Priest Athanasius Gumerov, a monk of Sretensky Monastery  

In the Holy Scriptures, only one ground for divorce is indicated – adultery: "I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of adultery, gives her a reason to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery" (Matthew 5:32). Why is adultery an exception made? Because adultery actually destroys the family union. If a marriage is made dependent on the shortcomings (sometimes serious) of the husband or wife, then it will become extremely unstable and of little life, which is what we are witnessing now. The state of the family where the husband fights is sad. But it is no less difficult for a wife from a husband who does not touch her with a finger, but painfully hurts her spouse with a word, humiliates and insults. The third drinks. Someone withdrew from family affairs, and everything fell on the wife, who breaks under this burden. And how many families where the husband spends all his free time in front of the TV, and is completely indifferent to his wife, from which she is discouraged.

First of all, you need to test yourself – whether everything has been done to correct relations in the family. "If any one of you is wise and prudent, prove it in fact by good conduct with wise meekness" (James 3:13). The purpose of Christian marriage is one – joint salvation. Even if the husband has not yet embarked on this path, a believing wife has a special responsibility: to convert her unbelieving husband with the fruits of her spiritual life. "Why do you know, wife, whether you will not save your husband? Or do you, husband, know if you will not save your wife? Only each one should do as God has ordained him, and each one as the Lord has called. Thus do I command in all the churches" (1 Corinthians 7:12-13). Christianity is a religion of resurrection. It does not consider anyone hopeless. Until the last breath of a person, there is hope for his salvation.

If the wife does not bear her cross, and the husband is not saved, then what answer will she give to God at the Judgment? Our efforts do not always bring the desired result. However, no work for the good of our neighbor will be wasted, but will serve us as justification.

Is it true that only philosophy can dictate the framework of morality and culture?

Priest Athanasius Gumerov, a monk of Sretensky Monastery  

The opinion of the philosophy teacher you quoted contains a fundamental inaccuracy. Philosophy cannot determine the framework of culture, because it is itself a part of it. A part does not define the boundaries of the whole. As for the possibility of philosophy to set the boundaries of morality, this question has long been resolved by philosophy itself in its classical period. I. Kant proved that the principles of morality cannot be derived from the activity of philosophical, "pure reason". They are the postulates of "practical reason". "Therefore everyone regards moral laws as commandments, which they could not be if they did not combine with their rules a priori corresponding consequences and, consequently, were not accompanied by promises and threats. But this would be impossible if they were not based on the necessary being as the highest good, which alone can establish such an expedient unity" (Critique of Pure Reason, Moscow, 1999, p. 598).

Our outstanding Russian philosopher I.V. Kireevsky writes: "But the character of the prevailing philosophy, as we have seen, depends on the nature of the prevailing faith. Where it does not come directly from it, where it is even its contradiction, philosophy is nevertheless born from this special mood of reason, which is communicated to it by the special character of faith" (Reason on the Way to Truth, Moscow, 2002, p.245).

When I find myself in straitened circumstances, my prayer becomes sincere and fervent, and when the circumstances are settled, I grow cold

Priest Athanasius Gumerov, a monk of Sretensky Monastery  

What you write about is our common human weakness, which our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to conquer: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away" (Matthew 11:12). Our salvation is accomplished by the grace of God, but it is given only when we apply our will and perform the necessary labors. God expects constancy from us. Only then is spiritual growth possible. The Word of God indicates the means necessary for this. First of all, the fear of God, which is the beginning of all virtue, should not weaken. It is born of faith and grows in us as we are freed from the captivity of worldly attachments. It is difficult to acquire the inner without the external. Therefore, it is necessary to impute to oneself the obligation to firmly observe the church rule: to attend divine services on all feast days and Sundays, to observe the holy fasts. Clearly determine the regularity with which you need to approach the main sacraments (confession, communion). Perform the morning and evening prayer rule. God, seeing your efforts, will give you His help. The Holy Fathers advise to kindle spiritual zeal in oneself by constant remembrance of the impending Judgment. We must begin each day with the thought that nothing has yet been done about salvation, and there will be no more day.

What kind of death does the Orthodox Church consider shameful and which is not shameful?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)  

Death is the common lot of all people, "the way of the whole earth" (1 Kings 2:2). Death is the last event of a person's earthly life. For the righteous, the time of podvig ends, and the sinner is deprived of the last opportunity to commit sins. "God urges our free will to salvation, and has given man boundaries until death in order for him to repent and turn to God, and to these very limits He helps him and stretches out His hand to him. But then, when he has crossed these boundaries, God no longer lifts him up and does not help him. And therefore, when a person dies in mortal sin, he already stubbornly remains in the state of this sin and can no longer return, because he is deprived of Divine help, without which it is impossible to rise. Because it is impossible to rise from sin on your own. And therefore, when people who have lived without repentance and confession have reached this final state, it is difficult for them to go back, because they have approached the time of this state of rigidity in sin, which occurs after death" (Jerome Savonarola, On the Art of Dying Well, Ch.3. — ZhMP, 1998, No 12, 1998).