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Carnal Sins.

It is very difficult, but especially necessary to write about the sins against the 7^th commandment of Moses. No other sin has so many complications, as this one is. The difficulties, connected with this sin, can be brought together into the main three: 1) the first difficult moment lies in the nature of the sin itself; 2) the second one is laid in the psychics of the penitent; 3) the third depends on the confessor himself: his irresponsible attitude, inexperience or shyness. Let us discuss each of these difficulties.

1) Carnal sins due to their nature are the most spread, enduring and therefore dangerous, because they are connected to the one of the most strong human instincts. In the very human nature, that of the living being, possessing sensuality, temperament and the child-birth organs, is put everything, what appears to be the cause of these sins. Hardly, any of the mortals were entirely free from the temptations of flesh. It is easier to meet a humble, not proud, modest by his nature person, who therefore is satisfied with the most important and necessary for life, and that is why being little subjected to the passions of gluttony and avarice; not having any inclinations to “the moods,” i.e. a man of the simpler mould of the soul and because of that not subjected to any grieves, melancholy, pessimism, despondency and so forth.

But there are almost no people, if not at all, who to this or that extent, were not subjected to the call of the flesh and physical temptations. Carnal sins — are the most common for the human nature, that is why some ascetics thought them to be if not less dangerous than pride, then more explicable. Human nature, not curbed by ascetic exercises but roused by temptations from the outside, hardly can, if not totally destroy this instinct inside, then correctly use it and direct it to the proper way. If to add to this the entire atmosphere of modern life, with its tempting films and literature, with the technical prevalence of everything tempting for the ear, sight, sense of touch and smell, with the system of combined education of boys and girls, with the common beaches and sports grounds, the cult of the semi and completely naked body; and if to take into account the profound downfall of the moral feeling, — then all this together strengthens the sin and can make it irresistible without the special help from above and the firm decisiveness of the repentant. Here one needs an experienced, thoughtful, responsive confessor, understanding the whole importance of the task that is set before him.

2) The psychics of the repentant sometimes complicate the difficulties, connected with this type of sin. It is possible to point at the two extremes. The ones are justifying themselves and under the influence of the people of the same age, doctors, and seemingly scientific advice of the naturalists persuade themselves, that it is necessary for the health, that abstention is harmful for the mental sphere and nervous system, etc. The others, on the contrary, feeling shy to confess these intimate sides of the personal life, avoid giving the direct answer and mention general things. Without exposing themselves at confession in these sins, they do not obtain the proper spiritual support; not experiencing the shame from confession, they easily yield in the same vices. It must be added, that in the majority of cases, the lack of the minimum healthy and Christian chaste upbringing harms the whole matter. The modern schools, which are anti-Christian, or even atheistic, do not give to youngsters the proper fostering, but very often — a bad example. Beaches and sports grounds do not aid in the correct physical development and healthy maturing of the flesh. Children begin to ask early questions, especially when they observe the life of animals, to which parents are shamed to answer steadily, carefully, but truly, without hushing up, which is more harmful than sincerity. The same age group, where there always will be the children, who learnt all, can direct the mind and imagination to the false way. Common bedrooms in the closed educational institutions, common camps and summer colonies, dark corners and secret stories about something, that only affects the soul and mind, — all this creates the unhealthy spiritual atmosphere.

3. A confessor sometimes falls into these opposite dangers and increases the problems. Some priests, by their shyness, spiritual purity, naïve ill-informed position in the great variety of carnal sins, do not pay proper attention to this sphere of life of the penitent. If being secretive, the repentant does not confess his carnal downfalls; a confessor (maybe due to the lack of time) might not ask this question. He will not touch the intimate questions, lead by his pseudo-shame, for the repentant did not mention them. But the repentant feels shy to admit his vices, temptations, intemperance and secret thoughts in front of the confessor (especially the known one). Another priest, on the contrary, with his excessive straightforwardness, can push the young mind to the way, completely unknown to him and bring not yet waken instincts to life. In this case it is necessary, more than anywhere else, to be able to keep the proper balance and find the middle, golden way of tact.

It seems useful to discuss 2 main questions: 1) the bifurcation of carnal sins, and 2) the struggle with them, both spiritual-ascetic, and psychoanalytic.

(How unpleasant it would be to discuss carnal temptations and vices in detail in such way, it seems necessary anyway, not to obscure, with the possible conscientiousness to highlight these delicate questions).
Some manifestations of carnal sins.

The asceticism of holy fathers teaches to struggle with any sin when it just starts to be developed. “Strike the dragon in its head”— says the wise ascetic rule; i.e. defeat the sin as soon as it leans out of its hole. That is why a pastor should suggest fighting not only with “the ready forms” of the committed carnal sin, but with the small thoughts, dreams, play of the fantasy and so on. One should remember that the sin appears not in the body at the beginning. The body is not guilty, non-sinful by itself. In Adam and Eve’s downfall the sin first appeared not in the depths of the flesh, but on the heights of the spirit. Not the matter, but the most perfect and closest to God spirit, Lucifer, fell down and became the source of the evil. The same way, in any definite personal human case, the sin starts its activity not necessarily in the bottoms of flesh, but in the thoughts, imagination, in the play of dreams and pictures, using this or that organ of flesh for its real embodiment (womb, throat, sexual system). Owing to this, one should begin enumeration of the carnal sins with their spiritual sources, but not with the carnal consequences. Besides, there must be remembered the words of the Lord that in the reign of the New Testament sermon sins not only the one who fulfils adultery by deed, but “that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her.” That is why a pastor has to remember about this fight with the most delicate and seemingly “innocent” thoughts. We shall start in the gradual order of ascending to the highest degree of sinfulness, remembering that even the smallest sin is still the sin and that the difference between the minor and more important sins should not calm down the conscience of the repentant and the confessing priest.

1. The fornication thoughts usually develop as the recollections of the seen, heard or felt. They are easily aroused by the surrounding atmosphere: immoral fashion, adverts, films, books, etc. In seclusion, often at night, in the darkness they especially acutely and powerfully overwhelm the man.

2. It can be caused by the tempting talks in the society, different anecdotes for to provoke the laughter or to show one’s erudition, the presence of young people in the merry surroundings, camps, children colonies and so on, where it is easy to yield to such temptations. Some, not to show their backwardness, exercise in the similar art. Here belongs the singing of dubious songs, indecent graffiti’s in the public places, swearing, indecent words and all types of obscenities.

3. Different vices of youth, beginning with the same anecdotes, pictures or revelations in the darkness of the bedrooms, lead as a result to the vicious self-satisfaction, which is very dangerous: first, it is connected with the concentrated work of imagination, and secondly, pursuits the unhappy so relentlessly, that can make him the absolute slave of this sin, destroy his health, drive him to idiotism and physical weakening.

4. The carnal sin itself, i.e. copulation, not sanctified by the sacrament of Marriage.

5. Adultery, often being justified by the sickness of the other half of the conjugal union.

6. Carnal excesses in the very conjugal union.

7. All kinds of perversion of the sexual instinct, leading to unnatural carnal sins: pederasty, lesbianism, bestiality, etc. This latter manifestation of sex is not the obligatory consequence of the modern immorality, but nowadays the attitude to sins stands close to this immorality. There is nothing new in the carnal perversions. According to the testimony of Ap. Paul (Rom.1), many unnatural sins were very widespread in the Roman society. Not by chance the same terms are borrowed from the pagan mythology and are connected with the characters of antiquity: the Bible narrates about the Sodomite sin, Plato in transparent way says of love to young men and boys. Perversion was chastised by the middle age inquisition. Dante put such type of sinners into the special circle of his “Inferno,” it is easy to find examples, confirming this, in the literature. But if the sin is not new, then the relation of the modern social opinion to it changed drastically in the latest time. The antiquity beat such people with stones or executed them as perverts. Nomocanon judged them very severely. Even if to pass forward, one can note the striking change. In the end of 90-s of the past century and the beginning of the 20^th century the social opinion in England was very much scandalized with Oscar Wilde’s process. The fact of his unnatural love could not cover his literary talent in the English moral conciseness. They branded him with infamy and the judicial process over him was very strict. 50-60 years ago a similar phenomenon was accepted by the society as intolerable, monstrous. Nowadays these vices got widely spread and are considered to be bearable and acknowledged, and Wilde’s process causes reprimand by its strictness and Puritanism. In the great works of the French literature there are some personalities, who openly conduct the propaganda of this vice and this does not arouse any scandal in the society, and nobody is properly prosecuted.

The sin of any kind is dangerous not only by itself, but also with the consequences, with which it affects the internal world of the man. These consequences of the sins of flesh are especially perceptible and disastrous for the spiritual human health. They are dangerous from the purely physical side and the spiritual one as well.

In the physical sense these sins corrupt the man, draw to the even stronger and more frequent breaches of the 7^th commandment. The human desire is not satisfied, but constantly requires more. The voice of sensuality cannot be satisfied with the very performance of lust. The sin is either repeated or it searches for the new, sharper means of its manifestation. From one, less sinful tendency, the man passes to the different types of carnal sins and, without noting himself, becomes the slave of the carnal passion. Lust is not dulled — it requires more often and stronger that it would be given food. This leads to the bodily corruption and even larger lust. The body is being weakened in its natural and legal needs, the organism is being destroyed because of the unrestrained nature of the man, and there appear consequences in the form of different diseases: weakening of the memory, blunting of the will, etc. All this the Apostle wonderfully expressed with the words: “Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18).

But the moral consequences of carnal sins are much more terrible, for the sinner is corrupted spiritually. He begins to allow himself many tings, what he would not allow himself, preserving his chastity. He loses his internal integrity, his conscience is decomposed. At many things the fornicator looks differently, than the chaste: he excuses that, what earlier he would not allow himself, finding for this the number of “the valid” reasons. Something he explains like natural requirements, commands of the “hygiene and health,” something he justifies with aesthetical notions. The entire integral world view of the Christian is being destroyed. Sinful becomes permissible and necessary. The new regulator “everything is permitted” appears instead of the strict moral principles of duty, purity, and honesty. Without noting himself, the sinner falls down and is corrupted bodily as well as morally, easy and without restraint. Very frequently the consequence of a carnal downfall is the loss of the previous faith, religious principles and strict morals. The sinner muffles in himself commands of conscience, the faith in Godly requital, into the terrible responsibility before the judgment of his conscience, and the Dread Judgment, of the other world. Fades the belief in God, what is colorfully described by Metr. Anthony in his “Confession” (p. 55-57).

After this appears the desire to kill the sometimes awakening voice of repentance, the one seeks for the self-oblivion in wine, narcotics. The man deviates from the medium of his previous friends and close ones, who did not follow his way. He converges with the company of the similar to him, the unhappy slaves of their passions. All this involves him more, the bonds of sinful habits increasingly bound him stronger, but there are no moral, volitional and physical forces any more. But this is not all! Frequently the one can note the tracks of the committed sins: the tempted girl feels herself a future mother, but the fear of public shame leads her to the thought about destruction of the new life in her womb. She decides to get rid of the fruit, and the culpable of her downfall in many cases contributes to her criminal plan. One, as it seemed natural, “normal” for health sin, led to the new sin of infanticide. The girl herself can go along the way of “free love” since that moment. The principle “everything’s permitted” enters into its legitimate rights and the ball of sinful instincts tightens the soul, mind, will and aspirations of those fallen more strongly.

It is appropriate and opportune to time to switch over to the pastoral measures of fight with these passions. Here, as in the entire asceticism, one should distinguish the measures of prohibition from the measures of warning. One thing is the therapeutics of the sin; another — the hygiene. One relates to the healing of the already ruling illnesses, another has by the task prevention of the appearance of a new one. One should admit that the first gets much more attention in the ascetic works and manuals on the moral theology than the second one. That is why it is necessary to stop on these preventive measures, though we should say all needful about the second one.

Advice to the repentant against the passion of lechery can be the following:
1. First of all it is necessary to destroy the prejudice in the minds of the Christians, that the satisfaction of carnal lust is dictated by the considerations of naturalness and health. By the way, the Holy Fathers of asceticism understood “the natural” not like the ugly and unrestrained satisfaction of the passions of womb and flesh, but like that what actually necessarily comes out from the natural needs of the body. “The natural,” according to their doctrine, cannot be sinful and evil. So, for example, Maxim the Confessor, who distinguished the 2 wills in the man, — the natural and gnomist (rational), considered the natural will to be always directed to the good, because there is no evil in nature. Lechery and licentiousness are dictated to us not by nature at all, but by our passion to sin and to be delighted with this passion. Our self-justification dictates us to transgress the commandments of purity and chastity “for health.” However, not all the doctors and scientists keep to the point of view of satisfying lust early and immeasurably. The history and the experience of abstention teach exactly the opposite. The people who are pure and restrained in every respect in the majority of cases do not know many illnesses; preserve the cleanliness of their heart and clarity of mind. But disorderliness in this respect does not stop on lust of flesh alone, but also painfully excites the mind and pushes the fantasy on the way of creating attractive and dirty images. It goes without saying that the sins of flesh very frequently lead to getting ill with different bad diseases. A pastor must with all his forces oppose to this false and completely unscientific view on the physical life of the man. He must in every way possible contribute to the retention of physical purity, avert the weak and unstable from the dangerous way, strengthen their will in the fight with passions and advise them to remain true to the commandments of the Lord and to their conjugal responsibilities.

2. Together with this a pastor must advise to deviate from those temptations, which can lead to this sin. It is necessary to persistently advise people, who have an illegal connection, to break these relations and to run far from this temptation. Those, who did not yet harm to their innocence, but under the influence of a poor company already stand on the way to seduction, should be decisively put aside from the ruinous influence of their comrades, or maybe, the attracting woman. It is not necessary to fear to offend someone or to prove to be a poor comrade, old-fashioned, “a Puritan” in the eyes of the contemporaries. A pastor can help in this case, giving examples of pure life from the literature or the lives of saints.

3. Against the persistent impulses of the young organism, the unhealthy dreams and with the good tendency to be protected from a downfall it is necessary to know how to counterpose all the ascetic means. To them belong first of all the abstention of the womb and throat. Fasting, this powerful, but, unfortunately, forgotten virtue can protect from the temptations of flesh better than many other things. However, the satiety of the womb and inflaming oneself with alcoholic beverages only more excite the fire of lust. Bows to the ground as well help greatly to fight with the same impulses. Physical labor is also good; the moderate sport, if it is conducted in the situation of chastity, also helps to the fighting with this passion.

Venerable Abba the Nitrian writes: “The prodigal passion is multiplied with four things — oversleeping, eating to the satiety, idle talk, provoking laugh, and adornments of the body” (the Philocalia 1, p. 329). It is important to note that, on what writers-ascetics repeatedly focused attention, i.e., that judiciousness of the others’ deficiencies frequently conducts to the multiplication of prodigal wishes in the man. Condemning the others in smaller things, the person falls into the greater sin of the carnal longings.

Furthermore, it is important that the seemingly calmed lust in the man, in reality is concealed somewhere deep in the hiding-places of sub-consciousness and from time to time reminds of itself, waking up in the thoughts or dreams, different unclean recollections of the past. Evagrius-monk in his “About the Active Life” writes as follows: “The natural bodily movements in the sleep, without shameful dreams, show that the soul is to some extent healthy; however, the interlacement of such dreams is a sign of the fact that it is sick. In this case be aware that dreaming about the unknown persons indicates the rests of the old passion, and seeing in dreams certain persons indicates the new stinging of the heart” (the Philocalia 1, 613). In this case the role of sub-consciousness in no way must be disregarded by a pastor, who gives advice, not by the repentant themselves, confessing to a pastor their long ago forgotten, but from time to time awaking culpable desires.

But together with these three pieces of advice a pastor needs to wake the consciousness of sinfulness in the soul of that being confessed. It is necessary to fight with unhealthy prejudices and corruptive surroundings, and also, with the sin itself. This must be concern of a priest in any case, but with the presence of carnal sins this must be an especially important concern. It is necessary to arouse aversion to these sins, wake up the feeling of shame and persuasion in the incompatibility of these bad habits with cleanliness and asceticism, which go through the study of Christ. A pastor must show the repentant that the sins of this kind especially contaminate the soul and corrupt the body. “He that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” The ideal of the Christian orthodox life is the special purity of the soul and body, intactness of the mind and heart, their nonparticipation in the bad thoughts and wishes. The designation of our physical shell is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. The fathers of the Church teach about nature, that should become Godly, Ap. Peter writes (2 epistles, 1:4) that we are called to be “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”; the entire teaching of Ap. Paul it is pierced by the thought of sanctity, to which the Christians are called, about the fact that our body is the temple of God; the entire John’s writings, as well as his Gospel, and epistles are filled with praising of chastity and purity. The combination of holiness and lewdness, physical purity and disorderliness of thoughts and feelings is impossible. Our designation is not in the satisfaction of the body, but in its glorification, in its preparation to incorruption, since we “are bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23).

Writings of the holy fathers extremely highly teach about the value of our human nature. Our moral ideal is resemblance to God; God-Logos honored us when he became Human God, not Angelic God; the Christian asceticism does not have any contempt towards flesh, any Manichaeism, pseudo-spiritual dualism, etc. More than that, Ganger local council condemns fanatical asceticism. But together with all this physical purity is basic and inherent for our moral sermon. Chastity, veneration, the entire history of monasticism, images of hermits, St. John the Baptist and the most pure Virgin-Mother of God must always be before the eyes of a Christian. No matter how great the burden of flesh was, no matter how great the temptation and our ability to sin and fall was, it is necessary to always wake the readiness to repent inside, to grieve in the downfalls and feel shame because of our misdeeds. A priest must call to that those, who came to confess him their sins of this type. It is necessary to suggest love for cleanliness, the enlightened image of the man, who does not know any dirty motives. A priest must open the eyes of the repentant, that the sins of flesh are not something dictated by the voice of nature and health, but on the contrary: by the unbridled game of fantasy and disorderliness of our will. It is necessary to point at the fact how strictly the Church judges in its canons those, who make possible for themselves to sin against this commandment. By showing the strict punishment a priest must not repel the repentant from the Church, but to wake up the conscience of believer and arouse in him the fear of God. This is already the beginning of salvation.

This way a priest can hold the wavering will of a young creature, ready to surrender to the ruinous examples under the bad influence of associates; and to go to save those, who already stepped on the sinful way. If the pastoral trustee love is sincere, if the power of his persuasion is great and he possesses sufficient moral authority, a pastor can help those, who began to sin and to live the lewd life. Here it is important, in the first place, to arouse the feeling of shame and repentance and, secondly, to assure in the love and possibility of forgiveness of the Heavenly Father, receiving the repentant with open arms. A priest on no account can show to the repentant some feeling of his superiority or contempt to the weakness of the sinner. The penitent must cause no feeling of fastidiousness in a priest, but great compassion, and he is obligated to show him the possibility to return on the way of purity and repentance. The Evangelical images of the prodigal son and repentant sinner, examples from the lives of saints, from the history, of those, who after the great downfall nevertheless returned into the Paternal house and from the perishing people became clean, revived to the new life. A priest is given the enormous possibility through the sympathy and paternal word, and spiritual support to contribute to weak people’s salvation. It is necessary to arouse hope for mercy and forgiveness, just as the faith in the possibility of new, clean and God-pleasing life in these souls.

Everything said above does not however settle the entire problem of the sex. The sexual instinct, the strongest in the man, is connected with the number of the parallel questions, which should be known to a pastor. The task of the pastoral guidance is not limited only by the fight with these sins and sermon of purity, but a pastor must penetrate in the complex questions, connected with the sex.

The contemporary psychoanalysis went far ahead in this sphere and highlighted the number of acute problems. It is not necessary, of course, to assume all the prerequisites and conclusions of the psychoanalysis, but to omit this theme would not be wise for a pastor. Let Freud's theories suffer one-sidedness, but one should take into consideration both his and other scientists’ observations on the psychoanalysis.

Thoughtful attitude to the problem of sex makes it necessary to recognize that it is not limited only by the breach of the 7^th commandment. The sins against this commandment of Moses are still sins; one should not soften them, but the problem of sex cannot be the theme only for the moral theology, since it does not fit into the framework of the moral code.

This problem is much more profound and wider than they often think of it. But the main thing, it is much more tragic, and any simplification of it leads not to its settling, but to irresponsibility. This problem must be regarded not only in the sphere of the moral theology or asceticism, but also of the moral psychology or pastoral psychiatry.

In order to avoid the incorrect understanding or interpretation, it is necessary to emphasize the attitude of a pastor towards the sins, connected with carnal passion, one more time.
1. The sex and sin. The most obvious in the discussed theme is what was said above. It is completely unquestionable that any manifestation of sex stands on the boundary of sin, if not in the sphere of sin. Ascetic steadiness in this respect is compulsory and only the abstention of thoughts, feelings and the very impulses of the body can protect the man from a downfall. But the very problem of sex is not solved only by the asceticism. It helps to fight with the sinful manifestations of sex, but everything that is connected with this problem, is not settled only with it. A pastor must especially draw his and the repentant’s attention to the ascetic feats in this field. But not everything is limited with these feats, since the theme of sex is wider than its sinful manifestations in the life of the man.
2. The sex and sexual life. It is very important not to identify these two questions in order not to fall into the incorrect generalizations. The concepts of the sexual life and sex itself are not at all synonyms. The sex might not manifest itself in the sexual acts, since it is much more profound, and metaphysical. This means that it does not at all coincide with the functions of sexual life, which lie in the sphere of empirics. The sex is the natural force, deeply rooted, which can have nothing in common with the sexual functions. The sex can manifest itself differently. It will be clear from the following that the man is given the possibility to free the sex from the sexuality, from the possible sinful manifestations. Before the man lies the task of the transformation of his sexual energy, its erection to the highest steps, completely free from any sins, from the obscurity of lust. The man with the strong coefficient of sex, in other words, the bright personality, gifted with different characteristic features can be, with the correct direction of will, mind, feelings, etc., not subjected at all to the rough phenomena of sexual lust.
3. The sex and creation. The metaphysical roots of the sex, which, as it was said, do not at all coincide with the lowest sexual functions, are especially vividly manifested in the creative gifts of the man. There is the direct proportionality of these two forces in the man and there exist many historical examples, which can confirm the aforesaid. The personalities with the great gifts in any sphere of the spiritual life (literature, music, art, politics, social life) in the overwhelming majority of cases were energetic sexually. Pushkin, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Beethoven, Chopin, Raphael, Tyutchev, Bunin, Napoleon and many others were the creatures with the extremely high coefficient of sex and everyone in their measure and in their time paid tribute to sex. Its metaphysical roots in them frequently broke through into the sphere of the most real empirics of the sexual life. Their creative impulses were always combined with the manifestations of the sexual energy. In the natural relation these manifestations did not know perversion. It is possible to mention a number of other persons, whose coefficient of sex pushed them into the sphere of abnormal manifestations of the sexual energy: Oscar Wilde, Andre Gide, Marseille Proust, Tchaikovsky, Leonardo da Vinci, Miguel-Angel, Bakunin. In some this was manifested in the distortion of the sexual preferences, in the others — in the so-called Oedipus complex. But all of them were the bright personalities in the sense of sex. Many tragically lost the fight with the unbearable burden of this energy: Origen castrated himself, Otto Vayninger committed suicide, literally crushed by the tension of sex, pursuing him, some lost their mind, after falling into erotic insanity, etc.

The sex, as it was said, might not pass wholly into the field of physiology. One can be a very bright personality, gifted in the sense of sex as well, stand out against the ordinary people for the great individual store of energy, but this in no way means that this person is a debauchee or is lost in the sexual sense. Sex can pass into the rough carnal passion and distort that positive, what is placed in it. It is impossible to destroy the natural inclination to sex; castration is not the resolution of this question, since the sex is given to the man not by some dark powers, not by the evil source of the world, but by the Creator Himself, — for the reproduction of mankind. The negative fight is not the fight. In this question the religious answer is expected, and it consists not of the destruction of the fact that is predetermined in The Eternal Council, but of the overcoming of that darkness which can easily appear in connection with this. If the sex is tightly connected with the creative gifts of the man, then the man is expected the creative defeat of the things that can seem as the evil and passion. This defeat must consist of creative disclosure of those gifts, which are characteristic of such strong natures. This giftedness, connected with sex, can be profaned, it can easily convert into the simple physiological functions, connected with excesses; but the same giftedness can be elevated onto the highest steps as well, or as they say, become sublimated into the noble manifestations of a strong personality. In this connection arises the problem, successfully named as “the changed Eros”

4. The sex as Eros. The sex in its metaphysical sense as the gift of strong personal qualities both in the men and women, can be manifested in life differently. If we understand the sex in the average sense, as the man's sexual life, or on the language of asceticism as lust, then this is the only one and together with that the lowest form of these manifestations. To identify the sex with “libido sexualis” means to make the problem narrow and rough. The sex with the effort of mind and will can be directed to the other functions, having nothing to do with physiology. There the theme of sex and Eros comes to the foreground.

The concept of Eros is extremely important for the Christian asceticism and, in particular, for our theme. It is necessary for the persons, not knowing the finesses of the Greek philology, to make a preliminary observation. Rich Greek language worked out the whole series of the refined concepts for the expression of one or another nuance of love. Much was written about this, but for the correct understanding of our theme, it is necessary, at least briefly, to mention the certain notions. The Greek genius knows the following expressions for love: agapi — love in the general meaning of the word, often not relating to the content of the word; storgi — as collective, social love, or preference that is given to the family, patrimony, people, etc.; fili as love between friends, for filos means “a friend” in Greek; this term indicating love underlines some highest form, the calm, perhaps, more spiritual step of love. Filtron puts into the concept of love something charming, almost magic, since in its literal value this word indicates “the amorous beverage”; finally, eros, that can indicate passionate love, even longing, but is not limited to these senses at all. Eros can indicate not at all the heathen idol of passion, but hot, blazing, fast love. Much was written about these nuances in the philological treatises, and theological works. Let us mention only the “The Ethics of the Changed Eros” of Prof. Vysheslavtsev, the book, which each pastor must know and which can help a lot in the difficult questions of the sex; P. Phlorensky's comparisons in his “The pillar and the Assertion of the Truth” are interesting. The book of A. Nigren, “Eros el Agapé,” just as of H. Scholz, “Eros und Caritas” are meaningful and worth of attention.

The Christian writers of the Greek culture wonderfully informed of the finesses of their native language and free in the choice of one or another expression of the word “love,” skillfully used the first one, and then — the others of these expressions. Frequently it is possible to find in the works of the Byzantine theologians the fragments, in which are used two, three or four of the terms given above. This was only for the sake of shading of one or another sense, which was expressed by the writer in the certain case.

Already long ago Wilamowitz-Moellendorff in his capital labor about Plato noted that Plato does not use the word “agapi,” just as Ap. Paul avoids the term “eros.” But this Plato’s expression of “eros,” very early acquires the rights of the citizenship in the Christian theological literature and even, in particular, in the ascetic treatises. But the fathers of the Church frequently resort to the notion of “eros,” as St. Gregory the Nicene willingly names our love for God by the word filtron, i.e., gives to this love the sense of something charming, exhilarating, that fascinates. The western writers, as this was indicated by Sholts, in the book quoted above, rather follow Ap. Paul, but more greatly use their Latin “caritas.” The same are blissful Augustine, Dante and Pascal.

However, the word “eros” is frequently and willingly used by our holy devotees, ascetics and mystics. This word, of course, could have its sense, which it acquired in the average consciousness, i.e., of the especially sensual love, similar to “libido” of Freud’s psychoanalysis. This impelled the author of “The Divine Names,” so-called pseudo-Areopagit, to write several lines in defense of the use of this word, vulgarized by the simple people. But the educated theologians like St. Maxim the Confessor, the elevated ascetic and educated Hellene, repeatedly uses this notion for the designation of our love for God. We will find this word especially frequently in the works of St. Photius of Constantinople, St. Gregory Palama and by many mystics of the Orthodox East.

We found it appropriate to stop at these details of the terminology, since the word “eros” in the works of the contemporary writers is very frequently used as a conditional concept, a technical term. It contrasts with the notion “sexus” in the works of such an outstanding and thoughtful Catholic psychologist as Johann Klug, in his book “The Depths of the Soul.” In this context the word “eros” approaches a rather metaphysical concept of the sex, while “sexus” indicates its physiological, which means, lowest function.

The word “eros” in this context has its great advantages and explains well some possibilities of the spiritual life. As it correctly noted A. Nigren, “eros” significantly differs from agapi. This latter understanding of love in no case must be received as a certain highest step of eros. Agapi is completely independent of “eros” — these are the two completely independent concepts. Agapi never was the certain stage on the way of the transformation of “eros” in the understanding of the Greek culture. The word “eros” in Plato’s works is already aware of the stages of the usual, vulgar word and heavenly “eros.” So, “eros” is sublimated, but together with that it does not lose its characteristic properties of Eros and becomes the substantially important task for a pastor in the questions, that are now discussed by us.

Prof. Vysheslavtsev built his bright and very useful book on this thought about the possibility of the development of “eros” from the low, vulgar forms, i.e., from the purely sensual love to the forms that are most elevated, spiritual, on the basis of the study of that monument, which was known as “The Areopagitics” in the theological science, or the creation of a certain author of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century, who for long was identified with apostolic St. Dionysius the Areopagit, but has nothing to do with him. In the treatise “About the Divine Names,” entering into “The Areopagitics,” the author speaks about the fact, “that the crowd does not understand the sense of the divine name “eros,” identifying him with physical and sensual eros, that is not the true “eros,” but its reflection” (chapter 4, p. 12). Somewhat earlier, the author calls not to be confused by the name “eros,” for this notion can be elevated, changed and clarified. Below (15) it is said about the different steps of this eros as the power of “unity and blend”: divine eros, angelic eros, reasonable (spiritual), emotional and physical. Here is important the fact that the author of this remarkable treatise, wonderfully familiar with the spirit of the Greek language and its richness, without hesitation applies the same word both to the steps of love and to the high steps — angelic and divine. It will not come to the mind of any person, and was not in the thoughts of the author to assign to angels or Deity anything sensual, passionate. At the same time not the deficiency of expressions forced him to use precisely this term “eros,” and no others. From that rich variety of expressions for the indication of love the author could, if he considered that necessary, use any other word, nuance, but he does not do this because he sees in the word “eros” the possibility of bringing up from the lowest steps to the high ones, from the physical to the elevated, spiritual, i.e., enlightened love.

If we still have other doubts about the origin of “The Areopagitics,” whose author could be under the influence of the neo-Platonic mysticism, or these works arose in the medium, not entirely orthodox; then the number of other writers of the Christian world, whose orthodoxy cannot be more suspected in any way, willingly used precisely this concept “eros,” as the most corresponding, on the spirit of the Greek language, to that content, which the Hellenic genius puts into it.

The interpreter of “The Areopagitic” creations, the pillar of monasticism and Orthodoxy, St. Maxim the Confessor countlessly uses the word “eros,” expressing in the majority of cases precisely that passionate love, inclination, which the Christian spirit has to the highest Eros, i.e., love for God. We will find this word used by such Hellene as St. Photius of Constantinople and also used by sublime ascetic St. Gregory Palama, who was under the strong influence of the Areopagits mysticism, to say nothing about the others.

Prof. Vysheslavtsev's book is valuable for it gives a pastor the leading idea of help to those, who feel themselves the prisoners of the lowest forms of sensuality, of help precisely by the call to bring one’s inclinations from this rough sensuality to the highest steps of the spiritual existence, to the search of Divine Eros. In this book is valuable that thought, that the lowest can be sublimated, that the man is not in the hopeless captivity of his sensuality, but he can turn onto the path of sublimation, purification and transformation. The rough powers of the empirical sex, i.e., lust, can find their way out upwards. The sensual source placed in the man can be refined and changed. It as the metaphysical force should not be compulsorily reduced to the rough physiological commands of flesh, but it can rise to the spiritual apexes. The man must be called to sublimate his eros creatively. The ascetic fight with passions is only one of the forms of this struggle. Lust can be conquered by the ascetic practice at the given moment, but this will not free the man from that source of strength, which is given to him by nature. Fasting, prayer, repentance, avoiding temptations will not eradicate that what is characteristic of the natural forces of the man. But these forces must not compulsorily be lowest, sensual, and sexual. The creatively strong personality must direct these forces into the positive sphere: aesthetical, scientific, social or any other. Therefore it is necessary to a pastor, together with the moral ones, to give other pieces of advice, to engage the spirit of the man by something positive, to call to the disclosure of his creative gifts not in the lowest sphere, but in the highest and ennobling one.

It is also important that Vysheslavtsev tells about the power of imagination. Entire psychoanalytical study about sub-consciousness is connected with this. Much is born in the images. “The erotic charms of the fascinating image are based on the fact that it immediately forms the chaos of the subconscious inclinations, and the image, capable of changing the chaos into cosmos and beauty, what is the wonderful image by itself” (str.77-78). The play of fantasy in the sexual life is enormous; the images of something attractive and calling to the sin can be substituted with the other images, different work of imagination, creative work. Healthy literature, music, artistic pictures, scientific work, strife for the knowledge can lead the captivated imagination into another sphere. Therefore the advice of a pastor to the repentant concerning these sins must be to a certain extent, and together with the purely ascetic advice, directed towards one’s occupation with the study of one or another subject, artistic, official, social, military or any other sphere. “The lewd dream,” about which says Metr. Anthony in “The Confession” (p.59), must be substituted with the pure ideas, the authority of which will not allow the presence of anything dirty in the mind and heart of the man. Metr. Anthony says the same, as Prof. Vysheslavtsev: “One needs to fill his soul by the other, better content, must love Christ, the native land, science, school, moreover, the Church, parents, business associates, whom you dedicated your life” (p.61).Those committing the sin of carnal lust are absorbed by some image of the other sex or by the images of sensual pleasure. So let this person dedicate himself to the other thing, get attracted by something sublime, what will help him to step away from the captivating his imagination objects.

“It is difficult to defeat carnal lust, but it is possible, — says Bishop Porfirius Uspensky. — It is necessary to anger the mind, when lust appears, and to start the work, which distracts attention from the object of delusion and pacifies craving. In such a case the simple prayer: “Lord, have mercy!” has great power (“The book of My Existence,” 1, p.454).
5. Marriage. This theme also must be thought over by a pastor, since any simplification can lead to the incorrect conclusions. First of all, one should not think of marriage as of a certain panacea from the obtrusive temptations of lust. According to the church doctrine, marriage is not the open door to the excesses of the body. The Church prays about the gift of chastity to the bride and groom, about keeping the bed clean, about the identity of bodies and souls, about the honorable marriage, and the undefiled bed… Marriage is not permission for something unrestrained, for certain disorderliness. There must be place for abstention in marriage. Possible diseases of one of the spouses, the period of the expectation of a baby, etc. doom another half to abstention and to certain ascetic life.

It is not possible, from the other side, to reduce the sense of marriage to the child-bearing alone, as it is characteristic of the Roman-Catholic view. In marriage, on the doctrine of the fathers of church, the great significance is given to its spiritual side.

The theme of the sex does not comprise only to the sphere of marriage. This latter is legal and blessed by the Church form of satisfaction of the human needs. The child-bearing proceeding from it receives its natural development; however, this does not complete the sphere of the marital life. Marriage might not be fruitful in this sense because of different circumstances. But one way or another, the sex will reveal itself independently, since it is more profound than its physiological manifestations. The sex in the sense of the strongly gifted personality searches for other, than physiological, manifestations. This gifts or that side of a conjugal union requires other spheres for its embodiment. Creatively strong nature can remain stable and bright, completely regardless of the fact how the sexual life flows. With years the lowest functions of flesh can already become silent and not require satisfaction, whereas the highest tendencies of the bright personality will still continue to search for their embodiment. The sex, in its highest sense, will go along its way, independent of the temperament and tendencies of the other half of the union. And precisely in this situation marriage, directed only towards the lowest manifestations of sex, will be doomed to many disagreements, in order not to say tragedies.

Tolstoy's marriage can serve as a vivid example of the past century. The indisputably gifted in many respects creator of “War and peace,” having physiological, artistic, and intellectual talents, in the certain time of his life searched for acceptance of his bright personality in the sphere, having nothing in common with the conjugal life in its narrow sense. Absorbed in his moral-religious search, Tolstoy, to the detriment of his artistic genius, went along the way, completely different from that, what his wife imagined their conjugal life to be. The young girl, who fell in love with Sevastopol officer, selflessly devoted to him, the excellent wife and mother, the loyal admirer of his creations, she could in no way share the interests of Tolstoy of the second-half of his life, when he began to mow, plough, stitch boots, place furnaces for peasants (which, one should say, were not good at all and produced smoke). The happy at first marriage subsequently became little bearable in the sense of the disagreement of the highest interests of one and another half of this marital union. In the course of time Tolstoy went through the early enthusiasm of the family interests, children, their illnesses, etc. Concerns about their future no longer could draw Tolstoy's attention; he searched for some eternal truth and new ways; but, on the other hand, his wife could not follow his enthusiasm, forgetting her direct responsibilities of the wife and mother. The tragedy of the Tolstoy disagreement is known, and we should not stop on it. It follows, however, not to justify one side alone: Leo Nikolayevich, and to condemn his wife, who did not become “tolstovka.” In this case, the once happy marriage in the overall meaning proved to be a torture and failure in the spiritual sense.

Usual life is full of the similar examples. The disagreement of the spiritual aspirations of the spouses cannot be covered even with their faithfulness to each other. Besides the physical relation, marriage without fail requires the spiritual closeness. This does not at all mean that the husband must be dissolved in the interests of his wife, and the wife must be the loyal assistant and ideological friend of her husband.

It is hardly necessary to require that the wife of a professor would look for the notes for his works or get interested in the surgical or astronomical searches of her husband. But, on the other hand, the perfect indifference of the husband to the education of children and to the internal world of his wife just as her incomprehension of his internal life, attest to the fact that this marriage had a deep disagreement in it.

The strength of the mutual love in this case is inferior to sharply revealing selfishness. One personality completely shades the other, disregards it. This selfishness is the ancestor of all disagreements in the mutual life of the two persons of different sexes. Selfishness, which according to St. Maxim the Confessor comes from not knowing God (letter 2), generates all the other passions (“About Love” 3, p.8).

Egoism can be defeated only with the opposite force, i.e., love for others, which brings to God, since “we know love for God and name it not as the one that differs from that love for the close ones, but as wholly one and the same love” (The Letter 2, 401 D.). This divine love is based on the same force of craving, as teaches the same father of the Church (“To Falassius”).

Generally, it is necessary to note with the special accent, that the same Maxim the Confessor, who so much taught about love and together with that about “eros,” as about “agapi,” can be very interesting in this context. In the mystical enlightenments about the world he saw to the highest degree interesting panorama of the tragic separation in the universe. Entire space is contemplated by him as split with the first-born sin into certain divisions: to that understood by the mind and unknown, to the heavenly and terrestrial, to the paradise and universe, to the male and female beginning. Maxim the Confessor with the exceptional force of enlightenment, as no one other, experiences this sinful state of the universe. But he as well definitely confesses his faith and hope for the fact that this tragic state of the world, this splitting of humanity into the male and female beginning, can be overcome and defeated precisely by the force of love. Maxim following the Areopagitics, so much and profoundly teaching about eros and the possibility of its sublimation, teaches at the same time about the healing force of love agapi, which, as we saw, should not be perceived as the highest step of eros, but as the force, independent from it.