Do not separate children and reading books. The word is the conductor of a person at any moment of his life, it can both hurt and educate. Orthodox books for children lack universality. Each copy of the family chooses to your taste.

What to read to preschoolers

Childhood is not only a period of knowledge of the world, but also a time of character formation and soul development. It is important for parents not to miss this important moment.

Children's literature is the foundation on which the child will build his spiritual life, it is one of those first steps along which the child will rise to Christ.

Stories and Orthodox fairy tales for children tell readers about the faith itself and its great followers, they contain the meaning of good and evil, a good attitude towards relatives and friends. That is why respectable parents often ask for such books in bookstores.

Bible for children

• Often found on the shelves of church stores Bible for children. Colorful illustrations and a simple, understandable language for presenting information to a modern child allows you to understand the essence of good and evil, choose the right guidelines in life, learn about your ancestors and what is said in the Old and New Testaments. Perhaps the child will not be able to immediately master the entire book, so it is recommended to periodically return to it. Biblical parables form a special spiritual frame, which in the future the child will enrich with his life experience. Without knowledge of the Bible, we are not given to understand how to resist vice.
• Probably every child has been to church at least once. And if a child grows up in a believing family, then he should know the saints depicted on the icons. For such families Priest S. Begiyan wrote the book "Lives of the Saints for Kids". In it, he tells about the earthly path of ordinary people and explains why they became saints and look at us from icons with severity and love, so that it seems that they know everything about us.
• Orthodox teacher B. Ganago published a book with many answers to children's questions "For Children About the Soul". Short stories and instructive stories make children think and reflect, charge with positive and teach kindness and tolerance. Young readers learn to see the beauty of the world, cultivate self-sacrifice, kindness, generosity and fidelity. All the works of B. Ganago are imbued with the idea of ​​the need to rely on the Almighty for support in any life situations.
• Children's prayer book of the publishing house of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent This is not just a collection of prayers. Each of its sections is preceded by an article that tells about faith, the Sacraments of the Church, about the correct attitude to prayer and its creation. A special place is given to the Jesus Prayer, which helps each person to grow in piety.
• "Earthly Life of the Most Holy Theotokos for Children" as presented by V. Nikolaev. A large colorful book tells about the life on earth of the Virgin Mary and Her Son Jesus Christ. Good stories will be of great benefit to little Christians, they will help them choose life priorities and a worthy path in life.
• Book "Bible Traditions" was invented by K. Chukovsky specifically for preschoolers. It describes eternal truths over which time has no power. The book includes legends about the creation of the world, about Adam and Eve, about Noah and his ark, about the global flood, about the Tower of Babel, the prophets. This edition will be interesting to read in a warm family circle.
• The book "Summer of the Lord" by I. Shmelev written in 1923. The writer tells about the life of the country at the end of the 19th century. The depth of the world, its traditions, holidays, trips to holy places is shown to children through the eyes of a merchant's son. He sees all situations from different angles, feels good and evil, understands the need for repentance and change in life. The reader imperceptibly becomes a participant in the ongoing events.

  "Summer of the Lord" by I. Shmelev

• The work of C. Lewis "The Chronicles of Narnia" created at the beginning of the twentieth century. The publication consists of seven books, writing style - fantasy. The reader discovers a magical country, into which several ordinary guys from England fall. Here animals understand human language, talk and make friends with people. There is a lot of magic in the country, good fights evil, friendship and compassion are tested by difficult tests. At the end of the book, the author tells the children about the sacrificial love of the Creator of the World, about His Resurrection. Lewis reveals many Christian truths to readers, thereby filling children's hearts with drops of faith in God.
• "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery- a novel in the form of a fairy tale-parable by a writer-pilot from France. The Little Prince is a hero from a distant planet, who allegedly met the author in the Sahara. The boy tells the writer that his homeland is a small asteroid that needs to be put in order every day, because his beloved beautiful rose grows there. Although the protagonist, before meeting with the author, traveled to many planets and met a whole string of human passions, his fragile childish soul, in spite of everything, remained pure. The book teaches readers to love and see the depth of real feelings hidden behind external, sometimes negative qualities.

On Christian parenting:

Literature for teenagers

The modern world is full of vices and temptations that destroy the psyche of children and contribute to the degradation of the individual. That is why the interests of the child, especially the teenager, must be directed in the right direction.

Many modern children are addicted to a variety of gadgets. Unfortunately, they have little interest in printed books, even when they are good for the soul. If you want your child to be able to distinguish between good and evil, make informed decisions, be merciful, moral, noble, teach him to read spiritual literature from an early age.

Our catalog contains literature from various Orthodox publishers. Children's Christian publications are adapted for easy reading in large print and are decorated with bright pictures. We always have an option that your little reader will like.

Fill the lives of children with good and beautiful books, just as you teach them to eat wholesome and wholesome food. It is always better to read a new book together so that the text does not seem boring to the child due to incomprehensible words. By reading together, you will spend the necessary time with your baby, and help develop his imaginative thinking. Living communication with a book is a sure step towards understanding and assimilation of Christian values.

Children from the age of 4-5 are interested in God. If you are not ready to correctly tell your son or daughter about the Almighty, about the appearance of Jesus Christ, His life and mission, buy an Orthodox book.

Our shop assortment

With us you can buy a children's bible. The publication contains colorful illustrations, written in an accessible language for kids. Perhaps not all the details are covered there. But it is difficult for preschoolers and older children to convey everything at once.

In addition to this book, our online store has many other literature:

• fairy tales are surprisingly useful works that are necessary for all children; thanks to fabulous images, kids learn information well;
• children's gospel - published in large print, in a language accessible to children;
• prayer books - a collection of prayers for children who already know how to read, helps to learn to meet joys and sorrows with prayer;
• literature for joint reading with parents.

Orthodox literature teaches junior schoolchildren and teenagers to understand life correctly, to form faith, it tells about the laws of goodness and love. In addition, the following important points are described in Orthodox books:

• what are church ceremonies;
• how to behave in confession;
• how to fast properly;
• how other children fast.

Instill in your children the love of God from an early age. Teach them not only to ask the Lord, but also to thank him for every day they live. If it is difficult for you to tell your child about faith, its importance for spiritual salvation, buy an Orthodox book. You can ask our staff for help, and they will tell you which book is better for you to buy.

All publications have the stamp of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Choose a book for your child or as a gift, and we will deliver your order as soon as possible!

Scientists have empirically proven that reading books to children at night develops their ability to learn. And if a child reads books himself, it also develops his interest in the world around him. This is probably why many parents want their children to be interested in books and read a lot.

Forcing a child to read is useless - only harm. Therefore, we have collected in this collection really interesting books that captivate the child with an exciting story. In addition, they are useful for the soul of the child, as well. show him the benefits of virtues on the examples of characters.

The book by Ivan Shmelev, written in 1923, is an unsurpassed masterpiece of children's literature, telling in magnificent Russian about life in our country at the end of the 19th century. The genre of the work is autobiographical prose. The joyful world of traditions, church holidays, pilgrimages to holy places is shown through the eyes of a little boy - a native of the Moscow merchant environment.

We see ordinary people who surrounded the author both in the process of daily work and in the most sublime moments of life. Shmelev shows them from different angles. But the reader understands a very important thing - no matter what situation a person is in, there is always the possibility of repentance and change for him. The book is written in such a captivating and talented way that the reader, without noticing it, becomes, as it were, a witness and participant in long-gone events. The work is great for reading with the whole family, as it will not leave indifferent adults or children.

Hans Christian Andersen. The Snow Queen

The fairy tale of the great Danish writer, which was read by many generations in different countries, will not leave indifferent any child. And if we take into account that the work has a deep Christian basis, then it can be recommended as a mandatory reading for children.

The feat of Gerda, who went in search of the kidnapped Kai, remains an example of selfless love for all generations. And the snow queen, who makes the heart freeze, forget the warmth of human feelings, is an example of evil that inevitably occurs in this world. He is also served by unkind trolls, sowing fragments of a broken crooked mirror everywhere. They, getting into the eye of a person, disfigure his vision, presenting the environment in a distorted, ugly light.

This image is very reminiscent of a Christian of those servants of darkness who lie in wait for each of us every hour on the path of life. Thus, the work teaches young readers from childhood to be ready, in spite of any hardships, to give goodness that melts even the most hardened souls.

The work of Clive Lewis, created at the beginning of the 20th century, over the past century has won the hearts of more than one hundred million people in different countries. Seven books in the series, written in the style of fantasy, open the reader to an extraordinary country - Narnia.

Several ordinary guys from England, having got into it, discover that here the animals understand the human language and are friends with people. Although life in the country is full of magic, but, just like ours, good and evil fight here, there is love, deceit and betrayal.

Each journey of children to Narnia becomes a test for them, in which the highest feelings are tested: friendship, compassion, self-sacrifice. Thus, their human souls are gradually forged and prepared for the transition to another, perfect world. The guys get into it at the end of the epic, leaving the Earth.

In conclusion, Clive Lewis tells about the great love of the Creator of the world, who sacrifices his life for people and rises again. By this, he gives the opportunity to both earthly children and the best inhabitants of Narnia to remain forever living next to him. In the course of the story, the author of the "Chronicles" allegorically reveals to readers many Christian truths, filling young hearts with the ideals of faith.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The little Prince

The famous novel by the famous French writer-pilot who died during the Second World War. The work is written in the form of a fairy tale-parable. Its main character is the Little Prince from a distant planet, who ended up on Earth. As if met by the author of the work in the Sahara Desert, the little man tells him about his adventures.

The reader learns about the homeland of the prince - a small asteroid. About his daily labors of cleaning the planet and about his beloved beautiful rose. Listening to the story of the protagonist's journey to different planets, you can see a whole string of images that reflect human passions. And the pure soul of the Little Prince, as an indicator, shows their inconsistency with eternal spiritual values.

The most important thing that the book teaches is the art of loving and seeing the depth of real feelings behind external qualities. And also be responsible for your actions and for the people who are nearby.

A collection of autobiographical stories about the life of a little boy from a poor but deeply religious family. The author is one of the leaders of the Orthodox youth movement in pre-war Estonia, who died in 1941 in the depths of Stalin's Gulag.

The work is simply filled with amazingly beautiful images and expressions of the Russian language of the early 20th century. It tells about Orthodox fasts and holidays in the lives of ordinary people of that time. All these events are reflected in the sympathetic soul of the boy, on behalf of whom the story is being told.

In his amazing stories, Nikiforov-Volgin was able to perceive and reverently convey to his descendants that pure beautiful light that filled the souls of our believing ancestors about a hundred years ago.

Priest Maxim Kozlov. Children's Catechism

The book is a priest's answers to the questions of real Moscow schoolchildren, asked in writing. The guys, at the request of the compilers of the publication, asked them about everything that interested them on the topic of the Orthodox faith. As a result, a work arose, built on the principle of questions and answers, which is usually called the word "catechism". And since the questions were asked by children, the result was a "Children's Catechism".

The publication is valuable in that the questions contained in it were formed by modern children and touched on many relevant aspects of today's life. At the same time, the book provides answers to the "eternal" questions of mankind concerning the origin of the world, the essence of God, the fate of people after death. The work will be interesting for secondary school students, and especially for teenagers who begin to think deeply about the philosophical side of the world order.

The collection of short stories by the Belarusian writer Boris Ganago, as well as a number of his other books, is intended mainly for children of senior preschool and primary school age. Seemingly unsophisticated stories from life, included in it, carry a special inner light and warmth.

On the example of their peers, and sometimes adults, young readers learn to see and appreciate the beauty of the world around them. Stories bring up sympathy, kindness, generosity, fidelity to the word, the ability to sacrifice something very dear to another person in children. Through all the works passes the idea of ​​the need to trust in God and seek his support in all life situations.

World of Children's Literature

It is impossible to cover all significant children's books in one selection. Surely you have something to add. Help readers - share your favorite books in the comments. Registration is optional.

Considers: The Year of Literature should not last 365 days, but all the time. And the taste for reading needs to be brought up from childhood.

Maria Andreevna, children and literature: is it out of date? Especially for parents. Isn't it easier to turn on a cartoon than to read a book? So many things to do! Well, or try. What is the benefit of reading?

You need to start with books. And when the child loves them - then turn on the cartoons

Children and literature - this cannot become outdated. This is one of the "turtles" on which education is based. Well, of course, now some parents do not read to children, but these are rather such negative exceptions. Basically, they read. Another thing is what they read. The book is food for thought. And the child has an insatiable hunger for information. So it's hard to do without a book. Of course, this hunger can be satisfied with cartoons, but there is a qualitative difference. Although there are many good cartoons. But I am sure that you need to start with books. And when the child loves them - then turn on the cartoons. Turning on the cartoon is easier. Especially if something needs to be done urgently, but the child sticks to you and does not give. There is a great temptation to do so here. But - is it worth it? Even according to all medical standards, children under the age of five are allowed no more than 30 minutes of cartoons a day, in my opinion.

You can talk about the benefits of reading for a very long time and tediously. I'll try to make it simpler. If you want your child to speak correct Russian, and not quote clumsy translations from American cartoons, while replacing Russian speech with “like” and “type”; if you want him to develop fantasy and imagination, so that he has his own opinion and can argue it, so that he plays himself, alone and does not toil from boredom, so that he knows more about the world - read books to him. Only good.

What do you think "good books" mean?

Now there are so many children's books that you can just drown in them with your head. You can't read them all for anything and never. How to be? My opinion, of course, is subjective, but I firmly stand on it: to buy children only those books that I have read myself and made sure of their quality. It's better to read reviews. And the second criterion is the child himself. Of course, he may also like nonsense, it's up to us, the parents, to filter, but the fact that he doesn't like it is indicative. And there is a third one too. About him in the children's song of the bards Nikitins is well sung:

To-to-to again
The good conquered the evil
To kind, to evil
Become good convinced!

This is about the struggle between good and evil. It was good with evil, and not good with the best - that's what some Soviet cartoons sinned with, not from a number of outstanding ones, of course. This sin, unfortunately, and modern children's Orthodox literature. As an example, I will name the “parable of the town”: a book about a certain Orthodox hedgehog who went on a pilgrimage and prayed for an end to the drought. Such a sugary literature, devoid of imagery and intrigue, with such super-positive characters that it even reduces teeth, in my opinion, is, firstly, useless. Secondly, it has no artistic merit, does not develop a sense of beauty. And somehow you don’t believe in such pious hedgehogs and humble ladybugs, or in such children. And the kids don't believe in them.

After getting acquainted with such, excuse me, literature, I want to turn to old acquaintances. True, they are not from the official Orthodox camp: Pippi Longstocking, Mio, Paganel, Tom Sawyer, Chuk and Gek, Vitya Maleev, Alisa Selezneva, etc. But they don't pray long on the street corners, you see. This is bad?

There is such a Swedish writer and artist - Sven Nurdqvist. He has a series of books released about the kitten Findus and his owner, the old man Petson. They don't pray, they don't even seem to be doing any kind of particularly demonstrative good deeds. But such peace and love emanates from their relationship, and they are so truthful, and Findus is so similar to a curious and mischievous, but at the same time reaching out to a loving adult baby, that you believe them unconditionally. And the child believes, and my inquisitive two-year-old drags to read these books every evening. Of course, there is Marshak's "The Story of an Unknown Hero", and "The Wonderful Doctor" by Kuprin, and the completely magical Shmelev with his "God's Summer", and "Timur and His Team", no matter how strange it all looks together. Yes, yes, Soviet literature has given our children a lot, and morally it is at a very, very high level.

Pioneer boys could teach Orthodox youths a lot - both honesty, and courage, and mutual assistance.

I was somehow struck by a book I saw in an Orthodox shop. It was called "The Boy Without a Sword" and told about the passion-bearer Tsarevich Alexei. And maybe this book was not bad, but the title jarred me. Because there is such a writer Vladislav Krapivin. And he wrote the book Boy with a Sword in the 1970s. And the author of the book about the holy crown prince, in my opinion, arrogantly contrasts him with the heroes of Krapivin. Meanwhile, the pioneer boys from Krapivino could teach Orthodox youths a lot - honesty, courage, mutual assistance, and reflection on their own souls, despite the pioneer tie around their necks.

It’s hard for me to remember right now Orthodox talented children’s books. Well, perhaps I’ll name Yulia Voznesenskaya, highlighting her novels Cassandra’s Way, or Adventures with Pasta and Lancelot’s Pilgrimage, but this is already teenage literature.

- In your opinion, is multi-controversial fantasy useful for children?

Are Baba Yaga, the Serpent Gorynych, the Nightingale the Robber, the heroes, Marya Morevna and others, useful to children? The only question is quality: I am convinced that good fantasy is very useful. But good fantasy for today, in my opinion, is three authors: Tolkien, Lewis and Rowling. The main feature of the books of the listed authors is that their heroes step over themselves in order to do good to others, sacrifice their interests, money, reputation, health, and life. They fulfill Christ's covenants without being nominally Christians. They teach by example rather than giving instruction. They are true. And Orthodox hedgehogs are an artificial product, just like the humble girls in headscarves and altar boys composed by Orthodox authors.

- But are there any good Orthodox books?

Certainly. The other day they recalled an episode from "Unholy Saints": a meeting of a stern but fair traffic cop with a carelessly driving priest. Do you remember how their conversation convinced Vladyka Mark of the seriousness of spiritual changes in the Fatherland? “Once he was driving with a priest in a car around Moscow. Vladyka Mark is German, and it was unusual for him that in the presence of signs on the highway limiting the speed to ninety kilometers per hour, the car rushed at a speed of one hundred and forty. Vladyka endured for a long time and finally delicately pointed out this discrepancy to the priest-driver. But he only grinned at the naive innocence of the foreigner and assured him that everything was in perfect order.

What if the police stop? - the lord was perplexed.

The police are fine too! - the priest confidently answered the astonished guest.

Indeed, after some time they were stopped by a traffic policeman. Lowering the glass, the priest good-naturedly addressed the young policeman:

Good afternoon boss! Sorry, we're in a hurry.

But the policeman did not react to his greeting.

Your documents! he demanded.

Come on, come on, boss! - the father was excited. - Don't you see?.. Well, in general, we are in a hurry!

Your documents! - repeated the policeman.

Okay, take it! Your job is to punish, ours is to pardon!

To which the policeman, giving him a cold look, said:

Well, firstly, we do not punish, but the law. And it is not you who have mercy, but the Lord God.

And it was then, as Vladyka Mark said, that he realized that even if police officers on Russian roads now think in such categories, then in this country, incomprehensible by the mind, everything has changed again.

Up to date, honestly. And then there is the famous, directly evangelical, incident with senior sergeant Daniil Maksudov, who gave away mittens and a pea coat to the victims during a terrible snowstorm in the Orenburg region! By the way, I'm not sure that the sergeant read anything about "hedgehogs" ...

With joy and a kind smile, I re-read Olesya Nikolaeva's "It's okay." No, there are many good books. But adults, it seems to me, are still easier in this sense than children. I very much hope that we will be able to give them good literature, and not "on occasion", not in the Year of Literature, but all the time.

We all know that choosing a book should be deliberate. Many remember the admonition of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov that before starting to read, it is necessary to sort out “prudently and carefully who the writer is and what he writes” so as not to “scribble the tablets of the soul with various concepts and impressions.” Therefore, probably, we go to the places that we consider to be “tested”, and easily take any publication we like. We try to buy “Orthodox literature” for the child, which certainly won’t teach him bad things, but is it really that simple? Are all books classified as "Orthodox literature" equally useful? And what should a parent know when standing near a shelf with children's books in an Orthodox store? Let's try to figure it out, and for help we will turn to the employees of church shops and Orthodox libraries, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian Literature and Journalism of the 20th-21st Centuries of the Moscow State Pedagogical University Irina Georgievna Mineralova and cleric of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God the Life-Giving Spring in Tsaritsyn Priest Mikhail Potokin.

External

“If a child chooses for himself,” says Xenia, a bookstore salesman in one of the major Moscow churches, “then he rushes at beautiful illustrated books, and it doesn’t matter to him who wrote, Charles Perrault or monk Lazarus.” Not only children, but also adults first of all pay attention to the appearance of the book. If the book is bright, if it is pleasant to hold it in hands, then the choice will be in its favor, sellers notice. How the book looks is an important factor. A small child, for example, is tired of a large amount of text, and without illustrations it is generally difficult for him to imagine what is at stake. “If they ask me,” Ksenia continues, “I recommend books with large print and beautiful pictures. For the child to memorize the pictures. After all, often he himself still does not know how to read, and perceives it visually. Even the Gospels for children are different - here we have one designed in an icon-painting style, it is convenient and beautiful, the child gets used to it. And there are even various Orthodox publications, but the pictures are somehow terrible, looking at them is melancholy and sadness. Another external sign that sellers are advised to pay attention to is a note that the book was published with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch or the ruling bishop. Although this does not always give an absolute guarantee that the book is suitable for your child. Firstly, there is a writer for each reader, and secondly, not the best literary works slip through even many levels of “censorship”.

"Censorship"

The word "censorship" in this case, of course, does not mean a strict check of each word. The blessing of the Patriarch, and sometimes even just permission for publication by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, only means that this book does not contain theomachistic ideas and thoughts that contradict Christian morality. Then the decision on the publication of a particular book is made by the editors and directors of publishing houses. Already published books, before being on the shelves of stores, fall into the hands of employees responsible for purchasing, who, with an experienced eye, evaluate how useful and necessary the book is for the buyer. And even in the church shop itself, the book may be subject to another assessment - by the seller. “I have to be responsible for the goods that I sell,” Ksenia explains, “so in the morning, when there are few people, I look where I have some books, new arrivals, read or scroll through unfamiliar ones. Sometimes you even have to go up to the priest, clarify if there are any doubts, and sometimes we remove some books.” Often, retellings or transcriptions of the Bible story, or some kind of moralizing texts are prepared by worldly people and sometimes, out of ignorance, they make annoying mistakes. True, in children's literature, sellers say, this is rare. There are other misunderstandings in this area. The senior librarian of one of the Moscow Orthodox libraries, Irina Vladimirovna Sergeeva, recalls how one of the publishing houses offered the Explanatory Dictionary of V.I. what a beautiful, in one volume. And Dahl has four of them. I began to flip through, and half of the articles are not there, and the rest are all cut down. Apparently, it is considered that much is outdated, not relevant. But this is what kids need! It's the roots of our culture."

time tested

“Let's not reinvent the wheel,” suggests Priest Mikhail Potokin, cleric of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Life-Giving Spring in Tsaritsyn, father of three children. – Many generations of Christians were brought up before us. Let’s go back at least to the 19th century and see what children were taught then.” Today, many books of the late 19th - first half of the 20th centuries began to be reprinted. The "Law of God" by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodsky and the "ABC" created by him together with his wife Elena Alekseevna Slobodskaya were republished. “The book also includes the Law of God for children,” says Irina Vladimirovna Sergeeva, “and a primer. A primer like the one that I studied many years ago. For some reason, from such books the soul is heated - incomparably with many that are being invented now. As for the children's Bible, according to many experts, the best is the revision of Archpriest Alexander Sokolov. “Either a reprint edition of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, or published in a new spelling with illustrations by Doré,” recommends Irina Georgievna Mineralova, Doctor of Philology. - This is a book that a child who has just learned to read will read again and again, because it is built in the form of a conversation with a child. A wonderful book, and in the sense of everyday and pedagogical, too. A storehouse of worldly wisdom - the lives of the saints. But even in them, not everything will be clear to the child. “For example, the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker can be studied from early childhood,” Father Mikhail explains, “because it is all fabulous. But as for the lives of the martyrs, it is difficult to understand them. Here is Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia - it is very difficult for a little man, for whom parents make up his whole life, they are both protection and the main support. We need to be very selective in this matter. Perhaps it is better to take facts from the lives of saints related to historical events - Prince Vladimir, Constantine the Great, Alexander Nevsky. Historical literature for teenagers is very popular with young readers, says senior librarian Irina Vladimirovna, and shows a book by the author of the beginning of the last century, Pavel Amplievich Rossiev, almost forgotten today, “St. Alexy. Historical story". “There is a tradition in Russian children's literature, there are brilliant authors,” recalls philologist Irina Georgievna Mineralova, “For example, Ishimova or Charskaya.” Today, these authors, thrown out of the pedagogical environment of the post-revolutionary era, are returning to the reader again. So since the beginning of the 90s, 54 volumes of the complete works of Lydia Alekseevna Charskaya have been published.

Things that cannot be simplified

For more than 15 years in a row, the "Children's Bible", published by the Russian Bible Society, has been very popular. It is brightly designed, and the texts in it are simple and clear. “The kids love it,” the library says. However, even its creators claim that it is full of flaws: “many wise teachings and amazing events are omitted,” the preface to the early 90s edition notes. – And much of what is included in the “Children's Bible” in the form of a paraphrase could be set out much brighter. The Bible is the Word of God, and all attempts to paraphrase it, even by the best interpreters and masters of the word, give only a pale reflection of this Book of books. Father Mikhail Potokin also agrees with the publishers' opinion: “How can music or painting be adapted to a certain age, for example? And if the Old Testament can still be given to children in retelling, then it is difficult to imagine the New Testament in abbreviation.” Spiritual reading is a serious work, and it is not always worth replacing it with something simplified, the priest believes. “Up to a certain point in a person’s life, the Gospel is difficult to understand,” Father Mikhail explains. - The concept of sacrifice, love comes with experience. But a child can read the Gospel, as it seems to me, not in retelling, but as it is. Relying perhaps more on memory than on reason. Something will remain in the memory, in the subconscious - and it is worth reading, rather counting on it. There are things that cannot be simplified. There is no need to be afraid of difficulties and therefore try to slip the already chewed information on the child, the priest advises: “After all, children once learned to read from the Psalter. And now not every adult can do it.”

Where did "Orthodox literature" come from?

To read what is unchanged and relevant for centuries, of course, is good. But every time it raises more and more new questions, sometimes it is not possible for a child to look for answers to which in the previous experience of mankind. The young reader wants to read not only about the past, but also about the present, not only about predecessors, but also about contemporaries. And again, looking for something modern for the child, we hope for the label “Orthodox”. If before there was just literature, and there was spiritual reading, today we can observe a new phenomenon in the cultural life of the country - “Orthodox literature”. On the one hand, of course, in pre-revolutionary Russia, writers did not call themselves such, but were brought up and tried to live as Christians. “Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Chekhov – are they Orthodox writers? Father Michael asks. – There is no such thing as writing only about Orthodoxy. An Orthodox writer can talk about anything, just as an Orthodox artist does not have to only draw churches. There is simply a certain worldview that is connected with our personal path of piety, our choice, the philosophy of our life. Professor Irina Georgievna Mineralova is trying to explain the emergence of a new direction: “It is simply impossible to imagine that so much attention would have been paid to something like this 50-30 years ago. However, this does not mean that that era was “bad”, that the morality of the younger generation was not taken care of. Care very much! And in today's life, two extremes converge: the directives of the past, saying that the task is to educate a harmoniously developed personality, and the statements of today's officials that it is necessary to educate a competent consumer. Who to call for help? As of old, so today, they are waiting for “God to help.” But, unfortunately, sometimes the old Russian proverb is forgotten: trust in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself, and church rhetoric, which, of course, is not at all a guarantee of high artistry, remains just beautiful words. “In advertising the external components of faith, I see a desire not to BE, but to APPEAR, a kind of hypocrisy that is dangerous for a person who goes to church,” continues Irina Georgievna. - Faith is a deeply personal matter, it contains both mystery and sacraments, therefore, when they talk about it in vain and sometimes even on high notes, it offends me personally. In the writer's self-declaration as "Orthodox" there is both immodesty and, to put it mildly, arrogance and expectation of praise. Is this what a child needs from a book and its author? No, not likely. Irina Georgievna recalls the many and many writers of the Soviet era who “took care to ensure that citizens grew up loving their Motherland, respected their elders and the memory of those who had gone to another world, cherished the legacy left and bequeathed to us by grandfathers and parents ... In these lessons, although unnamed,” she continues, “was—I will say, using Solovyov’s terminology—“reverence for the highest,” “compassion for equals,” and “pity for the lowest.” In this sense, called atheistic, the era has preserved and saved a lot of church rarities and values. Father Mikhail Potokin also offers books by Soviet writers for children to read: “At least you can read Dunno many times at a certain age. And by the way, I know one wonderful priest who freely quotes this book and gives life examples from it.

Church Literature

There is nothing surprising in the fact that often authors who position themselves as "Orthodox" go to extremes, often coloring their works, heroes and events with just two colors - black and white, bad and good, trying to write "the right way", trying to arrange clear and precise boundaries, where “in the Orthodox way”, and where not. “Churching is always accompanied by polemical pathos in relation to what is not a church,” explains Irina Georgievna Mineralova. There are many examples of such behavior among readers. paradoxical examples. When, buying a book of Pushkin's fairy tales as a gift for her nephew, a loving aunt carefully cuts out the fairy tale "About the priest and his worker Balda" from the new edition, still smelling of printing ink. “No, no, you can’t cut it! - not hiding his surprise, Father Mikhail tries to explain. - It's really an Orthodox fairy tale. Because even in the Gospel Christ is betrayed by the Pharisees and high priests. On the contrary, a person who reads this tale, when, God forbid, of course, encounters indifference, love of money in the church, this will not repel him. He will know that this happens, that this is a mistake, a sin, a human weakness, but not the order of the Church. The child needs to be given not only good and attractive examples, but also to talk about the existence of evil, otherwise he will not be ready for it. But will the child be ready for real life by reading obsessive-educational texts? Will plotless, but "about Orthodoxy" stories help him? The seller of the church shop, Roman, perplexedly flips through one of the books put up for sale: “Sometimes you take it to read, but the stories are somehow meaningless, stupid. The plot is weak, why, why, what conclusion to draw? But there is an Orthodox component, they say, the heroes of this story live an Orthodox life - from morning to night they pray, joyful and contented, they go to services together. “People who have just entered the church often take up the cause,” explains Irina Georgievna Mineralova, “but they have no idea about the writing business, they are not well-read, pedagogically naive.” And they write with the best of intentions, and their intentions are good, but ...

Fashion

But is it only the writer's fault that "Orthodox literature" cannot go beyond moralizing fiction of not always good quality? Readers also have a hand in this, creating a fashion for the works of certain authors, a certain direction. The reader gets what he wants - a simple, almost colloquial language and the rules of Christian morality explained on the fingers. Librarian Irina Vladimirovna shows the story of Archpriest Alexander Torik “Dimon”: “It was not always pleasant for me to read,” she says. “But the modern language is like that, such a time, but what is written in the book is understandable to a teenager.” Young people, according to many parents, after reading the book themselves ask for confession. In general, the goal has been achieved. And here it is worth remembering that good literature does not at all set itself the goal of taking the reader by the hand and leading somewhere or hammering some truth into his head. Good literature invites reflection, teaches to distinguish between truth and fake, but at the same time leaves a person with complete freedom of choice. Books should not be churched, for churching one must go to churches and Sunday schools. When asked how to choose the right Orthodox reading for a child, librarian Irina Vladimirovna answers: “You need to go to Sunday school, learn something yourself, and then it will be easy to choose a book for your child.”