The writer Sergei Maslennikov is a controversial figure. He did a lot for the spiritual enlightenment of many people, but in recent years, according to the definition of theologians, he fell into error.
He was born in 1961 in the Perm region, graduated from high school, and then from the Ural Electromechanical Institute.
After graduating from the institute, Sergei worked in the city of Tobolsk in his specialty, in 1986 he moved to Yekaterinburg, where he made a good career: from the head of the electrical department to the deputy director for trade at the fish gastronomy plant.
Novice and writing
In 1994 Maslennikov discovered the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov and became interested in the study of Orthodoxy. He also scrupulously studied the interpretation of Scripture by the holy fathers of the church. Sergei Mikhailovich realized that he had found his life's work - the study of the works of the holy fathers and bringing their legacy to the people.
In 1999, Sergei Maslennikov became a novice at a monastery near Yekaterinburg, and soon became head of the Sales Department in the Yekaterinburg diocese. And a little later he began to conduct "Lessons of morality" for children.
Along with this, Maslennikov went up the career ladder - he is an altar boy and a reader in the parish. And after some time I received a more important task - to run a Sunday school for adults.
However, Maslennikov's favorite brainchild was the "School of Repentance", which was created in one of the parishes of Yekaterinburg. He taught these classes for 5 years, and he himself developed the program and taught the teachers.
At the same time, he lectured "Asceticism for the laity", conducted seminars on repentance and atonement for sins, although he did not receive a special theological education.
In 2010, Sergei Maslennikov's writing career began: he began writing a book titled "Christian Virtues", and a few years later released the cycle "Passion - Sickness of the Soul". In total, 8 books came out from under his pen, with a circulation of 300,000 copies. The book "Reconciliation with Christ" brought him an honorary award - he was awarded the Alexander Nevsky Medal and received the All-Russian Literary Prize.
The beginning of the controversy
All books devoted to Orthodox postulates are reviewed, and as a result they are given a church stamp if they correspond to church dogmas.
The first books by Sergei Maslennikov had such a stamp, but in 2015 it was recalled by the publishing council of the Russian Orthodox Church. This was followed by a ban on the sale of these books through church shops. According to one of the reviewers, Oleg Vasilyevich Kostishak, Maslennikov was made comments on the content of several books, but he did not react to them. Therefore, the books were declared unfit for study by Christians.
The fact is that, according to theologians, Maslennikov described the teachings of the Orthodox Church through personal experiences, which is unacceptable. According to priest Georgy Shinkarenko, this leads to "distortion of understanding of the path of salvation" and avoiding salvation as the main goal of every Christian. The priest is sure that Maslennikov has not only inaccuracies in his understanding of the dogmas of the church, but on the whole he misunderstands the meaning of a Christian's life.
In his books, Sergei Mikhailovich gives many references to the words of the saints, but he interprets them in his own way, and this leads to mistakes, mainly to a mechanical and formal comparison of the sayings of the holy fathers.
One example is the "Diary of the Penitent" manual, which Maslennikov advised parishioners to fill out. The "Diary" compiled a classification of all sins, and everyone should note which of the sins he committed today, and repent of it. One of the priests admits that this approach can lead to sectarianism and religious fanaticism.
The late works of Sergei Maslennikov, in the opinion of many inhabitants of reputable monasteries, have a stereotyped approach. And the requirement to show the "Diary of the Penitent" to a person who is not even a priest looks like an attempt to control the state of a person's soul. But no one can decide for a person how he lives - the Church only teaches.
Therefore, Maslennikov's approach to Orthodoxy is in no way consistent with the teachings of the Orthodox Church.
