Having discovered something very important, interesting and hitherto unknown, an ordinary layman Sergei Maslennikov was baptized in 1994 and completely immersed himself in the study of the spiritual heritage of Christians. Practically leaving all his worldly affairs, he studied the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov and different interpretations of the Holy Scriptures of the Holy Fathers of the Church. Then Sergey Mikhailovich Maslennikov began his stormy creative writing activity, which was very well organized and "promoted". Many still wonder how he did it.
Maslennikov Sergey Mikhailovich: biography
On the personal website of the writer you can find his full biography, but we will focus on the key points, since we are limited to the scope of a small article. So, he was born in the city of Chaikovsky, Perm Region, on July 26, 1961, graduated from high school (in 1978) with a gold medal, then entered and graduated from the Ural Electromechanical Institute in 1983.
In 1982 Sergey Maslennikov decided to marry. His biography indicates that two children were born in marriage. Then he worked with1983 to 1986 as an electrician and head of a section in the Tobolsk signaling and communication distance. Then, in 1986, he lived in Sverdlovsk (today's Yekaterinburg) and until 1994 he worked at a fish gastronomy plant - first as the head of the electrical department, then as chairman of the trade union committee, and then as deputy director for trade and acting. about. Director.
Acolyte
In 1999, he became a novice in one of the monasteries in Yekaterinburg, and he was asked to head the Sales Department in the Yekaterinburg diocese. Maslennikov Sergey Mikhailovich all this time continued to study the works of the holy fathers and at the same time conducted “Lessons in morality” for schoolchildren in Yekaterinburg.
Since 2002, he began to work as an altar boy, chorister and reader in the parish of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in the city of Yekaterinburg. And at the same time he led announcements and Sunday school for adults. To do this, he even more scrupulously studied the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. For five years - from 2003 to 2008 - he lectured about 200 hours of lessons from the "School of Repentance" series.
Achievements
Since 2005, Sergey Maslennikov was listed as a senior teacher at the newly created rector of the parish "School of Repentance", for which he specially developed a training program and even trained teachers.
Since 2010, he began to work on compiling the works "Christian Virtues" and "Passion - Diseases of the Soul", which amounted to 8 books with a circulation of 300,000 copies. Conducted lectures on "Asceticism for the Laity".
Early 2015 for the book"Reconciliation with Christ" Sergey Maslennikov became the laureate of the All-Russian Literary Prize and was awarded the medal of St. blgv. Prince Alexander Nevsky.
Book distribution ban
And now we come to the most interesting: in 2015, the publishing council of the Russian Orthodox Church withdrew the stamp and banned the books of Sergei Maslennikov. The situation was commented by Oleg Kostishak, Acting Head of the Secretariat for Scientific and Theological Review and Expert Evaluation.
According to him, the review of the works of S. M. Maslennikov really took several years, and some of his works were given a church stamp. But the further into the forest, as people say, the more firewood. After getting acquainted with his latest works, the writer was made specific comments, which he ignored. These works of his were called unprofitable for Christians, and even dangerous for people who are not mature in spiritual life (according to O. V. Kostishak). Priest Georgy Shinkarenko commented on the current situation in the following way: “Having heard references to the authority of the holy fathers, many may think that their teaching is being interpreted here. But in fact, the teaching of the Orthodox Church is presented through Maslennikov’s personal spiritual experiences. And, unfortunately, the result is a distortion of understanding way of salvation. According to the priest, this state of affairs was caused not only by his individual erroneous opinions or inaccuracies, but in general by the incorrect system of views of this person on the whole Christian life.
Mistakes
Sergey Maslennikov has no theological education and is nota clergyman, and the path of his spiritual knowledge is rather doubtful. All his mistakes are mainly not due to malicious intent, but more from spiritual illiteracy, as he tries to explain those moments from Scripture that are not at all easy to explain. The spiritual practice recommended by the writer, according to researchers, is unhe althy and can lead a person into a difficult spiritual dead end. The author constantly refers to the words of St. Ignaty Bryanchaninov, although he makes gross and sometimes unacceptable mistakes in interpreting his works.
Maslennikov's ideas about passions and virtues were formed from a mechanical and formal comparison of the statements of the holy fathers, but at the same time, the Holy Scriptures, the works of the holy fathers and liturgical texts require a long organic understanding. A clear example is the "Diary of a Penitent" often promoted by him, where he consciously classifies sins. “I don’t know how an experienced spiritual father can allow me to fill out such a diary, with sins that are disgusting to read, let alone list them out loud later? Total control over the state of the soul on the part of a person who, moreover, is not a priest, cannot end in anything good!”Shinkarenko notes.
The opinions of the inhabitants of authoritative monasteries
Reviews of the respected clergy of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Optina Hermitage and the Valaam Monastery, who sent their reviews, were unanimous in their negative assessment of Maslennikov's works. A common place in the reviews was a kind of "template" approach,which makes impossible a living and grace-filled repentance in the formation of a personality. They note that an attempt to love the Lord God without asceticism (deliberate self-restraint, self-denial and the fulfillment of difficult vows) and repentance can result in spiritual hedonism (sensual pleasure - spiritual and bodily), that is, asceticism for the sake of asceticism, and also repentance for the sake of repentance is gloomy. sectarianism.
Conclusion
Remarks apply to both his books and speeches, but it can be added that at a certain stage, the books of S. M. Maslennikov can be useful, but only if you look at his work as a whole. Therefore, the distribution of the works of this writer is suspended through the book church network.
There are also harsher reactions to Maslennikov's writings. Their authors unanimously say that it looks very strange and completely illogical that a person without proper education teaches asceticism and theology.
