Every Christian who has entered the Church of Christ must, through personal, conscious and free struggle, strive to imitate Christ and thus become a partaker of His righteousness. By imitating and becoming like the Savior in humility, patience and meekness, the Christian consciously destroys in his soul the consequences of the ancestral fall, i.e. sinful inclinations. If the sin of the forefathers was based on "vile and vile" pride and self-will, inseparable from it, then at the foundation of the new, grace-filled life in Christ there must lie a diametrically opposite principle – humility (5:228). Consequently, a person's desire for humility or pride determines his closeness to God or distance from Him.

According to St. Tikhon, humility is a heavenly gift, which every Christian must acquire, for this virtue lies at the foundation of man's inner relations with God, determines their essence and character. Only after realizing his complete dependence on the Creator, feeling the unworthiness and sinfulness of his soul, the remoteness from the primordial purity and likeness to God, can a person approach God and turn to Him for help. Without humility, it is impossible to approach God (2:39). Every sinner who turns from a lawless life must come to the Heavenly Father with a humble heart and a broken soul (2:263). Only such an attitude attracts the favor and mercy of God, helps a person to lay the foundation for a God-pleasing life, to embark on the path of spiritual renewal and salvation. Thus, the path of ascent to God begins with humility, and the entire process of man's spiritual growth is built on it, as on an unshakable foundation. The consciousness of one's own unworthiness should be inherent in a person not only during the period of his conversion from sin to a new, God-pleasing life; it should accompany a Christian throughout his entire earthly life. Humility determines the degree of his religious and moral development. The purer a person is in the moral sense, the more perfect he is in virtues, the deeper is his humility and awareness of his own unworthiness.

Humility is the ABC of the Christian life, the beginning and foundation of all virtues, without which "all spiritual creation is disturbed and falls" (4:215). "Without humility, repentance is false... without humility prayer is useless" (2:263), i.e. none of the Christian virtues without humility can help a person in the matter of salvation, for all of them are valued by God according to the degree of humility of a person. Any virtue, any kind of Christian podvig can bring the desired salvific fruit only if it is combined with the awareness of the moral imperfection and the Christian's own unworthiness before God. And no matter what heights of spiritual life a person may reach, there should not be even the slightest shadow of self-conceit in his soul, no thought of any merits before God. Otherwise, his spiritual feats become ineffective, unity with God is broken, which often leads to a sinful fall, and therefore to spiritual death. A humble person, no matter what feats he performs, always sees his own unworthiness, his weaknesses and shortcomings, and this prompts him to place his hope and hope only in the grace of the Lord, which works in his soul (4:220). And if humility is the foundation of all virtues, then at the same time it is the best means in the struggle against sin. It is able to tame evil impulses in the human soul, sober up sinners, expel spiritual passions, vices and eradicate human pride (2:262). In addition, humility is the most effective weapon in the fight against the spirits of evil, which set countless snares to trap human souls. Whether a person is sleeping, awake, talking, eating, praying, always and everywhere the devil seeks to relax his soul and turn his mind and heart away from God. Even good deeds and undertakings the evil spirit seeks to bring to naught by means of prideful thoughts and sinful desires. As the Holy Father teaches, the destructive snares of the insidious enemy can be discerned only by those who have acquired the humility of Christ in their hearts (2:260). Only it vouchsafes a person a blessing from above, bestows Divine grace, which helps him in all good endeavors, strengthens and supports him in the spiritual struggle, life's misfortunes, and, with the good permission of the person himself, accomplishes the work of his salvation (4:344).

Without the virtue of humility, the religious and moral perfection of a person is absolutely impossible. One of the factors that determine the successful process of Christian perfection is a person's desire to correct his shortcomings and vicious inclinations. This desire to become better, more perfect, can arise only in someone who has deeply realized his sinfulness and spiritual poverty. Such an inner disposition of a person is a stimulus for his spiritual growth, leading to the heights of moral purity and likeness to God. Without humility, the very spiritual perfection of a Christian is inconceivable. In order to trace the connection between the virtue of humility and Christian perfection, it should be pointed out that the latter is defined mainly as the totality of all the virtues that a Christian performs in his life. There is a close, indissoluble connection between all virtues, for in performing one virtue, a Christian simultaneously performs a number of other virtues to a certain extent. But this is not because all other virtues are contained in one virtue in their content, but solely because all good comes from one source, God. As a result, Christian perfection, as a set of virtues, is nothing other than an abundance of grace-filled Divine gifts. According to the teaching of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, these grace-filled gifts are vouchsafed only to those who are humble in heart; upon them flow "rivers of God's gifts" (2:262).

At the same time, the Holy Father notes that God, rich in mercy and generosity, desires to bestow His grace on everyone, but does not find in everyone a heart that is comfortable to receive His Divine gifts. He who is aware of his spiritual poverty not only attracts to himself the Divine gifts, but is also the best vessel for their preservation. The gifts of God are preserved in a humble heart, as in a treasury, for such a heart the grace and fear of God surround it and, like a faithful guardian, guard it (2:262).

In addition, humility is a necessary key to a correct understanding of the truths of the Holy Scriptures. Only to those who have acquired this virtue, God reveals the mysteries of His economy. Therefore, everyone who wishes to receive true knowledge of the Divine mysteries must not only recognize his spiritual blindness, but also lay all hope in his cognitive abilities, in his own reason. In the words of St. Tikhon, "God conceals His mysteries from those who think they are wise and prudent, and reveals them to infants, that is, to those who are simple-hearted and confess their ignorance" (2:154). Without awareness of his unworthiness, a person, even if he studies all the Holy Scriptures, will remain spiritually blind and will never comprehend the hidden wisdom of the word of God.

The virtue of humility is not limited to the sphere of man's earthly existence, but extends into eternity. And if here, on earth, humility is the cause of all good (1:146), how much more does it make its bearer a partaker of eternal bliss after departing from this world. For God loves the lowly in heart and the poor in spirit, and for them He has prepared the blessings of His Heavenly Kingdom (4:218).

In the light of the exceptional importance of the virtue of humility in the matter of human salvation, the teaching of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk about the means of acquiring this Christian virtue is of great interest and value. However, before proceeding to elucidate this question, it is necessary to expound the teaching of the Holy Father on the properties and signs of true humility.

Truly Christian humility of man is a living feeling and a deep awareness that he means nothing in himself and cannot do anything good, and if he does anything good, it is only with the help of God, His power and love (4:195). A Christian who has this precious gift in his soul is always satisfied with his situation and expresses gratitude to God for everything. In the depths of the heart of such a person, an inner voice is constantly heard, pointing out to him his imperfection and sinfulness. He considers himself unworthy of God's mercy (4:195), but worthy of all punishment (5:113). Such a disposition of a person helps him to endure all life's trials and sorrows generously, without murmuring and patiently, for the virtue of humility "cannot exist without patience, and where true patience is, there is humility" (2:265).

The humble disposition of the soul reveals itself not only in man's relationship to God; it is manifested with even greater fullness and force in the Christian's relationships with the people around him. A humble heart sees only his own vices, recognizes himself as a sinner than others, and is always ready to give everyone his attention and love. Such a person constantly strives to show obedience to his superiors, not to despise his equals and inferiors in position, but to treat them as brothers, even if he has some advantages over them. A humble follower of Christ does not look at his own gifts, but at his sinfulness, and therefore in the depths of his soul he realizes that he is only an unworthy bearer of God's gifts (4:195). And the more he humbles himself, the more zealously he strives to correct his shortcomings, the more lenient he becomes to those around him. On the contrary, exactingness is characteristic mainly of those who do not pay attention to their own weaknesses and vices. It is characteristic of a humble person not to condemn not only in word, but even in thought (2:265).

According to the teaching of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, the touchstone for the humility of a Christian is the insults inflicted on him by other people, and various kinds of reproach. "Many people," writes the saint, "seem humble until they accept offense" (2:50). From this it becomes clear that true humility must be manifested in the patient endurance of insults and reproaches; those who are humble in heart do not grieve when offended, do not get angry with their offenders, but, on the contrary, thank God for the instruction sent to them and pray for them. They endure all these sorrows with good humor, since they consider themselves worthy of all humiliation and reproach (2:171). But if a humble person "offends someone in any way from ignorance and imprudence, as happens to every man, he is not ashamed to fall down before him and ask forgiveness, even though he who has been offended and inferior to him or subject to him" (4:195).

Further, it should be noted that the one who has acquired true humility not only does not envy others, but does not seek his own honor and glory, and if he happens to occupy a high position in society, he accepts it with extreme reluctance, since a humble heart is everywhere and always looking for the last place (4:324).

Characterizing the signs of Christian humility, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in his works pays special attention to the fact that humility should become the inner property of a Christian. That is why he, very often using the words "true humility," indicates the corresponding disposition of a person, his awareness of his unworthiness, imprinted in his heart. This inner disposition, as a rule, is most often expressed in the external actions and deeds of a Christian. "The signs of humility are the heads of bowing, kneeling, prostrating oneself to the ground, beating in the face, and so on" (1:190). However, these outward actions are not always an expression of true humility. Often such actions are only external acts of hypocritical piety (2:264). The Holy Father very aptly characterizes the signs of outward, untrue humility. He writes: "Many put aside the ranks and titles of this world, but do not want to put aside a high opinion of themselves; they deny honor and worldly dignity, but want to be revered for the sake of holiness. Many are not ashamed to call themselves sinners before people, but they do not want to hear this from others, and therefore they call themselves only such with their lips. Others, like a sickle, wear a mated neck, but lift the mind inside. Others bow low to their brethren, but they are unyielding in heart" (2:264). Such outward humility cannot bring the desired results in the field of spiritual life, for God looks at the heart of man (3:198). False humility is easily known by its fruits, for just as red-hot stone or iron do not make a noise until water falls on them, so those who seem humble and meek are amiable and courteous to those around them until they are subjected to reproach. And as soon as they feel offended, they become angry, furious and noisy, like hot iron doused with water. This shows that true humility is lacking in the heart of man (2:50). Therefore, every Christian should strive to acquire humility not only in words, deeds and thoughts, but also in the heart, always consider himself the worst of all (1:106).

The acquisition of salvific spiritual poverty is a long process that requires the purposeful activity of all the spiritual forces of a person. And this activity should be primarily directed towards self-knowledge (4:214). Every Christian who strives to acquire the virtue of humility must live an inner, spiritual life, be attentive to his actions and deeds. Only in this case will he be able to easily notice the sinful movements of his own soul. And the more often a Christian penetrates with his mind's eye into the recesses of his heart, the more he will become aware of his moral depravity and sinfulness. From this knowledge humility is born in the soul of man, for who, having known "the weakness of his heart, weakness, corruption and wretchedness," will not humble himself? (3:328). Since all people have sinful shortcomings in themselves, each person must humble himself. However, according to St. Tikhon, few have true humility, since the majority of people do not recognize their poverty and wretchedness (2:265). A humble awareness of one's own unworthiness should be the property not only of man's intellect, but of his whole being. One cannot limit oneself to the desire to acquire humility without resorting to external means and methods; but one must daily exercise oneself in humility and accustom oneself to this work. To this end, St. Tikhon advises not to seek honor and glory, but to strive to avoid praise, to keep silent about every good deed (2:265) and to attribute it to God alone (5:112). In addition, a Christian who strives to acquire humility must distance himself from condemning others and not speak unnecessarily (1:146).