Real attitude towards a woman in Christianity is seriously different from vulgar ideas and is quite interesting.

It is worth noting that in all canonical texts and in the tradition of Christianity, no differences are made between men and women in spiritual and other abilities. The Epistles of the Apostles are addressed equally to both men and women; there is no mention anywhere of the words that, they say, “women are unclean and worse than men.” Perhaps the most revered person in Christianity is the Mother of God; the number of female saints is quite large to fill the calendar with almost daily celebrations.

At the same time, in Christianity there is an absolute norm of the subordination of a woman to a man: a man is even placed as a mediator between a woman and God: “the head of a man is Christ; the head of a wife is her husband,” “husband is not from wife, but wife is from husband, and man was not created for wives, but a wife for her husband." This seems to contradict the initial premises, but only at first glance, because it does not take into account what for the ancients seemed obvious, indisputable and natural: the multi-level structure of society. These maxims instruct a woman not to “obey any man,” but to strive to find a man who would be higher than her level and would love her, and having found one, completely submit and submit to him, allow herself to be led along the path of development, surrounding her husband with tenderness and love. This is more like the generally accepted relationship between a disciple and a guru; it’s just that a Christian woman is instructed to unite her destiny only with someone who can - for her personally - become such a guru.

And this scheme is needed to realize the unique quality of Christianity, which in the modern context can be expressed by the words “the ability to attach other objects to oneself as part of oneself.” With such a union, the smaller one truly becomes part of the body and consciousness of the larger one, just as in the main Christian sacrament - the Eucharist, “the union of all into one body, the head of which is Christ.” Such a connection of the smaller with the higher gives immeasurable advantages and benefits to both parties: the smaller receives a huge acceleration of its development through direct copying of the qualities of the higher and connection with its consciousness, while the higher receives an increase in the mass of consciousness and its structure. It is this quality, according to Christianity, that Christ brought to Earth; it is precisely this that constitutes the essence of the New Testament and the basis of the Church. And it is quite natural that at the most basic level of life, in the family, this quality should be realized in the same way - just as in the world all people become “part of the body” of Christ, so in the family the wife should become “part” of the husband.

“So ought husbands to love their wives as their own bodies: he who loves his wife loves himself... So let each of you love his wife as himself; and let your wife always be in love with her husband*” - these are the words of the Apostle Paul about the Christian family. Humility and obedience to the husband on the part of the wife are nothing more than the conditions for such a union: exactly the same requirements are presented to the man, but in relation to Christ.

At the same time, there are a number of texts from the Christian tradition with not very kind words towards women, where they are called “vessels of sin”, “the path to destruction” and other similar things. However, a quick glance at such texts is enough to understand that these are nothing more than guides for beginning monks who perform practices of renunciation of sexual life in order to achieve certain results, and are aimed at helping them in such practices - they are “tuning texts” for very specific and narrow cases. Only the foolishness of some followers “depressurized” these texts, taking them beyond the boundaries of the specialized tradition.

* - word translated into Synodal translation as “afraid”, in the original it had a meaning that can be conveyed approximately as “trembling with delight and joy”, which in modern language is well conveyed by the concept of “falling in love”.

Probably nothing has been written about as much as the relationship between... And in the Orthodox context too. Or maybe - especially in the Orthodox context.

It seems to me that there are some nuances in Orthodox relationships between men and women that are not entirely correctly understood by both sides. Therefore, some often blame others (some out loud, some mentally). I constantly come across publications by Orthodox authors who somewhat aggressively affirm male dominance. Let's just say this is only partly true. Let us together trace through the Scriptures God's plan for man and woman.

So, for the first time we meet with the will of God about man and woman in (see: 1: 26–29), where God commands the human family to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the beasts. There is not even any talk of any hierarchy here yet. Because in the beginning it speaks of creation person as a phenomenon, and then about the division of this phenomenon. As he writes: “In God’s idea man, one might say - man as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven - there is no distinction between husband and wife, but God, knowing in advance that man would fall, made this distinction.”

Eve is as much a helper to Adam as Adam is a helper to Eve. Helper - in the knowledge of God through one's neighbor

In the 2nd chapter of the book of Genesis, we learn more about the creation of man: Adam was created first, Eve the second - from Adam’s rib, as a “helper like” Adam (cf. Gen. 2:20). Some are inclined to see hierarchy in the fact that Eve is Adam’s helper: since she is a helper, that means Adam is in charge. However, in order to more correctly understand this place, you need to ask the question: what did Adam need to help with? Of course, in Genesis there are words that Adam had to cultivate Eden and keep it (see: Gen. 2:15), but it is naive to believe that Adam and Eve, according to God’s plan, were supposed to plow the land. “What was missing in paradise? – St. John Chrysostom notes in his interpretation of this fragment. - But even if a worker was needed, then where did the plow come from? Where do other farming tools come from? The work of God was to do and keep the commandment of God, to remain faithful to the commandment... that if he touches (the forbidden tree), he will die, and if he does not touch it, he will live.” In this light, it becomes clearer what “helper” means. As theologians say, Adam did not see one thing in heaven - man. And in order to improve, he lacked, among other things, to peer into another image of God, go out out of myself to look at the same creation of God. From this point of view, Eve is as much a helper to Adam as Adam is a helper to Eve. Helper - in the knowledge of God through one's neighbor.

When the Lord brought Eve to Adam, he said: “Behold, this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she will be called woman, for she was taken from [her] husband. Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife; and the [two] shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:23–24). The creation of Eve from Adam's rib also indicates not the subordinate state of Eve (this will be seen more clearly later), but the identity of their nature. For Adam and Eve to truly be one flesh - for this, the Lord uses not the earth to create Eve, as was the case with all animals and Adam, but a part of Adam’s body.

For the third time we witness the relationship of God with the human family after the Fall. After both Adam and Eve shift the blame for their sin onto the other, the Lord pronounces His righteous judgment. Here we need to listen carefully to the biblical text: The Lord “said to the woman: I will multiply and multiply your sorrow in your pregnancy; in illness you will give birth to children; and your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. And he said to Adam: Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying: You shall not eat from it; cursed is the ground because of you; you will eat from it in sorrow all the days of your life; She will bring forth thorns and thistles for you; and you will eat the grass of the field; By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:16-19).

Please note: God announces His judgment. Everything that is written in these verses is God’s punishment. That is, for a woman, the punishment is the grief of pregnancy, and the pain of childbirth - then logic does not allow us to stop - and the attraction to her husband, and the husband’s dominance over her. This new reading allows us to go back a little and understand that if the husband’s dominion over his wife is a punishment for the Fall, therefore, before the Fall, the husband did not dominate the wife, but they had full rights. As he says: “As if justifying himself to his wife, the man-loving God says: at first I created you of equal honor (to my husband) and wanted you, being of the same dignity (with him), to have communication with him in everything, both to your husband and to you. entrusted power over all creatures; but since you did not take advantage of the equality as O It’s false, for this I submit you to your husband: your attraction is to your husband, and he will possess you...

​Since you did not know how to boss, then learn to be a good subordinate. It is better for you to be under his command and to be under his control than, taking advantage of freedom and power, to rush along the rapids.”

In fact, in the New Testament, the apostle also exhorts women to submit to their husbands: “And you, wives, be subject to your own husbands” (1 Pet. 3:1). But here there is already another note, completely unthinkable for Old Testament relationships: “You, husbands, also treat your wives wisely, as with the weakest vessel, showing them honor, as heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Pet. 3:7). A woman is no longer perceived quite the same way as before, and the love of spouses is perceived more spiritually: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25).

However, we see from the Gospel that these sublime relationships are not the limit that we must achieve, not God’s “plan” for man. We know perfection from the words of Christ, and it refers to the sacrament of the next century: “For when they are raised from the dead, then they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be like the angels in heaven” (Mark 12:25). And the apostle says: “There is no longer Jew nor Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

Inequality between men and women is God’s punishment, penance, and any penance is temporary

So, we see that the equality of man and woman was violated by the Fall, while inequality is part of the relations of this fallen world, and there is no true love in it. This is God’s punishment, penance, and any penance is temporary and ends with permission from sin. In the Kingdom of God, where all sins are forgiven and forsaken, everyone dwells like Angels, differing from each other only in grace and glory, which the saints received for their exploits, and not at all by gender, title or anything other than earthly.

An analogy from ascetic works also comes to mind. Probably everyone remembers how the Monk Abba Dorotheos talks about the fear of God. He says that every Christian should have it, but the beginner and the perfect have it in different capacities. The fear of a beginner is the fear of a slave who is afraid of punishment. The fear of the average is the fear of a mercenary who is afraid of losing his pay. The fear of perfection is the fear of a son who is afraid of saddening his parent. In a sense, the woman in the Old Testament also shows obedience, like a slave. In the New, it is already more like a free person, having to receive a reward for this in eternity. And in the next century, he enters into the dignity of a daughter, like a man into a son, and renders true obedience only to the Father.

What follows from all these arguments? First of all, a warning to men. As a priest, I have seen a lot of men who believe that obedience is a feature of female nature, so they try to force obedience on their other half with words and sometimes with deeds. I have seen “Orthodox” bearded men who could kick their fair half in the teeth for their self-will. It is clear that such people cannot be brought to their senses; they simply need to be excommunicated from Communion until their brains fall into place. My word is to sane people. No need to put pressure on women! It's not easy for them anyway. Only God knows who will be higher in Heaven.

For disobedience, the grace of God departs from a woman. But men should also treat a woman like a crystal vessel.

Yes, women must show obedience, and, as Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain says, for disobedience, the grace of God departs from a woman. But in the same way, men should treat a woman as a crystal (“the weakest,” as the apostle says) vessel. If a man can say that he Always this is how he treats his wife - well, such a husband has the right to seek obedience. But I think that any man, hand on heart, will not find in himself unshakable condescension and patience, constant affection and responsiveness, which means there is nothing to demand holiness from others. As they say, learn to observe akriviya in relation to yourself - and you will learn how to create oikonomia in relation to others.

Another very important point of obedience (regardless of anyone): obedience is true when it is carried out from the first word. So he says. If you have to repeat it a second and third time, this no longer has anything to do with the virtue of obedience. This is a demand, an urgent request, “nagging” - but not obedience. And this is so - among both monastics and laity, in relation to both children and adults. (This, of course, is not about if a person did not hear or understand.) Therefore, dear ones, if they do not listen to you the first time, then you need to think not about how to make a person obey, but about whether it is worth repeating the second time times (now I'm only talking about adults).

Third. As we noted at the beginning of the article, a man’s punishment is to “eat bread by the sweat of his brow,” that is, to earn money. In our difficult earthly conditions, sometimes it happens that a woman has to work alongside a man. (Let’s leave aside idle talk about the fact that work ennobles.) It turns out that not only does a woman bear a purely feminine punishment - the burden of pregnancy, childbirth and obedience to her husband, but she also has to “do time” for a man - work hard faces. It is clear that anyone can break under the weight of double punishment. I'm not even talking about the fact that harsh male punishment is not at all appropriate women's shoulders. It is clear that a woman has her own work to do - and this has been the case from time immemorial. That's not really what we're talking about right now. The point is that in a normal everyday situation a woman should not work hard from eight in the morning to five in the evening. And from time immemorial, women were not included all the time, say, in field work. When a woman was needed - to help with the harvest or on some other special occasions - of course, she stood in line with the men, but outside of this emergency time she had her own specific field of activity. This area is the creation and maintenance of a family home, which in a sense is included in the notorious “your attraction to your husband.” This attraction prompts a woman to make such a cozy nest out of her home, when she comes to it her husband understands his family happiness especially keenly.

Therefore, if there is no other way out in the family (I mean the woman’s earnings), then the man should treat these conditions of existence, which are not specific to women, with the utmost understanding. And if the yoke of making money is thrown on both, then the yoke of household responsibilities should also be thrown on both, and not just on the wife.

Childbearing by itself doesn't save. And he saves when he leads a woman (and the whole family) to “faith and love in holiness”

And a few more words about the third factor in the family - children. Now there are a lot of speculative statements about the meaning of having many children in life, based on the words of the Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy, that a woman “will be saved through bearing children” (1 Tim. 2:15). However, one somehow forgets that throughout New Testament the main conditions for salvation pass: the presence in a person of the spirit of love, humility, meekness, etc. They forget what is said, separated by commas after these words: “one will be saved through childbearing, if he continues in faith and love and holiness with chastity" (emphasis mine. - O. S.B.). That is, childbearing by itself doesn't save! This is not a ticket to the Kingdom of God. And it saves in the case when it naturally leads a woman (and the whole family) to “faith and love in holiness.” Due to a misunderstanding of these words, some mothers with many children consider themselves almost half saved and at the same time despise those with few children and those without children! It's amazing how the Holy Scriptures teach us nothing! It is enough to recall the Old Testament examples of the righteous Abraham and Sarah, the 20-year childlessness of Isaac and Rebekah, Anna - the mother of the prophet Samuel, as well as the New Testament righteous Joachim and Anna, Zechariah and Elizabeth, in order to understand from which channel this Pharisaic condemnation stems. From church history we see that the Lord equally blesses those with few children, those with many children, and those without children at all. John Chrysostom was the only child in the family. Basil the Great is one of 9 children. And in the family of John of Kronstadt there were no children at all, because he and his wife took a vow of chastity. And his feat is higher than involuntary childlessness, because living side by side with a woman, with his wife, and at the same time observe virginity and chastity - this is truly a stay in the Babylonian furnace! I think the monastics will understand me.

Therefore, let us beware of condemnation, brothers. Let us beware of cruelty and unmercifulness. Let us beware of everything that is contrary to the spirit of the love of Christ, and the Giver of this love Himself will abide with us forever.

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Father Oleg Molenko

Instructions for Husband and Wife on Their Rights and Responsibilities in a Truly Christian Marriage

God bless!

Life itself, its unexpected turns, events, incidents and our reaction to them often pose a number of important questions to people living in a Christian marriage, without a godly resolution of which life in marriage is doomed to torment, and the marriage itself is doomed to destruction.

We must first establish firm foundations for marriage and the relationships within it. These foundations are established on the commandments of the Lord, the instructions of Scripture and the teachings of the Church of Christ. At the same time, we should know that all types of relationships that exist in marriage need our understanding and skillful use to overcome all the dangers that rise against marriage.

First of all, we must know that the institution of marriage itself comes from God. God created the male and female sexes so that representatives of these sexes would marry and cleave to each other. That's why marriage is based on three pillars:

1. on faith in God;
2. on obedience to His word (commandments);
3. on the indissolubility of marriage (fidelity).

Matthew 19:
4 He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who created in the beginning made them male and female?”
5 And he said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh,
6 so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So, what God has joined together, let no man separate.

From these words of Christ God it is very important for us to understand the following truths:

1. God created man and woman, and He created them as equal partners for marriage;
2. Marriage and the creation of a new family on its basis prevail over the ties of the persons entering into marriage with their parents. To new family appeared and stood, we must certainly leave the old one, where the bride and groom were as children;
3. God does not indicate any union in marriage, but rather the cleaving of the husband to the wife and the union of them into one flesh. It is the husband who must cleave to his wife and preserve this cleavage;
4. Since the Lord God Himself unites people in a marriage union, He requires the indissolubility of the marriage union on the part of man.

A marriage union can fall apart due to the fault of people if at least one pillar holding the marriage is knocked out by their actions.

A marriage breaks up if one or both participants in the marriage cheat on God and lose faith in Him;
A marriage is destroyed if one or two people who entered into it cease to obey God and fulfill His commandments and will;
A marriage is destroyed even by a one-time betrayal with another spouse, i.e. the sin of her adultery, or the adulterous lifestyle of her husband (a one-time betrayal of her husband, healed by repentance and correction, does not destroy the marriage).

Matthew 19:9:“But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife for reasons other than adultery and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

You cannot divorce your wife except for the guilt of adultery on her part, betrayal of faith in God, or betrayal of obedience to the commandments and will of God.

A husband cannot marry another woman after divorcing his first wife for any reason other than those stated above.

You cannot marry a divorced woman for the three reasons stated above, communicated to us by God Himself through His revelation in the Holy Scriptures.

The Holy Church of Christ points to some technical features, due to which the marriage can be dissolved by her.

One of the reasons for such a dissolution may be the discovery of the fact that the spouses were closely related by blood, but did not know it.

The second reason for the Church to dissolve a marriage may be the discovery of incurable infertility in one of the spouses. In relation to a barren spouse, God’s commandment about the indissolubility of marriage is not applied. The period for checking infertility established by the Church is at least three calendar years(or more). If after three years (or more, up to seven years) one of the spouses is unable to conceive a child due to infertility discovered during the marriage, then at the insistence of the other spouse who wants to have children, the marriage is dissolved. If the spouses agree to live without their children, then the marriage remains. A subsequent change in the desire of a healthy spouse to end the marriage due to infertility of the other half is no longer acceptable. The decision to divorce due to infertility must be made by the healthy spouse on time (i.e., from three to seven years). The right to leave a marriage with an infertile spouse can be used by a healthy spouse only once, i.e. if within seven years of marriage married life(the years the husband or wife spent in war, in a campaign or in prison may not be taken into account) the right to leave the marriage was not used, then it loses its validity.

The third reason why the Church can divorce spouses is the discovery of the fact that one of the spouses constantly terrorizes his half or induces her to commit grave sins, such as, for example, atheism, regality, witchcraft, murder, theft, robbery or robbery, sexual perversion, child molestation, drug or alcohol abuse, etc. In all these cases, the decision is made by the church court upon receipt of irrefutable evidence of the guilt of one of the spouses.

Persons whose marriage was dissolved by the Church for the above reasons (except those accused of crimes) have the right to remarry with the blessing of the Church.

Last possible reason The termination of a marriage is the death of one of the spouses. A widow or widower has the right to remarry.

Romans 7:
2 A married woman is bound by law to her living husband; and if her husband dies, she is freed from the law of marriage.
3 Therefore, if she marries another while her husband is living, she is called an adulteress; if her husband dies, she is free from the law, and will not be an adulteress if she marries another husband.

The third marriage of one of the spouses is permitted due to the extreme infirmity of such person. Such a marriage is considered shameful and is not celebrated, but is formed only with the blessing of the Church through the hierarch. Church penance is imposed on persons who have married for the third time or who have married for the first or second time, but with a person who has previously been married twice.

One must take the creation of a marriage most seriously, and therefore one must first of all pray for the gift of salvation to one’s spouse. In addition, the candidacy of the spouse must be examined for possible serious consequences hanging on him (her) due to family damage or personal sinful life before marriage. Those wishing to get married must tell each other the whole truth about themselves, whatever it may be.

The aggravation of a marriage may subsequently be affected by the following facts that took place in the life of one or both spouses:

1. Unbelief or crooked faith of the race;
2. Grave and mortal sins that were in the family;
3. Demon communication that took place in the family or among the person entering into marriage;
4. Dissolute life before marriage and practice of sexual perversion;
5. Committing homicide or infanticide in the womb;
6. The presence in the family of suicides, parricides, fratricides, regicides, church destroyers, heresiarchs, sacrileges, blasphemers, sorcerers, rebels, atheists, treacherous, etc.;
7. The presence of severe hereditary diseases or curses.

If by the grace of God the marriage took place and the newly-minted husband and wife began to live in a union of peace, harmony and love, then due to the envy of demons and evil people, as well as due to the weakness and inexperience of the spouses themselves, various tensions and conflicts begin to occur in the marriage, which, if left unhealed, can lead to to the worst and saddest fruits.

That is why it is good to strengthen a marriage, in addition to performing a church sacrament, to secure the following auxiliary means:

1. Ensure the blessing of the parents on the part of the husband and wife (if possible). It is not necessary that parents be members of the Church or have a common faith with their children;
2. Have the husband and wife have the same spiritual father or confessor, to whom both can confess and resolve all emerging issues and conflicts;
3. Have friendship with a good, resilient, friendly and experienced family.

In married life, the following layers or types of relationships take place:

1. Co-stay;
2. Human communication;
3. Marital love and harmony;
4. Family World;
5. Sexual communication;
6. Sexual dissatisfaction of one of the spouses;
7. Pressure from one of the spouses;
8. Tension in the relationship between spouses;
9. Blackmail by one of the spouses;
10. Conflict between spouses;
11. Contradictions and disagreements between spouses;
12. Misunderstanding between spouses, loss of like-mindedness and unanimity;
13. Mistrust and suspicion between spouses;
14. Morbid jealousy of one of the spouses;
15. Loneliness together;
16. Material and everyday difficulties;
17. Disagreements in attitude towards children and their upbringing;
18. Vampirism of one of the spouses;
19. Slave position of wife;
20. Henpecked position of the husband;
21. Relationships based on people-pleasing;
22. Callousness and ignoring;
23. Relationship breakdown;
24. Rejection between spouses;
25. Cooling of relationships and mutual love;
26. Disgusted wife;
27. Strangeness of a husband or wife (when you feel your spouse is a stranger);
28. The collapse of marriage and family.

As we see, most of these types of relationships are negative in nature and can serve to aggravate the relationship between spouses. That is why both spouses need and must constantly fight to preserve their marriage and overcome all negative aspects that arise in their relationship. You need to master the art of overcoming conflicts.

Both spouses must always remember that we do not live in paradise, that our earthly life is short-lived, that the spouse is an imperfect person, surrounded by his own infirmities and passions. We must remember that we are in a constant war with demons, fighting our sinful passions, evil inclinations and harmful skills. We should help each other in this fight, and not fight with each other.

It is impossible, based on the words of Scripture that a wife should fear her husband and obey in everything, to make her his slave and satisfyer of her passions and lusts. If the husband becomes like Christ in relationships, then the wife becomes like the Church. The Church is not a slave of Christ, but His pure and holy Bride, whom He loves, cares for, protects, protects and communicates everything necessary.

If a husband behaves towards his wife as Christ behaves towards the Church, then the wife must obey such a husband and obey him in everything that concerns his authority or general affairs. She must be afraid of upsetting her husband or losing his affection or himself. If a husband behaves differently than Christ in relation to the Church, then he does not ascend to his status as a husband and therefore cannot demand unquestioning obedience and obedience from his wife in everything. So, the husband’s whole concern is not to leave his status, to love and provide everything necessary for his wife and his children.

A big and harmful mistake on the part of a husband is when, by his autocracy, he deprives his wife of her intra-family inheritance, in which she has freedom and respite from possible pressure on his part. You cannot leave your wife without such a feminine area of ​​hers. A husband cannot meddle with his opinion and desire in women's and mother's affairs unless absolutely necessary. In her feminine area, the wife must be free and bear full responsibility for the well-being and order in this area.

The purely feminine and maternal areas include:

1. Kitchen and cooking for the family;
2. The female part of the marital (sexual) relationship (i.e. the wife has the right to demand that her husband fulfill his marital duties and satisfy her in this part of the relationship);
3. Cleaning, cleanliness, neatness, decoration and decoration (design) in the house;
4. Laundry, repair and production of clothes;
5. Maternal care for bearing a fetus, feeding and raising a baby (up to 6 years);
6. Caring for a sick husband and sick children;
7. The women's part of the job is receiving guests and preparing for holidays and family celebrations.

The husband, based on the need and request of his wife, can help with his participation in the women's part, but do everything at the decision and discretion of the wife. He should not impose anything of his own on her in this area, but only humbly ask, for example, to cook such and such.

A serious mistake of the husband is his inattention to the sexual satisfaction of his wife. Selfishness in this matter on the part of the husband not only puts the wife in a painful position, but also provokes her to detach herself from him and stick to another man who satisfies her female needs to the fullest extent. The Apostle Paul was concerned about this problem of the families under his care. This is how he instructed them on this important matter:

1 Cor.7:
2 But to avoid fornication, each one have his own wife, and each one have his own husband.
3 The husband show his wife due favor; likewise is a wife to her husband.
4 The wife has no authority over her own body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does.
5 Do not deviate from each other, except by agreement, for a time, to practice fasting and prayer, and then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with your intemperance.
6 However, I said this as permission, and not as a command.

If a husband does not need to intrude into a purely feminine area unless absolutely necessary, then even more so should not a wife do this, i.e. to invade a purely male area. The wife should be content with the fact that her husband deigns to tell her about his affairs and not to inquire further. Faith and complete trust in your husband in his affairs are big advantage for a wise wife.

A harmful mistake on the part of a wife is to humiliate her husband's manhood. It’s bad when this happens in private, it’s even worse when it happens in front of children, and it’s really bad when it happens in front of strangers.

Under no circumstances should a wife reproach her husband for the fact that he earns little and cannot provide her and the children with what they want. You also cannot reproach your husband for his weaknesses and shortcomings.

A big mistake is the wife's grumpiness. Being a “saw” wife is unacceptable for a Christian woman. If such a quality exists, then it must be decisively eradicated by repentance and prayer, as well as careful observation of oneself and self-restraint. Control over the tongue is very important for a wife, because a wife's unbridled tongue can bring a lot of harm to her husband and the whole family.

A common mistake is a wife whining and complaining about life and everyday troubles in front of her husband. If such an attitude continues for a long time, then it can turn into so-called “vampirism”, when, through whining and complaints out of a passion for self-pity, the wife begins, unnoticed by herself, to “feed” on the vital forces of her husband and gets used to it. In this way, a wife can keep her husband depressed or sick, or even simply lead him to the grave. The second way of such feeding is a conflict or quarrel arranged by a wife for her husband, which most often occurs over completely unimportant trifles or far-fetched quibbles. Demons immediately interfere with the beginning of a quarrel and inflate it into a big conflict and enmity. Many sins are committed by spouses during such a conflict. The husband and wife insult each other verbally, shout at each other, wish each other harm, threaten, and even curse each other in the heat of the moment. Often one of them expresses regret that they got married. Added to this is the threat of filing for divorce and leaving home. Sometimes the wife begins to demonstratively collect her things or her husband’s things in order to put them out the door. Christians should never allow this to happen.

It is unacceptable to humiliate your husband’s (or wife’s) parents in a verbal altercation, no matter what they are like in life and no matter how they relate to your family.

A big problem for any wife is the so-called female cunning. This is such an evil quality that it and the wicked woman are specifically mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. A Christian wife must struggle in every possible way with her wickedness and eradicate it in herself until it completely disappears. One must counteract one’s wickedness with silence in the mind, humility, simplicity, quietness and patience. These virtues, together with repentance and prayer, will not leave even a trace of guile.

Out of her cunning, a wife often allows blackmail against her husband. In this way, she tries to get from him what she wants and what he does not provide her with. The subjects of blackmail can be one’s own children, preventing a husband from having marital intercourse, refusing to support a business that is important to the husband, which depends on the wife, and much more.

A wife should not deny her husband his desire to be with her. If there is a good reason (for example, illness or extreme fatigue) that does not allow the wife to allow her husband to see her, then she should calmly explain everything to him and ask him to be patient until she is fully restored. Frequent and unreasonable refusals of a wife in marital intercourse can provoke her husband to seek satisfaction on the side. This also applies to the husband. Here, both husband and wife should remember well the words of the Apostle Paul that each of them does not own his own body in this regard, but yields it to his spouse.

However, a wife can push her husband to the side not only by refusing marital relations. Such factors can be, for example, the lack of affection, tenderness, attention, responsiveness, warmth of attitude and other things on her part towards her husband, which create home coziness and comfort for her husband. The wife is simply obliged to create such an atmosphere of warmth and comfort in the house so that her husband is always drawn to his home and to her. To do this, it is important for her to take care of herself, keep the house tidy and cook well, variedly and tasty. The looseness of speech, the unsightly appearance of the wife, the untidiness of her hair and clothes, bad smell from the mouth or from the body, severity towards the husband - all this contributes to his cooling towards his wife.

A wife should always be friendly, modest, caring, attentive, taciturn, kind, sincere, humble and obedient to her husband.

The greatest evil in the relationship between spouses is the wife’s attempt to lead and control her husband. Popularly, this situation is called “keeping your husband under your thumb.” Such a situation not only humiliates the husband, but also the wife herself, and has a destructive effect on this family.

Both husband and wife should know and remember that the main source of any temptation or disturbance in the world that arises between them is demons.

You should know that it very rarely happens that God allows demons to attack both a husband and a wife at the same time. Most often, demons are allowed to attack one of them. That is why, if a husband or wife notices that the behavior of the other half has become abnormal (for example, the person got excited, angry, raised his voice, began to shout, swear, find fault, etc.), then you need to realize that demons have attacked your other half half and a loved one. Having realized this, one must act correctly, because the task of demons is to try, through the spouse they are involved in, to involve the spouse in a quarrel and conflict. The spouse who has not yet been affected by demons must prevent this from happening and immediately begin to resolutely fight for his spouse. We must fight not with a person who has fallen under the influence of demons, but with the demons themselves. This is why it is important for the uninvolved spouse not to respond with barbs to his or her spouse’s taunts, slander, insults and other bad actions and words, but instead to immediately begin to pray for the spouse. If you answer your wife (husband), then do it very softly, tenderly, with unfeigned love and humility, understanding that now you are speaking not so much to your wife (husband), but to her (his) spiritual illness (or demons). Humility and fervent prayer for an excited spouse will certainly bear good fruit. Necessarily help will come God, and the demons will be forced to retreat. Then you will again find your husband (wife) as he (she) usually is. This is how real victory is achieved over demons, who in every possible way try to cause discord in any friendly family.

Without sacrifice, without concessions to each other, without speedy reconciliation and asking each other for forgiveness, neither husband nor wife will be able to defeat the enemies of our salvation who are fighting with us.

Compliance, willingness to give in, an attitude of compliance this is an excellent quality and a reliable tool that allows you to resolve many conflicts that begin between spouses at their very beginning.

You cannot give in only when it comes to God, faith, the Church and the work of salvation. Otherwise, it is better to infringe on yourself in order to maintain peace and harmony in the family.

If an accident happens and the husband (wife) gets sick or injured, then the wife (husband) is obliged not only to take care of speedy recovery loved one, but also to take on the household responsibilities that were performed by the disabled spouse.

It is absolutely unacceptable for husband and wife to assault each other. If some fundamental disagreement really arises, you should immediately turn to your confessor for help.

The presence of children in the family imposes additional responsibilities on the husband and wife towards them.

It is unacceptable for one spouse to humiliate the other spouse in the presence of children. Children easily grasp this disrespect and often begin to use their parents' opposition for their own purposes.

It is unacceptable to fight, swear and insult each other in front of children. It is unacceptable for a husband and wife to say anything contrary to them in the presence of their children. Parents should always appear unanimous and of the same mind before their children in everything. Husband and wife are obliged to support each other in relation to each of their children. Disagreement between parents, and even more so quarrels and enmity between them, will have the worst impact on the upbringing of their children. Children should grow up in an atmosphere of family peace, harmony, unanimity, unanimity, love, tenderness, affection and friendliness. Strictness towards children and their punishment should take place according to need. Punishment should always be supported by two parents. It must be balanced, measured and fair. Nothing aggravates a child’s soul more than unfair punishment by his parents. When punishing a child, the father or mother must explain to him the reason for this punishment and what they require from him. At the same time, they should punish the child not from a state of anger and irritation, but be calm and testify to their love for the punished child.

It is unacceptable for a father or mother to walk naked even in front of their young child of either sex, much less let him see the act of their marital copulation. Father and mother must in every possible way support each other's authority and respect for each of them in their children.

Parents should be able to recognize the reasons for their children's agitation or any abnormal behavior. One must distinguish between natural causes (for example, illness, pain or illness) from demonic influence. In the case of the latter, appropriate means must be taken: prayer for the child, making the sign of the cross over him, sprinkling him and giving him to drink blessed water, anointing him with blessed oil, applying a cross or shrines available in the house to him. In serious and protracted cases, you should seek help from your confessor, asking him to perform a reading for your child or a suitable prayer service, as well as a special commemoration during the liturgy.

A very powerful, strong, effective and fruitful means of helping your child is to read the Jesus Prayer over him. To do this, you should sit comfortably yourself and sit (lay down) the child so that you can lay both your hands on his head. If there are two children, then you can lay your hand on each of them. A very small baby can simply be held in your arms. Before doing this, it is good to wet your palms with Epiphany holy water and let them dry. The prayer should be read aloud, in a calm voice and in a measured, soothing tone. You can use two versions of the Jesus Prayer:

1. “G.I.H.S.B. have mercy on us";
2. “G.I.H.S.B. have mercy on the baby (youth) Name (i.e. the name of the child is called).

Any version of this prayer (I personally prefer the first due to its brevity and coverage of all family members) must be said with attention and contrition at least 1000 times.

This remedy is so strong, holy and unique that it can not only remove any damage or demonic action from a child, but also heal an illness, calm the nerves, eliminate excitement, improve memory, judgment, mental capacity, ability to study successfully and much more. If you spare no time in praying for your child and add at least 300-500 “Our Father” prayers and the same number of “Hail to the Virgin Mary” prayers to the 1-1.5 thousand Jesus prayers, then this remedy can become miraculous. With its help, you can rid your child of the evil eye, old damage, current illness, disorders in his body, reduce high temperature and equalize blood pressure. For example, unpleasant warts, papillomas and other unhealthy formations on the skin may go away. Wounds and burns can heal quickly and well, tumors can go away, “bumps”, bruises and swelling can disappear. In any case, such reading of these prayers over your child will only benefit him and you. Work to call on the Name of God, and It will work to improve your child's condition.

The end of this work and glory to our God!

What attracts them to religion like flies to honey? Do they really live so sweetly in Christ?

To begin with, it would not hurt to repeat what scripture says about women. When creating the world, the biblical God first created man - the man Adam and only then, from his own rib, created his helper - his wife:

Life 2.22... And the Lord God made a wife from a rib taken from a man, and brought her to the man.

Created so that a person would not feel bad being alone:

Life 2.18... It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helper...

The Bible does not explain how this “not good” manifested itself. The first man's task was to protect and cultivate the garden. Perhaps Adam was not good at being both a caretaker and a gardener. No less interesting is the placement of accents. The husband is a man, the wife is a man's assistant.

The word “man” is nowhere identified with the word “wife” as it relates to the creation of the wife (Gen., ch. 2). We have to guess based on the context - maybe we are talking about a new, unknown animal? In fact, this is the first hint of female inferiority. Eve is not directly called a person, and she is not created for great deeds, but to help a person - her husband, which in those distant times was customary to assign to servants and slaves.

Thus, the idea of ​​gender inequality and male superiority appears in the Bible on the very first pages. Inequality was created not by anyone, but by the creator himself.

On the other hand, domestic animals - horses, cows, sheep, goats, dogs, cats and other creatures were created before women, but as can be seen from the text - did not correspond to the inscrutable plans for a helper like a person:

Life 2.20.... But for man there was no helper like him.

Therefore, finally, a woman was urgently created. According to the text of the Bible, it turns out that a woman is higher than animals, but still she is not recognized as equal to a man. The attitude towards a woman as a secondary being is constantly visible when carefully reading the Bible.

After Eve commits her first sin - eating the forbidden fruit, the fate of all women becomes completely worthless. No one is allowed to disobey the instructions of the creator with impunity. All the wrath of the Almighty and all the cones fall on Eve with divine generosity.

Among other punishments, none other than for excessive independence in the question “to eat or not to eat the forbidden fruit? ”, openly indicates submission to the husband:

Life 3.16... And your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

What kind of equality can we talk about after this? On the first three The pages of the Bible lay reinforced concrete for the foundation of all subsequent inequality. Humanity is divided into men and women. For men, the goals are sublime and noble, for women, in light of Eve’s violation of the prohibition in the Garden of Eden, it is to incite men to commit sinful acts. Hence, there is no question of independence or dominance.

Women who are easily seduced require an eye - yes an eye. In addition, the axis of evil is also identified. This is formulated in the Christian thesis about a woman’s guilt, about her essence as the source of all human troubles. Although men take part in other sins on an equal basis with women, the instigator is always considered to be a woman. Here is what Christian authorities wrote on this matter:

“Don’t you know that Eve lives in each of you? God’s curse on your sex passes from century to century: the awareness of guilt must also pass. You are the devil’s gate; you are those who violated the prohibition and tasted the forbidden fruit; you are - the first apostates from the sacred law; you are the one who incited Adam to sin, from which the Devil himself apostatized.

You seduced a God-like man without a second thought. Your exile, which was tantamount to the loss of immortality, was the reason that God sent his only Son to die." (Tertulian).

“There is not a shadow of dishonor in a man endowed with reason; the same cannot be said about a woman, who is dishonored even by the reflection of the nature that lies within her.”

(Clement of Alexandria).

Based on what has been said, it is not difficult to understand what the church distribution of roles in the family will be, what will be the main family purpose of a woman, what kind of sinful acts can be expected from married woman and those possible measures to prevent this. One way or another, the above ideas have been diligently developed by Christians at all times, starting with the first apostles:

1 Cor 11, 3, 7-9

I also want you to know that the head of every husband is Christ, the head of every wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

So, the husband should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God; and the wife is the glory of the husband.

For man is not made from wife, but woman is from man; man was not created for wife, but woman for man.

(1 Tim. 2:12-13).

But I do not allow a wife to teach, nor to rule over her husband, but to be in silence.

For Adam was created first, and then Eve;

But just as the Church submits to Christ, so do wives to their husbands in everything.

(1 Peter 3:1-2).

Likewise, you, wives, obey your husbands, so that those of them who do not obey the word will be won without a word by the lives of their wives when they see your pure, God-fearing lives.

The most amazing thing is that many Christian theorists were hermits, monastics, never married and never had intimacy with women. They could judge the subject from hearsay or purely speculatively, without having a single drop of personal experience behind them.

This did not deter them and they began to speculate on the topic of family relationships and the purpose of a woman. A famous fable describes what happens when a cobbler bakes pies.

An undoubted “contribution” to creative development Orthodoxy introduced Christian teaching on family and marriage. At the beginning of the 16th century, under Ivan the Terrible, Archpriest Sylvester wrote “Domostroy,” which set the tone in Rus' for many years family relations. These patriarchal Christian teachings describe in detail the fullness of the “happiness” of a married woman. A vertical of power is being built: God – husband – wife – children – household members.

The wife is constantly reminded of submission and obedience to her husband, her countless duties around the house are outlined, any activity “outside the home” is excluded, seclusion, downtroddenness, and humiliation are glorified; lack of independence is presented as good, tolerance to the point of blind submission is required, any expression of will is suppressed; In case of violation of the order, various measures of education and punishment are provided - from admonishment with fear to beating with a whip.

On different variants Sylvester declares male dominance. The division of responsibilities is so deep that there is no need to talk about the division of rights, since the woman is left with nothing.

And the wife of her husband listens and asks questions all day long... The wife is kind, and passionate and silent,... Teach her husband her wife... Wives ask their husbands about all decency, how to save the soul to God, and please the husband, and Build your house well and repent for everything, and whatever your husband punishes, accept it with love and do according to his punishment...

It is necessary to go on a visit and invite the exile with whom the husband orders...... A wife should not eat or drink her husband's secrets... Don’t ask for your husband’s drink and food and treats and funerals of any kind and don’t give them yourself, and don’t keep other people’s things in your home without your husband’s knowledge......

Consult with your husband about everything, and not with a slave and not with a slave..... And the husband will see that the wife and the servants are dishonest, or not because everything is written in this memory, otherwise he would be able to punish his wife with all sorts of reasoning and teach if he listens and therefore do everything and love and reward, if the wife does not live according to that teaching and punishment, and does not do all this and does not know it herself and does not teach the servants, otherwise a wife deserves to punish her husband, and crawl with fear... but only the wife or son or daughter does not have a word or punishment, does not listen and does not heed, and is not a fighter and does not do what a husband or father or mother teaches another to lash with a whip based on guilt, but to beat is not taught in front of people in private...

And for pregnant wives and children, damage occurs in the womb and with a whip, with punishment, beat carefully, and reasonably and painfully and scary...

Church “wise men” would be happy to say so directly today, but this is not at all in step with the third millennium, when in numerous legal documents, starting with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, gender equality is proclaimed and recognized, and even criminal punishment is possible for outright harassment. (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 136). Therefore, the priests vaguely and casually drop a small forced clause about some kind of equality, “in the sense that...

" A normal person will never find meaning in “that sense” when the equality recognized on one line is methodically and purposefully refuted in the next line. After skillful manipulation of concepts and terms, such as: “Husband and wife are one, but not the same thing,” inequality immediately follows from equality. If in secular Russia it is dangerous to directly contradict the Constitution and laws, then in a disguised form, on the sly, a “promised land” simply opens up for verbal tightrope walkers in robes.

Here is what is written in our time in the “Fundamentals of the Social Concept” of the Russian Orthodox Church about gender:

Fundamental equality of dignity of the sexes does not abolish their natural differences and does not mean the identity of their vocations both in the family and in society.

In particular, the Church cannot misinterpret the words of the Apostle Paul about the special responsibility of the husband, who is called to be the “head of the wife,” loving her as Christ loves His Church, as well as about the calling of the wife to submit to her husband, as the Church submits to Christ (Eph. 5. 22-23; Col. 3. 18).

A very ornate start. Like in that song: “And it’s not so much yes, and it’s not so much no.” It seems to be equality, but in fact biblical discrimination is proclaimed. After such a promising and ambiguous introduction, the Russian Orthodox Church repeats the main provisions known for thousands of years, carefully multiplies and supplements existing teachings with new ones.

Indeed, due to the rapid development of progress, many questions simply could not have arisen in apostolic times or in the era of writing Domostroi. So, in the 21st century, among Orthodox Christians, marriage is only possible with fellow believers (with the exception of several Christian denominations), divorce is not allowed, divorce is only permissible in cases of adultery and for some really important reasons.

Remarriages after divorce are not encouraged, family planning means a complete renunciation of intimacy (for example, abstinence, which occurs during fasting), for the childless, the maximum permissible is IVF (in vitro fertilization) only from the husband, any more advanced genetic technologies to overcome marital infertility ( such as surrogacy) are condemned as sinful.

Genetic diseases are considered the consequences of an unrighteous life and are regarded as a fair punishment:

“Terrible is the end of an unrighteous generation” (Wis. 3:19).

The intervention of geneticists with the aim of improving human qualities is not encouraged, since this is considered an intrusion into the creator’s plan, a violation of the divine plan of man, prenatal diagnosis is allowed only for treatment purposes, and not for making a decision on abortion, after identifying incurable diseases in the fetus, they are rejected organs and tissues for the treatment of diseases obtained as a result of abortions, only women should give birth to new people, even the thought of the possibility of cloning is rejected:

“A person has no right to pretend to be the creator of creatures similar to himself or to select genetic prototypes for them, determining their personal characteristics at his own discretion. The idea of ​​cloning is an undoubted challenge to the very nature of man, the image of God inherent in him, an integral part of which is the freedom and uniqueness of the individual.”

Finally, this is how “old songs about the main thing” sound when performed by the Russian Orthodox Church. Any premarital relations are prohibited:

The Church cannot support those “sex education” programs that recognize premarital sex as the norm,...

Intimacy is permissible only in a legal marriage, since it serves for procreation:

Condemning pornography and fornication, the Church does not at all call to disdain the body or sexual intimacy as such, for the bodily relations of a man and a woman are blessed by God in marriage, where they become the source of the continuation of the human race

Avoiding pregnancy in marriage is a sin:

Intentional refusal to have children for selfish reasons devalues ​​marriage and is an undoubted sin.

If you happen to get pregnant, you must definitely give birth, no abortions (however, the church provides for some exceptions):

Since ancient times, the Church has considered intentional termination of pregnancy (abortion) as a grave sin. Canonical rules equate abortion to murder. This assessment is based on the conviction that the birth of a human being is a gift from God, therefore, from the moment of conception, any encroachment on the life of a future human person is criminal.

After summing up all the Christian taboos, a woman is left with one biblical assignment: “... Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1.28). Here is how it is said about it in “Fundamentals of the Social Concept”:

“The Church sees the purpose of a woman not in simple imitation of a man and not in competition with him, but in the development of all the abilities given to her by the Lord, including those inherent only in her nature.”

The ways to develop “gifted abilities” - to be an assistant to a person (Adam) - have already been clarified above. As for “abilities inherent only in female nature,” this is clearly stated in the commandment about reproduction and fruitfulness. No one argues that a woman’s biological purpose is to give birth to children, that this is her difference from a man, but limiting the entire diversity of life to only one biological aspect, fencing off from the outside world, voluntarily abandoning all other ways for an individual to realize his or her potential - how many is this acceptable these days?

It may be objected to me that I have narrowed the church’s concept of the role of women and singled out one component from supposedly many. Yes, but this one component outweighs all the others many times over, is the basis of church doctrine, and primarily determines real life specific people. Other Orthodox teachings and discussions about women are candy wrappers and props, designed to divert attention from the main thing - a wife should always be subordinate to her husband, always powerless and always guilty.

Women, after becoming acquainted with all the “fairy-tale” prospects of Domostroevskaya life according to Christian concepts and traditions, should think carefully and decide whether such a fate will suit them.

It stands on its pillars-dogmas, which prohibit the logical analysis of “divine revelations”. However, the more progressive humanity becomes, developing technically and moving away from, the greater the likelihood of various theories and searches for logical inconsistencies in holy texts. To be convinced of this, one does not have to look far for examples: the treatment of women in manuscripts causes heated debate. In this article we will look at some aspects of attitudes towards women in one of the world's largest - Christianity.

Woman in Christianity

Religious denigration of women's rights is largely due to socio-economic factors. Historically, during matriarchy, the woman was the head of the family and enjoyed its unconditional respect. In those days, women's work - gathering - was often more productive than hunting. It is no coincidence that ancient mythology glorified women - Demeter, Latona, Isis and many others. But with production and division of labor in primitive society, woman loses her dominant position.

It must be said that Christianity is losing the battle for tolerance and equality. The origin “from the rib” served as the basis for numerous attacks on the fair sex. The Bible directly says that God breathed an immortal soul into Adam, but there is no mention of Eve’s soul in scripture.

The question of whether women have souls has caused real battles among the clergy. Many of its representatives even began to doubt whether women were human. In 585 AD, the Macon Church Council raised this issue, and after long discussions, a majority of just one vote officially recognized that a woman still has some semblance of a soul, although she is a being of a lower order. This truly “heroic” recognition was made possible thanks to that part of Scripture where it is said that the Son of God Jesus Christ was at the same time the son of a man - Mary. However, this did not in any way affect the consumer attitude towards women in Europe and the rest of the Christian world. The Book of Proverbs of Solomon declared woman to be a vessel of sin, a source of temptation, allowing the continuation of inequality and oppression.

For the sin of the foremother

It is interesting that even the name Eve does not appear in the Holy Scriptures. The canons claim that the first people on earth were Adam and his wife. The name Eve - which has Hebrew roots - is given to a woman after her expulsion from Paradise. And is it worth talking about equality after this?

Let's look at the twelve apostles surrounding Jesus. There is not a single woman among them. For a long time everything divine was considered alien, foreign to the fair sex. The role of a woman was determined by the patriarchal structure of society - “be patient and be silent.” The wife must be obedient and hardworking. A woman in Christianity was a complement to a man - after all, it was not right for him to be alone. So God made him a helper. Let us note once again that I am not the equal that I was. And which they preferred to forget, to cross out from the pages, to rank among the demons.

Many famous personalities allowed themselves to speak rather harshly about women. Thus, Tertullian, one of the fathers of early Christianity, addressed the ladies rather flatteringly: “You are the gates of the devil, you are the discoverers of the forbidden tree, the first violators of the divine law.” He accused women of seducing someone whom the devil himself feared would attack, and thereby destroying man as the image of God. Clement of Alexandria felt “ashamed” when he reflected feminine nature. Gregory the Wonderworker argued that a woman cannot be a “pure” soul, and in general only one in a thousand can turn out to be such. The image of a woman is complemented by a voice like hissing, the venom of a cobra and the anger of a dragon. Saint Bonaventure was sure that a woman is like a scorpion, and Saint Cyprian echoed him, believing that a woman is a devilish instrument for capturing souls. The monks of the Middle Ages avoided even the shadow of women, so as not to defile themselves and their souls.

The religious Christian philosophy of the Middle Ages clearly and extremely harshly points a woman to her place - a lustful and unclean creature. It was the Christian tradition that brought misogyny associated with hypothetical witchcraft abilities female. Until the 13th century, Eve was the main culprit of the Fall, but the idea of ​​female relationships with the devil spread throughout Europe in the 13th - 14th centuries. Medieval thinkers believed that women, because of their sexuality, were a danger to men.

Thus, Abelard condemned the woman for leading her into temptation - just as Eve once forced Adam to sin, so her daughters began to do forever and ever. A woman in Christianity has long been perceived as an imperfect being. A woman in Christianity is a second-class person. The harsh laws of the ancient world enslaved women, leading to complete lawlessness against them. Women were required to remember that husband is not from wife, but wife is from husband.

Pope Innocent VIII signed a bull in 1484 giving carte blanche to witch hunts. Need I mention that confessions were simply extracted from the poor suspects, using torture without a twinge of conscience? The “guilty” indulged in auto-da-fé. Europe was illuminated by the fire of bonfires. In the guilty verdicts it was said every now and then that the witch was “devilishly” attractive. Three years later, “The Witches’ Hammer” was published, which turned into the inquisitor’s handbook, and their torture arsenal expanded noticeably.

At first glance, women were given a slightly different treatment in Catholicism, in which the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was especially revered. The Vatican adhered to dogmas that were not found in Protestantism and Orthodoxy, for example, about the virgin birth of the Virgin Mary (1854) and about her bodily ascension after (1950). In addition, in March 1987, the encyclical of Pope John Paul II, “Mother of the Redeemer,” was published, where the image of Mary was called the ideal of true femininity. It is curious that the Dominican monks of the 13th - 14th centuries saw and sang obedience and humility in the image of the Virgin Mary.

According to experts, in recent decades the Catholic Church has very often made statements that the status of women today does not meet the requirements of justice. However, some radical theologians have drawn attention to the discrepancy between the Church's words and the role that the Church actually defines for women. In particular, this applies to the long-debated issue of women’s right to be ordained. At this point, the Catholic Church maintains that a woman cannot be a priest, since neither Scripture nor theology provide grounds for changing the existing tradition. One of the main arguments is the same absence of women among the apostles. And the Church also considers the priest to be Christ’s substitute, and since he was on Earth in a man’s guise, it is inappropriate for a woman to fulfill this role.

Now, when the position of the church is weaker, and the feminism movement, on the contrary, is gaining strength, the church begins to look for ways to retreat, offering new interpretation Bible. As a result, the guilt of original sin is shared equally between Adam and Eve in the present day. It is said that a woman was created in the image and likeness of God and endowed with the same aspirations and capabilities as men, that a wife should respect her husband not out of fear, but out of love and the desire not to offend.

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Woman in Christianity. Second-class citizen?

Any religion stands on its pillars-dogmas, which prohibit the logical analysis of “divine revelations”. However, the more progressive humanity becomes, developing technically and moving away from religion, the greater the likelihood of various theories and searches for logical inconsistencies in holy texts. To be convinced of this, you don’t have to look far for examples: the attitude towards women is causing heated debate...