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]

Who performs these abortions? People who have graduated from medical institutes and have a medical degree. "It is necessary that medicine stops killing life and is absolutely humane, fights for life and does not oppose the moral principles of purity and holiness. On the contrary, the health service is now actively acting against precisely these targets. In 1993, the Russian Ministry of Health issued a monstrous order expanding the indications for termination of pregnancy regardless of the term. Among the testimonies, there are simply absurd ones. For example, "neurotic disorders". Well, what pregnant woman does not have neurotic disorders when pregnancy requires a restructuring of the nervous system? And in general, such a diagnosis does not exist. Then there is the syndrome of dizziness. Which pregnant woman does not have vertigo? Pregnancy is almost incomplete without them. In addition, deafness is on this list, but a deaf woman can give birth to a completely healthy child. Then it gets even worse. These indications include abnormalities of the bone pelvis, excluding the possibility of a live birth. But there is a cesarean section"[2].

From the modern "doctor's oath", which is given by graduates of higher medical educational institutions of the Russian Federation, when receiving a diploma, the prohibition to kill the incipient human life has been removed. The reason lies in mass unbelief. Now we are harvesting poisonous fruits. Archbishop Nikon of Ufa, who has a higher medical education, speaks convincingly about this: "Modern Russian gynecology, which grew up on the poison of atheism, is now losing the remnants of medical ethical standards. Isn't it the duty of a gynecologist to make every effort to persuade a woman from having an abortion? It hurts that a situation is becoming widespread when a woman who comes to see a district gynecologist about her pregnancy is indifferent, at best declares: "Are we going to have an abortion, or give birth?", but more and more often those who are obliged to treat force (!) women to have abortions, frightening them with imaginary dangerous consequences... Today's Russian gynecology, destroying millions of babies in the womb every year, deprives itself of God's protection, holy grace, what in practice is called medical intuition, medical genius..." ("A doctor should be proud of saved souls, not of murdered children!").

At the end of the Hippocratic Oath, confidence is expressed: "To me, who inviolably fulfill the oath, may happiness be given in life and in art, and glory among all people for all time; but to him who transgresses and takes a false oath, let the opposite be the opposite" (in the modern "doctor's oath", of course, this is not the case). In the above words, the spiritual horizon of this document, which was born in a pagan society, was clearly outlined. For a Christian physician who does his work on the basis of the Gospel commandments, the highest reward is salvation: we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [according to] what he did while living in the body, good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Is it true that the Lord does not give a person trials that are beyond his strength?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)  

The Holy Apostle Paul speaks of this: "Temptation has come upon you no other than that of man; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what you are able to do, but when you are tempted he will also give you relief, so that you may be able to endure (1 Corinthians 10:13). The above words express a thought that explains why some people fall under the burden of temptation. Most people bring upon themselves heavy temptations by sins (fornication, proud and impudent presumption, trampling on the Divine commandments). For many, these temptations turn out to be disastrous. The Apostle says to the Corinthians: "As long as you have struggled with the trials sent by God, you have not been in danger of falling into sin and falling away from the faith, because God does not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength. But when you bring temptations upon yourself by your behavior, then you cannot be sure of victory over them.

St. The Apostle James exhorts us to endure temptations with good humor: the test of your faith produces patience; but patience must have a perfect effect, so that you may be perfect in all its fullness, without any lack (James 1:3-4). Sometimes it seems to a person that the trials exceed the measure of his strength. This can be overcome by complete trust in God and hope in His Divine mercy. In one ancient Byzantine manuscript there is a consoling admonition of the holy elder: "Someone told me that a certain man always prayed to God that He would not leave him on his earthly path, and just as the Lord once went with His disciples on their way to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-32), so that He would go with him on the road of his life. And so, at the end of his life, he had a vision: he saw that he was walking on the sandy shore of the ocean (of course, the ocean of eternity, along the shore of which the path of mortals passes). And looking back, he saw the prints of his feet on the soft sand, stretching far back: this was the path of his life. And next to the prints of his feet there were prints of a pair of feet; and he understood that it was the Lord who had come with him in life, as he had prayed to Him. But in some places of the path traveled, he saw the prints of only one pair of feet, which cut deep into the sand, as if testifying to the difficulty of the path at that time. And this man remembered that it was when there were especially difficult moments in his life and when life seemed unbearably difficult and painful. And this man said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, in the difficult times of my life, Thou didst not go with me; You see that the footprints of only one pair of feet in those days indicate that I was the only one in my life at that time, and you see from the fact that the footprints were deeply cut into the ground that it was very difficult for me to walk then. But the Lord answered him, "My son, you are mistaken." Indeed, you see the prints of only one pair of feet at those times of your life that you remember as the most difficult. But these are not the prints of your feet, but of Mine. Because in the difficult times of your life, I took you in My arms and carried you. So, my son, these are not the prints of your feet, but of mine" (Meditation of a Humble Heart).