But it is not at all necessary for a Christian to see such a "sophisticated" symbol in each hexagon. Let us remember that the radiance of God's Glory, emanating from Christ on the icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord, often has six rays (for example, on the icon of Theophanes the Greek). And the stylites in the frescoes of Theophanes the Greek stand on hexagonal towers.

… And here is a very dizzying event from church history: in 695, Emperor Justinian II decided to destroy the temple (the so-called "metropolitan church") in order to build circus stands instead. The emperor did not want this event to be perceived by believers as outright blasphemy. For this purpose, he forced the Patriarch to compose and pronounce appropriate prayers. Coming to the destruction of the Orthodox church, the Patriarch said: "Glory to God, Who is long-suffering always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages." This ended badly for Justinian: an uprising broke out and he was overthrown (for a time). But the Patriarch who read the prayer "for the destruction of the temple" was Saint Callinikos of Constantinople (Comm. 23 August)...

We will not draw any hasty lessons from this incident (except for one: not to rush to condemn those hierarchs of the Soviet era who were forced to sign orders to close churches), but let us return to the main question: how should a Christian relate to those signs and images that have religious significance for pagans?

Here we must remember the words of the Apostle Paul: "An idol in the world <is> nothing" (1 Corinthians 8:4). This "nothing" should not affect our behavior in any way. If I go to church and suddenly see that some sectarians have set up their idol at the crossroads, the appearance of this curiosity should not affect my behavior in any way. I must not run up to the idol and kiss its feet. But I don't have to cross the street or go around it for a block. I must not show the pagans that I share their religious and reverent feelings towards the idol. But I should not express fear of him. "Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither can they do good" (Jeremiah 10:5). Both the reverence I have shown and the fear I have shown will only strengthen the Gentiles in their belief that their idol is so powerful that it can attract or even conquer a Christian.

Let us recall the advice of the Apostle Paul – how to deal with food sacrificed to idols. For example, I came to visit a pagan I knew. St. Theophan the Recluse explains why one should not decline an invitation to visit a notorious pagan: "Because it would be impossible to catch the unbelievers by stopping the communication"[265]. So, taking this opportunity, I go to him in the hope of telling him about Christ. And in the course of the conversation, he treats me to some meat. It is quite possible that the pilaf placed in front of me is made from the lamb that was sacrificed in front of the statue of Apollo, that is, it is "sacrificed to idols". How should I behave? "If any of the unbelievers call you... then all that is set before you, eat without any examination" (1 Corinthians 10:27).

We can even guess that the food offered to us was somehow "sanctified" in a pagan way. But until we are directly told about it, we must treat it as the most ordinary food. We simply must remember that "the earth is the Lord's, and the honor that fills it" (1 Corinthians 10:26). "The Lord's, and not demons'. But if the earth is the Lord's, then the trees and the animals are the Lord's, and if everything is the Lord's, then by nature there is nothing unclean, but everything depends on the thought of each one.

What do we care about what some pagan did, based on the false principles of his faith. His thoughts are not mine. We must remember our rules of godliness: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). I must do everything with my God in mind, and not about other false gods.

But let's imagine that our interlocutor told us bluntly that this lamb was so delicious precisely because yesterday it was slaughtered at the altar of Apollo. Then you have to refuse. But why? Not at all because in this case the food will become worse than it was before this "announcement". The Apostle Paul explains: "But if anyone says to you, 'This is sacrificed to idols,' then do not eat for the sake of him who has declared it to you" (1 Corinthians 10:28). If a Christian begins to eat things sacrificed to idols in the presence of a pagan, then the Christian will give the pagan a reason to believe that this Christian is not firm in his faith. After all, a pagan may know that church rules forbid eating things sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:29), and then he will see that his acquaintance is violating the church rule. Seeing such a disregard for the Christian's own rules, the pagan will cease to respect him and will no longer listen to the Christian preaching from the lips of this acquaintance of his. As the Christian apologist of the second century, Minucius Felix, warned of this danger: "Every work of nature, as an inviolable gift of God, is not defiled by any use; but we abstain from your sacrifices, lest anyone think that we yield to the demons to whom they have been offered, or that we are ashamed of our religion" (Octavius 38).

In addition, the pagan entertainer may consider that Christianity approves of the pagan religion. And it is possible to combine participation in pagan mysteries and in Christian sacraments. Convinced that Christians also have recourse to pagan rituals, they will hold on to them even more firmly.

Thus, one everyday mistake, one gesture can push a person into the swamp of religious omnivorousness.

Finally, the eating of food sacrificed to idols by a Christian can have two more bad consequences. One of them is if the Jews can find out about this case. For them, what is sacrificed to idols is undoubtedly "treif", unacceptable food. And if they find out that Christians eat such foods, they, the Jews, will become closed to the preaching of the Gospel. Another bad echo can be heard within the church community itself. For there are those among Christians who do not have a very firm understanding of the rules of Christian behavior. Here is how St. Theophan the Recluse wrote about it: "More perfect Christians considered idols to be nothing, and they considered things sacrificed to idols to be pure food. Others, less perfect, could not yet renounce their former, pagan view of idols as gods and sacrifices to them as real foul gods. With such thoughts, they considered the partaking of things sacrificed to idols contrary to their Christian conscience, which was still weak – powerless to consider idols as nothing. But, carried away by the example of the more perfect, they take part in idolatrous meals, eat things sacrificed to idols as if they were sacrificed to idols, and thus defile their weak consciences. The reason for the temptation of the weak is that which in itself has no value before God: if we eat things sacrificed to idols, we gain nothing, and if we do not eat them, we lose nothing before God"[268]. With these words, St. Theophan retells the reflections of Bl. Theophylact of Bulgaria.

The one who allows himself to taste things sacrificed to idols, convinced that this is ordinary food, turns out to be a perfect Christian. Thus writes the Apostle. This is how the Holy Fathers understand it. "Those who are strong in reasoning look upon things sacrificed to idols as any other food, and they eat them with a clear conscience"[269]. But he who fears things sacrificed to idols and ascribes to food participation in those non-existent false gods, with the invocation of whose mythical names the animals sacrificed to idols were sacrificed, still remains an imperfect Christian.

According to Jewish law, the two main sources of defilement and impurity are everything related to paganism and everything related to death. Touching a dead body was considered defilement. But is this the case with Christians today? For the Christian consciousness, "neither death can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39)[270]. The body was the temple of the spirit during life, it becomes relics after death. We touch the remains even with reverence... This turning point in the attitude towards the remains was also not given to the Church without difficulty. But it still happened, obviously, and to the end. But in relation to things sacrificed to idols, to this day, we have to distinguish between the "esoteric" teaching of the Church and pedagogical considerations.

There are people who have preserved "an idolatrous conscience" (1 Corinthians 8:7)[271]. They "have the same opinion of idols as they had before their conversion, considering them to be something and fearing them as capable of harming" [272]. Such people, if they happen to eat things sacrificed to idols, "experience it as if someone, according to Jewish custom, considered touching a dead man to be a defilement, but seeing that others touch him with a clear conscience, out of shame before them, he himself would touch it, but he himself would be defiled in conscience, being condemned by it" [273].