АПОЛОГЕТИКА МЫТАРСТВ В ПРАВОСЛАВНОЙ МЫСЛИ

Abstract

В данной статье анализируется православно-богословское обоснование
эсхатологического мифа о мытарствах в контексте духовных ценностей христианства.
Особый акцент ставится на освещение роли указанного мифа как смысло-жизненного
регулятора.
Ключевые слова:

Панков Г.Д. АПОЛОГЕТИКА МИТАРСТВ У ПРАВОСЛАВНІЙ ДУМЦІ У даній
статті аналізується православно-богословське обґрунтування есхатологічного міфу про
поневіряння в контексті духовних цінностей християнства. Особливий акцент ставиться
на висвітлення ролі згаданого міфу як смисло-життєвого регулятора.
Ключові слова: «апологетика», «поневіряння», «есхатологічний міф»,
«духовність», «духовна лайка».

Pankov Georgiy D. THE APOLOGETICS OF ORDEALS IN AN ORTHODOX IDEA The
orthodox-theological ground of eskhatological myth about ordeals in the context of spiritual
values of christianity was analysed in this article. The special accent was put on the
interpretation of the role of the indicated myth as a life-sense regulator. Realization of this
purpose is based on secular and religious study approach in natural combination of the methods
of fenomenological, ethics and axiological analysis.
Due to orthodox eskhatology the special sphere which is called ordeals through which
the dyings souls pass inevitably before their appearance in the Paradise or in the Hellis situated
in air space. The ordeals are determined as immeasurable space between heaven and earth,
which is gap-filling, outcast, fallen angels, to decline a man from rescuing. The kind souls which
were justified on ordeals are uplifted by angels in paradisial monasteries for eternal beatitude,
and the sinful souls are detained on one or another ordeal, drawn by demons in their gloomy
monasteries for an eternal torment. There are twenty such ordeals due to the certain type of
human sins (ordeal, lie, slander, laziness, stealing, envy, pride, anger and other).
Two opposite positions are revealed in understanding of ordeals (bukvalistic and
rationalistic, in the opposition to which orthodox theologians pull out the third position, the aim
of which to confirm the spiritual sense of eskhatological picture. In accordance to the lastone
ordeals are concidered as a stimulus to critical self-knowledge, the mean of cognition of “the
man’s bottom”, without what the ascent of the soul to Christ is impossible. The extraordinary
actualization of an orthodox idea of moral improvement which is seen by ascetics in revealling
by a man in itself impurities, clearing of heart, change of mind, manner of thoughts, making of
steady position of hatred to the sin etc. All these ideas flow out the upper conclusions.
All these conclusions allows to define the orthodox-theological apologetics character of
mythical picture of ordeals as apology of the christian spirituality. Orthodox-theological
interpretation offers a look to the eskatological picture of ordeals as on a «spiritual bad
language», plugging in its space not only opposition between angels and demons but also
opposition of sinful man passions in his earthly life, on the end of which the situation of fight
must depend for the human soul in air space between supernatural spiritual creatures. This idea
proclaims the responsibility of a man for the posthumous fate, and the prospect of eskhatological
beatitude of the soul is put in direct dependence on its spiritual ascent in «life in Christ».
The eskhatological picture of ordeals looks in a civilized manner-meaningful
phenomenon not so much from the point of its maintenance, but by virtue of the role of lifesense
regulator, which it executes in regard to orthodox tradition and to its adherents. It is this
side of the myth was actualised by theological thinking, aspiring to elevate it on the height of
spirituality.
Keywords: «apologetics», «ordeals», «eskhatological myth», «spirituality», «spiritual
bad language».