Avdeev, Dmitri, dr. Psychiatry for confessor priests Translation from Russian by Adrian Tănăsescu Vlas Published 2011 Among medical specializations, one is closely related to pastoral care. It is Psychiatry. It is not unrealistic to assert that many priests have been faced with situations when one of their spiritual children evinced emotional, behavioral or mental disorders. It is important for the priest to distinguish sin from illness. Many aspects of his spiritual care will depend on this distinction. Unfortunately, some clergymen consider psychiatric assistance as inappropriate in itself. They see the sufferings of soul either as a result of the evil one’s works, or as the consequence of sinning upon the soul. Sometimes we see the patients suffering because of the illness, but avoiding the psychiatrist, even if the latter is an Orthodox. From the standpoint of ¬Orthodoxy and church tradition, there is no reason against applying psychiatry elements in the pastoral activity. Medical-scientific means may and should be employed in pastoral care, in order to help souls overcome the difficulties on the way to salvation. To a priest, psychiatry is an auxiliary to identify not the sin, but pathological phenomena connected to mental disorders, that is problems of the soul, not spiritual ones. Dr. Dmitri Avdeev Format: 13x20 cm; 200 p ISBN: 978-973-136-247-2 “Orthodox Psychotherapy” «« back