How does the Church feel about Vanga and her predictions? How the Church relates to the "clairvoyant" Vanga.

The debate about who the great prophetess Vanga was did not subside after her century. Some of her fans are seeking canonization. And some church hierarchs, on the contrary, consider her a witch. But, interestingly, even they recognize her gift. I had to be in Bulgaria, I talked with relatives and close friends of Vanga. They said that Vanga regularly went to church, took communion and confession, sent donations to monasteries. She called herself a "great sinner".
Time will judge. It's clear to me that she was great personality, the mechanism of her gift has not yet been unraveled by scientists. I am posting my note about Vanga, which was published in Life in September. it full version. The photo of Vanga was given to me by her niece Krasimira. On color - Vanga in the Rozhensky monastery in 1992. In black and white - Vanga with relatives at the church in the Rila Monastery in 1970.

"The Church declared Vanga a witch

The Bulgarian Metropolitan Nicholas called the great prophetess a witch, and her gift was diabolical.

The 43-year-old Metropolitan of Plovdiv Nikolai, one of the most respected theologians, a graduate of the Moscow Theological Academy, in his archpastoral message to believers, declared the world-famous prophetess a witch.

This was done in response to the appeals of Vanga's fellow countrymen and the bishop's governor in Petrich, Angel Kochev, to the patriarchate with a request to canonize Vangelia Pandeva-Gushcherova.

During the life of the great prophetess, the Bulgarian church considered Vanga to be her faithful child. She regularly visited monasteries, made large donations to them, went to confession, and communed. Even the temple built by Vanga in Rupita, which the church considered non-canonical in form and murals, was nevertheless consecrated during her lifetime, in 1994.

Vanga was also buried in a Christian way - several priests were buried, and a cross was placed on the grave. Why is it now, 16 years after the death, that the church is conducting a massive attack on Vanga? The fact is that the popularity of the prophetess after her death did not melt away, but grows, acquiring legends. And on the eve of the end of the world promised by the Mayan calendar in 2012, the veneration of the blind prophet turns into hysteria. And the Vanga Foundation, created in Bulgaria during her lifetime, turned, according to the church, into an occult organization.

The attack on Vanga began in the year of its centenary. First, a book by Hieromonk Vissarion from the Zograf Monastery on Athos was presented in Sofia. He called her loudly and sharply: “Vanga is a portrait modern witch". In the Russian edition, the word "witch" was softened, replaced by a softer "sorceress". book written as Scientific research, at first the church certified as a private opinion of the theologian.

The book caused a storm - Vanga is revered in Bulgaria, there are several hundred of her godchildren there, and there are tens of thousands of people healed by this woman or those whom she helped with advice.

I had to visit Bulgaria, I met with relatives, neighbors and friends of Vanga. People come to her grave in Rupita, as if to a saint - with their prayers and requests. They say that they are fulfilled - admirers of Vanga keep a chronicle of posthumous miracles. Recently, national television conducted a survey, according to the results of which Vanga was named among the most popular personalities. She is a brand of Bulgaria. And suddenly the theologian from Athos declared her a witch! Indignant letters rained down on the patriarchate. People called Vanga a saint and asked to be canonized.

Metropolitan

The Church responded firmly and harshly - through the lips of Metropolitan Nikolai of Plovdiv. He is considered a bishop close to the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim; official documents patriarchy. It was no longer a "trial balloon", like the book of Vissarion, but a shot from a large-caliber gun. Here are excerpts from the message of Metropolitan Nicholas:

“I must say with regret that the so-called “Vanga phenomenon” is becoming more dangerous and disturbing, because Vanga and her adherents have always acted and continue to act under the guise of the church. Vanga, under the guise of a pious Orthodox Christian, blasphemed the church, called church canons “TV shows” ... Not a single prophet of God dared to call the souls of the dead, this is pure witchcraft, and Vanga did this hundreds of times throughout her life.

Metropolitan Nicholas in his message accused Vanga of "robbing people, taking money and gifts for her services, involving people in her occult activities, forcing them to sleep on sugar." (Let me remind you that Vanga asked each visitor to bring her a piece of refined sugar, which the day before was supposed to be held under the pillow - ed.)

Vanga, according to the metropolitan, "did not humble herself before the church and its prelates, placing herself above the church." The Metropolitan, referring to Holy Scripture, compares the seer with pagans and idolaters who did not repent. He states that "people who consider Vanga their idol persist in their delusion and separate themselves from the church."

Vladyka Nicholas harshly sets an ultimatum to his flock: “Either abandon Vanga as an enemy, or take her as prophets and saints, abandoning the Church.”

The next step of the church in the fight against the phenomenon and the cult of the great prophetess may be to excommunicate her from the church. The message of Metropolitan Nicholas and the work of Hieromonk Vissarion are very similar to the theological justification for the need for extreme measures.

Vissarion

Hieromonk Vissarion, who in his youth before taking the dignity himself was fond of occult teachings, investigated the phenomenon of Vanga with the meticulousness of an investigator of the Inquisition. It seems that if there was an opportunity, he would interrogate the prophetess herself with prejudice. But you can’t raise Vanga from the coffin, you can’t call him from the other world, and Vissarion took advantage of the memories of people who knew Vanga closely, documentaries, recordings of interviews. After analyzing the words and actions of the seer, the Athonite theologian came to the conclusion that she really had the gift of prophecy, but not from God.

It was not easy for me to work on this topic, to delve into this poison for eight months, - says Vissarion. - It is enough to look at the forces with which Vanga communicated to understand that they are dark. There is a lot of evidence that evil spirits tormented Vanga. They made her sweep the cobwebs at night, then undress and dress again. When Vanga tried to resist, they pushed her down the stairs, breaking her leg. Vanga fell into a trance under the influence of spirits that used her body as a soulless thing, forced her to speak in a strange voice. Vanga's fan Velichka Angelova describes the moment when she growled like a dog and threatened others. In fact, Vanga is an unfortunate woman, tormented by evil forces. According to the scripture, sorcerers who were engaged in summoning the dead, like Vanga, have a place not with God, but in hellfire.

The theologian Vissarion compared in detail the treatment used by the holy fathers with Vanga's healing.

Vanga had many magical elements. Vanga advised a neurotic sufferer to slaughter a rooster, take out the heart and put it in a bottle of wine, then eat and drink wine. Elder Paisius said that magicians treat people possessed by demons in this way, and whose illnesses did not occur due to natural factors, but because of dark forces. Due to her connection with demons, Vanga could “help”, but the soul of bodily healed people turned out to be connected with demonic influence.

According to Vissarion, in order for the fruits of holiness to appear, a long period of purification is necessary, and Vanga did not have it at all:

In her youth, when she became blind and began to predict, according to her, St. John Chrysostom appeared before her, who said that she would become the first fortuneteller. This is a tragicomic moment - John Chrysostom always spoke of soothsayers as servants of the evil one. And Vanga, spiritually ignorant, took that false demonic vision at face value. And in 1941, she begins to speak in a strange voice, as if possessed by a demon. She receives predictions from communicating with demonic forces. They sometimes speak the truth, but only to subsequently deceive those who trust them. That is why we should not turn to soothsayers - even if they say something true, the human soul will still be defiled by demonic influence. John Chrysostom advises us to be very careful, to hate soothsayers who call themselves Christians. I proved that Vanga is a sorceress who is very far from holiness.

In Petrich, where Vanga's house stands, she is still revered as a saint. On the anniversary of his death, a memorial service was served at Vanga's grave in Rupita. Priest Angel Kochev, who initiated the canonization of Vanga, believes that he expressed the heartfelt desire of many people in Bulgaria. Unlike Hieromonk Vissarion, the author of a book that casts the prophetess into hell, Kochev knew Vanga personally, since 1972 he regularly performed the rite of unction in her house.

Vanga was a martyr, with great joy I would agree that she be canonized, because this is not only my personal desire, but also many people in Bulgaria, - Father Angel outlined his position. – This right has been granted to the Holy Synod of our Church. One of the conditions for the canonization of a saint is miracles. They were committed during the life of Vanga, she helped even the hopelessly ill. Isn't it a resurrection, isn't it a miracle when you bring a person back to life? So, God forbid that visible signs appear after her death on her grave, where thousands of people come for help. There were skeptics who said that miracles would end after death, but they continue.

About the fact that Vanga is a sorceress, and her gift is not from God, there were conversations around her all her life, - Vanga's niece Krasimira Stoyanova told me in Bulgaria. “They hurt my aunt the most...

According to relatives and people who knew Vanga closely, she really often spoke about the voices that dictated prophecies to her. The seer seemed to be just a mouthpiece. But whose?

“Vanga was chosen by Heaven,” says Krasimira Stoyanova. – My aunt was a believing and virtuous, highly moral and modest woman. She observed all the canons of the Orthodox faith, prayed a lot, visited churches and monasteries with joy. And always and everywhere called people to faith in God! As for the ministers of the church, in relation to Vanga they used then double standarts. Officially, they did not recognize her, but priests, even metropolitans, came to my aunt and asked about their personal affairs. And she always told them the truth, even impartial. Scolded for the fact that their feuds led the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to a split. (Now she is reunited again - ed.)

Icons hang everywhere in Vanga's house in Rupita. On the wall, her favorite is the image of St. Petka. In Russia, she is called Paraskeva. The name of this great martyr was Vanga's mother. And the church that Vanga built with her own money is also consecrated in honor of St. Petka. This temple was the dream of her whole life.

“In the fall of 1991, Vanga began building a church at her own expense,” recalls Krasimira Stoyanova. She chose the site, laid the foundation. But the people from the Vanga Foundation, who then hung around my aunt, ordered the temple to be moved to another place. They built a building that locals called the "Masonic Temple". The countrymen did not destroy it only out of respect for Vanga - they brought their icons there so that at least something would be according to the canons. I regard this temple as a mockery of Aunt Vanga's dream. She wanted to build a church for the people, but a real one...

Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop, who knew Vanga closely (it was he who consecrated the altar in the church built in Rupite), shortly before her death, came to Vanga's house. He quietly entered the room to the patient with a reliquary, in which there was a particle of the Cross of the Lord. There were many people around, the blind Vanga suddenly spoke in a low, hoarse voice: “Someone has come in here. Let him immediately throw it on the floor! He has it in his hands! It prevents me from speaking! Because of this, I don’t see anything!” Vladyka left without saying a single bad word about Vanga. And now, in response to questions about her, he answers:

Pray for her soul!

97-year-old Patriarch of Bulgaria Orthodox Church Maxim refrains from participating in theological disputes about Wang. His position is wise: "Time will judge!"

Exists a large number of various literature describing the life of the Bulgarian soothsayer. Texts are monotonous, based on external events and ordinary emotions. The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards Vanga was formed under the influence of eyewitnesses, literature and analysis of her deeds.

Even the most detailed books do not fully reveal the personality of Vanga, who gained popularity and became known thanks to magazine articles. The church claims that the activities of the Bulgarian seer did not fit in with the canons of Orthodoxy and the moral foundations of the Christian religion.

Church opinion

Sacred texts forbid believers to turn to skillful fortune-tellers and magicians, even if these people rely on higher power inside their heart. Prediction is a kind of magic and paganism, which contributes to the penetration into the field of the universal world order. Those who look to the future question the power of Heavenly Father and in some way limit the freedom of human choice.

The Apostle Paul warns: dark forces are masked by light and try to deceive the soul into a dishonorable path.

Ordinary people often call the soothsayer a saint, comparing her with the Matrona of Moscow. Difficulties in forming attitudes are due to the fact that the Orthodox Church rejects the authority of Vanga, considering the activities of the seer inappropriate.

The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards:

How does the church feel about Vanga's predictions

Modern believers hardly recognize light forces from disguised dark ones and move away from the true teaching of the Savior Christ. This ignorance is formed on the basis of an atheistic environment and religious illiteracy.

• However, the Church leaves a chance that prophecies can come true. According to the clergy, demonic forces, striving to disorientate the will of a person, force the latter to act in accordance with the desire of the demons. To soothsayers who have connected their lives with dark forces, the Lord does not reveal His will. Therefore, the clairvoyant Vanga, rejected by the Church, is not an authority in the Orthodox world.
• The clergy say: holiness in Christianity is manifested with a full-fledged spiritual experience that does not affect the free will of a person. The grace bestowed by the Lord comes after many years of ascetic practice and unquestioning observance of the commandments. The fruits of perfection appear through years of purifying petitions. In order to receive holiness and special gifts, Revelation through the descent of the Spirit is necessary.
• Vanga's biography tells that she was far from the conditions for acquiring light abilities. The clairvoyant was deeply mistaken about true faith. In her sessions, she went into a deep trance, after which she could not recreate the picture of what she saw in her memory. Eyewitnesses noticed that during the rituals Vanga operated on other people's voices or imitated the sounds of animals. These signs are similar to possession, but not to holiness.
• Evidence and biography facts confirm the soothsayer's communication with fallen spirits. Vanga often used crystals and other similar paraphernalia for divination. otherworldly forces revealed to the clairvoyant the secrets of the past, present and distant future, which they only foresee, but do not know for sure. Very often the predictions do not come true. The demons, who entered into a dialogue with the medium, are explained in an obscure language or deliberately deceive. The seer's predictions were dressed in the form of understatement and were in doubt.
• The prophecies of Christian saints were spread in the name of salvation. Believers were given a chance to avoid misfortunes of various scales through diligent repentance and denial of sinfulness. In the predictions of the Bulgarian clairvoyant, a severe doom is visible, as if there is no God at all who can create everything that is necessary.
• Vanga, according to the Church, did not realize her connection with the world of fallen spirits, just as the eyewitnesses of her predictions did not understand this. There is no need to see the other world to accomplish earthly affairs. The knowledge of the Law of God should be our light. The one who keeps the commandments and directs his spiritual gaze to the Creator himself will not be deceived.

On a note! With the money of the soothsayer, a temple was built in honor of Paraskeva of Bulgaria. The artist S. Rusev, an admirer of N. Roerich, was engaged in architecture and wall painting. This church was dubbed "Masonic", since the altar and frescoes did not at all correspond to Christian ideas. Opposite the image of Christ is a portrait of the seer Vanga, made in the style of "pseudo-icon".

Construction was considered as a sacrifice and began in 1992. Today the temple is used as a tourist center.

Read about superstitions:

Church of Vanga in Rupite, Bulgaria

Vanga's biography

Vangelia Gushcherova was born in 1911 in the town of Strumica into a poor family. When the little girl was 3 years old, her mother died in childbirth. An event that radically affected the fate of Vanga occurred in 1923. She was in company with her sisters when a powerful hurricane rose and carried the future clairvoyant into the field. She was found in a mound of branches and sand, the girl underwent several operations on her eyes, but her vision could not be restored.

Characteristics of the seer's clairvoyance

Vanga often mentioned the voices that dictated all sorts of prophecies. The church claims that the gift of divination comes either from the Almighty or from demonic forces. When the seer fell into a trance, her personality left the body, giving the voice to otherworldly spirits.

• Vanga herself said that these creatures have a certain hierarchy. The main demons come when you need to announce big troubles. These creatures, possessing colossal power, arbitrarily infiltrate the body and rule it, not paying attention to the desire of the "owner".
• Some demons appeared before Vanga in the form of deceased relatives of people who asked for help. The ghosts answered questions and, with great curiosity, asked their own.
• Holy Scripture warns believers to stay away from the world of spirits, where there is great lies and colossal darkness. Sometimes the Bulgarian seer turned to alien creatures for help.
• Vanga used magical techniques during healing, but did not at all convince people to read prayers and repent before the Creator. Holy people, asking for divine help, take care of the healing of the soul itself, which directly affects the subordinate body.
• From seduction dark energy people are protected by a spiritual life that is balanced within the bounds of righteousness. Asceticism and religious aspiration sobers the mind, removes the veil of ignorance, saves from the fall. When a person is not ready to serve the angels, he disappears into the power of demons who know how to deceive insidiously. Vanga did not have the correct experience of being a Christian and could not distance herself from the creatures visiting her.
• Even the fact that the prophecies come true does not prove the purity of the spirit. A similar example is found in the Holy Scriptures, where the apostle Paul healed the body of a servant girl from a seer demon.

Despite her popularity and great honor, the Bulgarian seer appears before the priests as a person who let powerful darkness into her heart.

Can Vanga's prophecies be trusted? Archpriest Vladimir Golovin

15 years have passed since the death of the Bulgarian clairvoyant Vanga. One could not pay attention to the hype around this date in the secular media, but in the program “Russian Sensations”, which was broadcast on NTV, Vanga is shown surrounded by the clergy, during the christening. Moreover, even during her lifetime, she built with her own money in Rupita, where she lived, a temple in honor of St. Petka. Many non-church people compare her with the blessed Matrona of Moscow. What fundamental difference between them and how does the Bulgarian Orthodox Church treat Vanga?

Alexander DVORKIN, Head of the Department of Sect Studies, PSTGU:

I already wrote in Athos Tales about Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop (Vanga lived on the territory of the Nevrokop diocese), how, shortly before Vanga’s death, messengers from her came to Vladyka and conveyed that Vanga needed his advice and asked to come to her. A few days later, Metropolitan Nathanael arrived and entered Vanga's room. In his hands he held a cross-reliquary with a particle Holy Cross Lord's. There were a lot of people in the room, Vanga was sitting in the back, broadcasting something and could not hear that another person quietly entered the door, and certainly could not know who it was. Suddenly she broke off and, in a changed, low, hoarse voice, said with an effort: “Someone has come in here. Let him immediately throw THIS on the floor!” "What is it""? – the stunned people around asked Vanga. And then she broke into a frantic cry: “THIS! He is holding IT in his hands! THIS prevents me from speaking! Because of this, I can't see anything! I don't want THAT in my house!" yelled the old woman, kicking her legs and swaying. Vladyka turned around, got out, got into the car and drove off.
Vanga was a sorceress, she was in contact with dark forces. During her lifetime, she, like any person, could repent, and this is exactly what Metropolitan Nathanael hoped for, responding to her request. But, alas, she did not repent, and, naturally, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church treats her negatively. The witch herself really wanted to show her connection with Orthodoxy, since in this way she expected to attract new "clients". For this, she built the temple on the territory of her estate, but if you look closely, it can hardly be called Orthodox. Some external forms are observed, but the icons are terrible, the architecture is monstrous, everything is rude, clumsy, and in general everything is built around Vanga. It was supported by schismatic or openly sectarian pseudo-Orthodox groups. Anyone can dress up in a cassock, but this does not make him a priest.
Well, that someone had her godmother, so everyday Orthodoxy, in which only some external forms are observed, without connection with the content, and sometimes despite it, is even more widespread in Bulgaria than in Russia. We also sometimes become godparents unbaptized people- non-church parents invite their friends to be godfathers, not even wondering if they are baptized. The same thing often happens in Bulgaria.
But what is common between Vanga and the blessed Matrona of Moscow, I do not understand. Blindness? So Homer was blind. And the Venetian Doge Enrico Dondolo didn't see anything either. Nevertheless managed to lead the 4th crusade to the walls of Constantinople and led the treacherous capture of the Byzantine capital, unprecedented robbery and desecration of its shrines. Vanga was openly engaged in witchcraft, spoke about the special gift that she had after a traumatic brain injury, and took money for the reception. It was a well-established and well-established business, on which a lot of people profited - the whole environment of the Bulgarian sorceress. Blessed Matrona lay paralyzed, humbly carried her cross and prayed to God for the people who asked her about it.

Recorded by Leonid VINOGRADOV

The question of the attitude of the Church towards the soothsayer Vanga still worries society. Who was she? From whom did you receive your gift? Until now, there are people who call Vanga a “saint”, “prophetress”, “clairvoyant”, comparing her with the blessed Matrona of Moscow and not understanding why the church recognized Vanga as a witch. People ask: “Why? Isn't she a church girl? I went to church; built a temple - it was the dream of her life", "What did this woman do wrong, helping so many people?" etc. She said: “Go and be baptized!” - as if she had never been a stranger to the Church. Hence the difficulties arise. On the one hand, she clearly stated that she belonged to the Church, and on the other hand, everything she did was completely contrary to the dogma of the Church. And this is another clear evidence that it is becoming increasingly difficult for modern man to distinguish between spirits and adhere to the true teachings of Christ. This is the fruit of an atheistic upbringing and Christian illiteracy.

Brief biography of Vanga (1911-1996)

Vangelia Pandeva Guscherova (1911-1996), better known as Vanga, was born on January 31, 1911 in Strumnitsa (now Macedonia) into a poor peasant family. Vanga was only 3 years old when, in 1914, at the birth of her second child, her mother Paraskeva died. After the end of the First World War, around 1919, her father Pande Surchev married a second time, to Tanka Georgieva, who becomes Vanga's stepmother. From Tanke he had three more children (Vasil, Tome and Lyubka). At the birth of his fourth child in 1928, Tanka, his second wife, also died.

When Vanga was 12 years old, in 1923, an event happened to her that changed her whole later life. When she, along with her two cousins, was returning to the village from the field, a hurricane of terrible force lifted her into the air and carried her far into the field. We found it, littered with branches and sprinkled with sand. Sand in her eyes makes her three unsuccessful operations on the eyes, as a result of which Vanga completely loses his sight.

At the age of 14, Vanga is sent to the city of Zemun (Serbia) to the House of the Blind, where she spends three years of her life and studies the Broglie alphabet, music, and begins to play the piano well. The girl is taught to knit, cook, sew. At the age of 18, she is proposed to by a blind man named Dimitar, who also lives in the House of the Blind. His parents are rich, and the girl can expect a secure future. Vanga agrees, but at this time she receives news from her father about the death of her stepmother Tanka, the father calls her daughter home, as her help is needed to care for her young brothers and sister. The wedding with Dimitar is upset, and Vanga returns to his father, actively getting involved in everyday chores.

Knowing how to knit beautifully, Vanga takes orders at home, is engaged in weaving. But the money earned is not enough for a decent life, and the family lives in poverty.

Vanga's unusual abilities began to appear in April 1941, when she was 30 years old. She was visited by "a tall, fair-haired, mysterious rider of divine beauty" who told her that he would be by her side and help her make predictions about the dead and the living.Soon after that, “another voice began to be heard from her lips, which called with amazing accuracy the places and events, the names of the mobilized men who would return alive, or with whom some kind of misfortune would happen ...”.Since that time, Vanga began to fall into a trance frequently, receive more and more visitors, find lost people and things, and talk to the "dead".

In 1940, Vanga's father died at the age of 54. In May 1942, Vanga marries, at the categorical command of the "forces", Dimitar Gushterov (despite the fact that he was then engaged to another woman). Family life Vangi was unhappy, she had no children, and 5 years after the wedding, her husband Dimitar fell seriously ill (in 1947), began to drink very heavily and died in April 1962 at the age of 42.

In 1982, at the age of 71, Vanga moved to the Rupite area, surrounded by respect and great recognition from many people. Vanga receives visitors almost until her death, at the age of 85 (she died of cancer on August 11, 1996). More than 15,000 people attended her funeral, including senior officials(presidents, ambassadors, diplomats, the entire cabinet of ministers, deputies and journalists). That's in in general terms the life of the world famous soothsayer.

The appearance of the "gift"

In her youth, when Vanga became blind, according to her, John Chrysostom appeared before her, who said that she would become the first fortuneteller (strange, because St. John Chrysostom always spoke of fortune tellers as servants of the evil one). And much later, she became the owner of an unusual "gift". Many people came to her every day. She could tell a person's past. Discover details that even loved ones did not know. Often she made predictions and predictions. People left strongly impressed.

Vanga's visions began with her communication with a certain "horseman". Here is how the niece describes one of these visions from the words of Vanga: “... He (the rider) was tall, Russian and divinely handsome. Dressed like an ancient warrior, in armor that glittered in the moonlight. His horse wagged its white tail and dug the ground with its hooves. He stopped in front of the gates of Vanga's house, jumped off his horse and entered a dark room. Such a radiance emanated from him that it became light inside, as if during the day. He turned to Vanga and spoke in a low voice: “Soon the world will turn upside down and many people will die. In this place you will stand and prophesy to the dead and the living. Don't be afraid! I will be next to you and I will say what you have to convey to them! Who was this rider who appeared to Vanga?

The source of Vanga's "gift"

According to relatives and those who knew Vanga, she spoke about the voices that dictated the prophecies. Holy Scripture and the holy fathers speak of two sources of the gift of divination: from God and from demonic powers. There is no third. Who gave Vanga information about the invisible world? Where did this astonishing awareness come from? This answer can be found in the book of Krasimira Stoyanova, Vanga's niece.

K. Stoyanova gives various details about how Vanga communicated with the other world, with "spirits":

Question: Are you talking to spirits?

Vanga: Many people come and they are very different. Some I can't understand. Not those who now come and are near me, I understand. One comes, knocks on my door and says: “This door is bad, change it!”

Question: Do you remember anything after being in a trance?

Vanga: No. I don't remember almost anything. After the trance, I feel very bad all day.

Question: Godmother, why don't you remember what is said during a trance?

Vanga: When they want to speak through me, I, as a spirit, leave my body and stand aside, and they enter me and speak, and I hear nothing.

It is enough to look at the forces with which Vanga communicated to understand that they are dark.

As Stoyanova wrote, according to Vanga herself, the creatures that communicate with her have some kind of hierarchy, because there are “bosses” who rarely come, only when they need to report some extraordinary events or big cataclysms. Then Vanga's face becomes pale, she faints and a voice begins to be heard from her mouth that has nothing to do with her voice. He is very strong and has a completely different timbre. The words and sentences that come out of her mouth have nothing to do with the words that Vanga uses in his usual speech. It is as if some kind of alien mind, some kind of alien consciousness, inhabits her in order to inform through her lips about events fatal to people. Vanga called these creatures "great strength" or "great spirit."

The description of the creatures with which Vanga communicates very clearly reveals to us the world of the heavenly spirits of evil, just as it was described in Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers: the dark forces have a hierarchy; a person cannot control his mental and bodily activities; The "forces" arbitrarily come into contact with Vanga, completely disregarding her desires.

Other demons who gave Vanga predictions about the past and future of her visitors appeared under the guise of their deceased relatives. Vanga admitted: “When a person stands in front of me, all the deceased relatives gather around him. They themselves ask me questions and willingly answer mine. What I hear from them is what I pass on to the living.” The appearance of fallen spirits under the guise of dead people has been known since ancient biblical times. The Word of God emphatically forbids such fellowship: Turn not to those who call up the dead (Lev. 19:31).

In addition to the spirits that appeared to Vanga under the guise of "little forces" and " big forces”, as well as deceased relatives, she communicated with another kind of inhabitants of the other world. She called them the inhabitants of the "planet Vamphim" (no comment).

In K. Stoyanova's story about Vanga's contacts with the dead, there is an episode where she made contact with the long-dead clairvoyant theosophist Helena Blavatsky. And when Svyatoslav Roerich visited Vanga, she told him: “Your father was not just an artist, but also an inspired prophet. All his paintings are insights, predictions. As you know, the Council of Bishops in 2000 excommunicated the ardent fighter against Christianity and H. Blavatsky (the founder of the Theosophical Society) from the Church.

In addition, Vanga spoke very well of Juna Davitashvili, approved of the activities of psychics, communicated personally with many of them, and was actively involved in healing herself. As for the methods of its treatment, no textbook of magic would disdain to describe them. Here brief retelling one of the many cases in Vanga's practice and her recommendations. A certain man, having lost his mind, grabbed an ax and rushed at his relatives, when the brothers tied him up and brought him to Vanga, she advised him to do the following: “Buy a new clay pot, fill it with water from the river, scooping against the current, and this water three times water the patient. Then throw the pot back to break it and don't look back!" We do not see a word about repentance and church life that could heal the soul of the sick! Healings performed by Orthodox saints have always aimed, first of all, at spiritual healing; healing the flesh at the cost of defeating the spirit is the lot of occult healers of all stripes.

In her work, Vanga often used sugar, which allowed her to see the past and future of a person. A person who came to her for advice brought with him two or three pieces of sugar, which before that had to lie under his pillow for several days. Taking these pieces in her hands, Vanga told the man about his past and future. Fortune telling with the help of a magic crystal has been known since ancient times. For Vanga, sugar was an accessible kind of crystal that everyone could bring (sugar has a crystalline structure).

All the above facts and evidence show that Vanga's "phenomenon" fits perfectly into the classical framework of experiences of communication with fallen spirits. The inhabitants of the other world revealed to Vanga the present and past of people.

Vanga herself did not realize that she was communicating with the world of fallen spirits. Many of its visitors did not understand this either. A strict spiritual life and many years of ascetic experience save us from being seduced by fallen spirits. Such an attitude teaches spiritual sobriety and protects from pernicious delusion. St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), speaking about fallen spirits, says that because of their sinfulness, people are closer to them than to the Angels of God. And therefore, when a person is not spiritually prepared, instead of angels, demons appear to him, which, in turn, leads to severe spiritual temptation. Vanga had neither the experience of Christian spiritual life, nor the knowledge that could help her in a critical assessment of incomprehensible phenomena that suddenly powerfully invaded her life. The house in which Vanga lived, in her opinion, was built on the site of an ancient pagan temple. There is evidence that many people, coming to this place, felt oppressed.

Yes, Vanga was engaged in divination and some of her predictions came true, but from the point of view of biblical teaching, this fact in itself does not yet prove the spiritual purity of the source of predictions, for example, in the Bible we read about a maid possessed by “... a prophetic spirit, which through divination delivered great income for their masters” (Acts 16:16). We emphasize that the spirit of divination left the woman after the command of St. Paul, uttered by him in the name of Jesus Christ: “Paul, being indignant, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And [the spirit] went out at the same hour.”(Acts 16:18). Given Vanga's sympathy for the occult and extrasensory perception, we can conclude that the same forces that feed the occult and magic acted at the basis of her spiritual phenomenon, and therefore, if Vanga had been in the place of that New Testament maid, she would have suffered the same fate.

One day, accidentally finding himself not far from the cross, which had a particle of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross Lord, Vanga demanded that he be removed from her, since she cannot prophesy. It is known that if next to Vanga they began to read Orthodox prayers She also lost her gift.

Church of Vanga

Vanga built a church in Rupita in the name of St. Paraskeva of Bulgaria. But not everything is so simple here either. The built temple violates all church canons. Architecture and painting belong famous artist Svetlin Rusev, who is a great admirer of Nicholas Roerich, which was very evident during the construction of the church. The altar and wall paintings were so inconsistent with the ideas of the Orthodox faith that some even called for the destruction of the building. The temple was called "Masonic".

Vanga herself called the construction of the church a "sacrifice". The foundation stone of the church was laid on August 20, 1992 by the then Nevrokosky Metropolitan Pimen, but it should be noted that in that year there was a split in the Bulgarian Church, and Metropolitan Pimen was one of the organizers of this split. The construction of the church was carried out by the Vanga Foundation. In 1994, the altar of the temple was consecrated by the canonical Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop, but despite this, schismatics and members of the Vanga Foundation immediately began to dispose of it. Currently, this temple has been turned into a tourist center. Interestingly, opposite the image of the Savior, there is a portrait of Vanga herself, made using the “pseudo-icon” technique, which also caused a sharp rejection of the clergy, who call such faces semi-occult.

About the "holiness" of Vanga

Today, fellow countrymen of the great clairvoyant demand that the Church canonize Vanga as a saint. People come to her grave in Rupita, as if to a saint, with prayers and requests. Their argument for the "holiness" of Vanga is the words of Stoyanova: "Vanga was chosen by Heaven. Aunt was a believing, modest woman. She observed the canons, prayed, attended church with joy. And she always called for faith in God! As for the priests, they officially did not recognize, but even the metropolitans came to her to talk about business. And she spoke the truth, even impartial." Vanga herself in her statements spoke about good attitude to the Church and sometimes even baptized children. But Vanga did not convert anyone to Orthodoxy!

It must be emphasized that true Orthodox holiness is fundamentally different from the phenomena that we see in Vanga. Christian holiness is manifested with a full and clear consciousness of spiritual experiences, there is no violence against the will of man. The grace of God transforms a person not after natural disasters and hurricanes or after the appearance of horsemen, but after conscious Christian asceticism and observance of God's commandments. Usually pass long years purification before the spiritual fruits begin to visibly manifest. We need moral efforts and, as Seraphim of Sarov says, the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.

Vanga is far from these conditions, how many misconceptions she has regarding Christian faith. It is noteworthy that Vanga falls into a trance and does not remember anything after it. She has an alien voice with which she speaks, and this shows that another being inhabits her, which she herself admitted. At the moment of such an introduction, she (“the saint”) began to growl. This is not holiness, but obsession, the opposite of holiness. A person in this state does not communicate with the Holy Spirit, with the Lord, but with dark forces.

As far as the performance of miracles is concerned, miracles may not necessarily be manifestations of holiness. As we know from the lives of the saints, not all saints performed miracles. Conversely, there are many cases of miracle-working with an obvious lack of holiness (sorcerers, fortune-tellers, modern psychics with frankly abnormal lives, some fans of Eastern religions, etc.), which is a clear indication that these supernatural "miracles" are the work of fallen spirits.

Many people who are far from the Church and have naive ideas about dark forces(and their human servants) are deceived by the fact that Vanga often talks about God, about light, faith, Christ, love, wisdom. Vanga uses the word "Christianity" only as a screen. Under the guise of Christianity, they preach non-Christian ideas and practice non-Christian activities.

What is common between Vanga and the blessed Matrona of Moscow? Blindness? So Homer was blind. Vanga was openly engaged in witchcraft, spoke about the special gift that she had after strong hurricane, took money for the reception (not personally, but through the fund). It was a well-established and well-established business, on which a lot of people profited - the entire environment of the Bulgarian sorceress. Blessed Matrona lay paralyzed, humbly carried her cross and prayed to God for the people who asked her about it.

There is no easy way to God and never has been. That is why the Lord speaks of the narrow path. He does not promise everyone who wants to enter the Kingdom of God that they will enter it. He says that the Kingdom of God is taken by force. Modern man does not want to make any effort and does not force himself to anything. He wants everything to fall into place magic wand. He wants to drive in his car to the Kingdom of Heaven, where God himself will meet him, pat him on the shoulder and tell him that everything is fine, you are beautiful, nothing is required of you. But it's not.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

Used Books:

1. Hieromonk Vissarion (Zaographsky). "VANGA - PORTRAIT OF A MODERN WITCH"
2. Hieromonk Job (Gumerov). How does the Church feel about the "clairvoyant" Vanga?
3. Pitanov V.Yu. Vanga: who pulled the string?
4. Hieromonk Vissarion: “There is no easy way to God”

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