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).

Death is different. The Word of God calls the death of sinners cruel (Psalm 33:22), even if outwardly it was ordinary and calm. It is fierce because behind its gates begin fierce torments, endless sorrow. "When such calamities await sinners, what will it profit them if they end their lives at home and on their beds? Nor will the righteous be harmed by ending their present life by the sword, or by iron and fire, when they have to pass on to eternal blessings. Verily, the death of sinners is cruel. Such was the death of the rich man who showed contempt for Lazarus and, although he ended his life at home, on his bed, in the presence of friends, with his own death, but, after his departure, burned in fire and could not find there any consolation in the well-being of the present life" (St. John Chrysostom, Discourses on Statues, 5.1).

The death of any Christian who has lived in a way pleasing to God is not shameful, that is, irreproachable. Honorable in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Psalm 115:6). Honest means honorable, with honor. In the prayerful petition it is also called peaceful, i.e. in peace with God. In the Holy Bible, we see not only the life of the righteous, but also their blessed death: the death of the patriarchs, who were filled with life (Genesis 25:7; 35:29; 49:33), the mysterious death of Moses on Mount Nebo, from the top of which he saw the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:1-7), the quiet death of David, who died in a good old age (1 Chronicles 29:28), the martyrdom of the Apostle Stephen, who prayed for those who stoned him: God! do not impute this sin to them (Acts 7:60). The Word of God gives special honor to those who were with God in the great battle of good and evil: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; to her, saith the Spirit, they shall rest from their labors, and their works shall follow them (Rev. 14:13).

In order for us to be vouchsafed an unashamed end, we must begin each day with the thought that nothing has yet been done for salvation, and there will be no more day. The Lord, Whom we not only trust, but also trust in everything, gives everyone the opportunity to prepare themselves by faith, good works, and the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments for this special day. Then every Christian can "meet death without fear, peacefully, without shame, not as a terrible law of nature, but as a fatherly call of the immortal Heavenly Father, holy, blessed, to the land of eternity" (St. John of Kronstadt).

How do I know if I am destined to get married?

Priest Athanasius Gumerov, a monk of Sretensky Monastery  

The need for human warmth and the desire to have a family are natural and are not sinful thoughts if a person lives in abstinence and keeps purity. The most important thing is not to perceive your current state as a misfortune or a failure in life. The opportunity to build a family is not gone yet. People get married after 30 years. Trust God in everything. Perhaps the Lord keeps you from sorrows and bitter experiences, which are so many in our time for people living in families. How great is the number of divorces! How many families in which husband and wife live under the same roof as complete strangers. Instead of warmth and joy, there is cold and melancholy. And how many parents shed tears for their disobedient children, whom the world has caught in the disastrous networks of drug addiction, sexual promiscuity and crime.

Take advice that will help you. Do not torture yourself with thoughts of loneliness. The Lord knows better than we do what we need. God has given you the most precious gift – faith, without which no person can have true happiness. The modern Athonite Elder Paisius, who prayed with pain and love for every suffering person, wrote: "There is no greater joy in the world than the love of God, which even in this life, together with divine tenderness, is given in abundance to the zealous children of God, and which can only be experienced, but not expressed in words. But even greater is the love that God preserves for us in paradise and does not give us now, because we cannot contain it in our mortal hearts" (Letters, Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 2001, p.134).