search for God, a decisive turn was made to the external life, to vices, sins and acquisitiveness. Communist philosophy, which proclaimed the growth of material well-being as the main task, came to a dead end, simultaneously crippling the fate of millions of people.

The situation in foreign psychiatry seemed to contribute to the formation of "renovationist views." In Europe, psychiatry developed on the basis of rationalistic ideas. Mental problems and illnesses began to be exclusively the competence of psychiatry. The priest and the Church Sacraments turned out to be unnecessary. Famous professors vied with each other to express their negative attitude to religion.

Here are just a few examples. Schneider: "Manifestations of religious life are mental illness"; Raine: "Religious ideas are obsessions." For Freud, religion was mass madness.

Time passed, decade after decade, and by the 1930s, psychiatrists, as well as scientists of other specialties, with rare exceptions, developed an obedient attitude towards atheism and atheism. But even in that difficult time there were real ascetics among the great medical scientists, who were able to carry a deep faith in God and Christian piety throughout their lives. These are, for example, professor psychiatrist D. E. Melekhov, surgeons S. S. Yudin and now glorified Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), academicophthalmologist V. P. Filatov and others. Through their prayers and the prayers of all believers, the Lord preserved us.

In recent years, by the grace of God, psychiatry has again begun to talk about spirituality. For example, a prayer room was opened at the Research Institute of Clinical Psychiatry, and a church was restored on the territory of the I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy. The temple was consecrated at the V. P. Serbsky Institute. Spiritual nourishment of patients also takes place in the hospital churches of the clinics named after P. P. Kashchenko, O. V. Kerbikov, and the Scientific Center for Mental Health. Divine services are held in the hospital church in the name of the Holy Martyr Boniface in the Regional Psychiatric Hospital. Now scientific and scientific theological conferences are often held with the participation of the clergy and psychiatrists. A number of very useful meetings were devoted to this problem in the publishing department of the Moscow Patriarchate. In December 1995, the first seminar on monastic medicine was held with the invitation of psychiatrists. A pastoral seminar held at St. Daniel's Monastery in early 1997 was devoted to this topic.

In the psychotherapeutic encyclopedia, published in 1999, there is a substantial article entitled "Orthodox Psychotherapy".

In 1996, the Spiritual Care Center in the name of St. John of Kronstadt began its activities. A number of books, brochures and articles covering the problems of spirituality in psychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychology have been published. In short, work in this important area has begun, but much remains to be done.

The modern stage of psychiatry is being created today and depends on us, dear colleagues, on our faith and spirituality. Our Lord Jesus Christ will ask us for every day, for every patient. Do we work for the glory of God or not? This question remains open for now.

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In Christian anthropology, personality is considered in the unity of spiritual, mental and bodily manifestations. And this unity is achieved only under the condition of the predominant influence of the sphere of the spirit.