My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH
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The holy Apostle Paul clearly and definitely teaches about the judgment which every man incurs immediately upon his death. He says, "As it is appointed for men to die once but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). The words of the holy Apostle apparently do not admit any lapse of time between death and the judgment; consequently, it is a particular, individual judgment that he has in mind, rather than the general judgment at the Second Coming of Christ.
This particular judgment of God over the souls that have left their bodies follows upon the trials of these souls. The Orthodox Church teaches that, during such trials, the departed souls rise from the earth through the great expanse of the air or sky, and that, while Angels ACCOMPANY THEM, the evil spirits detain them and accuse them of all the sins which they have committed their lives (Dogmatic Theology of Bishop Anthony, in Russian, 8th ed., p. 244, par. 341).
For the purpose of this judgment, Divine justice uses Angels, both the holy and evil ones. The good Angels note all the good deeds of a man while he is alive; and others all his sins. When a soul begins to rise to heaven, the holy Angels lead it, while the dark spirits accuse it of those sins which have not been atoned for by proper penitence. Through these sins, the evil spirits seek to make the soul a victim of Satan, for sins are marks of the soul's communion with evil and of its eternal fate, common to both evil angels and evil human souls.
The powers of darkness have established particular seats of judgment and particular watches, and through these, the souls pass and are tried during their rise through the air. Throughout the space between earth and heaven there watchfully stand contingents of the fallen spirits. Each contingent has under us surveillance a particular kind of sins and tries the soul which it reaches that stage. In the writings of the Holy Fathers of the Church, the watches of demons in the air and their seats of judgment are called "trials," and the spirits that serve there are the "triers."
Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, while remaining unseen, judges human souls through His Angels, also allows the "accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10) to have access to the souls so that all deeds of each soul should be evaluated without prejudice. Saint Basil the Great says, "It is right that the judgment of God should not be forcible but should resemble those procedures which men have among themselves namely, that the accused should be able to defend himself, and that a man who sees his state of affairs made clear should, even when he is found guilty and punished, confirm the unalterable judgment of God and acknowledge the fairness of his own punishment. If, however, he should be forgiven, he should see that he has been granted mercy according to the law and that the order has been kept" (Commentary on Isaiah, Ch. 1).
Church Teaching on the Trials of the Departed
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria was the first man to teach about the trials incurred by the departed as they rise through the air immediately after the death. This he did in his famous Life of Saint Anthony the Great, a work that was written around A.D. 365, was translated into Latin very soon after (around 365-370 A.D.), and enjoyed great respect throughout the Christian world, both in the East and in the West.
Another great teacher of the Church, Saint Cyril the Bishop of Alexandria, also wrote about these trials. His discourse on this subject usually appears in one of the essential books of our Church, the Graded Psalter. We draw on it here.
"When our soul will part from our body," writers Saint Cyril, "the hosts and powers of heaven will appear at one side of it, while from the other side there will approach the forces of darkness, the evil rulers of this world, the toll keepers of the air who torment the soul and make known all our deeds... At their sight, the soul will be disgusted, will tremble and shake..."
"If the soul is found worthy of salvation because it has led a pious and righteous life, the Angels will take it and conduct it to the Kingdom of Heaven. It will no longer fear anything but rise joyfully, accompanied by the holy powers...On the other hand, if it should be discovered that the soul has not beheld the Majesty of the Lord' (Isaiah 26:10). The Angels of God will leave the soul, and frightening demons will take it...bound by indissoluble ties, the soul will be thrown into the land of darkness, the abyss, the infernal prisons, the confinement of hell..." "They who do not observe God's Commandments are vulnerable to the demons and are condemned to fiery hell. Those who remove themselves from the holy Church and the communion of Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) are the enemies of God and the friends of demons..."
"The only real death is that which comes from the Devil. The father of death, the devil, is like a well-armed warrior, always watchful and eager to attack us, especially on holy days, and to enslave us to his power. He is eager to be able to say, 'I have overcome the warriors of Christ by showing to them the beauty of women, by enchanting their ears, by overwhelming them with pride and gluttony, by entangling them in lust, by tempting them with drunkenness; thus have I separated them from god and thrown them into the abyss of terror.'"
"Let us not permit the impure demons to laugh at us. We have Our God Who is Our Savior and the destroyer of demons. Our body is mortal, we shall not escape death, but let us not be troubled. Let us manfully move toward victory over impure demons. If we have fear of God within our hearts, if in our souls we shall always keep the thoughts of death, then all the demons fully armed will do us no harm. They will be like battering rams that hit a wall without success. Our wall will be found unbreakable, for our Lord God will be with us, to Him belongs the Glory, Honor, and Power forever and ever. Amen." [From the "Sermon on the Departure of the Souls" of Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria]. (Source: Eternal Mysteries Beyond the Grave by Archimandrite Panteleimon)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George