God's law content. The law of God, or the foundations of Orthodoxy. TV channel Tsargrad: Orthodoxy

THE LAW OF GOD

Preface to 2nd edition

The need to have an extensive guide in teaching the Law of God is dictated by modern, special, unprecedented conditions:

1. In most schools, the Law of God is not taught, and all natural sciences are taught purely materialistically.

2. The majority of Russian children and youth are surrounded by a foreign environment, among various religions and rationalistic sects.

3. Textbooks of the old edition are already sold out, it is almost impossible to get them. In addition, not all textbooks of the old edition can fully meet the requirements and requests of modern children.

All these specified conditions and other circumstances of our difficult time impose on parents, on all educators of children and, especially, on teachers of the Law of God, a huge responsibility. In addition, no one knows what will happen tomorrow - whether this child will learn the Law of God or not, maybe tomorrow his family will move to a place where there will be no church school, no temple, no priest. This fact alone does not allow us in the very first grades to confine ourselves to simple (without any explanations) telling the child the events of the sacred History, as was done before, with programs designed for many years.

In our time, it is necessary to avoid telling the Law of God in the form of a naive fairy tale (as they say "in a childish way"), for the child will understand it as a fairy tale. When he becomes an adult, he will have a gap between the teaching of the Law of God and the perception of the world, as we often observe in the life around us. For many modern people with higher education, knowledge in the field of the Law of God remained only from the school bench of the first grades, that is, in the most primitive form, which, of course, cannot satisfy all the needs of the mind of an adult. And the children themselves, growing up in modern conditions and developing faster than usual, often have the most serious and painful questions. These are the questions that many parents and adults cannot answer at all.

All these circumstances put forward the primary task - to give in the hands not only the children in the church school, but also the parents, teachers and educators themselves, or rather the family, - the school of the Law of God. For this, as practice shows, it is necessary to give one book containing all the foundations of the Christian faith and life.

In view of the fact that many of the students may never take the Holy Bible in their hands, and will be content with only one textbook, this situation requires from the textbook the absolute correctness of the transmission of the Word of God. Not only should there be distortion, but even the slightest inaccuracy in the presentation of the Word of God.

We have seen many textbooks, especially for the elementary grades, in which inaccuracies and sometimes inaccuracies were allowed in the transmission of the Word of God. Here are some examples, starting with small ones.

Textbooks often write: “The mother of Moses wove a basket of reeds” ... The Bible says: “she took a basket of reeds and tarred it with asphalt and pitch” ... (Ex. 2, 3). At first glance, this seems like a "trifle", but this "trifle" affects further in the larger one.

So, in most textbooks they write that Goliath reviled, blasphemed the name of God. When the Word of God says: "Am I not a Philistine, but you are Saul's servants? .. today I will put the shelves of Israel to shame, give me a man and we will fight together" ... And the Israelites said: "Do you see this man speaking? He comes out to revile Israel "... (1 Samuel 17, 8, 10, 25). And David himself testifies when he says to Goliath: “you go against me with sword and spear and shield, but I go against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which you reviled” (1 Samuel 17:45).

It is quite clearly and definitely said that Goliath did not laugh at God at all, but at the shelves of Israel.

The Holy Bible itself says quite differently: “… on this day all the springs of the great abyss were opened, and the windows of heaven were opened; and it rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights "..." But the water grew stronger on the earth for one hundred and fifty days "(Genesis 7, 11-12; 24).

And the next chapter says: "... and the water began to decrease at the end of one hundred and fifty days ..." "on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared" (Genesis 8, 3; 5).

Divine Revelation says with utmost clarity that the flood intensified for almost six months, and not at all for 40 days. Then the water began to decrease, and only on the 10th month the tops of the mountains appeared. This means that the flood lasted for at least one year. This is especially important and essential to know in our rationalistic time, because scientific geological data fully confirm this.

Let us point out one more very important circumstance. All textbooks, with very few exceptions, mistake the days of creation for our ordinary days. Each textbook begins this way: “God created the world in six days ...”, that is, in other words, a week. But, after all, in our time such words that do not exist in the Bible are the strangest for schoolchildren. Atheists always operate with these words, but it is precisely these words that are a complete distortion, at the very beginning, of the Divine Revelation. These words cause doubts in an unapproved person, and then all the rest of the Holy Scripture begins to be rejected by them, recognized as unnecessary and a fruit of human imagination. This is exactly what the writer of these lines had to go through, listening to anti-religious lectures at school, of necessity.

The question of the days of creation, in the conditions of our time, cannot be left unattended. Moreover, we find an explanation of this question as early as the 4th century in St. Basil the Great, in his book "The Six Days", in St. John of Damascus, as well as in St. John Chrysostom, St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Athanasius the Great, at blessed Augustine and others.

Our day (day) depends on the sun, and in the first three days of creation, there was not even the sun itself, so it was not our days. What were the days of creation is unknown, for “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day” (2 Peter 3, 8). But one thing we can assume that these days were not moments, this is evidenced by the sequence, gradualness of creation. And the Holy Fathers call the “seventh day” the entire period from the creation of the world to the present day and continuing until the end of the world.

But, having gone through a spiritual crisis, we find ourselves abroad. Here, the talented writer Mintslov with his book "Dreams of the Earth" again causes agonizing days of bewilderment and doubt.

The fact is that Mintslov, describing the dispute between students of St. Petersburg Spirit. Academy, through the mouth of a student Krestovozdvizhensky says:

- You can't close your eyes to the achievements of science in the study of the Bible: it is three-quarters falsification of the priests!

- For example?

- For example, at least the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt - the Bible says that they themselves left there, that the army of the Egyptians died together with Pharaoh Merneft in the Red Sea, and recently in Egypt they found the tomb of this very Pharaoh, and from the inscriptions it is clear that he did not even think of dying anywhere, but died at home ... "

We do not intend to argue with Mr. Mintslov that the Pharaoh Merneft is, precisely, the Pharaoh under whom the Jews left Egypt. For this is the business of historians, especially since the Bible does not indicate the name of Pharaoh. But we want to say that in this matter Mr. Mintslov turned out to be completely ignorant, but at the same time, without hesitation, he boldly casts the "poison" of doubt into the reliability of the Word of God.

There is no definite historical indication of the death of Pharaoh himself in the Holy Scriptures.

In difficult times, many people turn to God for help, find consolation and comfort in faith. Others live with faith in their hearts from day to day, and without it they cannot imagine themselves. One of the popular religious teachings is Christianity. Orthodoxy is one of the directions of Christian teaching, which is preached by a large number of people. The book "The Law of God" was written in the middle of the last century and since then has been reprinted many times; it has become one of the most popular Orthodox textbooks. Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy created the most complete textbook, which examines all the features of Orthodoxy and tells about church life.

This book can be considered a real encyclopedia, from which anyone, both an adult and a child, can learn everything they need. There is all the important information here, as well as some additions in the natural-scientific part of the narrative, taking into account what discoveries were made in science. The book has beautiful illustrations. It can be studied with the family, bringing up the necessary qualities in children, introducing them to the culture of the family, and it can also be studied in Sunday schools. The textbook will be of interest to those who have recently converted to Orthodoxy or are just thinking about it, who want to get acquainted with the Orthodox faith or study it well.

On our website you can download the book "The Law of God" Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy a book in the online store.

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Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
Law of god

* * *

Preface to the new edition

Before you is a new edition of the textbook on the Law of God, compiled by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodsky, first published in the middle of the last, XX century in Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville) and gaining unprecedented popularity. The total circulation of this book is more than one million copies. In the current edition, we have fully preserved the structure and content of the book, as well as a special style. Seraphim, supplemented some of the natural scientific information given by the author in the first editions, but outdated or refined by scientists over the past 50-60 years. In addition, in this edition, the chapters on God's creation of the world and the World Flood have been partially revised in accordance with the modern scientific and theological view of these problems, in order to give the reader a clearer patristic interpretation of the origin of the world. This decision is dictated by the fact that in modern Russia, the pseudo-scientific evolutionary theory of the origin of the world continues to dominate in this issue, which is in no way compatible with the Orthodox faith. Criticism of this hypothesis in the original text of the "Law of God" was not given sufficient attention, since the dominance of the evolutionary concept did not pose a big problem for Fr. Seraphim Slobodsky, who lived in exile and originally wrote for Russian emigrants. We dared to fill this gap, essentially not changing anything, but only supplementing the information in the book.

In addition, we have supplemented the information concerning the Turin Shroud and the descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher, since during the time that has passed since the first publication of the "Law of God", science has been significantly enriched with data in this area.

The need to have an extensive guide in teaching the Law of God is dictated by modern, special, unprecedented conditions:

First, in the overwhelming majority of schools the Law of God is not taught, and all natural sciences are taught purely materialistically.

Secondly, the majority of Russian people, both adults and children and youth, are surrounded by a non-Orthodox environment, among various religions and sects. All these conditions and other circumstances of our difficult time impose a huge responsibility on parents, on all educators of children and especially on teachers of the Law of God. In addition, the curriculum is constantly being modified, and this does not give us the opportunity to limit ourselves to simple (without any explanations) telling the events of the Sacred History, as it was done before, in pre-revolutionary times, when the curricula remained unchanged for many years.

In our time, it is necessary to avoid telling the Law of God in the form of a naive fairy tale (as they say, "in a childish way"), for in our time the Law of God is often begun to be studied by adults. Knowledge in the field of the Law of God in a primitive form, of course, cannot satisfy all the needs of the mind of modern people with higher education. If you tell the Law of God in the form of a fairy tale to a child, then the child will understand it as a fairy tale. When he becomes an adult, he will have a gap between the teaching of the Law of God and the perception of the world, as we often observe in the life around us. Children growing up in modern conditions and developing faster than in previous generations often have the most serious and painful questions that many parents and adults are completely unable to answer.

All these circumstances put forward the paramount task: to give in the hands not only the children in the church school, but also the parents, teachers and educators themselves, or rather the family, the school of the Law of God. For this, as practice shows, it is necessary to give one book containing all the foundations of the Christian faith and life.

In view of the fact that many of the students, perhaps, will never take the Holy Bible in their hands, and will be content with only one textbook, this situation requires from the textbook the absolute correctness of the transmission of the Word of God. Not only should there be distortion, but even the slightest inaccuracy in the presentation of the Word of God.

There are frequent such inaccuracies, and sometimes even incorrectness in the transmission of the Word of God. Here are some examples, starting with small ones. Textbooks often write: "Moses' mother wove a basket out of a reed ..." The Bible says: "she took a basket of reeds and tarred it with asphalt and pitch." At first glance, this seems like a "trifle", but this "trifle" affects further in the larger one.

Most textbooks write that Goliath blasphemed, blasphemed the name of God, when the Word of God says: "Am I not a Philistine, but you are Saul's servants? .. today I will put the regiments of Israel to shame, give me a man, and we will fight together" ... And the Israelites said: see this man speaking? He comes out to revile Israel "... And David himself testifies when he says to Goliath:" You go against me with sword and spear and shield, and I go against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which you reviled. " It is quite clearly and definitely said that Goliath did not laugh at God at all, but at the shelves of Israel.

But there are errors-distortions that were fatal for many people, for example, the story of the flood. The vast majority of textbooks are content to say that it rained 40 days and 40 nights and filled the earth with water, covering all the high mountains. The Holy Bible itself says quite differently: “… on this day all the springs of the great abyss were opened, and the windows of heaven were opened; and it rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights "..." The water grew stronger on the earth for one hundred and fifty days. " And the next chapter says: "... and the water began to decrease at the end of one hundred and fifty days ..." "on the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains appeared."

Divine Revelation says with utmost clarity that the flood intensified for almost six months, and not at all for 40 days. Then the water began to decrease, and only in the 10th month the tops of the mountains appeared. This means that the flood lasted for at least one year. This is especially important and essential to know in our rationalistic time, because scientific geological data fully confirm this.

Or such an example. The writer Mintslov, with his book "Dreams of the Earth", again causes agonizing days of bewilderment and doubt. The fact is that Mintslov, describing the dispute between the students of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, through the mouth of a student of Krestovozdvizhensky says:

- You can't close your eyes to the achievements of science in the study of the Bible: it is three-quarters falsification of the priests!

- For example?

- For example, at least the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt - the Bible says that they themselves left there, that the army of the Egyptians died along with Pharaoh Merneft in the Red Sea, and recently in Egypt they found the tomb of this very Pharaoh, and from the inscriptions in it it is clear that he did not even think of dying anywhere, but died at home ... "

We do not intend to argue with Mr. Mintzlov that the Pharaoh Mernefta is the very Pharaoh under whom the Jews left Egypt. For this is the business of historians, especially since the name of Pharaoh is not indicated in the Bible. But we want to say that in this matter, Mr. Mintslov turned out to be completely ignorant, but at the same time, without hesitation, he boldly casts the "poison" of doubt on the reliability of the Word of God.

There is no definite historical indication of the death of Pharaoh himself in the Holy Scriptures. In the book "Exodus", which contains a historical description of the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, chapter 14 of this book says the following: "The Egyptians pursued, and all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and all horsemen followed them (the Israelites) into the middle of the sea. his. And in the morning watch he gazed at the camp of the Egyptians from a pillar of fire and cloud and confused the camp of the Egyptians; And he took the wheels of their chariots, so that they drew them with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the Israelites, because the Lord will fight for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters turn on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and towards morning the water returned to its place; but the Egyptians ran towards the water. So the Lord drowned the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. And the water returned and covered the chariots and horsemen of all the army of Pharaoh, who followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. "

As can be seen from the above text, nothing is said about the Pharaoh himself, that he died. But at the same time it is quite clearly said that the entire army of Pharaoh was lost; at the same time, Moses clarifies that the water "covered the chariots and horsemen of all the army of Pharaoh, who followed them into the sea." Also, in other places in the Bible, where this event is mentioned, there is no mention of the death of Pharaoh himself.

Only in the 135th psalm of praise, in which the omnipotence of God is glorified, it is said: "And he cast Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever." But there is no historical description of the event here. This is a hymn-psalm, which speaks of the overthrow of Pharaoh himself into the sea figuratively, symbolically, as the final overthrow of his power and authority over the Israeli people.

For the Israelites themselves, Pharaoh died, "drowned."

The power of God is expressed in the same way in the previous verses of this psalm, when it says that the Lord brought Israel "with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, for His mercy forever." The Church sings in the same way about the death of the Pharaoh at sea. Just as on Sundays she sings the victorious power of Christ: “you have broken the gates of brass, and you have erased the iron faiths” ...

So, we - Christians - believe and know that "All Scripture is inspired by God" and is an immutable truth.

Often atheists, taking advantage of the ignorance of believers in the Word of God, boldly begin to ridicule what the Holy Scriptures say nothing about. So, they like to assert that the Bible says that the earth stands on four whales, that God blinded man from clay, etc. The writer Mintslov did the same, perhaps without knowing it himself. Therefore, if the atheists try to refute the truth of God in the name of supposedly science, then let each of us first carefully check whether this atheist knows what he is talking about and what he refutes. It is absolutely clear: whether the tomb of Pharaoh, at which the Jews left Egypt, was found, or not, this in no way refutes the truth of the Word of God.

To the greatest regret, there are many inaccuracies in the retelling of the Holy Scriptures. These inaccuracies, for the most part, are the "stumbling blocks" that play a fatal role for the unapproved. When compiling our textbook, we tried, with the help of God, to remove all these "stumbling blocks" and convey as accurately as possible the words of Divine Revelation.

Our time requires special attention and careful presentation of the Word of God. In modern conditions it is necessary to prove the truth of the Law of God, to prove the spiritual and moral foundations of human life. It is necessary to teach believers to give answers to those who ask, according to the instruction of the Apostle Peter: "Be always ready to everyone who requires you to account for your hope, to give an answer with meekness and reverence" (1 Peter, 3, 15). It is especially necessary in our time to give answers to the crafty questions of the godless world, which is leading an attack on the truth of God, allegedly in the name of science. But it is precisely in this that the atheists suffer constant defeat. Because true science not only does not contradict, but, on the contrary, with certainty confirms the truth of God.

Nowadays, it is necessary that in the teaching of the Law of God there are elements of apologetics (protection of faith), which was not required earlier, with constant and firm foundations of life.

Stories from the Law of God should be confirmed by examples of the lives of saints and other examples from everyday life, so that a person understands and assimilates that the Law of God is not a theory, not a science, but is life itself.

In conclusion, it is necessary to point out a very strange, incomprehensible and completely unacceptable distortion in all the textbooks that we have seen. This distortion concerns the sign of the cross. These textbooks say that the sign of the cross is applied to oneself with the right hand as follows: on the forehead, then on the chest (not on the stomach) and on the right and left shoulders. It seemed strange to us that the lower end of the cross turns out to be shorter than the upper, that is, the cross turns out to be inverted. But, having looked at the pre-revolutionary textbooks approved by the Holy Synod, we with some hesitation kept these instructions. Subsequently, we corrected this terrible mistake according to the instructions given in the sacred book "Psalter", according to which Orthodox people have studied and raised since ancient times. Here, in the “short statement” it is indicated “about a hedgehog for an Orthodox Christian, according to the ancient tradition of the Saints Apostle and the Holy Father ... it is fitting to depict the sign of the cross on himself”: “... we suppose: the first on our forehead (forehead) the horn of the cross, the second on our womb (on our belly), it is also reached by the lower horn of the cross, the third on the right frame (shoulder) of ours, the fourth on the left, they also mark the ends of the cross across the stretch, on it our Lord Jesus crucified for us Christ is a simple hand, all tongues wereted at the ends in one gathered. "

And may the Lord help us to facilitate the work of educating the young generation in the eternal truth, truth and love of God. And if this humble work will bring some benefit to the Christian soul, then it will be a great joy for us.

May the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother show us His mercy in this, and may He protect us, by the power of His Honest and Life-giving Cross, from all evil.

When compiling this book, the following works were used:

1. "The first book on the Law of God", compiled by a group of Moscow teachers of the law and republished under the editorship of Fr. Kolcheva.

2. "Instruction in the Law of God", Archpriest. A. Temnomerova.

3. "The Law of God", Archpriest. G. Cheltsova.

4. "Brief Sacred History", archim. Nathanael.

5. "Instruction in the Law of God", archbishop. Agaphodor.

6. "Sacred history of the Old and New Testaments", prot. D. Sokolova.

7. "Sacred History of the Old and New Testaments", priest. M. Smirnova.

8. "The history of the earthly life of the Savior", A. Matveeva.

9. "History of the Christian Orthodox Church", Archpriest. P. Smirnova.

10. "Guide to the Study of the Orthodox Christian Faith", Archpriest. P. Mazanova.

11. "Orthodox Christian Catechism", archim. Averkiya.

12. "The Experience of the Christian Orthodox Catechism", Met. Anthony.

13. "Concise Orthodox Catechism", ed. Russian School at the Church of Sorrows, Paris.

14. "Teaching about Orthodox worship", Archpriest. N. Perekhvalsky.

15. "A Brief Teaching on the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church", Archpriest. A. Rudakova.

16. "Teaching about Orthodox worship", prot. V. Mikhailovsky.

17. "Collection of teachings", prot. L. Kolcheva.

18. "In the royal garden", T. Shore.

19. “The Reliability of Biblical Miracles,” Arthur Hooke.

20. “Did Jesus Christ Live?”, Archpriest. G. Shorets.

21. "Science of Man", prof. V. Nesmelova.

22. "Abstract to the study of the Bible of the Old Testament", ar-hiep. Vitaly.

23. "Lessons and Examples of the Christian Faith", Archpriest. Grigory Dyachenko, and others. Some sources are indicated in the text of the textbook itself.

In addition, in the new edition, when correcting information related to Creation and the Flood, materials from the books were used:

24. "Genesis: Creation of the World and the First Old Testament People", hier. Seraphima (Rose)

25. "The Orthodox Faith and Theory of Evolution", prot. Konstantin Bufeev.

When supplementing information regarding the latest studies of the Turin Shroud and the descent of the Holy Fire, the following were used:

26. “The Mystery of the Turin Shroud. New Scientific Evidence, ”John Iannone.

27. “On the question of dating the Shroud of Turin”, A. Fesenko, A. Belyakov, Yu. N. Tilkunov and T. P. Moskvina.

Data from the Internet resources "Orthodoxy. ru "," Russian Line "," Interfax-Religion "," Miracles of Orthodoxy "," The Miracle of the Descent of the Holy Fire ", etc.

Part 1
Preliminary concepts

About the world

Everything we see: the sky, the sun, the moon, stars, clouds, the earth on which we live, the air we breathe - and everything on earth: grass, trees, mountains, rivers, seas, fish, birds, animals, animals and, finally, people, that is, ourselves, - all this God created. The world is the creation of God.

We see the world of God and understand how beautifully and wisely it is arranged.

Here we are in the meadow. Above us, the blue sky with white clouds stretched out like a tent. And on the ground there is dense green grass dotted with flowers. Among the grass you can hear the chirping of various insects, and above the flowers moths flutter, bees and various midges fly. The whole earth here looks like a big beautiful carpet. But no carpet woven by human hands can compare with the beauty of God's meadow.

Let's walk through the forest. There we will see a lot of trees of various types and structures. There is a mighty oak, and a slender spruce, and curly birch, and a fragrant linden, and a tall pine, and a dense hazel. There are also clearings with shrubs and all kinds of herbs. The voices of birds, buzzing and chirping of insects are heard everywhere. Hundreds of different breeds of animals live in the forest. And how many berries, mushrooms and different flowers are there! This is its own big, forest world.

And here is the river. It smoothly carries its waters, gleaming in the sun, among forests, fields and meadows. How pleasant it is to swim in it! The heat is everywhere, and the water is cool and light. And how many different fish, frogs, water beetles and other animals are in it. There, too, its own life - its own world.

And how majestic is the sea, which has its own huge and rich underwater world of living beings.

And how beautiful the mountains are, extending their peaks, covered with eternal snow and ice, high behind the clouds.

The earthly world is wonderful in its beauty, and everything in it is filled with life. It is impossible to count all the plants and animals that inhabit the earth, from the smallest, not visible to our eyes, to the largest. They live everywhere: on land, and in water, and in the air, and in the soil, and even deep underground. And God gave all this life to the world.

The world of God is rich and varied! But at the same time, this huge variety is dominated by a wondrous and harmonious order established by God, or, as is often called, "the laws of nature." All plants and animals are settled on the ground, according to this order. And whoever is supposed to eat what they eat. Everything is given a definite and reasonable purpose. Everything in the world is born, grows, grows old and dies - one is replaced by another. God gave everything its time, place and purpose.

Only man lives everywhere on earth and reigns over everything. God endowed him with reason and an immortal soul. He gave man a special, great purpose: to cognize God, to become like Him, that is, to become better and kinder, and to inherit eternal life.

In appearance, people are divided into white, black, yellow and red, but they all equally have a rational and immortal soul. Through this soul, people rise above the entire animal world and become like God.

And now let's look, in the deep dark night, from earth to heaven. How many stars will we see dotted across it. There are a myriad of them! These are all separate worlds. Many of the stars are the same as our sun or the moon, and there are also those that are many times larger than them, but are so far from the earth that they seem to us to be small points of light. They all move harmoniously and according to certain paths and laws around each other. And our earth in this heavenly space seems to be a small bright point.

Great and immense is the world of God! You can neither count nor measure it, but only God himself, who created everything, knows the measure, weight and number of everything.

God created this whole world for the life and benefit of people - for each of us. God loves us so infinitely!

And if we love God and live according to His law, then much that is incomprehensible in the world will become understandable and clear to us. We will love the peace of God and will live with everyone in friendship, love and joy. Then this joy will never stop anywhere, and no one will take it away, because God Himself will be with us.

But in order to remember that we belong to God, to be closer to Him and love Him, that is, to fulfill our purpose on earth and inherit eternal life, we need to know more about God, to know His holy will, that is, the Law of God.

About God

God created the whole world out of nothing, with His one word. He can do whatever he wants.

God is the highest being. There is no one equal to him and nowhere, neither on earth nor in heaven.

We humans cannot fully comprehend Him with our minds. And we ourselves could not have learned anything about Him if God Himself had not revealed to us about Himself. What we know about God, all this is revealed to us by Him Himself.

When God created the first people - Adam and Eve, He appeared to them in Paradise and revealed to them about Himself: how He created the world, how to believe in the One True God and how to fulfill His will.

This teaching of God was first transmitted orally from generation to generation, and then, by the inspiration of God, it was written down by Moses and other prophets in the holy books.

Finally, the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ, appeared on earth and supplemented everything that people need to know about God. He revealed to people the great secret that God is one, but threefold in Persons. The first Person is God the Father, the second Person is God the Son, the third Person is God the Holy Spirit.

These are not three Gods, but one God in three Persons, Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity.

All three Persons have the same Divine dignity, there is no elder or younger between them; as God the Father is true God, so God the Son is true God, so the Holy Spirit is true God.

They differ only in that God the Father is not born or emanated from anyone; The Son of God is born of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father.

Jesus Christ, through the disclosure of the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, taught us not only to truly worship God, but also to love God, since all three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - are eternally with each other in continuous love and constitute one Being ... God is all the most perfect Love.

The great secret that God revealed to us about Himself - the mystery of the Holy Trinity - our weak mind cannot contain, understand.

St. Cyril, the teacher of the Slavs, tried to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity in this way, he said: “Do you see a brilliant circle (the sun) in the sky, and from it light is born and warmth emanates? God the Father is like a solar circle, without beginning or end. From Him is eternally born the Son of God, as from the sun is light; and just as warmth comes from the sun along with light rays, the Holy Spirit proceeds. Each individual distinguishes separately and the solar circle, and light, and heat (but these are not three suns), but one sun in the sky. So is the Holy Trinity: there are three Persons in It, and God is one and indivisible. "

St. Augustine says: "You see the Trinity if you see love." This means that the mystery of the Holy Trinity can sooner be understood with the heart, that is, with love, than with our weak mind.

The teaching of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was written down by His disciples in a sacred book called the Gospel. The word "gospel" means good or good news.

And all the sacred books, combined together in one book, are called the Bible. This word is Greek, and in Russian it means a book.

The book "The Law of God", written by Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) and his sons-priests, Fr. Paul and Fr. Alexander, is intended for an adult reader and has a number of features that make it irreplaceable in the library of a modern Orthodox person.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a completely unique edition.

First, in contrast to the well-known work of Father Seraphim Slobodsky, published more than half a century ago, and others published both in pre-revolutionary Russia and abroad, the book published by the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery was written by modern priests and is addressed to the current reader.

Secondly, if in the presentation for children the Bible is usually presented as a set of plots, then here the authors, in addition to presenting biblical events, acquaint their reader with the general meaning of Sacred history: both the Old Testament and the Gospel.

The chapter "Religion in the life of the chosen people" is of particular interest. Old Testament holidays, rituals and traditions, which many of us have only heard of, in this chapter find their spiritual, symbolic and representative explanation.

In the section devoted to the history of the Church (a similar section was absent in the well-known work of Archpriest Seraphim Slobodsky, and in other lesser-known publications), the biographies of the saints who asceticised in different eras from the apostolic age to our time are given.

A significant part of the book is devoted to the spiritual life of a person.

Human life should be built according to the laws established by God. To live by them, they must be studied and known. The new book "The Law of God" is designed to acquaint its reader with the Christian gospel about God and salvation, with the sacred history and spiritual experience of the Church.

In recent decades, several editions have been published in our country under the same title "The Law of God". Nevertheless, the need for a new book is long overdue. In contrast to the well-known work of Father Seraphim Slobodsky, published more than half a century ago, and other publications published both in pre-revolutionary Russia and abroad, the book published by the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery was written by modern priests and is addressed to the current domestic reader.

The phrase "God's Law" is often associated in our minds, first of all, with lessons in Sunday schools or gymnasiums, but this book is not focused on only children. Its authors find a common language both with adolescents and with quite mature readers. If in the presentation for children the Bible is usually presented as a set of plots, then in the new book the authors, in addition to presenting biblical events, acquaint their reader with the general meaning of Sacred history: both Old Testament and Gospel. Such an exposition can serve as a good guide to the future, more in-depth study of the Holy Scriptures. The chapter "Religion in the life of the chosen people" is of particular interest. Old Testament holidays, rituals and traditions, which many of us have only heard of, in this chapter find their spiritual, symbolic and representative explanation.

A significant part of the book is devoted to the spiritual life of a person. The doctrine of God, One in three Hypostases, of the Incarnation and of the Church of Christ is set forth on the basis of the Creed and in accordance with the centuries-old Christian tradition. In the section “Christian Faith”, the authors offer a meaningful discussion about faith in God and the meaning of human life. A separate part of the new book is devoted to the issues of the spiritual life of the modern Christian, which can be extremely useful in our time - a time of general loss of meaning and substitution of moral concepts.

We hope that the new book "The Law of God", prepared by the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery in the year of the twentieth anniversary of the revival of the monastery's monastic life, will serve both the cause of spiritual enlightenment of all those who wish to know about the Christian faith and the Church, and will help to learn to build their lives in accordance with the Divine Law.

Examples of book spreads

INTRODUCTION Man and his faith

PART 1. Basic Concepts of God and Spiritual Life

God is our Heavenly Father
Without God, not a threshold
How do we know about God
Properties of God
Where and how to communicate with God. Sign of the cross
The temple is the house of God
About the Mother of God
Man is the image of God
Family - small church
Orthodox - praising God right

PART 2. Prayer - the breath of the soul

Prayer Rule
Children's prayer
First prayers and their explanation
- Lord's Prayer
- Prayer to the Holy Spirit
- Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos ("Theotokos Virgin")
- Song of praise to the Theotokos ("It is worthy to eat")
- Arkhangelsk song
- Prayer to the Guardian Angel
- Prayer for the living
- Prayer for the dead
- Prayer before study
- Prayer after eating food
- Jesus Prayer

PART 3. Sacred and ecclesiastical history

Divine Revelation
Holy Bible
- The inspiration of Scripture
- Who wrote the Bible
- Canon of Holy Scripture
Biblical manuscripts

Sacred history of the Old Testament

world creation
- The first day of creation
- Second day of creation
- The third day of creation
- The fourth day of creation
- The fifth day of creation
- Sixth day of creation
- Seventh day
Creation and Science
Earthly Paradise and the Fall
The first promise of the Messiah
Fallen ancestors are banished from paradise
Children of Adam
global flood
Renewal of the Covenant. Divine blessing
Babel
The emergence of idolatry
The calling of patriarch Abraham
Patriarch Isaac
Patriarch Jacob (Israel)
Patriarch Joseph
Righteous Job: the mystery of the suffering of the righteous
Prophet Moses
Exodus from Egypt. First Easter
God gave the people the law
Tabernacle - a walking temple
Old Testament priesthood
Forty years of wandering in the desert
On the Moab Plains
Census of the people
The death of the prophet Moses
Joshua led people to the promised land
Lord sends judges
Prophet Samuel
King Saul - the first king of Israel
David is elected to the kingdom
Persecuted anointed one
David is king over all Israel
Plague plague - the last sorrow of the king
90th psalm
"Behold, I am going on the path of the whole earth"
Psalms of King David
Reign of Solomon
Jerusalem Temple
Book of Ecclesiastes
Two kingdoms
"And Judas did evil in the sight of the Lord"
The new capital of the Kingdom of Israel
Ahab introduces the cult of Baal
"And Elijah the prophet arose like fire ..."
The punishment for wickedness is drought
Godly widow
Test of Faith
Prophet of God Elisha
Prophet Jonah
End of the Kingdom of Israel
Kingdom of Judah
King Jehoshaphat
King Hezekiah
"Old Testament Evangelist" - Prophet Isaiah
King Manasseh: Wickedness and Repentance
Godly King Josiah
The last Jewish kings
Prophet Jeremiah
Babylonian captivity
Prophet Ezekiel
Prophet Daniel
End of captivity
Second Jerusalem Temple
Nehemiah: rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem
Malachi is the last prophet
Religion in the life of the chosen people
Between the Two Testaments: Waiting for the Messiah
The pagan world waiting for the Savior

Gospel story

Angel Announces the Birth of John the Baptist
Archangel Gabriel announces the birth of Christ
The Mother of God hurries to Elisabeth
An Angel Announces the Birth of Christ to Joseph
Birth of John the Baptist
Nativity. Adoration of the shepherds
Circumcision of Christ. Presentation of the Lord
Adoration of the Magi and flight to Egypt
The boy Jesus in the Jerusalem temple
John the Baptist Preaching
Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Forty Day Fast and the Temptations of the Lord
The first disciples of Christ. Miracle in Cana
Expulsion of the merchants. Conversation with Nicodemus
Conversation with a Samaritan woman
The arrest of John the Baptist
Sermon on the Mount
- The Beatitudes of the Evangelical
- The old law and the law of love
- How to do charity, prayer and fasting
- About wealth and earthly concerns
- Relations with neighbors
- Hearing and fulfilling the words of Christ
Miracles of Christ
- Healing the possessed
- Miracles and Faith
- Mercy of God in miracles
- Miracles and Sabbath Rest
The assassination of John the Baptist
Epistle to the Sermon of the Twelve Apostles
Teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven in parables
- The parable of the sower
- The parable of the tares
- Parables about the mustard seed and the leaven
- Parables of the Hidden Treasure in the Field and the Pearl of Great Price
The Miracle of Saturation with Five Loaves
Christ walks on the waters for His disciples
Christ talks about the bread of life
The Apostle Peter Confesses Jesus Christ
Transfiguration
Healing a demoniac youth
Lord Leaves Galilee and Goes to Judea
The parable of the good Samaritan
Healing ten lepers
Parable and Teachings on Prayer
- Lord's Prayer
- Perseverance in prayer
- The parable of the publican and the Pharisee
Conversion of the tax collector Zacchaeus
Proverbs and Teachings on Repentance
- To save the dead
- About the prodigal son
- The parable of the barren fig tree
Conversation with a rich youth
Lord bless the children
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus
Raising Lazarus
Bethany anointing
Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
The Lord denounces the Jews
The Jews Ask the Lord Tempting Questions
- The Question of Tribute to Caesar
- The question of the resurrection of the dead
- The greatest commandment in the law of Moses
The Lord's Conversation on the Mount of Olives
- Signs of the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ
- Calls to stay awake. The parable of the ten virgins
- The parable of talents
- Parable of the Last Judgment
Judas decides to betray the Lord
Last supper
The prediction of Peter's denial
Prayer of Gethsemane. Taking the Lord into custody
Judgment of Jesus Christ
- Anna's interrogation
- The judgment of the high priest Caiaphas
- Peter's denial
- Death of Judas
- Pilate and Herod's trial
Crucifixion. Death and Burial of the Lord
Burial. Guardians at the coffin
Myrrh-bearing wives at the tomb. Appearance of Angels
Apparitions of the Risen Lord
- Appearance to Mary Magdalene
- Appearance to Myrrh-Bearing Wives
- Apparition to two disciples on the road to Emmaus
- Appearance to the apostles on the same day in the evening
- Appearance to the apostles on the eighth day with Thomas
- Apparition on Lake Tiberias. Wonderful catch. The return of Peter's apostolic dignity
- The apparition on the mountain in Galilee and the command of the apostles to go to the worldwide sermon
Ascension of the Lord

Church history

Birth of the Church of Christ
Church of Christ in Apostolic Time
- Persecution of the apostles by Jewish leaders
- On the socialization of property and the election of seven deacons
- Death of the First Martyr Stephen. The beginning of the persecution of the Jerusalem Church
- Saul's Conversion
- The baptism of the centurion Cornelius. The arrival of the first pagans in the Church
- The Missionary Journey of Paul and Barnabas
- Apostolic council
- Paul's Apostolic Works
- Jacob, the brother of God, and his martyrdom
- Persecution of Nero. Martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul
The spread of the Church of Christ
- The spread of the Church of Christ in the Roman Empire
- Education of Georgia. Equal to the Apostles Nina
- Enlightenment of the Slavic peoples. Saints Cyril and Methodius
- Baptism of Russia
- Herman of Alaska and Orthodoxy in America
- Birth of the Japanese Orthodox Church. Equal to the Apostles Nicholas of Japan
- The Ecumenical Orthodox Church today
Martyrs and confessors of Christ
- Persecution of the Church in the Roman Empire
- Church of the Martyrs
- New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia
Saints - stewards of the mysteries of God
- Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
- Three saints: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom
- Moscow saints: Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Macarius, Philip, Job, Hermogenes, Philaret and Tikhon
Monasticism. Monks and ascetics
- History of ancient monasticism
- Monasticism in Russia
- Monks and ascetics in Russia in the 20th century
Salvation in the world. Holy righteous
- Righteous Juliania Lazarevskaya
- Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye
- Blessed Xenia of Petersburg
- Righteous Warrior Feodor Ushakov
- Blessed Matrona of Moscow

PART 4. Christian Faith

Faith in God and the meaning of human life
Symbol of faith
- First member of the Creed
- Second member of the Creed
- Third member of the Creed
- Fourth member of the Creed
- Fifth member of the Creed
- Sixth member of the Creed
- Seventh member of the Creed
- Eighth member of the Creed
- The Ninth Member of the Creed
- Tenth member of the Creed
- Eleventh Member of the Creed
- Twelfth Member of the Creed
Briefly about Church Councils
- I Ecumenical Council
- II Ecumenical Council
- III Ecumenical Council
- IV Ecumenical Council
- V Ecumenical Council
- VI Ecumenical Council
- VII Ecumenical Council
Unbelief and heterodox
The thoughts of Saint Theophan the Recluse
Faith and Science

PART 5. Spiritual life

Sin and the fight against it
Why good deeds are harder to do
What are passions
Fasts and their spiritual meaning
- Multi-day fasting
- One-day fasts
God's commandments
- The first commandment
- Second commandment
- Third commandment
- Fourth commandment
- The fifth commandment
- Sixth commandment
- The seventh commandment
- Eighth commandment
- Ninth commandment
- Tenth commandment
Gospel Beatitudes
- The first commandment
- Second commandment
- Third commandment
- Fourth commandment
- The fifth commandment
- Sixth commandment
- The seventh commandment
- Eighth commandment
- Ninth commandment

PART 6. About the temple and worship

Why do we pray in the temple?
Temple and its structure
Internal structure of the temple
Bell ringing
Priesthood degrees
Monasticism and monasteries
Divine services of the daily circle
All-night vigil
Divine Liturgy
- Origin of the liturgy
- What are the liturgies
- The sequence and symbolic meaning of the liturgy
- Proskomidia
- The meaning of commemoration at proskomedia
- Liturgy of the catechumens
- Liturgy of the faithful
Seven Sacraments of the Church
- The sacrament of baptism
- The Sacrament of Confirmation
- Confession, or the Sacrament of Repentance
  - How to prepare a child for the first confession
- Sacrament of communion
- The sacrament of blessing (unction)
- The sacrament of the wedding
- Priesthood ordinance
Prayer
Consecration of the dwelling
The afterlife fate of the soul and commemoration of the dead
- How to pray for the dead
- Days of special commemoration of the departed

PART 7. Church Feasts

A holiday in the life of an Orthodox Christian
Easter of Christ and the movable liturgical circle
- Great post
- Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
- Passion week
- Easter of Christ and Bright Week
- Ascension of the Lord
- Pentecost. Day of the Holy Trinity
Holidays of the Month (non-transient)
- Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
- Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord
- Introduction to the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos
- Nativity
- Epiphany
- Presentation of the Lord
- Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos
- Transfiguration
- Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Memorial days for saints. Rites of holiness
Icon - the image of the invisible mountain world

PART 8. Spiritual world

Angelic world
Spirituality is true and dark
- Orthodox prayer against the occult
Orthodox miracles
- Descent of the Holy Fire
- Cloud on Mount Tabor
- The miracle of Epiphany water
Myrrh-streaming icons and holy relics
Shroud of Turin

Afterword

The need to have an extensive guide in teaching the Law of God is dictated by modern, special, unprecedented conditions:

1. In most schools, the Law of God is not taught, and all natural sciences are taught purely materialistically.

2. The majority of Russian children and youth are surrounded by a foreign environment, among various religions and rationalistic sects.

It is quite clearly and definitely said that Goliath did not laugh at God at all, but at the shelves of Israel.

But, having gone through a spiritual crisis, we find ourselves abroad. Here, the talented writer Mintslov with his book "Dreams of the Earth" again causes agonizing days of bewilderment and doubt.

The fact is that Mintslov, describing the dispute between students of St. Petersburg Spirit. Academy, through the mouth of a student Krestovozdvizhensky says:

- You can't close your eyes to the achievements of science in the study of the Bible: it is three-quarters falsification of the priests!

- For example?

There is no definite historical indication of the death of Pharaoh himself in the Holy Scriptures.

God's law content. The law of God, or the foundations of Orthodoxy. TV channel Tsargrad: Orthodoxy