Anshakova Valentina

An Orthodox Thought about Personality and Moral Perfection

Abstract

The author of this article addresses to patristic literature and represents patristic experience in the field of education, personality development and moral perfection of the person. The analysis of the texts of ecclesiastical literature (Saint Ignatij (Bryanchaninov), Bishop Fyodor (Pozdeevsky), Bishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky), Bishop Barnabas (Belyaev), Nesmelov V. I., Zenkovsky V. V. and others) allowed to articulating the concepts of spiritual life, morals, conscience, spirituality, to emphasize existence own «spirituality fields» of the personality on which the individual interior depends. The purpose and the sense of human existence, moral virtues, their development in the family and in the process of self-education, ways of struggling against vices and passions, an appeal to “mind weeping”, cultivating good practices, strong will and spiritual vivacity, “urging oneself to good”, moral consciousness are profoundly elucidated in the patristic heritage of the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The optimistic view of man as a subject “building his/her own life” gradually developing and perfecting it is extremely symbolic. Lessons and ideas of patristic thinkers presented in the article ring quite modern and timely in view of the tasks of personality moral perfection.

Keywords

spiritual and moral school, spirituality, moral education, moral person, morals, conscience, lust, vices, virtues.

References

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Information about the author

Anshakova Valentina