The path of salvation and the path of destruction of man according to the works of Saint Theophan the Recluse

Abstract

The article examines two paths that a person can take: the path of salvation and the path of destruction. In pointing out the path to salvation, Saint Theophan, as a true pastor of the Church of Christ, carefully warns people against the path of destruction. If the path of salvation is a person's striving for God, to find a living union with Him; then the path of destruction is distinguished by the opposite mood of the spirit - when a presumptuous person chooses life according to his own will without God. By clearly showing us the path of life and the path of death, by detailing the consequences and fruits of a good Christian life and a life opposite to it, Saint Theophan, as a wise teacher and mentor of Christian life, together with the God-seer Moses and the holy saints, in a fatherly manner convinces us and calls: “Choose life, and you and your descendants will live” (Deut. 30:19).