Faith, on the other hand, teaches a Christian to preserve piety and to be virtuous in any conditions of life. There are no circumstances in life in which the beneficial influence of faith is not manifested. In wealth it makes a man charitable, in the pleasures of life — temperate, in the midst of honors it protects from pride. Faith comforts in sorrows, helps in sickness, and gives patience in suffering (3:18; 1:71). Faith, finally, "turns away from the sins and vanity of the world" (4:375), gives strength and strength to fight against Satan and his servants (3:443). It "receives this strength and strength from Christ the Son of God, on Whom, as on a firm and unshakable foundation, it rests" (3:443).

True faith, assimilated by the mind and heart, perceived by the whole being of man, is the all-embracing guiding principle of the life of a Christian, penetrating all his forces and abilities. At this stage of its development, faith exerts a decisive influence on the will of man. This influence is manifested in the act of conscious and free striving of the believer on the path to eternity. A Christian becomes independent of everything sinful, alien and hostile to his truly God-like being. It "frees the believer from sin, death, oath, hell, the devil, and other calamities, and makes him spiritually free... For no one can enslave, captivate, bind, imprison, kill, "... where the Spirit of the Lord is, that is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17)" (3:17).

Having pointed out in his writings the significance of the true faith, the Holy Father defines its essence as follows: "Take note to whom does God give His help and whom does He save? Who are right in their hearts. Who is right in heart? Answer: Those who have sincerely converted, and believe in Him, and go to the news of life, will follow His wills and please Him with all their hearts, — by this God gives His help, and these He saves" (1:205). In other words, only living and active faith, which brings worthy fruits of Christian piety and obedience to the Divine commandments, is pleasing to God. Such faith is the foundation of the true, God-like life of the Christian, which is the harbinger of his future glorified state in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father.

Having defined the essence of saving faith and its significance in the spiritual life of man, the divinely wise saint, moved by pastoral concern for the salvation of people, did not ignore the negative side of the question under consideration.

In one of his exhortations, he writes that faith, "which is only on the lips and not in the heart" (2:89), is "false and charming" and therefore cannot save man (2:73). And those who confess the name of God, attend the temple of God, but do not live according to the faith, cannot be called Christians (3:100).

A person in whom there is no true and living faith is like one who walks in darkness. Such people do not "distinguish one thing from another; they do not separate good from evil, they do not distinguish between benefit and harm, they fall from sin into sin" (4:9). Just as the fruits of a living and active faith are Christian virtues, so the fruits of its impoverishment are vicious inclinations and works (2:57). Revealing the reasons for the impoverishment of faith, the saint points out that this spiritual ailment originates in the mind and heart of a person. The measure of the impoverishment of faith, as a rule, determines the degree of the Christian's sinful fall. "When faith in a person is completely impoverished," writes the Holy Father, "a person will completely deteriorate... Its fruits are such as it is inside: its mind is filled with unlike, vain, and filthy thoughts" (1:69). After the complete impoverishment of faith, the Christian becomes incapable of walking the path of salvation; deviating towards evil, he completely dies spiritually and begins to serve not God, but the devil. In such a state, a person's mind is constantly filled with filthy and impure thoughts and desires. "From the heart proceed all lusts and lusts, pleasing to the corrupt nature... And so all his mouths are instruments for iniquity, all such will become sin: iniquity thinks, iniquity speaks, iniquity doeth" (1:69).

As St. Tikhon shows, the impoverishment of faith comes from inner coldness and indifference, negligence and unwillingness to kindle the gift of faith. And where there is no living faith, there is no Christ, consequently there is no salvation (1:108). That is why "you must take faith more than your life; and we must lay down our lives for the faith" (1:108). For this, all those seeking salvation must preserve and strengthen in their souls a living and active faith in Christ and not fulfill the sinful lusts of the flesh, not cling with their hearts to worldly things, glory, riches and the honors of temporal life. And if external sinful passions contribute to the cooling of faith in God in the soul of a Christian, then all the more should one beware of even more pernicious internal habits, i.e. impure lust, "anger, malice, envy, hatred, pride, and others" (3:192). All these passions destroy the union of man with God, finally destroy faith and, finally, remove him from the Source of life – God.

That is why every Christian must make a constant effort to strengthen faith. These efforts should first of all be aimed at revealing the natural qualities of the human soul, which are conscience and the fear of God. The saint exhorts Christians to always have a clear conscience, for "faith in a clear conscience loves to rest, and without a clear conscience it cannot be pure" (5:284). In addition, he calls on Christians to constantly maintain in themselves a sense of the fear of God and that inner thirst for knowledge of the mysteries of the spiritual world, which lives in a God-fearing soul (3:134). A God-fearing person will not be indifferent to the knowledge of the laws of spiritual life, and he who thirsts for truth and knowledge of God will not be satisfied with the initial knowledge in the field of faith, but will bring it to the conviction of the heart (5:12).

Sincere and living faith in the Redeemer is inseparably linked with humility, which is the fruit of a repentant appeal to God, heartfelt sorrow and sorrow for the sins committed. Only a deep consciousness of sinfulness leads a person to true faith, which gives the soul a living and active consolation (3:134).

An important means of strengthening faith is also the reading of the Holy Scriptures (3:188), which saturates the soul of a Christian with heavenly food, encourages constant sobriety and struggle with sinful inclinations and the enemy of our salvation – the devil. From frequent reading or hearing of the word of God, faith is strengthened, grows, and bears abundant fruit in the field of the heart (1:185; 3:21). But the word of God exerts such a beneficial effect on the soul only when it is received with attention and for the purpose of spiritual edification and correction. Only in this case will it contribute to the firm establishment of faith and good morality in the soul of a Christian. In addition, the reading of the Holy Scriptures, according to the teaching of the Holy Father, should be combined with prayer. If faith is a gift of God, then this gift can be preserved only with Divine help, which is requested in prayer (3:188). Inseparably linked with prayer is contemplation of God, which is pious contemplation of the mysteries of the Divine economy, Wisdom, goodness, and God's love for fallen humanity. Such pious reflection has the most beneficial effect on the soul of man; by this meditation the mind is enlightened, "faith is strengthened and grows" (3:22).

A special, grace-filled means of strengthening living faith, according to the teaching of the Zadonsk Wonderworker, is the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The saint says that without communion of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ, "faith cannot be and be preserved in the human heart" (4:166). Holy Communion not only serves to preserve the true faith, but is also the most effective means of perfecting it. Worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ enlivens the soul of a Christian. And just as the human body is strengthened and grows from the reception of natural food, "so the faith of Christ, which is conceived in the human heart, is strengthened and grows by the mysterious food of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ" (3:23).

The efforts of a Christian aimed at strengthening the faith, as well as the use of God-given means of salvation, do not remain fruitless. Warmed by fervent prayer, inspired by the reading of the word of God, enlivened by the Holy Mysteries of Christ, faith elevates the mind of a Christian, governs his will, sanctifies his feelings. Such faith fosters in a person complete devotion to Christ as his God and Saviour, prompts the believer to renounce self-love and strive to acquire the righteousness of Christ, and draws him to the realization of that highest ideal of purity and holiness which Christ brought to earth.

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that faith is one of the main and fundamental Christian virtues, since without faith in Christ it is impossible to save a person. Faith is the driving force of the spiritual life of a Christian, it is also the foundation on which the edifice of Christian virtues is built. The salvation of man, therefore, is possible only with the all-round influence of faith on the personality of man and its indissoluble unity with other Christian virtues.

2. Love for God and neighbor