THEOSISVissarion (Nechaev)
You have amassed the transgressions of Manasseh through your desire, establishing as detestable idols passions and multiplying, O soul, anger against God. Manasseh reigned over Judah following his father, King Hezekiah. While the father adhered to piety, the son embraced wickedness. Manasseh obliterated all that Hezekiah had accomplished in favor of authentic devotion. He reinstated the idol worship of Baal and Astarte introduced by his sinful grandfather Ahaz, offered human sacrifices to Moloch in the valley of Gehenna, worshipped the heavenly bodies, and engaged in sorcery. Additionally, he was a ruthless persecutor of those fervent in true faith; under his orders, the prophet Isaiah, who denounced his evil acts, was sawn in half with a wooden saw.
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Regrettably, Christians often succumb to similar depravity, when ‘at will,’ driven by unwarranted desires, they replace true worship with passions that lead them into an increasing number of God-opposing actions. Self-gratification spirals into further self-indulgence. Obsession with celebrities, for instance, leads them to idolize singers and dancers, lowering them to a state of total disregard for their human dignity. A fixation on worldly amusements fosters apathy and even antagonism toward a life lived according to the principles of the Church. A preoccupation with material possessions causes them to forsake honor and conscience.
For some, faith and trust in God have become so diminished that they turn to practices resembling the sorcery that shamed Manasseh. It is futile to admonish those who mirror Manasseh’s actions; they despise the reprovers and would not hesitate to inflict cruelty upon them as Manasseh did to Isaiah, ready to extinguish their existence, if not for the fear of earthly consequences and retribution.