The meaning of the word adultery. Fornication
Adultery refers to physical intimacy between people who are married to others. This passion includes prodigal sensations and desires for someone else’s body, unclean thoughts and conversations in a vulgar manner. Not only the adulterer commits adultery, but also the one with whom this sin is committed: guilt and shame lie on both sides.
Fornication and adultery: what is the difference
The apostles say that all unclean deeds and thoughts should not be mentioned at all in the Holy Scriptures. However, the surrounding depravity extremely dulled the sense of morality, so that even people raised in Christianity began to have premarital sexual relations and divorces.
- The sin of adultery in Orthodoxy is associated, first of all, with adultery and betrayal. By succumbing to carnal temptations, a person destroys his own family. Passion can be regarded as betrayal, because a marriage is always a sacred union. Relationships are destroyed, everything that was built in love for each other is in decline.
- Fornication is different in that people enter into a relationship without being in a marital relationship. A person with all his appearance and behavior shows that he has a strong desire to achieve the goal he has set for himself. Prodigal life forces one to violate moral principles and blinds the mind of the individual, violating the law of chastity.
Adulterous individuals provoke a large number of problems and disasters. Sin destroys homes and breeds strife, and withers love and goodwill. Libertines deprive themselves of a huge amount of benefits and replace them with devilish troubles.
Orthodox priests say that there is no one more shameful than a person who commits vile adultery.
On a note! Those suspected of treason live with difficult emotions. It seems to them that the table is filled with poisons, and the house is shrouded in countless evils. Such people have trouble sleeping, the words of good friends and the light of the bright sun are not pleasant to them. They experience suffering not only when they see their half committing adultery, but also when they think about it.
Spouses must be very close to each other, so it becomes painful for them when a husband or wife finds himself in the unclean and illegal service of another person. People who indulge in fornication are extremely condemned by the people and religion. Adultery carries a greater penalty because the spouses entered into a sacred covenant and swore fidelity to each other.
About family in Orthodoxy:
Believer at confession
Punishment for adultery
Fornication is the name given to carnal pleasure without causing any harm to another.
The sin of adultery gives rise to slander (lies) and insult to the legal union. As punishment, the church can excommunicate an adulterer from communion with the Holy Mysteries for 15 years. A seven-year sentence is prescribed for a fornicator.
Important! The measure of penance (church punishment) is established depending on the condition of the person who committed the sin.
- The people highly condemn any manifestation of infidelity, so the adulterer will feel unpleasant conversations on the side.
- Those who have fallen into fornication cannot receive communion until they repent.
- Punishment comes from one’s own conscience, which does not allow one to forget the sin for a long time. Purification comes only after the memory of this event is destroyed.
- The consequence of the sin of adultery is the suffering that arises after learning about the betrayal. Spouses have to seek a divorce because saving the marriage is even more difficult.
- Any prodigal sin closes the soul’s gate to the Heavenly abode.
- Adulterers will suffer “the second death in the lake of hell, full of fire and brimstone.
- In the New Testament, the bodies of each person become members of the body of Christ, therefore the sinner brings dishonor to the Son of God and dissolves the original unity. Having lost sacred support, a person surrenders to the power of monstrous demons.
- Fornication and adultery build a metaphysical wall through which prayers and forgiveness filter heavily. If you do not take appropriate measures to heal the soul, there is a possibility of falling away from the Church and God forever.
- They distance themselves from the adulterer and turn away. He is considered an object of shame and contempt, he brings grief to his parents and is the subject of unflattering reviews.
- The sin of adultery in Orthodoxy is capable of destroying not only the physical, but also the spiritual shell. They annul moral laws that are independent of human will.
This position did not take root in the Christian tradition for a long time, because in ancient times the wife did not have the status of a full member of society.
The meaning of the commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery”
The statements of the Holy Fathers and certain passages from the Gospel have special power against this sin.
- The one who looks at a woman with lust is already committing adultery.
- The children of Israel should not be subjected to this passion, since the heavenly abode does not accept people who are unclean in heart.
- In Orthodoxy, bodies are regarded as a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. It is believed that there is nothing in the material world that belongs to us, therefore sinning at a party is prohibited and unnatural.
- It is necessary to take care of the purity of your body, because the time will come when every Christian will have to give an answer for the life he has lived.
- Adultery is necessarily judged by the Almighty Lord, but a pure marriage and an immaculate bed are permitted by God.
Causes of adultery and the sin of fornication in Orthodoxy
The most important factor in falling into this dangerous passion is the mental desire for the pleasure of the flesh and a drunken life. The enemy (sin) finds loopholes in the consciousness of a Christian if the latter does not drive away evil and lustful thoughts. A soul that has weakened its control over temptations is approaching an unhappy and disastrous fall.
- The clergy note that those who have already fallen under the power of another passion become adulterers and fornicators. The root of all lust is the acquisition of praise and glory.
- Sinfulness increases when people do not protect their bodies from objects of temptation. Pride and vanity, which are rarely noticed by a person, encourage him to engage in fornication in order to satisfy his own lust.
- The apostles call the cause of fornication (fornication) and adultery satiety. When our body is full, the demon of gluttony leaves and invites the unclean spirit of adultery to come and confuse the mind with dirty thoughts and the body with waste.
- The spirit of drowsiness also torments the unfortunate person enough, because a lazy and drowsy mind is not able to provide full resistance to the severe demon of fornication.
- Often the help of the Almighty withdraws from those who ask, because they slander, reproach and condemn their neighbors. Going against his brothers, a person is left alone and is unable to resist destructive temptations.
- A rush of thought is a rapid cause that is almost imperceptible by consciousness. Without words or images, it instantly arouses passion.
How to atone for lustful sin
Each of the passions is capable of capturing the soul and removing it from communication with the Eternal purity of the Lord. If sins are combined, it becomes difficult to get out of a dangerous situation, therefore the task of every Orthodox Christian is to destroy all the seeds of sinfulness.
- The first thing is to cleanse the recesses of the heart, which will allow you to see God in the soul. He will give instructions and faithful advice that will protect you from the influence of the sin of fornication. Not a single thought can be hidden from the Creator, therefore the desire for fornication or adultery must be destroyed by great shame in the face of the Almighty.
- The clergy teach the laity to be more attentive to feelings and desires. Demons of lustful sinfulness often appear in the form of a useful and good deed. Unclean creatures first darken the mind, and then explain what they need.
- Healing will come when the thought of the opposite sex ceases to arouse passion. To reduce temptation, it is necessary to reduce the time of communication and remove vicious thoughts from yourself. The fire of lust flares up precisely in the movement of thought, and not in the body.
- Since the demonic attack is carried out on the body and soul, one must resist in two ways. Physical fasting alone is not enough; a layman should constantly meditate on the Holy Scriptures, and also occupy his hands with work or handicrafts.
- If a temptation arises before a person, he is obliged to find the reason, internal or external, and eradicate it. Chastity presupposes simplicity in attire and peace of one’s own flesh, which will not allow lustful moods to arise in the mind.
Prayer help:
The task of every Christian is to destroy vicious moods. In this way the believer brings himself closer to true knowledge, purity and bliss.
- A Christian is obliged to avoid the sin of drunkenness, which will allow him to be more vigilant and will not allow the demon of fornication to lead him into temptation. It is necessary to cleanse your own heart, in which, according to Solomon, dwell the sources of life and death. A person needs to become humble and modest, because passions arise from freedom of communication.
- One of the most important weapons in the fight is keeping feelings within one’s limits. The Church teaches us to step away from the bustle and concentrate on achieving the main goal - cleansing the heart and mind. Priests give the following advice: you can be neutral towards things, even if they are capable of causing lust. The very attitude of the individual to the environment is important.
- A Christian will save his soul from corruption if he can avoid communication with the demon of adultery. The enemy should not be contradicted; absolute ignorance helps. Opposition will only increase the aggression of the unclean demon, who will not rest until he is defeated by humility.
- Another way to get rid of lustful thoughts is righteous anger. If a Christian sees signs of increasing lust in his soul, he should be angry about it. Sympathy will allow sin to remain inside and return in moments of weakness.
- A Christian should not condemn his surroundings; it is important to have patience and meekness. A person is morally prohibited from attributing to others what he does not know for certain. The believer is recommended to work only on his own consciousness, clearing the way to the Heavenly abodes.
- Confessions and prayers help in the struggle. Often these methods are the last chance of salvation for a deeply mired soul.
Spiritual and physical purity (chastity) is a virtue that is the complete opposite of adultery and fornication. Sinful betrayal brings suffering to the family and all its members. An extramarital affair does not harm anyone, but it leaves the seed of fornication for a long time.
The Church obliges all Orthodox Christians to do their best to eradicate this vicious weakness through prayer, confession and fasting. Getting rid of prodigal passions opens the way to the kingdom of heaven and cleanses the consciousness.
Watch a video about fornication and adultery
What is fornication? In simple terms, this is debauchery or sexual debauchery. In general, it is a social phenomenon of a negative nature. However, in the modern world people have quite free control over their bodies and relationships, so most people look at this concept with a fair amount of skepticism.
But a social perspective on a topic is one thing. And completely different - religious. And now I would like to consider this concept from this point of view.
Demon of Impurity
Perhaps this is what we can call fornication. “What is it about physical carnal relations outside of marriage? After all, everything is done by mutual consent, without causing harm or damage to anyone...” - some may ask this question.
Well, since the topic is religious, it is worth remembering the meaning of the word “sin”. It means lawlessness. Mayhem. Violation of the laws of spiritual life. And it, as many may know, always leads to trouble and self-destruction. For nothing good is built on mistakes and sins.
If you delve deeper into the study of Holy Scripture, you can find there a very detailed and chaste description of what fornication is. Even if after committing it there are no serious consequences (it is, after all, not murder, not robbery), it is still considered a serious sin. These are the lines that can be found in the sacred source: “Do not be deceived: fornicators will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
This is unless they repent and stop fornication. For them, church rules are strict: they are forbidden to receive communion until they repent and go through penance. The last word denotes punishment, a moral-corrective measure. Moreover, it is very severe and long-lasting. Why does the Church have such an attitude towards people who are mired in fornication?
Reasons for negative perception
It should be noted that sex in Orthodoxy has never been forbidden. He was even blessed - but only if a man and a woman united in a marriage union (married or formalized according to civil laws).
The Apostle Paul himself wrote about intimate relationships: “Do not withdraw from one another, except by consent, or by prayer and fasting, but then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with intemperance.” These lines can be found in 1 Cor. 7:3-5.
Marriage was something sacred and highly spiritual. After his imprisonment, husband and wife became “one flesh.” Close, intimate relationships are a strong experience that binds spouses to each other even more strongly, cementing their union.
However, what is blessed in marriage is sin if done outside of it. Because the commandment is broken. In marriage, a man and a woman are united into one flesh in the name of love, while outside it - within the framework of lawlessness. What is fornication? This is receiving sinful pleasure, a manifestation of weakness and irresponsibility.
Just pay attention to 1 Cor. 6:15-16. This is what it says: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Or that he who has intercourse with a harlot becomes one with her?”
The meaning here is very simple. The whole essence and consequences of fornication are traced. Each unlawful relationship is a deep wound for the soul and body, often realized only later. But when a person finds his love and gets married, all his connections weigh heavily on his soul. For the memory of past sins cannot be erased.
Yes, fornication unites people... but only for the sake of desecration of their souls and bodies. This will not give true happiness to a person. Because it can only be found in spiritual unity, love and trust.
Where does sin begin?
It would not be superfluous to try to answer this question. What is “fornication” in Orthodoxy, where does this sin begin? Like everything else - from the little things. This is what it says in Matt. 5:28: “Everyone who looks lustfully at a woman has committed adultery with her in his heart.” There is a certain amount of truth here, since internal desire is the beginning of passion. For a person lets it into his soul and enjoys the resulting sensation. As a rule, this is not far from bodily sin.
But the holy fathers also say that fornication is associated with gluttony, bodily satiety, and excessive wine drinking. Do these seem like different concepts? Not really. Fornication, like satiety, is aimed at satisfying bodily desires and obtaining physical pleasure. Plus, in Eph. 5:18 there is a good phrase: “Do not get drunk with wine - it causes debauchery.”
Also in this topic there is such a concept as “sexual gluttony.” This is a carnal passion, and you can curb it if you accustom yourself to moderation and abstinence, which directly concerns food. Hearty, fatty, spicy dishes, sweet wine - all this warms the blood, excites hormones, excites.
What else influences the violence of the flesh?
Continuing to discuss what fornication is in Orthodoxy, it is worth noting several more reasons why the craving for it increases in many people. They were listed by the church writer Abba Isaiah in the Fatherland (IV-V centuries). In addition to the previously mentioned satiety, he noted:
- Celebration.
- Vanity.
- Long sleep.
- Love in beautiful clothes.
And again, all of the above concerns the satisfaction of one’s own desires and pleasure. Everything must be abandoned. Engage in prayer, replace vanity with the humility of Christ, long sleep with vigil, and replace beautiful clothes with rags. You can't leave anything behind. Because passions hold on to each other like links in a chain.
Other opinions
A person who decides to live in fornication becomes an enemy of God and even a false prophet. For the marriage union, and everything connected with it, is a sign, a pattern indicating the relationship of Jesus to humanity. This is also spoken about in certain sources (Eph. 5:25-33. Col. 3:18-21, to be more precise). And a person mired in fornication simply perverts the sacred model of behavior. He becomes guilty. And in any case. Even if he did it in the name of love, with the intention of further marriage.
There are also modern “interpretations”. Modern thinkers say that the question as to why fornication is a sin can be answered exclusively from a religious point of view. Because there will always be counterarguments from other positions.
Well, the answer is: “Fornication drives the Holy Spirit out of the human heart. Because it cannot exist together with Impurity. There is either one or the other. And it’s better to choose the second one. Because there is nothing worse for any of us than to remain outside of God. For this is the underworld. Hell is precisely existence without God.”
However, there is one more nuance here. A person living in fornication and debauchery, who does not see the difference between debauchery and marital virtue, ironically perceives everything previously said. Even cynical. Religious people call them “enslaved,” morally degraded, and physically sick. According to Orthodox laws, a fornicator is a dwelling place of demons, an possessed person, someone with the mark of fall on his face. Sexual maniacs and the expression “fallen woman” are often cited as examples of these judgments.
About the consequences
They are also worth noting when considering the meaning of the word “fornication.” If we move away from religion, then this would, of course, include sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancy, the emergence of rumors about a person’s dishonesty, moral laxity, etc.
And here is what religious figures, in particular Archpriest Maxim Obukhov, write about this: “The peoples among whom the sin of fornication was widespread quickly disappeared from the face of our land or lost their independence, weakened, and were inferior to other nations. Everything is logical here. A society that is infected with sin ceases to produce great leaders. It becomes a mediocre, homogeneous gray mass.”
What else happened before? Consanguineous marriage. It contradicts the commandments of God and is considered sin, fornication. If children were born from such a marriage, they often had defects and genetic deformities that might not appear in them, but were reflected in their descendants. For incest is a direct path to the degeneration of the race, since its consequence is the accumulation of identical defective genes of common origin.
In the Old Testament, Israel's worship of idols is also often compared to a reckless woman who indulges in debauchery.
And throughout the entire book of Hosea, a parallel is drawn between the relationship between God and Israel, as well as the marriage of the prophet himself and his fornicating wife named Homer. And very colorful. Gomer's actions against Hosea seem to reflect the unfaithfulness and sinfulness of Israel, who abandoned Jehovah for spiritual adultery with idols.
And in the New Testament, the Greek words literally translated as “adultery” are used in most cases in the literal sense. This concept refers to sexual sin involving married people.
But one interesting exception can be found in a letter to a church located in the city of Thyatira. She was condemned for her tolerant attitude towards the wife of the Israeli king Ahab, whose name was Jezebel. She did not just call herself a prophetess, but dragged the church into idolatry and frightening immorality. All the people who were seduced by her false teachings were perceived as those who had committed adultery with Jezebel.
Sins against the body
This is exactly what adultery and fornication are. What is the difference is clear. What common? It’s obvious here too. This is a temptation that is now at every step.
Modern thinkers call this a sin against chastity. The very spirit of the modern world corrupts, seduces, and entices people with carnal pleasures in every possible way. It is becoming increasingly difficult to resist such influence. Temptation is everywhere - in the media, on the air, on the radio, on billboards and videos, in music, in songs, in books, on social networks.
Even if we ignore religion. Are there not enough broken destinies, illnesses, cases of suicide, murders and life tragedies from carnal sins? Not at all. Carnal sins are terrible because they seem to scorch the souls and hearts of people with the fire of Gehenna. They poison. Even after repenting, a person tries to recover for a long time.
But it is a fact that carnal sins are difficult to resist. For by succumbing to them, a person receives, albeit short-term, but strong satisfaction. It's like a narcotic substance. Debauchery is also addictive.
It is not for nothing that fornication and adultery are considered mortal sins. Slowly but surely they bring man down to the bottom of hell. Here it is worth paying attention to the testimony of the blessed Theodora, wife of Theophilus. It says that a rare soul can easily overcome prodigal obstacles. For the one who committed treason - desecrated the marital bed, showed disrespect for the spiritual partner, for his “half”, deceived and betrayed him, undermined trust, violated the oath. It is not so much religious as universal human principles that are at work here. And here it is unlikely that anyone will argue with what has been said.
Lust
It is worth briefly noting this concept. Not a synonym for the word “fornication,” as many may think, but a related concept. In asceticism it is closely associated with lust. This term does not mean sexual desire, but a distortion of gender relations. The Fall leads to it, associated with the thirst for power, selfishness, and seeing in another person only an object for one’s own satisfaction.
Lust is desire, an illicit passion that turns a person away from the Lord and corrupts his heart. That which leads to sin and evil. According to the Bible, lust is the most common and dangerous sin, which is so contagious that even cases of its manifestation in the Holy Book are mentioned extremely delicately. You could even say casually. The word “lust” appears only 8 times in the book. They were afraid to use it often, so as not to savor debauchery and not mention it again.
What should the innocent party do?
What should a person do if he has suffered from the weakness of someone he trusted? What to do if the other half cheated or committed adultery? This is also stated in some sacred sources.
These are the lines you can find in Romans 7:2,3. 1 Cor. 7:39: “Remarriage is possible in the event of the death of one of the partners.” And in Matthew 19:9. write the following: “The conclusion of a second union is permitted if the innocent party who suffered from adultery filed for divorce.”
And nothing else. Because what God has joined together, man cannot separate. This, by the way, is said in Matt. 19:6.
Permission to enter into a second marriage due to the sin of adultery is a sign, a reference and a reminder that even the Most High terminated the covenant with Israel, after which he entered into a New one.
Conclusion
All of the above sins are real evil. Even if you look at them not from a religious point of view, but from a moral, human one. It’s worth thinking about - what happens after the same adultery? The man did not just become a traitor. He:
- He destroyed his main fortress and value - his family. If he was not ready to take responsibility for himself and his actions, to answer to his partner, then there is no need to create a relationship.
- Sinks to the bottom. It turns out that he is not able to control and restrain himself. He is controlled only by animal desires and needs.
- Spoils his reputation, falls in the eyes of other people.
- In the end, he is deprived of personal happiness and spiritual peace.
- Drowning in lust. Once you start, it's hard to stop.
- Contaminated with bad thoughts.
- Often gets sick. His body dies early. What is called: “Died at 30, buried at 60.”
- As a result, he becomes completely alone.
- Emotionally burns out, losing feelings.
Returning to religion, it is worth noting that redemption is possible. But only if a person turns to the Lord with sincere repentance. Here it is important to ask for forgiveness sincerely, truly repenting of what you have done.
However, they don’t come to this any other way. A person understands that blackness devours him from the inside and ceases to live his former life. He simply exists. And, in search of peace, he goes to church. Because he comprehended the severity and power of the sins he had committed. He realized how much his body was suffering, trying to find short-term joy in a casual relationship.
The sooner a person understands what exactly he has done and rethinks his whole life, the sooner he will take the righteous path, from which the road to happiness begins.
Introduction
God's commandments continue to speak to our hearts. Today this is a commandment - "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). I didn’t mention before that the Lord gave all the commandments not just as a command of what you shouldn’t do, but as a statement that you won’t do it. Literally this is - « You will not commit adultery!”
Let's try to figure out what this commandment means. To do this, let's look at the meaning of sin, from which you should stay as far as possible. Adultery (translation) is...
Adultery, debauchery
Disgust, corruption, temptation
Capture by deception
In today's church usage it is customary to distinguish between sins:
Adultery (Adultery)
Fornication (sexual sins outside of marriage)
Fornication (any sexual sin)
The Bible calls all this sin and condemns it. In all this, a person must repent and not sin.
Marital infidelity (Treason)
What does the Bible say about this?
“If anyone commits adultery with his married wife, if anyone commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” (Lev.20:10)
Sexual relations outside of marriage, cohabitation, civil marriage
« for they come from the heart evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, blasphemy - it defiles a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.” (Matt. 15:19,20)
Looking with lust at another woman (man)
“And I tell you that whoever looks at a woman with lust (wanting her) , has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt. 5:28)
Today is the age of information overload. Especially the Internet makes this sin very accessible. The media everywhere promote fornication in its various manifestations. So watch what you watch and what your children watch.
Sexual relationships are covenant relationships
A covenant is the highest form of contract , at the conclusion of which two become one and only death can separate them. Sexual relationships fully fit this formulation.
Entry into the covenant was always accompanied by visual rites (ceremonies), in accordance with the current law, time and culture. And before observing these rituals, a person could not enjoy the rights of the covenant being concluded. Since sexual relations are a covenant relationship, it means that two people could be considered one only after the covenant ceremonies. In our time and in our culture, this is, firstly, a painting in the registry office, and secondly, a marriage (wedding) in a church. After these covenant ceremonies, the two have the right to be considered one at the level of spirit, soul and body.
Sexual relations are something that can only happen between husband and wife. Anyone who did otherwise in the Bible was to be stoned to death.
Example:As long as the fire in the stove (confined within boundaries) is a blessing that warms, shines, and allows you to cook and eat. When fire has no boundaries, it is an evil that leaves people crippled, homeless, or even killed. Sexual relationships are similar. As long as they are contained within the boundaries of marriage, this is a benefit that brings pleasure, gives unity, and allows one to have children. But as soon as sex goes beyond the boundaries of marriage, it becomes destructive for relationships with a spouse, for health and, in general, for a person’s life.
Sexual intimacy
This is the right of those entering into a marriage covenant
This is an expression of love between husband/wife "they were naked and not ashamed..." (Bible),
This is the way to be one according to the Bible. "They will become one flesh" (Bible),
This is also how children are born. "Be fruitful and multiply" (Bible).
Where should it be?
Outside the eyes of strangers, in private, if someone spies on this, films it on video - this is a sin. Peering at someone else's nakedness is a sin. This includes pornography.
“No one should approach any relative according to the flesh in order to reveal nakedness. I am the Lord" (Lev.18:6)
Example: “Sons of Lot” - the entire clan of Ham fell under a curse for revealing nakedness.
Consequences
Everything has its consequences. Therefore, it is worth mentioning the consequences of the sin of adultery:
Moral degradation
Betrayal
Wounds on the heart
Family destruction
Sexually transmitted diseases
Abortion
Curses
Judgment of God (Heb. 13:4)
No Inheritance in the Kingdom of God “For know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Eph.5:5)
"Safe sex"
I came across some interesting information on the Internet: “Over the last hundred years, more human lives have been destroyed in gynecological offices than in wars. Now tissues from aborted babies are recommended for use in medicine, perfumery, and the food industry. It is suggested that “freedom of sex” is the main thing that a modern person needs. There is a historically reliable pattern - peoples mired in fornication quickly degenerated and disappeared from the face of the Earth. Even in ancient times, our ancestors had a set of moral rules about chastity and heredity. They knew that a girl of easy virtue does not produce good offspring. During the Great Patriotic War, a German doctor who examined girls aged 16-20 who were kidnapped from the USSR to Germany found that 90% of them were virgins. He appealed to Hitler to immediately begin peace negotiations with our country, convincing him that it is impossible in principle to defeat a people with such high morality... Therefore, “safe sex”, which is imposed on us from the television screen, is a real genocide of our society , which, in addition to spiritual decline, venereal and other diseases, also genetically degrades society, destroying the gene pool of the nation. Statistics show that the number of deformed and sick children is growing inexorably in direct proportion to the growth of depravity.”
Repentance is the path to healing and blessing
Repentance is a phenomenon that God has allowed to happen. This is His gift, a gift that allows a person’s soul to be healed. Repentance brings...
Healing the soul of a sinner
Healing wounds from betrayal
Healing Relationships
Well-being in the family
Trusting your spouse
Children, seeing the righteousness of their parents, choose to imitate not the world, but their father and mother.
A taste of huge price appears “Whoever is forgiven more appreciates more” (Bible).
Light of the world
Absence of many diseases
Peace in the heart
Heritage Kingdom of God
Conclusion.
“But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.” (Eph.5:3)
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication; so that each of you knows how to keep his vessel in holiness and honor, and not in the passion of lust, like the pagans who do not know God.” (1 Thess. 4:3-5)
Savenok A. V.
Fornication and adultery - what is the significance of these sins in the Orthodox Church? You can find out about this if you read our article.
Fornication and adultery
It is with the greatest sorrow that we have to begin the following pages: in essays intended for the baptized, for believers, for members of the Church, these pages essentially should not have existed. The Apostle Paul writes: “But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness must not even be mentioned among you” (Eph 5:3, see also 1 Cor 6:9-10). However, the corruption of this world around us has so dulled the moral sense (“bad communities corrupt good morals,” 1 Cor 15:33) that even those raised in the Orthodox faith (even them!) began to have premarital affairs and divorces. Anyone who has not entered into marriage, who is firm in his marital union, who is not embarrassed by thoughts of extramarital adultery and who does not bear the cross of pastoral service, it is all the better not to read this essay.
Priest Alexander Elchaninov notes in his notes (and this observation is confirmed by other pastors) that men often do not repent of the sin of accidental lustful adultery, considering it unimportant; they admit it only when directly questioned by the confessor. He even recalls one wife who told her husband who was leaving on a business trip: “If you really need it, you can use someone there - I don’t mind and I won’t be jealous. It’s important to me that your life as a whole belongs to me.” And this was said by a woman, to some extent a believer, to her somewhat believing husband. Complete misunderstanding of the Gospel commandments, patristic instructions, the spirit of the church and even the commandments of Moses!
What does “thou shalt not commit adultery” mean?
What can be said against such a sin? We will cite only the statements of the Holy Fathers and the words of Holy Scripture.
1. “You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).
2. “...fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness should not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; know that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for for this reason the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience” (Eph 5:3-6).
3. “There shall not be a harlot among the daughters of Israel, nor shall there be a fornicator among the sons of Israel” (Deut. 23:17).
4. “Flee fornication; Every sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body” (1 Cor 6:18). “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I, then, take away the members of Christ to make them members of a harlot? It won't happen! Or do you not know that whoever has sex with a harlot becomes one body with her? for it is said, The two will become one flesh” (1 Cor 6:15-16).
5. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price” (1 Cor 6:19-20). How can I defile this temple with fornication?
6. “Take care of your body as the temple of God - take care as one who has to rise again and give an answer to God; fear God as one who has to give an account to Him for everything that you have done; when your body receives a wound, you take care to heal it, so take care that it appears clean in the resurrection” (Abba Isaiah)
7. “If he who indulges in fornication before marriage is condemned and punished, much more so after marriage. For here there is a double and triple crime, which is heavier than any sin.
Let us reveal the meaning of the words of the great teacher of the Church, St. John Chrysostom. Here is a sin against one’s own body and a violation of the seventh commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery.” Here is a violation of the eighth commandment, which says: “Thou shalt not steal,” for “...your body,” as Chrysostom says, “is her (the wife’s) property and the most precious property of any property. Do not offend her in the most important matter and do not inflict a mortal wound on her. But if you despise her, then fear God, the avenger for such deeds, who threatens unbearable suffering for such sins.” Here is a violation of the ninth commandment - “thou shalt not bear false witness,” for an adulterer usually bears false witness about himself to his spouse - most divorces begin with lies in the relationship between spouses. Here there is often a violation of the tenth commandment, which says: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor anything that your neighbor has.”
8. St. John Chrysostom exclaims: “... there is truly nothing more shameful than a person who commits fornication after marriage.”
9. “The mouth of another man’s wife drips honey, and her speech is softer than oil; but its consequences are bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (Proverbs 5:3-4).
Extramarital affairs corrupt marital love, destroy families, deprive children of one of their parents, and corrupt bodies and souls.
10. “I wrote to you in a letter - do not associate with fornicators; however, not in general with the fornicators of this world, or the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, for otherwise you would have to come out of this world. But I wrote to you not to associate with someone who, while calling himself a brother, remains a fornicator with him and does not even eat together” (1 Cor 5:9-11).
11. “Think about what a wife endures when she hears from someone or even suspects that you have given yourself over to a prodigal woman. When presenting this, not only avoid adultery, but also do not give rise to suspicion; and if your wife suspects unfairly, then calm her down and dissuade her. She does this not out of enmity or pride, but out of thoughtfulness.”
12. “From chastity comes love, and from love countless benefits. And so consider all women as if they were made of stone, knowing that if after marriage you look with lustful eyes at another woman, you become guilty of the sin of adultery, and if you see that lust for another woman is aroused in you and then your wife seems unpleasant to you, then enter the inner room and, opening this book, taking Paul as your mediator and constantly repeating these words, extinguish the flame. In this way, your wife will also be desirable to you; because such a wish will not destroy your goodwill towards her...
13. “But to avoid fornication, each one have his own wife, and each one have his own husband. The husband show his wife due favor; likewise is a wife to her husband. The wife has no power over her body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does. Do not depart from one another, except by consent, for a time, for exercise and prayer, and then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you through your intemperance” (1 Cor 7:2-5).
14. “Let everyone’s marriage be honorable and the bed undefiled; But fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).
15. “By carefully observing these words (that is, the words of 1 Cor 7:2-4. - Author) both in the square and at home, and during the day and in the evening, and at the table, and on the bed, and everywhere, we ourselves will try, and teach wives and us to speak in such a way as to live our present life chastely, and to make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
It is not so difficult to pray for anyone as for those who have fallen into fornication and adultery.
Denial of Christ and fornication with adultery put a wall between man and God, through which it is difficult for loved ones and lovers, and even priests, to offer prayer. Just as renunciation of the Son of Man leads to falling away from the Church, so fornication, if it is not dissolved by the deepest humility and repentance, leads to loss of faith. We know this both from the example of the laity and from the example of priests, some of whom, having committed adultery, were deprived of their rank (according to the 25th Rule of the Holy Apostles and the 3rd Rule of Basil the Great) and became full-time militant atheists. They were recognized by their shifting, lascivious eyes.
Only humility and the deepest repentance can return those who have renounced Christ and fornicators to God, like the apostle who renounced Christ. Peter, who “went out and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).
Renunciation can be impulsive, like the ap. Petra, instantly. Fornication, to be perfect, requires time, some calculation, and preparation. It cannot be an involuntary sin, like an outburst of anger or a harsh word uttered - it is always a voluntary sin. Even murder can be involuntary, but fornicators always have time to come to their senses and ask themselves: “What am I going to do?” and move away from sin in the body, having committed it only in your heart. Fornication is terrible because of the obvious consciousness of the crime being committed.
A fornicator is worse than a harlot, just as an alcoholic is worse than an alcoholic - she is practically almost incurable, but an alcoholic, if he really wants, can be cured. The fornicator is vile because he consciously or unconsciously counts on his impunity.
“Our job is not to give birth, but to enjoy and run,” was one of the soldiers’ commandments in a censored form. A woman, and especially a girl, always takes risks. Complete fornicators, as war experience shows, are usually cowards in battle.
We know repentant harlots who became saints, and we honor Mary of Egypt as a great saint. Jesus Christ said to the priests and elders of the Jewish people: “I tell you that publicans and harlots are going ahead of you into the Kingdom of God,” but He did not say fornicators.
Among men, there are no known ones who indulged in fornication and became saints; Mary of Egypt is not among them.
However, over the centuries, the morals of society have condoned men (“being a good fellow is no reproach”) and condemned women (“walking woman”). Such views were opposed by the Church Fathers of St. Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and many others. The first wrote: “The Lord’s saying that it is not permissible to leave marriage unless the words of an adulterous person are equally appropriate for men and women. But that is not the case. We find many strict sayings about wives.
“Don’t tell me now,” exclaimed St. John Chrysostom, - about external laws, which drag adulterous wives to the court and subject them to punishment, and leave husbands who have wives and commit adultery with their maids without punishment; I will read to you the law of God, which equally reproaches both wife and husband and calls this act adultery.”
There are, however, also terrible women who, “on a bet,” either out of revenge or envy, seduce pure young men and married men. They are found in all levels of society and sometimes have the appearance of respectable ladies, crowned with honorary titles and degrees.
It’s hard and disgusting to write about all this, but you have to shout with fear and pain in your heart: “Look, how dangerous you are walking!” Sin sits within us, the sin of the world surrounds us, offering us its seductive images. Hell often dresses itself in clothes not only of “feeling,” but also of aesthetic charm.
Examples include the favorite song of many parties, “Because of the Island to the Rod,” where at first the motive captures the width of the Volga expanses, and the text ends with the praise of Stepan Razin, who “fiddled around” with the princess all night, and the next morning, to please his comrades, drowned the girl as if he was useless item. The amazingly musical romance “My fire shines in the fog” sounds even more deceptive and insinuating. Just think about the terrible meaning of the words, dressed in an elegant musical shell: “Remember, if another, / Loving a dear friend, / Will sing songs, playing, / On your knees...”.
One can cite many other songs, motifs, films, short stories, paintings, etc., exciting sensuality, corrupting the soul and body... “Satan himself,” in the words of St. Paul, - takes the form of an Angel of light, and therefore it is not a great thing if his servants also take the form of ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor 11:14-15), - and, we add, - aesthetic sophistication. It is quite natural that under the cover of darkness in amateur and comradely groups and “creative” associations, when going out into the bosom of nature to the accompaniment of passionate music with its aesthetic and sensual cries and half-whispers, young people are corrupted and previously concluded marriages fall apart.
In such “companions” the participation of Christians, members of the Church, should be excluded. Remember the words of the ap. Paul: “What agreement is there between Christ and Belial? Or what is the complicity of the faithful with the infidel?” (2 Cor 6:15). This does not mean that we are against any partnership between believers and non-believers. The only question is when and in what ways we can and should be with them, and when and in what ways we must leave their midst and separate ourselves (see 2 Cor 6:17), remembering that “friendship with the world is enmity against God ” (James 4:4).
It seems that never in the history of the world after the flood was the sense of sin so deeply lost among the peoples as at the present time. The princes of this world worked hard to tear him out of human consciousness. They were especially outraged by the seventh commandment. It is no coincidence that crime is growing all over the world, in different countries with different socio-economic and political systems. In some countries, even sodomy is not considered a reprehensible act and such relationships are protected by law.
Living in the conditions of a corrupt world, a Christian is nevertheless called to purity (“blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God,” Matthew 5:8); it is necessary to constantly maintain in oneself the consciousness and feeling of where sin begins, cultivating in oneself the fear of sin, for sin, especially carnal sin, removes us from God.
Living in the world, we must constantly remember that a Christian is called to “invisible warfare” with the sin sitting in him, with the sin surrounding him from the outside, to fight for purity and love, for goodness, for the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, for the Kingdom of God, which , according to the word of the Savior (Luke 17:21), must be within us. Every Christian must recognize himself as a warrior of Christ our God with sin, a warrior who gains the joy of the Holy Spirit already here on earth.
American John Mott, founder of the Christian student movement, called the fight against carnal sin “the most difficult struggle in a student’s life.” All or almost all monastics went through this struggle. Many people who get married do not avoid it either. Sin, especially carnal sin, begins with a thought, “for from within, from the heart of man, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an envious eye, blasphemy, pride, madness - all this is evil comes from within and defiles a person” (Mark 7:21-23). Therefore, constant control over your thoughts is necessary, especially such insidious ones as lust, adultery and vanity.
Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. But if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:27-29).
The world-famous psychologist V. Dzheme pointed out that it would be quite natural if a person, who has been indulging in lustful thoughts for days and weeks, finally goes to a brothel, and Saint Mark the Ascetic wrote: “When you have sinned, blame not the body, but the thought; for if the thought did not flow, the body would not follow it.”
The first elementary rule of dealing with thoughts is no participation in “greasy” conversations and jokes. If it is impossible for you to interrupt them, then do not approve of them with a smile or anything - read Jesus’ prayer at this time. We knew soldiers who said this prayer every time they used obscene language, and during the entire war they never swore obscenely. It is necessary to behave in such a way that it would be psychologically impossible to tell you such jokes and dubious stories, and it would be inconvenient to tell you in front of you. To do this, you do not need to declare yourself a Christian or say anything, but you just need to have inner chastity and prayerful memory. The Jesus Prayer in such situations will not only protect you from impurity, but will also make the very mental atmosphere of the group around you cleaner. She is a weapon in the invisible battle, Christ’s war for her own purity and for the purity of others. The second elementary rule is - do not go to voluptuous films even in old age, do not participate in comradely amateur song circles with a dubious repertoire, be chaste in choosing books to read, etc.
Summarizing the experience of the Holy Fathers, set out in the Philokalia, it must be emphasized that human consciousness cannot help but be busy: it either indulges in empty thoughts, including prodigal thoughts, or is busy with prayer and work, thinking about heavenly things.
For the sin in question, more than for any other, the popular proverb is true: “Laziness is the mother of all sin.” May work, prayer and mutual love be the companions of your life and may they protect the purity and strength of your marriage.
In this article we will talk about one of the most important problems of the modern world - adultery. Many people probably know that adultery is a punishable sin, dishonor, baseness and defilement of the soul. However, not everyone can accurately answer the question of what adultery is. That is why below we will discuss this and other issues related to this sin in as much detail as possible.
But first, it’s worth remembering what exactly is called sin, and what actions the Orthodox Church classifies as sinful acts, and whether prayer will help against fornication.
7 deadly sins
Sin is a list of violations of religious commandments. This list is very extensive, but the main ones, which are called “mortals,” are not all. These are precisely the vices that can cause other unpleasant actions. We will not consider them in detail now, since the main topic is adultery, so we will limit ourselves to a simple listing. So, what is included in the list of “Seven Deadly Sins”?
It is the latter that is worth talking about in more detail.
Adultery: what is it?
Answering the question about what is adultery in Orthodoxy, we can say that this is a great sin, part of the 10 commandments. This sin usually involves treason and infidelity. In ancient times, those persons who committed adultery were subject to the most severe punishment - death penalty, since this such action was equated with an ungodly and devilish act. When a person succumbs to love and sexual attraction to the opposite sex, he violates the boundaries of fidelity to his spouse, thereby destroying the family.
In addition, intimate relations between people outside of marriage are also considered adultery. This issue occupies a particularly important place in Muslim states. Even in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty says the following words about adultery: “Do not approach adultery, for it is an abomination and a bad way.” It is also worth noting that the prohibition of this commandment includes:
- Lust;
- Divorce;
- Lust for other people's husbands and wives.
Is there anything else included in this concept other than extramarital intimate life and intimate relations with someone else’s companion? Currently, most people simply do not distinguish adultery from simple human relationships. In order for everyone to be able to understand this issue as much as possible, Here are some illustrative examples:
In addition to the above, adultery includes any sexual fantasy with a woman who belongs to another man. Now it is worth discussing in more detail what is not adultery. And is it possible to have an intimate relationship with a single woman? Let's talk about this in more detail:
- Intimate relationships between a single man and a woman are not considered adultery only if the people plan to legitimize their union through marriage in the near future. If after the first sexual intercourse a guy does not offer his hand and heart to a girl, then this will be considered fornication.
- A man who is already married and has slept with a single woman should also propose marriage to her and invite her to his house in place of his second wife. Only in this case, intimate intimacy will not be considered fornication.
Punishment for adultery
We have already discussed what adultery is, and now we can talk about consequences and punishments for this mortal sin. If a person showed lust for the opposite sex, cheated, showed dishonor or committed any other bad act, then an unmarried man is entitled to one hundred strong lashes. He is also banished from society for a whole year. This is exactly what the punishment for fornication looks like in Islam. Moreover, it is worth noting that this is not the most severe punishment. It does not matter who was to blame for the sin - both deserve punishment. Although, the demand from the fair sex will be great.
If we talk about people who committed adultery while being married, or were married before committing a mortal sin, then they are subject to the most severe punishment. Such people are stoned until they die. It is also believed that such a person who commits a sin will certainly burn in hell. But there is only one way out of this situation - atonement for mortal sin and sincere repentance.
Orthodoxy and adultery
What is considered adultery in Orthodoxy? First of all, this sin means adultery, intimacy between two married people, as well as sexual intercourse between a single person and an engaged person. By exchanging rings at the wedding, the couple swears an oath of fidelity and love before God, the Cross, and the Gospel. If you break this promise, then a person thereby deceives his witnesses. For this sin, the Orthodox Church does not punish the sinner physically, but causes condemnation from God.
How to atone for sin? Will prayer help?
Many have no idea how to get rid of their sins before God. Repentance is considered only half the battle. . After repentance must come atonement. Everything is much more complicated here. The clergy say that if you sincerely ask for repentance and forgiveness, then the Almighty will definitely forgive and give you a chance for further existence. In order to protect yourself in the future from the temptation of dreams, there is one good remedy - prayer against adultery and fornication.
In conclusion, I would like to give readers some advice: fill your life only with good moments and deeds, respect your family and friends, love your spouses and children, read prayers for your health and never commit adultery!