Orthodox faith - Job Gumerov Vanga. "Vanga

: Vanga's "phenomenon" fits perfectly into the classical framework of experiences of communication with fallen spirits.
, head of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Non-traditional Religions. A.S. Khomyakova: There is no need to talk about any Orthodoxy of Vanga.
, Head of the Department of Sect Studies, PSTGU: Vanga was a sorceress, she was in contact with dark forces.
proved the anti-Christian essence of the Vanga phenomenon
: Vanga is an unfortunate woman, a victim dark forces.

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov): Vanga's "phenomenon" fits perfectly into the classical framework of experiences of communication with fallen spirits.

The literature on Wang is quite extensive. However, acquaintance with numerous publications surprises with its monotony. It all comes down to external events and emotional impressions. Any assessment involves careful and strict attitude to the facts as far as they are available. Unfortunately, even the most detailed books written by Vanga's niece Krasimira Stoyanova are deliberately incomplete. “Some cases are so fantastic and go beyond common sense that I did not dare to include them in the book ”(K. Stoyanova. Vanga is clairvoyant and healing, M., 1998, p. 9). But even in spite of such censorship, the memories of the niece, who lived with Vanga, reveal a lot.

Her parents - Pande Surchev and Paraskeva - were farmers. She was born in Strumica (Macedonia). The girl was born seven months old and very weak. According to local tradition, the newborn was not given a name until there was a firm certainty that the child would live. Therefore, the girl remained without a name for some time. The choice of the name was determined by the local folk custom: they went out into the street and asked the first person they met. The grandmother of the newborn went out of the house and heard the name Andromache from the first woman she met. Dissatisfied with him, she asked another woman. She told her - Vangelia.

Mother died when Vanga was three years old. Therefore, with early childhood she was taught diligence, which remained with her until her death.

At the age of 12, an event occurred that changed her whole life. When Vanga was returning with her cousins to the village, a terrible hurricane lifted her into the air and carried her far into the field. We found it, littered with branches and sprinkled with sand. In addition to a strong fright, there was pain in the eyes. She soon became blind. In 1925, Vanga was taken to the city of Zemun to the house of the blind. She learned to knit, read, mastered the Braille alphabet, and cook. These years were happy, but difficult life circumstances forced me to return home.

In 1942, she married Dimitar Gushterov. Since that time she lived in Petrich, and at the end of her life in Rupta. She died on September 11, 1996.

Unusual abilities in her began to appear even Strumice, when she lived in her father's house. In 1941, the "mysterious horseman" visited her for the second time. Since that time, her supernatural abilities began to manifest themselves constantly. 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. It was clear that the invisible world was not closed to her.

Man limited physical body, can not on your own to know the other world. Holy Scripture and the holy fathers speak of two sources of our knowledge of the supersensible world: the Divinely revealed and the demonic. 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 Vanga's niece: “Question: Do you talk with spirits? - Answer: They come a lot and everyone is different. Those who come and are always there, I understand ”(The Truth about Vanga, M., 1999, p. 187). The niece remembers. “I was 16 years old when one day in our house in Petrich Vanga spoke to me. Only it was not her voice, and she herself was not herself - it was some other person who spoke through her lips. The words I heard had nothing to do with what we had talked about before. As if some other person interfered in our conversation. The voice said: "Here, we see you ...", and then I was told in detail about everything that I had done during the day up to this point. I was just petrified with horror. We were alone in the room. Soon after, Vanga sighed and said: “Oh, my strength let me go,” and as if nothing had happened, she returned to the previous conversation again. I asked her why she so unexpectedly began to tell me what I did during the day, but she told me that she did not say anything. I told her what I had heard, and she repeated, “Oh, those powers, the little powers that are always with me. But there are also big ones, their bosses. When they decide to speak through my mouth, I feel bad, and then I'm like a broken one all day. Maybe you want to see them, they are ready to show you? I was extremely shocked and shouted loudly that I didn’t want to ”(Vanga is clairvoyant and healing, p. 11-12). In the second book, this story is told with slight differences. Vanga said: “When they start talking in me, or rather, through me, I lose a lot of energy, I feel bad, I am depressed for a long time” (Pravda o Vanga, M., 1999, p. 9). According to the teachings of the Holy Fathers and the age-old spiritual experience of Christianity, the feelings of oppression and despondency that Vanga speaks of unmistakably indicate that these forces are fallen spirits.

Other demons, which were the source of Vanga's phenomenal awareness of the past and present of their numerous 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, I convey to the living ”(The Truth about Vanga, p. 99). The appearance of fallen spirits under the guise of dead people has been known since ancient biblical times. The Word of God expressly forbids such fellowship: "Do not turn to those who call up the dead" (Lev. 19:31).

In addition to the spirits that appeared to Vanga under the guise of "small forces" and "large forces", as well as deceased relatives, she communicated with another type of inhabitants of the other world. She called them the inhabitants of the "planet Vamphim".

“Question: Are those extraterrestrial ships really visiting the Earth, which are called so primitively “flying saucers”?

Answer: Yes, it is.

Question: Where do they come from?

Answer: From the planet, which in the language of its inhabitants is called Vamphim. So, in any case, I hear this unusual word - Vamphim. This planet is the third from Earth.

Question: Is contact with the inhabitants possible at the request of earthlings? mysterious planet? By using technical means Or perhaps telepathically?

Answer: Earthlings are powerless here. Contact is made, in accordance with their desire, by our guests” (ibid., pp. 13-14).

When a person enters into communion with fallen spirits, he finds himself in a spiritual-hypnotic state. He does not perceive even the simplest questions of common sense. Why couldn't Vanga's relatives living with her see these astronauts, who were physical beings? Where did they leave their spaceship, which also had to be a physical object?

K. Stoyanova gives various details about how Vanga communicated with the other world. And here we see typical mediumistic experiences that have been known for many centuries. “Only sometimes we couldn’t understand why our aunt turns pale, why she suddenly becomes ill and suddenly a voice comes out of her mouth, striking us with its strength, unusual timbre, words and expressions that are not in Vanga’s usual dictionary” (Vanga is clairvoyant and healing , p. 11). And another testimony: “And suddenly she spoke to me in an unfamiliar voice, from which goosebumps ran down my back. She literally said the following: “I am the soul of Joan of Arc. I came from afar and am heading to Angola. There is now a lot of blood flowing there, and I must help establish peace there.” After a short pause, Vanga continued in the same voice: “Don’t blame anyone for than this soul. She is not yours. She is no one's. This is witnessed by her parent (our mother - Lyubka), who carried her in a trough when she carried her on her deathbed. Then in an instant her soul flew away, and another soul moved into the body. Your parent recovered to continue her earthly life, but now her soul is unrelated to you, children, and cannot recognize you. " Again a short pause, and Vanga continues: "Your parent should visit Notre Dame de Paris, where she needs to spend the night in prayerful vigil - in this way, secrets about the world around you will be revealed "(pp. 131-132). This whole speech is quite fantastic. It is only clear that she adhered to a view alien to Christian teaching about the possibility of the soul entering into another's body.

From the experiments of Vanga and her statements it is clear that she was close to such theosophists as E. Blavatsky and N. Roerich. In the story of K. Stoyanova about the arrival of the writer Leonid Leonov, there is such a detail: “Vanga then had inspiration, and she spoke about the events that were fateful for his country. She made contact with a long-dead clairvoyant of Russian origin - Helena Blavatsky. We really heard amazing things” (p. 191). Theosophy of E. Blavatsky (her Buddhist name is Radda-by) is hostile to Christianity. This fact is also very revealing. 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. They are encrypted, but an attentive and sensitive heart will tell the viewer the cipher” (p. 30). It is known that the Council of Bishops in 2000 excommunicated N. Roerich, E. Blavatsky and others from the Church: “The Lord judged us to live in a time when “many false prophets appeared in the world (1 Jn. 4, 1) who come to us” in sheep's clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves" (Matt. 7, 15)... The old Gnostic cults are being revived and the so-called "new religious movements" are emerging, which are revising the entire system of Christian values, trying to find an ideological basis in the reformed Eastern religions, and sometimes turn to the occult and witchcraft. Paganism, astrology, theosophical and spiritualist societies were revived, once founded by Helena Blavatsky, who claimed to possess some kind of “ancient wisdom” hidden from the uninitiated. The “Teaching of Living Ethics”, introduced into circulation by the Roerich family and also called “Agni Yoga”, is being intensively promoted.

Fortune telling with the help of a magic crystal has been known since ancient times. In modern times, Cagliostro was engaged in divination using a magic crystal. For Vanga, this was one of the main ways to find out the secret about the person who came. “Sugar is also one of the secrets of Vangin's gift, since it requires everyone who visits it to bring a piece of sugar that has been at least a few days in his house. When the visitor enters, she takes this piece. He holds it in his hands, feels it and begins to guess” (p. 189). Sugar was a kind of crystal available to everyone, which everyone could bring by holding it under their pillow for 2-3 days.

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. The future, as the holy fathers teach, is not known to demons. “Demons do not know the future, known to the One God and those intelligent His creatures, to whom God was pleased to open the future; but just as intelligent and experienced people foresee and predict events that are about to happen from events that have happened or are happening, so cunning, crafty spirits of great experience can sometimes guess with certainty and predict the future (Vita sanct. Pachomii, cap. 49, Patrologiae, Tom 73). Often they are wrong; very often they lie and by vague pronouncements lead to bewilderment and doubt. Sometimes they can foreshadow an event that is already destined in the world of spirits, but among people has not yet been brought to fruition ”(St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). A word about the sensual and spiritual vision of spirits). Therefore, Vanga's predictions are not only vague, but also fantastic.

“In 1981, our planet was under very bad stars, but next year it will be inhabited by new “spirits”. They will bring goodness and hope” (p. 167).

“We are witnessing fateful events. The two biggest leaders in the world shook hands. But a lot of time will pass, a lot of water will flow away, until the Eighth comes - he will sign the final peace on the planet ”(January 1988).

“The time of miracles will come, science will make major discoveries in the field of the intangible. In 1990, we will witness amazing archaeological discoveries that will radically change our understanding of the ancient worlds. All the hidden gold will come to the surface of the earth, but the water will hide” (p. 224).

“In 2018, trains will fly on wires from the sun. Oil production will stop, the Earth will rest.”

“Soon the most ancient teaching will come into the world. They ask me: "Will that time come soon?" No, not soon. Syria has not fallen yet!

The divinely revealed prophecies of holy men have always had salvific purposes. Through repentance and aversion from sinful life, through prayer, people were given the opportunity to avoid impending large and small disasters. So God commanded the prophet Jonah to proclaim: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed!” (Jon. 3:4). The prophet walked around the city for three days and called for repentance. “And God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, and God took pity on the calamity, which he said that he would bring upon them, and brought it not” (Jonah 3:10).

In Vanga's predictions, which she made, there is some kind of fatal doom. K. Stoyanova asked her aunt:

“Question: If it so happens that you see with your inner vision from above a near misfortune or even the death of a person who has come to you, can you do anything to avoid misfortune?

Answer: No, neither I nor anyone else can do anything.

Question: And if troubles, and even catastrophic ones, threaten not only one person, but a group of people, an entire city, a state, is it possible to prepare something in advance?

Answer: It's useless.

Question: Does the fate of a person depend on his inner moral strength, physical abilities? Is it possible to influence fate?

Answer: You can't. Everyone will pass. And only your own way ”(The Truth about Vanga, p. 11).

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 grace-filled life in the centuries-old experience of Christianity saves us from the seduction of fallen spirits, the spiritual nerve of which is the sincere and daily fulfillment of the commandments of the Holy Gospel. Such an attitude teaches spiritual sobriety and protects from pernicious delusion. “Let us refrain from ignorant, pernicious desire and striving for sensual visions, outside the order established by God!... With reverence, let us obey the establishment of God, who covered our souls with thick curtains and shrouds of bodies during our earthly wandering, separating us from the created spirits, obscuring and who protected them from the spirits of the fallen. We do not need a sensual vision of spirits to complete our earthly, laborious wandering. For this, another lamp is needed, and it is given to us: The lamp of my feet is Your law, and the light of my paths (Psalm 119, 105). Travelers with the constant radiance of the lamp - the Law of God - will not be deceived either by their passions or by fallen spirits, as the Scripture testifies ”(St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). A word about the sensual and spiritual vision of spirits).

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Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev, head of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Non-Traditional Religions. A.S. Khomyakova: There is no need to talk about any Orthodoxy of Vanga.

“In the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, in the 16th chapter, from verse 16 and below, it is said: “It happened that, while we were going to the prayer house, we met a certain maid possessed by a divinatory spirit, who through divination brought a great income to her masters. Following Paul and following us, she shouted, saying: “These people are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way to salvation. She did this for many days, Paul, being indignant, turned and said to the spirit: “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her,” and the spirit left at the same hour.

This text says that the woman had the gift of prophecy, divination, and she prophesied the right things - she spoke about the Apostles: "these people are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the path to salvation." It would seem that it is absolutely impossible to find fault with her words, but since her gift served as a means of enrichment, and we cannot understand the nature of this spirit that prophesied through her, the Apostle decisively intervenes in this situation and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ commands that the spirit left this woman.

As for Vanga herself, we cannot accuse her of some kind of self-interest, but she fed around her. great amount people, including the security services of Bulgaria and just people who led the region where she lived. It was a commercial project, which was controlled by the special services of Bulgaria. Maybe she said the right things, but the nature of this phenomenon needs to be investigated. Of course, many statements attributed to Vanga cannot be verified, but much of what is attributed to her does not correspond and even contradicts the Christian Orthodox faith.

... After all, the gift of divination is not such a gift, in the presence of which a person must be canonized. This gift can manifest itself in different ways, various influences of the spiritual world can occur, including negative ones. …

As for the fact that people go to the temple of Vanga, I saw the iconostasis of this temple - this is a completely non-Orthodox temple, and the icons in its iconostasis have nothing to do with Orthodox canons. Of course, it may be objected to me that we and Moscow are full of such churches in which this “Latin daub” is present, but in the temple that was built under the leadership of Vanga, there are not just “Latin daubs”, but faces of semi-occult content. Even just from the point of view of knowledge of the icon-painting craft, one can say that this has nothing to do with the icon.

Again, I repeat, about much of what is attributed to Vanga, we cannot say whether she said it or not. But if she really said all this, then there is no need to talk about any Orthodoxy of Vanga. Evil spirits, indeed, often influence people and, trying to win them over, tell them, at times, correct information. However, they do this in order to seduce a person, so that when he completely trusts the voices, at some point they give him completely wrong information and encourage him to rash actions that will destroy him and lead him immortal soul in hell".".

http://rusk.ru/

Alexander Dvorkin, head of the department of sect studies, PSTGU: Vanga was a sorceress, she was in contact with dark forces.

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 away.

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.

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Athos monk proved the anti-Christian essence of the Vanga phenomenon

In Sofia, a presentation of a book was held, which proves the anti-Christian essence of the phenomenon of the famous Bulgarian soothsayer Vanga and the teachings of the so-called. "teacher" Peter Deunov.

The publication of a book in which, almost for the first time, the orthodox view on the phenomenon of Vanga, whose centenary was celebrated in Bulgaria last month, caused a lively discussion in the Bulgarian society.

On March 15, in the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a resident of the Athos Monastery, Zograf, Hieromonk Vissarion, with the support of the rector of the same monastery, Schema-Archimandrite Ambrose, presented his book "Peter Dynov and Vanga - Prophets and Forerunners of the Antichrist."

At the presentation, the author of the book said that, having familiarized himself with a large number reviews of meetings and communication with Vanga and Peter Deunov, he found among them numerous evidence that both mentioned their communication with dark forces. According to him, Vanga periodically experienced painful trance states and used magical techniques in treating people (for example, to cure certain diseases, it was necessary to stab a black rooster and eat its heart).

According to the author, these moments of the healers' activity are in no way incompatible with Christian doctrine. In addition, both healers did not consider themselves servants of the Lord. Despite the fact that Vanga called herself a child of the Orthodox Church, in the temple she built, there is a deliberate violation of a number of church canons (for example, the icon-painting image of the prophetess stands in the place where the image of the Savior is usually located). In addition, Vanga recognized the transmigration of souls and other anti-Christian ideas.

The reason for the widespread popularity of Vanga and the appearance of appeals, even from some Orthodox clergy, to its canonization, the author considers the consequences of the anti-religious propaganda planted in communist Bulgaria, which taught people to explain phenomena that are difficult for them to understand with familiar concepts, but devoid of their true meaning.

During a lively discussion, the presentation participants spoke in favor of the need for further development of an Orthodox assessment of the life and teachings of various occult figures and the development of spiritual enlightenment of people. The rector of the Russian Compound in Sofia (the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker), Hieromonk Zotik (Gayevsky), offered to translate the book into Russian for distribution in Russia, where there is great interest in the life and prophecies of Vanga.

http://www.radonezh.ru/

Hieromonk Vissarion: Vanga is an unfortunate woman, a victim of dark forces.

Interview given by Hieromonk Vissarion, author of the book “Pyotr Deunov and Vanga – Prophets and Forerunners of the Antichrist” to the newspaper “24 Hours”

- Your reverend, your book "Peter Deunov and Vanga - prophets and forerunners of the Antichrist" made a lot of noise.

One part of the book is devoted to the analysis of the teachings of Deunov, and the other to Vange is a modern divination. Both of them are already in the hands of God, but the bad thing is that the substitute for Christianity, called occultism, managed to introduce into society. It seems to operate with ecclesiastical concepts, but in reality it pulls people in a different direction. This trick made me write about Deunov and Wang.

And how do you explain this to people, many of whom consider Vanga a saint?

This is the fruit of an atheistic upbringing. Our people were kept in spiritual ignorance precisely in those years when the Vanga phenomenon appeared. People who have forgotten the true criteria of holiness and spirituality can be easily misled.

Society itself can find arguments in favor of whether Vanga was a saint or not. Just look at the forces with which she communicated. How did they treat her. There is a lot of evidence that they tortured Vanga.

Her fan Velichka Angelova in her book “Vanga's Prophecies - the Only Connection Between Heaven and Earth” describes cases when the above-mentioned forces forced Vanga to sweep away the web at night, then undress and dress again. Senseless things. When Vanga tried to resist, they, according to her stories, pushed her down the stairs and she broke her leg. All these things show the dark nature of these forces.

God doesn't treat his creatures like that. God does not behave like a tyrant. It is well known that Vanga fell into a trance. This is not a divine state, but on the contrary: the medium (in this case Vanga) falls into a trance under the influence of dark forces that use his body as a soulless thing.

No one deliberately wants to denigrate Vanga - her fans themselves write about these things. They write because they do not understand their true nature. Velichka Angelova describes the moment when Vanga growls like a dog, threatens others, which will harm them, breaks bones. These moments show people who Vanga really was - an unfortunate woman tormented by evil forces. Many times she complained about headache. After the trance I felt bad. All this is very important for understanding whether she was a saint or not.

“And even if she was a victim, she helped people.

This is precisely the question. This help can come from two sources. One is divine, manifested through God, saints or healing from icons. The other is a trick, because evil forces cannot attract people by preaching death and destruction. Their trick is apparent help. And people without spiritual criteria turn to people like Vanga. Vera Kochovskaya is also one of the psychics of this kind.

Where are Vera Kochovskaya and Baba Vanga now?

Unfortunately, God's word says that the sorcerers who were engaged in summoning the dead (Vanga herself said that she communicated with the souls of the dead) do not have a place with God, but in a lake of fire. It is literally written in Scripture. We can trust God's word, but we have free will not to trust. However, a Christian must believe the words of God and build his life in accordance with them. The Russian archimandrite Varnava described one incident that occurred shortly after the death of Vanga. She came to her sister Lyubka and told her: “Enough, enough liturgies. Enough. They don't help me. On the contrary, I am in the darkness of hell and they are burning me.” Of course, it cannot be proven that this vision is 100% true and it shows where Vanga is now. But many facts lead to this conclusion.

Vanga had many theological errors. She spoke about rebirth, about Roerich's teaching "Agni Yoga", which was officially denied by the Church. She said that Dynov was a saint. And he was declared a self-excommunicated person from the Church, a heretic, a dangerous false teacher. She spoke about fatalism, about metempsychosis (the transition of the human soul from one body to another). In her opinion, Christ does not have a figure, but it is known that Christ took on human flesh. That is, it distorts faith due to communication with spirits. And as a result, he gets communication with the dark forces of evil.

I compared in detail the treatment used by the holy fathers with Vanga's treatment. The difference is amazing. Vanga had many magical elements. For example, if a person had an insurance neurosis, Vanga advised him to slaughter a rooster, take out the heart and put it in a bottle of wine, then eat and drink the wine. Elder Paisius said that many magicians mainly treat people possessed by demons, 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. We must look not only at what has become of the body of some people, but also at what has happened to the sinful soul. It is no coincidence that God says that people who call the dead fall into sin before Him. Is it possible to neglect God's words and start thinking with your human mind? God thinks in eternal categories, and human thought is directed to the earthly world.

A priest from Petrich announced that Vanga should be canonized as a saint

Yes, Bishop's Viceroy Angel Kochev. I deeply regret that, called to be a teacher of people in the right faith and lead them to eternity, he is trying to canonize the worship of evil, because it was impure forces that lived in her body. And instead of explaining to people what a fortuneteller, a magician and a psychic are and that these phenomena are denied by God, he tries to set evil as an example.

Prof. Svetlin Rusev says that such clergy as you are a disgrace both for the church and for the faith, and Dynov and Vanga are a gift of fate for this unfortunate land.

Unfortunately, Svetlin Rusev is a representative of an occult society that does not want to follow the voice of Christ and John of Rylsky, but bows before an occult teacher, which is Pyotr Dynov. He had claims to divinity - he considered himself either a reborn Christ, or the Father, or the spirit of truth. Deunov said: “Christ came 2000 years ago, the son came, and now the Father has come to Bulgaria” and endorses himself. Can a Christian, as he thought he was, be so blasphemous?

Dynov is essentially the forerunner of the Antichrist, because the Antichrist, when he comes, will claim that he is God. The bad thing is that enough people will be deceived by his miracles, his personality, supposedly bringing light, which in reality will cover the darkness. Dynov is dangerous because he had natural abilities spiritual leader. His word was filled with power, but it did not lead to true Christianity, but to the abyss.

AT this moment there is a revival of interest in Eastern teachings, in the occult, and Dynov is an excellent example of just such an occult leader with proven hypnotic abilities.

The Holy Synod was repeatedly asked questions, but so far he has not expressed an official point of view on the Vanga phenomenon. Why are our spiritual teachers silent instead of showing us the right path?

Unfortunately, you are right. In important matters, the metropolitans should lead the people, not the people of the metropolitans. They must show firmness and determination. But understand - long years The Church was deliberately deprived of its best children.

State security agents worked in the Church and they led it in the wrong direction. Metropolitan Clement was indeed an agent of the State Security. The state security took care that people who were not always worthy of this honor ended up in seminaries and the Theological Academy. But each of us has a responsibility, including spiritual leaders. God will ask everyone why he did not do what he should have done.

We, church representatives, are not at the level that we should be, but we are part of this society. The media expect priests and metropolitans to be angels of God in the flesh. We are not angels of God, but we should try to be. Let each person look into himself before pointing his finger at the other and saying, "He has sinned, he has fallen."

But you are right that the bishops are silent for a long time about Vanga. Now I hope that there will be a public discussion on these important issues. I want the teaching of Christ to be heard. And everyone can make a choice who to believe - fortune tellers, occultists, Svetlin Rusev or the teachings of Christ. But you need to give people the opportunity to make their choice.

Much has been written about Lyudmila Zhivkova's entourage and her interest in last years life to the occult. Among the close circle were Svetlin Rusev, Bogomil Raynov, as well as Svyatoslav Roerich, who was invited to make an exhibition and even awarded. All of them are erudite creators, intellectuals, with the help of which Lyudmila Zhivkova managed culture in Bulgaria. And Vanga was close to them. Maybe the occupations of the top of society somehow affected the people?

Undoubtedly, they influenced the integral movement of the Bulgarian society towards the occult and, unfortunately, Vanga had patrons at the highest levels of power. She was the link between the occult, the dark and ordinary people, because not only party functionaries, but also people from the people went to her. And it was Vanga who was the bridge through which the dark forces entered the soul of the Bulgarian. But Lyudmila Zhinkova also played an undoubted role, and now Neshka Robeva, who is considered a positive person in society. She really has many positive aspects - this can be seen in her face. She raised our girls who became world champions in rhythmic gymnastics and glorified our country. This cannot be forgotten. But now Neshka Robeva supports Vanga! And again we come to what is missing spiritual education and spiritual standards. While Old Testament categorically calls people like Vanga - soothsayers, magicians, fortune-tellers, soothsayers, psychics, etc. - a sin before God, a priest from Petrich, called by God to be a teacher, says: "Let's canonize Vanga." This shows how Bulgarian society is moving in time - towards an occult perception of events. This is my pain and that is why I wrote this book - to make a comparison between the occult and true Christianity, and let each person make his own choice.

It is important to know your opinion about Vanga's abilities - is it a gift? How does the Church treat such unique people?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

The literature on Wang is quite extensive. However, acquaintance with numerous publications surprises with its monotony. It all comes down to external events and emotional impressions. Any assessment presupposes a careful and rigorous attitude to the facts, as far as they are available. Unfortunately, even the most detailed books written by Vanga's niece Krasimira Stoyanova are deliberately incomplete. “Some cases are so fantastic and go beyond common sense that I did not dare to include them in the book” (K. Stoyanova. Vanga is clairvoyant and healing, M., 1998, p. 9). But even in spite of such censorship, the memories of the niece, who lived with Vanga, reveal a lot.

Mother died when Vanga was three years old. Therefore, from early childhood, she was taught diligence, which remained with her until her death.

In 1942, she married Dimitar Gushterov. Since that time she lived in Petrich, and at the end of her life in Rupta. She died on September 11, 1996.

A person, limited by the physical body, cannot cognize the other world on his own. Holy Scripture and the holy fathers speak of two sources of our knowledge of the supersensible world: the Divinely revealed and the demonic. 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 Vanga's niece: “Question: Do you talk with spirits? Answer: Many people come and everyone is different. Those who come and are always there, I understand ”(The Truth about Vanga, M., 1999, p. 187). The niece remembers. “I was 16 years old when one day in our house in Petrich Vanga spoke to me. Only it was not her voice, and she herself was not herself - it was some other person who spoke through her lips. The words I heard had nothing to do with what we had talked about before. As if some other person interfered in our conversation. The voice said: "Here, we see you ...", and then I was told in detail about everything that I had done during the day up to this point. I was just petrified with horror. We were alone in the room. Soon after, Vanga sighed and said: “Oh, my strength let me go,” and as if nothing had happened, she returned to the previous conversation again. I asked her why she so unexpectedly began to tell me what I did during the day, but she told me that she did not say anything. I told her what I had heard, and she repeated, “Oh, those powers, the little powers that are always with me. But there are also big ones, their bosses. When they decide to speak through my mouth, I feel bad, and then I'm like a broken one all day. Maybe you want to see them, they are ready to show you? I was extremely shocked and shouted loudly that I didn’t want to ”(Vanga is clairvoyant and healing, p. 11-12). In the second book, this story is told with slight differences. Vanga said: “When they start talking in me, or rather, through me, I lose a lot of energy, I feel bad, I am depressed for a long time” (Pravda o Vanga, M., 1999, p. 9). According to the teachings of the Holy Fathers and the centuries-old spiritual experience of Christianity, the feelings of oppression and despondency that Vanga speaks of unmistakably indicate that these forces are fallen spirits.

Other demons, which were the source of Vanga's phenomenal awareness of the past and present of their numerous 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, I convey to the living ”(The Truth about Vanga, p. 99). The appearance of fallen spirits under the guise of dead people has been known since ancient biblical times. The Word of God expressly forbids such communication: Don't turn to callers of the dead(Lev. 19:31).

“Question: Are those extraterrestrial ships really visiting the Earth, which are called so primitively “flying saucers”?

Answer: Yes, it is.

Question: Where do they come from?

Answer: From the planet, which in the language of its inhabitants is called Vamphim. So, in any case, this unusual word is heard to me - Vamphim. This planet is the third from Earth.

Question: Is it possible, at the request of earthlings, to contact the inhabitants of the mysterious planet? With the help of technical means or, perhaps, telepathically?

Answer: Earthlings are powerless here. Contact is made, in accordance with their desire, by our guests” (ibid., pp. 13-14).

K. Stoyanova gives various details about how Vanga communicated with the other world. And here we see typical mediumistic experiences that have been known for many centuries. “Only sometimes we couldn’t understand why our aunt turns pale, why she suddenly becomes ill and suddenly a voice comes out of her mouth, striking us with its strength, unusual timbre, words and expressions that are not in Vanga’s usual dictionary” (Vanga is clairvoyant and healing , p. 11). And another testimony: “And suddenly she spoke to me in an unfamiliar voice, from which goosebumps ran down my back. She literally said the following: “I am the soul of Joan of Arc. I have come from afar and am on my way to Angola. There is a lot of blood flowing there right now, and I must help bring peace there.” After a short pause, Vanga continued in the same voice: “Do not blame this soul for anything. She is not yours. She is a draw. This is witnessed by the parent (our mother is Lyubka), who carried her in a trough when she carried her on her deathbed. Then, in an instant, her soul flew away, and another soul moved into her body. Your parent recovered to continue her earthly life. But now her soul is not related to you, children, and cannot recognize you. Again a short pause, and Vanga continues: “Your parent should visit Notre Dame de Paris, where she needs to spend the night in prayerful vigil - in this way, secrets about the world around you will be revealed” (p. 131-132). This whole speech is pretty fantastic. What is clear is that she adhered to a view, alien to Christian teaching, about the possibility of the soul entering into another's body.

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. The future, as the holy fathers teach, is not known to demons. Demons do not know the future, known to the One God and those intelligent His creatures, to whom God was pleased to open the future; but just as intelligent and experienced people foresee and predict events that are about to happen from events that have happened or are happening, so cunning, crafty spirits of great experience can sometimes guess with certainty and predict the future (Vita sanct. Pachomii, cap. 49, Patrologiae, Tom 73). Often they are wrong; very often they lie and by vague pronouncements lead to bewilderment and doubt. Sometimes they can foreshadow an event that is already destined in the world of spirits, but between people has not yet been carried out.(St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). A word about sensual and spiritual vision of spirits). Therefore, Vanga's predictions are not only vague, but also fantastic.

- “In 1981, our planet was under very bad stars, but next year it will be inhabited by new “spirits”. They will bring goodness and hope” (p. 167).

- “The time of miracles will come, science will make major discoveries in the field of the intangible. In 1990, we will witness amazing archaeological discoveries that will radically change our understanding of the ancient worlds. All the hidden gold will come to the surface of the earth, but the water will hide” (p. 224).

- “In 2018, trains will fly on wires from the sun. Oil production will stop, the Earth will rest.”

“An ancient teaching will soon come into the world. They ask me: "Will that time come soon?" No, not soon. Syria has not fallen yet!

The divinely revealed prophecies of holy men have always had salvific purposes. Through repentance and aversion from sinful life, through prayer, people were given the opportunity to avoid impending large and small disasters. So God commanded the prophet Jonah to proclaim: forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed!(Jon. 3:4). The prophet walked around the city for three days and called for repentance. And God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, and God took pity on the calamity, which He said that He would bring upon them, and did not bring. (Jon. 3:10).

In Vanga's predictions, which she made, there is some kind of fatal doom. K. Stoyanova asked her aunt:

“Question: If it so happens that you see with your inner vision from above a near misfortune or even the death of a person who has come to you, can you do anything to avoid misfortune?

Answer: No, neither I nor anyone else can do anything.

Question: And if troubles, and even catastrophic ones, threaten not only one person, but a group of people, an entire city, a state, is it possible to prepare something in advance?

Answer: It's useless.

Question: Does the fate of a person depend on his inner moral strength, physical abilities? Is it possible to influence fate?

Answer: You can't. Everyone will pass. And only your own way ”(The Truth about Vanga, p. 11).

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 grace-filled life in the centuries-old experience of Christianity saves us from the seduction of fallen spirits, the spiritual nerve of which is the sincere and daily fulfillment of the commandments of the Holy Gospel. Such an attitude teaches spiritual sobriety and protects from pernicious delusion. Let us refrain from ignorant, pernicious desire and striving for sensual visions, outside the order established by God!... With reverence, let us obey the establishment of God, who covered our souls with thick curtains and shrouds of bodies during our earthly wandering, separated us from the created spirits, shielded and protected them from the spirits of the fallen. We do not need a sensual vision of spirits to complete our earthly, laborious wandering. For this, another lamp is needed, and it is given to us: The lamp of my feet is Your Law, and the light of my paths (Psalm 119, 105). Those who travel with the constant radiance of the lamp - the Law of God - will not be deceived either by their passions or by fallen spirits, as Scripture testifies(St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). A word about sensual and spiritual vision of spirits).

Vanga was born in 1911 in the small town of Strumica (the current territory of Macedonia). She lived for 85 years, from the age of thirty she discovered the gift of foresight, after which Vanga began to receive people and provide them with various assistance in everyday needs.

Contrary to the idea of many, the Orthodox Church has an extremely negative attitude towards Vanga, and this applies not only to the Russian Church, but also to the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria. This attitude is quite natural, because Christianity rejects all sorts of extrasensory perception, witchcraft and fortune-telling. In order to better understand the life of the "old woman", it is necessary to take a closer look at how and with what power Vanga made predictions and healings.

The Bulgarian soothsayer herself said that the power in her came from "great spirits." Moreover, the predictions of the old woman were made during the entry into a trance of the latter. Vanga said that these “forces” entered her, gave her instructions, and it was in an unconscious personal state that prophecies were realized. Therefore, I did not remember anything during the sessions.

Such states are demon possession. From Holy Scripture it is known that the dark forces know the future, they can even work miracles. Therefore, the Church proclaims to people: the forces of Vanga were not holy divine grace - therefore, there can be no question of holiness. Holy people, prophets made predictions being in a clear mind, which cannot be said about the soothsayer Bulgaria (both from her words, and from the words of eyewitnesses and participants in various sessions). Thus, in Vanga, the personality was suppressed by demonic forces.

During the sessions, there were cases when Vanga, entering a trance, began to emit an animal growl, spoke in other voices. All of these are evidence of obsession with evil forces.

Has nothing to do with Christianity and the theological ideas of the soothsayer. In particular, Vanga told how Christ appeared to her in the form of a fireball. She went on to say that Christ has no form. Such a teaching is unacceptable to Orthodoxy and completely rejects real fact Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Accordingly, the salvation of mankind by God through suffering on the cross cannot be considered.

Vanga did not deny the possibility of the rebirth of souls, which is alien to Christianity. She also believed that souls could enter other people. In particular, by this she explained the periodic absence of her memory of her relatives and friends.

According to Vanga, human life is completely predetermined, global fatalism takes place. The Orthodox Church teaches that all mankind is predestined only for salvation, but each person has free will. Every individual has the right to choose life path and decide whether she wants to be with God or not.

In addition, Vanga believed in the existence of aliens and had a positive attitude towards the teachings of the Theosophists. The result of the latter was the desire of the healer to erect a temple in which the "icons" were painted by Svetlin Rusev - prominent representative currents of theosophy. The interior decoration of the "temple" is a heavy sight: the images are made in dark, terrible theosophical colors, alien to Christian traditions. In this building there is also an image of the healer herself, on which she blesses the priest. This indicates a great spiritual charm and pride, because in the Christian tradition, the blessing befits the Mother of God.

All these testimonies are indications that Vanga is not a saint, but during her lifetime she was a conductor of dark forces and was in spiritual delusion. The soothsayer herself, before her death, said that she was going "down". The holy ascetics in their dying hour, on the contrary, thought about the lofty - about God and about the future eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.

Advice 2: How the Orthodox Church treats civil marriage

Many believe that the Orthodox Church has a negative attitude towards civil marriage. But at the same time, the concept of a "civil" marriage union is being replaced. Registration of relations in the registry office and ordinary cohabitation are fundamentally different things. Christianity accepts only one of these ways of family unity.

First of all, it is necessary to define the concepts. A civil marriage is considered not just cohabitation, but a certificate of marriage confirmed by the legislation of the country. The difference is very fundamental. Even in the times preceding the revolution of 1917, in Russia there was no concept civil marriage how life together two and their bodily unity outside official relations. It was considered then, and indeed, cohabitation fornication and therefore sinful. Therefore, the attitude of the Church to such a misunderstanding of civil marriage is negative.

A real marriage registered in the registry office is recognized by the Christian Church and considered valid. At the same time, he does not insist on the strict acceptance of the sacrament of the wedding, but reports on the general benefits of the latter and the need for correct and conscious preparation for it. A formalized marriage is the birth of a family in the civil state sense. Christianity does not oppose the laws of the country (exceptions are cases of adoption of legislative acts that contradict moral values). Marriage cannot and should not be considered a sin. A person starts his relationship before the state and the Church has no right to prevent him from doing so.

Some clergymen even bless not to hurry with the wedding, but to live quietly in a civil official marriage for several years until married couple will not come to the realization of the need to testify to their relationship not only before the state, but also before God. Such have a completely reasonable justification and give a clear indication that the Church respects the real civil and recognizes its legitimacy.