How to deal with blasphemous thoughts?

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)  

You probably guess that it is the enemy of your salvation who sows blasphemous thoughts, the division between the Church and you. Be sure to tell your confessor about this at confession. I think he will ask you more about all the circumstances of such a temptation. In the meantime, do not fall into despondency: the Lord will not impute blasphemous thoughts to you as a sin if you do not agree with them, if they do not come of your own free will. And so, of course, it is. You just don't know how to resist them properly. One of the goals of the enemy is to destroy the peace in your soul. Don't let him achieve it! And how? The Holy Fathers unanimously advise not to pay any attention to such thoughts, no matter how long they last. They will disturb you, torture you, and leave you behind. And yet, there is an old monastic prayer, which in Slavonic sounds like this: "Put your eyes on your head, O enemy! Mother of God, help me!" Everything is clear here, and the "pretexts" are precisely annoying thoughts that the enemy instills.

How to get rid of a curse?

Hieromonk Simeon (Tomachinsky)  

It is a great gain to recognize one's wrongness and repent of it! For the sake of this, it was worth suffering some life failures...

You have realized your mistake – repent of it at confession, mentally ask for forgiveness from the other person and pray for him. And most importantly, try to maintain a living connection with God, especially by participating in the Sacraments, take communion more often, and then God's blessing will accompany you everywhere, and no human curses will have any power.

What is the Church's attitude to the so-called "Hippocratic Oath"?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)  

It is no longer possible to resolve the question of whether the famous Greek physician from the island of Kosa Hippocrates (c. 460 – 377 or 359 B.C.) is the author of this text. 72 works are attributed to him, but the famous physician Galen (2nd century A.D.) recognized only eleven as authentic. But there is no doubt that the "Oath" fully corresponds to the four ethical principles that Hippocrates put forward: to be useful and not to harm, to treat the opposite with the opposite, to help nature and, being careful, to spare the patient.

The Hippocratic Oath is not just a moral code of a doctor, but at the same time a religious and ethical document that appeared in pagan society. The author of the text swears by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygeia and Panacea (Hippocrates, Selected Books, Vol. 1, Moscow, 1936, p. 87). God forbids swearing by idols: "Thy sons have forsaken me, and swear by those who are not gods" (Jeremiah 5:7). Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the commandments of the Gospel, the first of which is love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). This commandment is above the law and the oath. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, an example of its active fulfillment is shown. Christian love is the fulfillment of all moral requirements (Gal. 5:14; 6:2; Rom. 13:8 et seq.; Col. 3:14); it leaves no room for any social or racial barriers (Galatians 3:28) and extends even to enemies (Matt. 5:43-47; Lk. 10:29-37). Centuries of experience show that the commandment of love is the most effective and fruitful guide for a Christian doctor. In a modified form, the Hippocratic Oath remained in force in all Christian countries for centuries.

For the first time in Europe, the Hippocratic Oath was abolished during the French Revolution. At the same time, abortion was legalized for the first time in the world (1791–1810). The gradual secularization of European life led to the fact that instead of the "Hippocratic Oath" changed in the Christian spirit, various moral codes and declarations of doctors began to appear, adapted to a non-religious consciousness. They are devoid of any spiritual content.

If we evaluate the "Hippocratic Oath" from an ethical standpoint, then it should still be recognized as significant, because it is imbued with the desire to build the doctor's activity on high moral standards. "I will spend my life and my art purely and blamelessly." How many doctors can now say with a clear conscience that they are guided by this principle?

From the point of view of Christianity, the most significant part of the document under consideration is the vow not to do any harm to the patient: "I direct the regime of the sick to their benefit according to my strength and my understanding, refraining from causing any harm and injustice. I will not give anyone the lethal remedy that is asked of me, nor will I show the way for such a plan; In the same way, I will not give any woman an abortifacient pessary." It is hard to realize that it is this part of the Hippocratic Oath that has been completely discarded. "According to official statistics, about 6.5 million children are killed annually by women from 15 to 47 years old in Russia, 10% of them are criminally killed (this is the whole of Switzerland). Even Hitler and Stalin could not dream of such a scale of murder. This mass terror of parents against their own children is the bloody background of our life..."[1]