Quite often we hear an expression that contains the idea that someone needs to be anathematized. The meaning of this phrase seems to be clear, but in this article you will learn some more interesting facts!
First of all, let's understand what this means. So, to anathematize means to separate a person from a certain community. Yes, despite the fact that the expression is associated with the church, it is quite often used in other areas. If we talk about what the phrase “anathematize” means in the world of religion, then, as a rule, it means the excommunication of a person from the church. But everything is not so simple here. The fact is that excommunication is the removal of a clergyman (or an ordinary person) from the opportunity to participate in rituals, be within the walls of a temple, and so on only for a certain (usually short) period, after which he can return to his former way of life. Anathema is the complete removal from church life without the right to “rehabilitation.”
How to distinguish in what cases it is necessary to excommunicate from the church, and in what cases - to anathematize? This question is very difficult and, moreover,controversial. However, speaking in general, those who simply stumbled, made a small mistake in the eyes of God, are excommunicated. Those who committed a mortal sin or blasphemed the Creator are anathematized. On the other hand, this state of affairs concerns the present. If we talk about the Middle Ages, for example, then if the clergy found out that a woman was cheating on her husband, they could easily anathematize her.
Who is en titled to such action and what are the consequences? Again, there are no definitive answers here. Ordinary people are anathematized by ordinary people (except for their closeness to the church, of course). And people, as you know, have mainly subjective thinking, the same judgment and, as a result, the same conclusions. Therefore, if for one a certain act is a reason for anathematization, then the other believes that only a short-term excommunication from the church is enough, and the third one will generally declare that this act is the most ordinary and simple repentance from the sinner will be enough.
It should be noted that those who simply showed their dissatisfaction with the church, albeit in a mild form, could also be anathematized. In general, any manifestation of anti-church sentiment was nipped in the bud.
The most famous anathematization is the case of Leo Tolstoy. It is believed that the Orthodox Church has decided to anathematize the great Russian writer. However, this fact is debatable. The point is that someargue that the clergy were, of course, dissatisfied with the anti-Christian speeches of Leo Tolstoy and the same motives in his works, but there was no excommunication. If you believe other sources, then before his death, Tolstoy repented that he openly criticized the church and blasphemed God. However, these facts can hardly be called facts either, because there is no serious evidence for this.
In general, we can conclude that with the help of excommunication and anathema, the church (both Catholic and Orthodox) got rid and gets rid of dissident, revolutionary-minded people, thus instilling fear of providence in others.
