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Zoroastrianism is a very ancient religion, named after its founder, the prophet Zoroaster. The Greeks considered Zarathushtra a sage-astrologer and renamed this man Zoroaster (from the Greek “astron” - “star”), and his creed was called Zoroastrianism.

This religion is so ancient that most of its followers have completely forgotten when and where it originated. Many Asian and Iranian-speaking countries have claimed in the past to be the birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster. In any case, according to one version, Zoroaster lived in the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. e. As the famous English researcher Mary Boyce believes, “based on the content and language of the hymns composed by Zoroaster, it has now been established that in reality the prophet Zoroaster lived in the Asian steppes, east of the Volga.”

Having emerged on the territory of the Iranian Plateau, in its eastern regions, Zoroastrianism became widespread in a number of countries in the Near and Middle East and was the dominant religion in the ancient Iranian empires from about the 6th century. BC e. until the 7th century n. e. After the conquest of Iran by the Arabs in the 7th century. n. e. and the adoption of a new religion - Islam - Zoroastrians began to be persecuted, and in the 7th-10th centuries. most of them gradually moved to India (Gujarat), where they were called Parsis. Currently, Zoroastrians, in addition to Iran and India, live in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Aden, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, as well as in the USA, Canada and Australia. In the modern world, the number of followers of Zoroastrianism is no more than 130-150 thousand people.

The Zoroastrian faith was unique for its time, many of its provisions were deeply noble and moral, so it is quite possible that later religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, borrowed something from Zoroastrianism. For example, like Zoroastrianism, they are monotheistic, that is, each of them is based on the belief in one supreme God, the creator of the universe; faith in prophets, overshadowed by divine revelation, which becomes the basis of their beliefs. Like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the coming of the Messiah, or Savior. All these religions, following Zoroastrianism, propose to follow sublime moral standards and strict rules of behavior. It is possible that the teachings about the afterlife, heaven, hell, immortality of the soul, resurrection from the dead and the establishment of righteous life after the Last Judgment also appeared in world religions under the influence of Zoroastrianism, where they were originally present.

So what is Zoroastrianism and who was its semi-mythical founder, the prophet Zoroaster, what tribe and people did he represent and what did he preach?

ORIGINS OF RELIGION

In the 3rd millennium BC. e. East of the Volga, in the southern Russian steppes, lived a people that historians later called Proto-Indo-Iranians. These people, in all likelihood, led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, had small settlements, and grazed livestock. It consisted of two social groups: priests (servants of the cult) and warrior-shepherds. According to many scientists, it was by the 3rd millennium AD. e., in the Bronze Age, the proto-Indo-Iranians were divided into two peoples - the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, differing from each other in language, although their main occupation was still cattle breeding and they traded with the settled population living to the south of them. It was a turbulent time. Weapons and war chariots were produced in large quantities. Shepherds often had to become warriors. Their leaders led raids and robbed other tribes, carrying away other people's goods, taking away herds and captives. It was at that dangerous time, approximately in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e., according to some sources - between 1500 and 1200. BC e., lived the priest Zoroaster. Endowed with the gift of revelation, Zoroaster sharply opposed the idea that force rather than law rules society. The revelations of Zoroaster compiled the book of Holy Scriptures known as the Avesta. This is not only a collection of sacred texts of the Zoroastrian faith, but also the main source of information about the personality of Zoroaster himself.

SACRED TEXTS

The text of the Avesta that has survived to this day consists of three main books - Yasna, Yashty and Videvdat. Extracts from the Avesta make up the so-called “Small Avesta” - a collection of everyday prayers.

“Yasna” consists of 72 chapters, 17 of which are “Gatas” - hymns of the prophet Zoroaster. Judging by the Gathas, Zoroaster is a real historical person. He came from a poor family from the Spitama clan, his father's name was Purushaspa, his mother's name was Dugdova. His own name - Zarathushtra - in the ancient Pahlavi language can mean "possessing a golden camel" or "one who leads a camel." It should be noted that the name is quite common. It is unlikely that it belonged to a mythological hero. Zoroaster (in Russia his name is traditionally pronounced in the Greek version) was a professional priest, had a wife and two daughters. In his homeland, the preaching of Zoroastrianism did not find recognition and was even persecuted, so Zoroaster had to flee. He found refuge with the ruler Vishtaspa (where he ruled is still unknown), who accepted the faith of Zoroaster.

ZOROASTRIAN DEITIES

Zoroaster received the true faith by revelation at the age of 30. According to legend, one day at dawn he went to the river to get water to prepare a sacred intoxicating drink - haoma. When he was returning, a vision arose before him: he saw a shining being - Vohu-Mana (Good Thought), who led him to God - Ahura Mazda (Lord of decency, righteousness and justice). The revelations of Zoroaster did not arise out of nowhere; their origins lie in a religion even more ancient than Zoroastrianism. Long before the start of the preaching of the new creed, “revealed” to Zoroaster by the Supreme God Ahura Mazda himself, the ancient Iranian tribes revered the god Mitra - the personification of the treaty, Anahita - the goddess of water and fertility, Varuna - the god of war and victories, etc. Even then, religious rituals developed , associated with the cult of fire and the preparation of haoma by priests for religious ceremonies. Many rites, rituals and heroes belonged to the era of “Indo-Iranian unity”, in which the proto-Indo-Iranians lived - the ancestors of the Iranian and Indian tribes. All of these deities and mythological heroes organically entered the new religion - Zoroastrianism.

Zoroaster taught that the supreme deity was Ahura Mazda (later called Ormuzd or Hormuzd). All other deities occupy a subordinate position in relation to him. According to scientists, the image of Ahura Mazda goes back to the supreme god of the Iranian tribes (Aryans), called Ahura (lord). The Ahura included Mitra, Varuna and others. The highest Ahura had the epithet Mazda (Wise). In addition to the Ahura deities, who embodied the highest moral properties, the ancient Aryans revered devas - deities of the lowest rank. They were worshiped by part of the Aryan tribes, while most Iranian tribes considered the devas to be the forces of evil and darkness and rejected their cult. As for Ahura Mazda, the word meant “Lord of Wisdom” or “Wise Lord.”

Ahura Mazda personified the supreme and all-knowing God, the creator of all things, the God of the firmament; it was associated with basic religious concepts - divine justice and order (asha), good words and good deeds. Much later, another name for Zoroastrianism, Mazdaism, became somewhat widespread.

Zoroaster began to worship Ahura Mazda - the all-knowing, wise, righteous, just, who is the original and from whom all other deities came - from the moment he saw a shining vision on the bank of the river. It led him to Ahura Mazda and other light-emitting deities, beings in whose presence Zoroaster “could not see his own shadow.”

This is how the conversation between Zoroaster and Ahura Mazda is presented in the hymns of the prophet Zoroaster - “Gathah”:

Asked Ahura Mazda

Spitama-Zarathustra:

"Tell me, Holy Spirit,

Creator of carnal life,

What from the Holy Word

And the most powerful thing,

And the most victorious thing,

And most blessed

What is most effective?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ahura Mazda said:

"That will be my name,

Spitama-Zarathushtra,

Holy Immortals name, -

From the words of the holy prayer

It is most powerful

It's the poorest

And most graciously,

And most effective of all.

It is the most victorious

And the most healing thing,

And crushes more

Enmity between people and devas,

It is in the physical world

And a soulful thought,

It is in the physical world -

Relax your spirit!

And Zarathushtra said:

"Tell me this name,

Good Ahura Mazda,

Which is great

Beautiful and best

And the most victorious thing,

And the most healing thing,

What crushes more

Enmity between people and devas,

What is most effective!

Then I would crush

Enmity between people and devas,

Then I would crush

All witches and wizards,

I wouldn't be defeated

Neither devas nor humans,

Neither sorcerers nor witches."

Ahura Mazda said:

“My name is Questioned,

O faithful Zarathushtra,

Second name - Stadny,

And the third name is Powerful,

Fourth - I am the Truth,

And fifthly - All Good,

What is true from Mazda,

The sixth name is Reason,

Seventh - I am Reasonable,

Eighth - I am the Teaching,

Ninth - Scientist,

Tenth - I am Holiness,

Eleven - I am Holy

Twelve - I am Ahura,

Thirteen - I am the Strongest,

Fourteen - Good-natured,

Fifteen - I am Victorious,

Sixteen - All-Counting,

All-seeing - seventeen,

Healer - eighteen,

The Creator is nineteen,

Twentieth - I'm Mazda.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pray to me, Zarathushtra,

Pray both during the day and at night,

While pouring libations,

As it should be.

I myself, Ahura Mazda,

Then I'll come to the rescue,

Then help you

Good Sraosha will also come,

They will come to your aid

And water and plants,

And righteous Fravashi"

(“Avesta - selected hymns.” Translation by I. Steblin-Kamensky.)

However, not only the forces of good reign in the universe, but also the forces of evil. Ahura Mazda is opposed by the evil deity Anhra Mainyu (Ahriman, also spelled Ahriman), or the Evil Spirit. The constant confrontation between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman is expressed in the struggle between good and evil. Thus, the Zoroastrian religion is characterized by the presence of two principles: “Truly, there are two primary spirits, twins, famous for their opposition. In thought, words and action - they are both good and evil... When these two spirits first clashed, they created being and non-being, and what awaits in the end those who follow the path of lies is the worst, and the best awaits those who follow the path of goodness (asha). And of these two spirits, one, following lies, chose evil, and the other, the Holy Spirit... chose righteousness.”

Ahriman's army consists of devas. Zoroastrians believe that these are evil spirits, sorcerers, evil rulers who harm the four elements of nature: fire, earth, water, and firmament. In addition, they express the worst human qualities: envy, laziness, lies. The fire deity Ahura Mazda created life, warmth, light. In response to this, Ahriman created death, winter, cold, heat, harmful animals and insects. But in the end, according to Zoroastrian dogma, in this struggle between two principles, Ahura-Mazda will be the winner and destroy evil forever.

Ahura Mazda, with the help of Spenta Mainyu (the Holy Spirit), created six “immortal saints” who, together with the supreme God, make up a pantheon of seven deities. It was this idea of ​​seven deities that became one of the innovations of Zoroastrianism, although it was based on old ideas about the origin of the world. These six “immortal saints” are some abstract entities, such as Vohu-Mana (or Bahman) - the patron of cattle and at the same time Good Thought, Asha Vahishta (Ordibe-hesht) - the patron of fire and the Best Truth, Khshatra Varya (Shahrivar) - patron of metal and Chosen Power, Spenta Armati - patron of the earth and Piety, Haurwatat (Khordad) - patron of water and Integrity, Amertat (Mordad) - Immortality and patron of plants. In addition to them, the companion deities of Ahura Mazda were Mitra, Apam Napati (Varun) - Grandson of the Waters, Sraoshi - Obedience, Attention and Discipline, as well as Ashi - the goddess of fate. These divine qualities were revered as separate gods. At the same time, according to Zoroastrian teaching, they are all the creation of Ahura Mazda himself and, under his leadership, they strive for the victory of the forces of good over the forces of evil.

Let us cite one of the prayers of the Avesta (“Ormazd-Yasht”, Yasht 1). This is the hymn of the prophet Zoroaster, dedicated to the God Ahura Mazda. It has reached the present day in a significantly distorted and expanded form, but is certainly interesting, since it lists all the names and qualities of the supreme deity: “Let Ahura Mazda rejoice, and Anhra turn away -Mainyu is the embodiment of Truth by the will of the most worthy!.. I glorify with good thoughts, blessings and good deeds Good thoughts, Blessings and Good deeds. I surrender to all blessings, good thoughts and good deeds and renounce all evil thoughts, slander and evil deeds. I offer you, Immortal Saints, prayer and praise in thought and word, deed and strength, and the life of my body. I praise the truth: Truth is the best good.”

HEAVENLY COUNTRY OF AHURA-MAZDA

Zoroastrians say that in ancient times, when their ancestors still lived in their country, the Aryans - the people of the North - knew the way to the Great Mountain. In ancient times, wise people kept a special ritual and knew how to make a wonderful drink from herbs, which freed a person from bodily bonds and allowed him to wander among the stars. Having overcome thousands of dangers, the resistance of earth, air, fire and water, having passed through all the elements, those who wanted to see the fate of the world with their own eyes reached the Staircase of the Stars and, now rising up, now descending so low that the Earth seemed to them like a bright point shining above , finally found themselves in front of the gates to heaven, which were guarded by angels armed with fiery swords.

“What do you want, the spirits who came here? - the angels asked the wanderers. “How did you find out the way to the Wonderful Land and where did you get the secret of the sacred drink?”

“We learned the wisdom of our fathers,” the wanderers answered, as they should, to the angels. “We know the Word.” And they drew secret signs in the sand, which made up a sacred inscription in the most ancient language.

Then the angels opened the gates... and the long ascent began. Sometimes it took thousands of years, sometimes more. Ahura Mazda does not count time, and neither do those who intend to penetrate the treasury of the Mountain at any cost. Sooner or later they reached its peak. Ice, snow, a sharp cold wind, and all around - the loneliness and silence of endless spaces - that's what they found there. Then they remembered the words of the prayer: “Great God, God of our fathers, God of the whole universe! Teach us how to penetrate into the center of the Mountain, show us your mercy, help and enlightenment!”

And then from somewhere among the eternal snow and ice a shining flame appeared. A pillar of fire led the wanderers to the entrance, and there the spirits of the Mountain met the messengers of Ahura-Mazda.

The first thing that appeared to the eyes of the wanderers who entered the underground galleries was a star, like a thousand different rays fused together.

"What is this?" - asked the wanderers of the spirits. And the spirits answered them:

“Do you see the glow in the center of the star? Here is the source of energy that gives you existence. Like the Phoenix bird, the World Human Soul eternally dies and is eternally reborn in the Unquenchable Flame. Every moment it is divided into myriads of individual stars similar to yours, and every moment it is reunited, without decreasing either in its content or in volume. We gave it the shape of a star because, like a star, in the darkness the spirit of the Spirit of spirits always illuminates matter. Do you remember how falling stars flash in the autumn sky? Similarly, in the world of the Creator, every second the links of the “soul-star” chain flare up. They crumble into fragments, like a torn pearl thread, like raindrops, fragments-stars fall into the worlds of creation. Every second a star appears in the inner sky: this, having reunited, “ soul-star" rises to God from the worlds of death. Do you see two streams of these stars - descending and ascending? This is true rain over the field of the Great Sower. Each star has one main ray along which the links of the entire chain, like a bridge, pass over the abyss. This is the “king of souls,” the one who remembers and carries the entire past of each star. Listen carefully, wanderers, to the most important secret of the Mountain: out of billions of “kings of souls,” one supreme constellation is made up. In billions of “kings of souls” before eternity there abides One King - and in Him is the hope of all, all the pain of the endless world...” In the East they often speak in parables, many of which conceal the great mysteries of life and death.

COSMOLOGY

According to the Zoroastrian concept of the universe, the world will exist for 12 thousand years. Its entire history is conventionally divided into four periods, each lasting 3 thousand years. The first period is the pre-existence of things and ideas, when Ahura-Mazda creates an ideal world of abstract concepts. At this stage of heavenly creation there already existed the prototypes of everything that was later created on earth. This state of the world is called menok (i.e. “invisible” or “spiritual”). The second period is considered to be the creation of the created world, that is, the real, visible, “inhabited by creatures.” Ahura Mazda creates the sky, stars, Moon and Sun. Beyond the sphere of the Sun is the abode of Ahura Mazda himself.

At the same time, Ahriman begins to act. It invades the firmament, creates planets and comets that do not obey the uniform movement of the celestial spheres. Ahriman pollutes the water and sends death to the first man Gayomart. But from the first man were born a man and a woman, who gave rise to the human race. From the collision of two opposing principles, the whole world begins to move: waters become fluid, mountains arise, celestial bodies move. To neutralize the actions of “harmful” planets, Ahura Mazda assigns good spirits to each planet.

The third period of the existence of the universe covers the time before the appearance of the prophet Zoroaster. The mythological heroes of the Avesta act during this period. One of them is the king of the golden age, Yima the Shining, in whose kingdom there is “neither heat, nor cold, nor old age, nor envy - the creation of the devas.” This king saves people and livestock from the flood by building a special shelter for them. Among the righteous of this time, the ruler of a certain territory, Vishtaspa, is also mentioned; It was he who became the patron of Zoroaster.

The last, fourth period (after Zoroaster) will last 4 thousand years, during which (in each millennium) three Saviors should appear to people. The last of them, Savior Saoshyant, who, like the two previous Saviors, is considered the son of Zoroaster, will decide the fate of the world and humanity. He will resurrect the dead, defeat Ahriman, after which the world will be cleansed with a “flow of molten metal,” and everything that remains after this will gain eternal life.

Since life is divided into good and evil, evil should be avoided. Fear of desecration of the sources of life in any form - physical or moral - is a hallmark of Zoroastrianism.

THE ROLE OF HUMAN IN ZOROAASTRIANISM

In Zoroastrianism, an important role is given to the spiritual improvement of man. The main attention in the ethical doctrine of Zoroastrianism focuses on human activity, which is based on the triad: good thought, good word, good deed. Zoroastrianism taught a person to cleanliness and order, taught compassion for people and gratitude to parents, family, compatriots, demanded that he fulfill his duties towards children, help fellow believers, and take care of the land and pastures for livestock. The transmission of these commandments, which became character traits, from generation to generation played an important role in developing the resilience of Zoroastrians and helped them withstand the difficult trials that constantly befell them over many centuries.

Zoroastrianism, giving a person the freedom to choose his place in life, called for avoiding doing evil. At the same time, according to Zoroastrian doctrine, a person’s fate is determined by fate, but his behavior in this world determines where his soul will go after death - to heaven or hell.

THE FORMATION OF ZOROAASTRIANISM

FIRE WORSHIPERS

The prayer of Zoroastrians has always made a great impression on those around them. This is how the famous Iranian writer Sadegh Hedayat recalls this in his story “Fire Worshipers.” (The narration is told on behalf of an archaeologist working on excavations near the town of Naqshe-Rustam, where an ancient Zoroastrian temple is located and the graves of ancient shahs are carved high in the mountains.)

“I remember well, in the evening I measured this temple (“Kaaba of Zoroaster.” - Ed.). It was hot and I was pretty tired. Suddenly I noticed that two people were walking towards me in clothes that Iranians no longer wear. When they came closer, I saw tall, strong old men with clear eyes and some unusual facial features... They were Zoroastrians and worshiped fire, like their ancient kings who lay in these tombs. They quickly collected the brushwood and put it in a pile. Then they set it on fire and began to read a prayer, whispering in a special way... It seemed that it was the same language of the Avesta. Watching them read the prayer, I accidentally raised my head and froze. Right in front of me, on the stones of the crypt, the same sienna was carved, which I now, after thousands of years, could see with my own eyes, it seemed that the stones came to life and the people carved on the rock came down to worship the incarnation of their deity.”

The worship of the supreme deity Ahura Mazda was expressed primarily in the worship of fire. This is why Zoroastrians are sometimes called fire worshipers. Not a single holiday, ceremony or ritual was complete without fire (Atar) - the symbol of God Ahura Mazda. Fire was represented in various forms: heavenly fire, lightning fire, fire that gives warmth and life to the human body, and, finally, the highest sacred fire, lit in temples. Initially, Zoroastrians did not have fire temples or human-like images of deities. Later they began to build fire temples in the form of towers. Such temples existed in Media at the turn of the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. Inside the fire temple there was a triangular sanctuary, in the center of which, to the left of the only door, there was a four-stage fire altar about two meters high. The fire was carried along the stairs to the roof of the temple, from where it was visible from afar.

Under the first kings of the Persian Achaemenid state (VI century BC), probably under Darius I, Ahura Mazda began to be depicted in the manner of a slightly modified Assyrian god Ashur. In Persepolis - the ancient capital of the Achaemenids (near modern Shiraz) - the image of the God Ahura Mazda, carved by order of Darius I, represents the figure of a king with outstretched wings, with a solar disk around his head, in a tiara (crown), which is crowned with a ball with a star. In his hand he holds a hryvnia - a symbol of power.

Rock-carved images of Darius I and other Achaemenid kings in front of the fire altar on the tombs at Naqshe Rustam (now the city of Kazerun in Iran) have been preserved. In later times, images of deities - bas-reliefs, high reliefs, statues - are more common. It is known that the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II (404-359 BC) ordered the erection of statues of the Zoroastrian goddess of water and fertility Anahita in the cities of Susa, Ecbatana, and Bactra.

"APOCALYPSE" OF THE ZOROASTRIANS

According to Zoroastrian doctrine, the world tragedy lies in the fact that there are two main forces at work in the world - creative (Spenta Mainyu) and destructive (Angra Mainyu). The first personifies everything good and pure in the world, the second - everything negative, delaying a person’s development in goodness. But this is not dualism. Ahriman and his army - the evil spirits and the evil creatures created by him - are not equal to Ahura Mazda and are never opposed to him.

Zoroastrianism teaches about the final victory of good in the entire universe and the final destruction of the kingdom of evil - then the transformation of the world will come...

The ancient Zoroastrian hymn says: “At the hour of resurrection, all who lived on earth will rise and gather to the throne of Ahura Mazda to listen to justification and petition.”

The transformation of bodies will occur simultaneously with the transformation of the earth, at the same time the world and its population will change. Life will enter a new phase. Therefore, the day of the end of this world appears to Zoroastrians as a day of triumph, joy, fulfillment of all hopes, the end of sin, evil and death...

Like the death of an individual, the universal end is the door to a new life, and the judgment is a mirror in which everyone will see a real yen for himself and will either go to some new material life (according to the Zoroastrians, to hell), or take a place among the “ a transparent race” (i.e., transmitting rays of divine light through themselves), for which a new earth and new heavens will be created.

Just as great suffering contributes to the growth of each individual soul, so without a general catastrophe a new, transformed universe cannot arise.

Whenever any of the great messengers of the supreme God Ahura Mazda appears on earth, the scales tip and the coming of the end becomes possible. But people are afraid of the end, they protect themselves from it, and with their lack of faith they prevent the end from coming. They are like a wall, blank and inert, frozen in their many-thousand-year-old heaviness of earthly existence.

What does it matter if perhaps hundreds of thousands or even millions of years will pass before the end of the world? What if the river of life will continue to flow into the ocean of time for a long time? Sooner or later, the moment of the end announced by Zoroaster will come - and then, like images of sleep or awakening, the fragile well-being of unbelievers will be destroyed. Like a storm that is still hidden in the clouds, like a flame that lies dormant in the firewood while it is not yet lit, there is an end in the world, and the essence of the end is transformation.

Those who remember this, those who fearlessly pray for the speedy arrival of this day, only they are truly friends of the incarnate Word - Saoshyant, the Savior of the world. Ahura-Mazda - Spirit and Fire. The symbol of a flame burning at a height is not only an image of Spirit and life, another meaning of this symbol is the flame of a future Fire.

On the day of resurrection, each soul will require a body from the elements - earth, water and fire. All the dead will rise with full consciousness of the good or evil deeds they have committed, and sinners will weep bitterly, realizing their atrocities. Then, for three days and three nights, the righteous will be separated from the sinners who are in the darkness of ultimate darkness. On the fourth day, the evil Ahriman will be reduced to nothing and the almighty Ahura Mazda will reign everywhere.

Zoroastrians call themselves "awake". They are the “people of the Apocalypse”, one of the few who fearlessly await the end of the world.

ZOROAASTRIANISM UNDER THE SASSANIDS

Ahura Mazda presents a symbol of power to King Ardashir, 3rd century.

The consolidation of the Zoroastrian religion was facilitated by representatives of the Persian Sassanid dynasty, whose rise apparently dates back to the 3rd century. n. e. According to the most authoritative evidence, the Sassanid clan patronized the temple of the goddess Anahita in the city of Istakhr in Pars (Southern Iran). Papak from the Sassanid clan took power from the local ruler - a vassal of the Parthian king. Papak's son Ardashir inherited the seized throne and, by force of arms, established his power throughout Pars, overthrowing the long-ruling Arsacid dynasty - representatives of the Parthian state in Iran. Ardashir was so successful that within two years he subjugated all the western regions and was crowned “king of kings,” subsequently becoming the ruler of the eastern part of Iran.

TEMPLES OF FIRE.

To strengthen their power among the population of the empire, the Sassanids began to patronize the Zoroastrian religion. A large number of fire altars were created throughout the country, in cities and rural areas. During Sassanian times, fire temples were traditionally built according to a single plan. Their external design and interior decoration were very modest. The building material was stone or unfired clay, and the walls inside were plastered.

Fire Temple (presumable construction based on descriptions)

1 - bowl with fire

3 - hall for worshipers

4 - hall for priests

5 - internal doorways

6 - service niches

7 - hole in the dome

The temple was a domed hall with a deep niche, where the sacred fire was placed in a huge brass bowl on a stone pedestal - the altar. The hall was fenced off from other rooms so that the fire was not visible.

Zoroastrian fire temples had their own hierarchy. Each ruler owned his own fire, which was lit during the days of his reign. The greatest and most revered was the fire of Varahram (Bahram) - a symbol of Righteousness, which formed the basis of the sacred fires of the main provinces and major cities of Iran. In the 80-90s. III century All religious affairs were in charge of the high priest Kartir, who founded many such temples throughout the country. They became centers of Zoroastrian doctrine and strict observance of religious rituals. The fire of Bahram was capable of giving people the strength to win good over evil. From the fire of Bahram, fires of the second and third degrees were lit in cities, from them - the fires of altars in villages, small settlements and home altars in people’s homes. According to tradition, the fire of Bahram consisted of sixteen types of fire, taken from the home hearths of representatives of different classes, including clergy (priests), warriors, scribes, merchants, artisans, farmers, etc. However, one of the main fires was the sixteenth, his I had to wait for years: this is a fire that occurs when lightning strikes a tree.

After a certain time, the fires of all altars had to be renewed: there was a special ritual of cleansing and placing a new fire on the altar.

Parsi cleric.

The mouth is covered with a veil (padan); in hands - a short modern barsom (ritual rod) made of metal rods

Only a priest could touch the fire, who had a white cap in the shape of a skullcap on his head, a white robe on his shoulders, white gloves on his hands, and a half mask on his face so that his breath would not defile the fire. The priest constantly stirred the fire in the altar lamp with special tongs so that the flame burned evenly. Firewood from valuable hardwood trees, including sandalwood, was burned in the altar bowl. When they burned, the temple was filled with aroma. The accumulated ash was collected in special boxes, which were then buried in the ground.

Priest at the sacred fire

The diagram shows ritual objects:

1 and 2 - cult bowls;

3, 6 and 7 - vessels for ash;

4 - spoon for collecting ash and ashes;

THE FATE OF THE ZOROASTRIANS IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND IN MODERN TIMES

In 633, after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of a new religion - Islam, the conquest of Iran by the Arabs began. By the middle of the 7th century. they almost completely conquered it and included it in the Arab Caliphate. If the population of the western and central regions adopted Islam earlier than others, then the northern, eastern and southern provinces, remote from the central authority of the caliphate, continued to profess Zoroastrianism. Even at the beginning of the 9th century. the southern region of Fars remained the center of Iranian Zoroastrians. However, under the influence of the invaders, inevitable changes began that affected the language of the local population. By the 9th century. The Middle Persian language was gradually replaced by the New Persian language - Farsi. But the Zoroastrian priests tried to preserve and perpetuate the Middle Persian language with its writing as the sacred language of the Avesta.

Until the middle of the 9th century. No one forcibly converted Zoroastrians to Islam, although pressure was constantly put on them. The first signs of intolerance and religious fanaticism appeared after Islam united most of the peoples of Western Asia. At the end of the 9th century. - X century the Abbasid caliphs demanded the destruction of the Zoroastrian fire temples; Zoroastrians began to be persecuted, they were called Jabras (Gebras), i.e. “infidels” in relation to Islam.

The antagonism between the Persians who converted to Islam and the Zoroastrian Persians intensified. While Zoroastrians were deprived of all rights if they refused to convert to Islam, many Muslim Persians held important positions in the new administration of the caliphate.

Brutal persecution and intensified clashes with Muslims forced the Zoroastrians to gradually leave their homeland. Several thousand Zoroastrians moved to India, where they began to be called Parsis. According to legend, the Parsis hid in the mountains for about 100 years, after which they went to the Persian Gulf, hired a ship and sailed to the island of Div (Diu), where they lived for 19 years, and after negotiations with the local rajah settled in a place called Sanjan in honor of their hometown in the Iranian province of Khorasan. In Sanjana they built the Atesh Bahram fire temple.

For eight centuries, this temple was the only Parsi fire temple in the Indian state of Gujarat. After 200-300 years, the Parsis of Gujarat forgot their native language and began to speak the Gujarati dialect. The laity wore Indian clothing, but the priests still appeared only in a white robe and a white cap. The Parsis of India lived separately, in their own community, observing ancient customs. Parsi tradition names five main centers of Parsi settlement: Vankoner, Varnav, Anklesar, Broch, Navsari. Most of the wealthy Parsis in the 16th-17th centuries. settled in the cities of Bombay and Surat.

The fate of the Zoroastrians remaining in Iran was tragic. They were forcibly converted to Islam, fire temples were destroyed, holy books, including the Avesta, were destroyed. A significant part of the Zoroastrians managed to avoid extermination, who in the 11th-12th centuries. found refuge in the cities of Yazd, Kerman and their environs, in the regions of Turkabad and Sherifabad, fenced off from densely populated areas by the mountains and deserts of Dashte-Kevir and Dashte-Lut. The Zoroastrians, who fled here from Khorasan and Iranian Azerbaijan, managed to bring with them the most ancient sacred fires. From now on, they burned in simple rooms made of unfired raw brick (so as not to be conspicuous to Muslims).

The Zoroastrian priests, who settled in the new place, apparently managed to take away the sacred Zoroastrian texts, including the Avesta. The best preserved liturgical part of the Avesta is due to its constant reading during prayers.

Until the Mongol conquest of Iran and the formation of the Delhi Sultanate (1206), as well as the Muslim conquest of Gujarat in 1297, ties between the Zoroastrians of Iran and the Parsis of India were not interrupted. After the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 13th century. and the conquest of India by Timur in the 14th century. These connections were interrupted and resumed for some time only at the end of the 15th century.

In the middle of the 17th century. The Zoroastrian community was again persecuted by the Shahs of the Safavid dynasty. By decree of Shah Abbas II, Zoroastrians were evicted from the outskirts of the cities of Isfahan and Kerman and forcibly converted to Islam. Many of them were forced to accept the new faith under pain of death. The surviving Zoroastrians, seeing that their religion was being insulted, began to hide the fire altars in special buildings that did not have windows, which served as temples. Only clergy could enter them. The believers were on the other half, separated from the altar by a partition, allowing them to see only the reflection of the fire.

And in modern times, Zoroastrians experienced persecution. In the 18th century they were forbidden to engage in many types of crafts, sell meat, and work as weavers. They could be traders, gardeners or farmers and wear yellow and dark colors. To build houses, Zoroastrians had to obtain permission from Muslim rulers. They built their houses low, partially hidden underground (which was explained by the proximity of the desert), with domed roofs, without windows; There was a hole in the middle of the roof for ventilation. Unlike Muslim dwellings, living rooms in Zoroastrian houses were always located in the southwestern part of the building, on the sunny side.

The difficult financial situation of this ethnic-religious minority was also explained by the fact that in addition to general taxes on livestock, on the profession of grocer or potter, followers of Zoroaster had to pay a special tax - jizia - which they were assessed as “infidels”.

The constant struggle for existence, wanderings, and repeated relocations left their mark on the appearance, character and life of the Zoroastrians. They had to constantly worry about saving the community, preserving the faith, dogmas and rituals.

Many European and Russian scientists and travelers who visited Iran in the 17th-19th centuries noted that Zoroastrians differed in appearance from other Persians. Zoroastrians were dark-skinned, taller, had a wider oval face, a thin aquiline nose, dark long wavy hair and thick beards. The eyes are widely spaced, silver-gray, under an even, light, protruding forehead. The men were strong, well-built, strong. Zoroastrian women were distinguished by a very pleasant appearance, and beautiful faces were often encountered. It is no coincidence that Muslim Persians kidnapped them, converted them to their faith and married them.

Even in clothing, Zoroastrians differed from Muslims. Over the trousers they wore a wide cotton shirt reaching to the knees, belted with a white sash, and on their heads a felt cap or turban.

Life turned out differently for the Indian Parsis. Education in the 16th century The Mughal Empire in place of the Delhi Sultanate and the rise to power of Khan Akbar weakened the oppression of Islam over non-believers. The excessive tax (jiziyah) was abolished, Zoroastrian clergy received small land plots, and greater freedom was given to different religions. Soon Akbar Khan began to move away from orthodox Islam, becoming interested in the beliefs of Parsees, Hindus and Muslim sects. During his time, disputes between representatives of different religions took place, including with the participation of Zoroastrians.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. The Parsis of India were good cattle breeders and farmers, grew tobacco, made wine, and supplied sailors with fresh water and wood. Over time, the Parsis became intermediaries in trade with European merchants. When the center of the Parsi community Surat came into the possession of England, the Parsis moved to Bombay, which in the 18th century. was the permanent residence of wealthy Parsis - merchants and entrepreneurs.

During the XVI-XVII centuries. ties between the Parsis and the Zoroastrians of Iran were often interrupted (mainly due to the Afghan invasion of Iran). At the end of the 18th century. In connection with the capture of the city of Kerman by Agha Mohammed Khan Qajar, relations between Zoroastrians and Parsis were interrupted for a long time.

Connecting to highly spiritual and thousand-year-old roots. A citizen reports from the scene. Just estimate the funds spent on the event of the church bourgeois. A good illustration of what the last pennies of old women buying church candles and crosses go to. By the way, he did not build the factory; it was built by the Soviet State in 1975 and equipped with equipment. Then it was easily taken over by the hierarchs. The Russian Orthodox Church did not build it either, it was built by the state, but by the Russian Orthodox Church. It must be assumed that carpentry and plumbing equipment, for example, is not produced in batches. Well, that’s not the point, how the church bourgeoisie live and how tightly all the high-level bastards are tied up. The hand washes the hand.Non-covetousness and high morality, yeah.A serious god for wealthy gentlemen. They used to write about morals at the factory that it was something like the Demidovs’ treatment of serf workers, but the journalists were quickly silenced. A huge amount of precious metals and products made from them are processed through the plant. All, of course, without taxes. Business people say that there is a serious and reliable cash flow through the church.

and this is the table of cameramen and photographers. We got sausages and salmon. I will say that I have never tasted such tender salmon anywhere before. For the servants of God all the best.

the mummer congratulates Parkhaev

Parkhaev doesn’t like being loaded with anything. A simple question not related to money can throw him into a stupor.

and this is Parkhaev’s son - Vanechka Parkhaev, heir to the Sorfrino empire. Dad idolizes him.

on the left is Patrick's personal photographer, by the way a very gifted young man. It’s a pity that he was enslaved by the Russian Orthodox Church.

and these are two women from the HR department. The director's favorite sycophants.

and this minister has a blessed camera, even a strap with a special design, like Orthodox technology.

the service is over. Thank you everyone.

The personal photographer is allowed to go wherever he pleases.

and this is a rite of promotion, the patriarch scolds him for a long time, then says: well done, good luck.

What are they doing, measuring their bellies? Like I'm eating for three!

everything is ready for fattening.

everyone is waiting for Parkhaev. in the background there is a balalaika orchestra.

and this is Vanechka’s nanny and also the director of a company store in Moscow.

what I heard in this scene: (almost verbatim) take the phone to...!, fuck... call to congratulate!

Among all the visiting guests, Leshchenko and Vinokur were the only ones who were normal.

“Today God sent...” though not to everyone, but only to the most humble servants

Toastmaster of the evening - Grushevsky.

It’s not for nothing that Prokhorov hangs out here. Big sponsor Sofrino. During the presidential election, we were all forced to vote for him.

Vanya has the latest iPhone.

Almost everything was filmed on phones.

How much money was spent on this, squeezed out of semi-serf workers and given to the churches by suckers. It would probably be possible to build a children's hospital somewhere in the region and maintain it for more than one year.

like Brezhnev, all in trinkets.

stationary camera. There were 4 of them in the hall and they displayed a live picture on the monitors standing in the hall.

Closer to midnight, the celebration moved onto the ship. We are moving the director to the dacha.

arrived at the dacha. Own pier, boats and water scooters.

Damir Shavaleev

Damir’s report is being cut out from everywhere on the Internet, and website editors are being threatened.

And in the comments:

#14 Andrey TROFIMOV 07/31/2012 14:36
They just called from Sofrino and asked who ordered me an article about Parkhaev, and did I have the right to publish something about him without his permission? Of course, I answered the caller the way I should have answered, after which he, delighted that the material was only in electronic and not printed form, said all the best and hung up (I recorded the conversation, but I won’t publish it yet, since there’s nothing there’s nothing very interesting about it).

#15 Andrey TROFIMOV 07/31/2012 14:54
The assistant city prosecutor just called and asked if my site was registered as a media outlet, and then explained. that such an instruction was sent to our prosecutor’s office and the prosecutor general’s office. After answering that the ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER site is not registered as a media outlet, the caller asked about which sites in Sergiev Posad are registered as such. I replied that I did not have such information, and the caller apologized for the disturbance and hung up.

What nice, pleasant people the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church works with.

The author's style has been preserved. We do not give any assessments to the author himself; the material is not about him, but about the church bourgeoisie. There was a church - a cruel feudal lord, now - a cruel, hypocritical and arrogant bourgeois. So what's sacred about this whole gang?

For more than 30 years, Parkhaev was the general director of the Artistic Production Enterprise (HPP) of the Russian Orthodox Church “Sofrino” (in total, he worked in the church “system” for 53 years) - a monopolist in the market of church candles, vestments and utensils. Sofrino's monopoly position was supported by all the administrative resources of the Patriarchate, which harshly punished bishops and abbots trying to create or find an alternative to this business empire. And over the past 20 years, the “candle oligarch” has added to this empire the fashionable Moscow hotel “Danilovskaya”, a number of patriarchal residences, the Directorate of the single customer of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Sofrino bank, several construction and development projects. Parkhaev also tried to enter politics - he was friends with Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika and Governor Andrei Vorobyov, and headed the public chamber of the Pushkin district of the Moscow region.

Parkhaev’s style of work is defined by the phrase “authoritarian red director.”

He is alien to good manners, refined spiritual interests, and treated his employees harshly and without sentimentality. In all his years of work, Parkhaev gave the only television interview to the Orthodox TV channel “Soyuz,” clearly demonstrating all his tongue-tiedness, narrow-mindedness and straightforwardness of thinking.

Parkhaev’s only television interview with the Orthodox TV Union,” 2011.

Probably, under the conditions of total restrictions on the economic activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Soviet times, a different type of leader would not have been able to establish specific production. But Parkhaev found it difficult to fit into civilized market relations - the quality of Sofrino’s products remained very low, and they were sold to parishes using completely non-market methods and at non-market prices. In church jargon, the epithet “Sofrinskoe” has long acquired a negative, disparaging connotation.

Nevertheless, Parkhaev’s business empire has remained the main “internal” source of replenishment of the budget of the Russian Orthodox Church over the past 30 years. The “candle oligarch” himself invariably accompanied the patriarch at all church-wide celebrations, and sometimes even participated in patriarchal visits throughout Russia and abroad. Even on the day of his sudden resignation, July 28, Parkhaev sat not far from Kirill at a festive reception in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

In general, Evgeniy Alekseevich was considered a great connoisseur of various kinds of receptions and banquets in the “kitsch” style - in 2012, a staff photographer at Sofrino posted a photo report online from the celebration of the “boss’s” birthday, for which the photographer was forced to work 30 hours without a break contract.

Still from a photo report from the birthday of Evgeniy Parkhaev. Photo: damir_ph / Livejournal

This is a genuine manifesto of Rabelaisianism: a snack in the XX century, a patriarchal liturgy, a banquet at the “European” restaurant with pop stars and dancing, travel of guests along the Moscow River on a chartered flotilla to the personal pier in the estate of the “candle oligarch” near Moscow and “continuation of the banquet” there early morning.

In addition to the hierarchs, Mikhail Prokhorov, Igor Bryntsalov, Vladimir Vinokur, Lev Leshchenko, Zurab Tsereteli, Vladislav Tretyak were seen at that celebration of life.<…>The patriarch's visits to Sofrino were also accompanied by rather vulgar concert programs with the inevitable "chanson".

Of course, Parkhaev’s style and the quality of Sofrino’s products irritated the patriarch, but this was not enough for such a risky personnel decision. On the one hand, in the patriarchy it is generally not customary to “slaughter the hens that lay the golden eggs.” On the other hand, Parkhaev’s connections are so great and extensive that theoretically he was able to organize effective resistance to the patriarch’s decision and disorganize the entire church economy. It is no coincidence that simultaneously with the patriarch’s decree, his chief administrator, Archbishop Sergius (Chashin), appealed to the head of the Moscow Region Internal Affairs Directorate with a request to take the Sofrino plant under protection and prevent the removal of property. The request was immediately fulfilled - on the evening of July 28, the enterprise was cordoned off by riot police, and on July 30, according to media reports, a search began there (however, Parkhaev himself later denied this information).

Most likely, the patriarch’s decision was dictated by “external” forces.

As they say in Sofrino itself, the security forces “decided to squeeze out” the multibillion-dollar church business, and the junta “came to the enterprise.”

This version is supported by the completely unexpected appointment as the new general director of Sofrino of a professional military man and, possibly, a security officer (among his official awards are insignia of the FSO and GRU) Grigory Antyufeyev, who had not previously held leading church positions.

A graduate of the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School, Antyufeev was officially listed in the Ministry of Defense in Soviet times (details are not disclosed), and in 1991 he joined the “Luzhkov team” in the Moscow government. The peak of his career in this field was the position of head of the City Property Fund. After Luzhkov’s resignation, Antyufeyev headed the All-Russian Tourism Council and became the general director of the Cosmos state corporation. He headed the boards of directors of the TVC television company and the Olimpiysky sports complex, and is still on the boards of directors of the Bank of Moscow and Sheremetyevo Airport, and is on the board of trustees of Sberbank. As they say, “and so on, and so on, and so on”—it’s impossible to list everything. In general, the bird is too high-flying even by the standards of a patriarch and certainly not the level of the manager of a “candle factory.”

Obviously, the appointment of Antyufeyev is the first step towards the transfer of the entire large-scale and opaque business of the Russian Orthodox Church under the control of the security forces.

And if so, then this is a very alarming bell for the patriarch.

Parkhaev’s resignation was preceded by an audit of his enterprises, carried out, albeit with the blessing of the patriarch, not by church structures, but by specially hired audit companies, again associated with law enforcement agencies. The Nezygar telegram channel, close to sources in the Russian Presidential Administration, names among the initiators of this audit General Oleg Feoktistov, who headed the Rosneft security service and a confidant of Igor Sechin.

It just so happened that Sechin’s business overlapped with the Russian Orthodox Church (Rosneft structures are sanitizing the Peresvet bank). And on this basis he had some disagreements with the patriarch.<…>

Therefore, what is happening around “Sofrino” strengthens the hypothesis about the growing dissatisfaction of the country’s leadership with the current leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Perhaps, it was decided to begin overcoming the “reputational risks” associated with the activities and rhetoric of the current patriarch by strengthening control over his financial flows.

Early morning of the Great Day: photographers and cameramen are brought to the “non-sacred” premises of the KhHS.

Before the solemn liturgy, a light snack is provided. A whole army of waiters and servants is waiting for Parkhaev and his guests in the refectory chambers of the KhHS.

Table of cameramen and photographers - sausages and salmon.

Evgeniy Parkhaev’s son Vanechka in the most honorable box of the HHS. They say that dad dotes on him and wants to hand over his multibillion-dollar empire to him.

The solemn patriarchal liturgy begins on Parkhaev’s birthday. The same pulpit...

A security guard at the KhHS, whose religious feelings, as it now turns out in the Khamovnichesky court, are so easy to offend. According to the testimony of a photographer standing nearby, the guard during the liturgy was either chattering on the phone or “poking around in ICQ and VKontakte.”

The liturgy finally ended (although His Holiness, as is known, does not “stretch it out” anyway) - and the doors of the “European” restaurant hospitably opened before Parkhaev and his comrades, where the main meal of the celebration took place.

While the kids eat, the bishops and patriarchal protodeacons will wait.

A very dear hero of the day is awarded some kind of regular medal.

Mikhail Prokhorov is one of the sponsors of Sofrino (although the enterprise is already very profitable).

He’s also probably a good person... And he knows a lot about food.

For the church manager, a secular song.

They say he can only talk about money (see right pocket), but it turns out he can also be something of a gallant gentleman.

Bishop of Solnechnogorsk Sergius. They say all sorts of things about him, but he also knows how to carry on a conversation with the ladies.

After the “European”, on chartered ships, all the guests went to Parkhaev’s dacha, which stands right on the Moscow River. At 4 o'clock in the morning, some little-known cleric consecrated a monument in the dacha yard.