On Scrupulosity 

Scruplousity, as a form of OCD, should be treated by a therapist first and foremost, but a therapist who could sympathise with your religious anxieties. A priest is also important because he could supply you with plenty of reassurance that God won't just kick you out of heaven the second you sin, God gave us plenty of time for a good reason and as it was said in the Bible "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again." It happens, we sin my friend, no one can abolish sin or sinful thoughts even the greatest of saints sinned till their last breath. Remember that saint Anthony struggled with thoughts of fornication for a long life even if he was a monk who saw no woman for ages, does it make him less of a saint? No. Why? Because he just got up from his falls. Now, God be with you. It's alright, bad obsessive days come, they pass, they shall pass, NEVER be hard or judgy on yourself in any of these days. You don't be hard on a person with chronic disease and tell them "just stop being ill", do you? Same with mental disorders, you can't just "snap out of it", it will need time to heal. Treat yourself well and spoil yourself if your day was bad, you deserve a break from constant worrying.

Some traits common to autism / aspergers, in the context of confession, can appear like scrupulosity. Those include huge attention to detail, a strong sense of justice and right and wrong; a need for clear structure, boundaries, rules and specifics; a tendency to info dump, go off on tangents and overexplain, especially when you feel it's important for another person to understand or know context. Knowing what to expect in confession beforehand, concrete examples of what is meant by 'too much/not enough details' and having a list of brief bullet points helps to keep an autistic penitent grounded, on track and 'to the point' during confession.

I suffer with Scrupulosity, its a living hell.

My dad struggled with Scrupulosity for YEARS, even in the Orthodox Church. Now he just doesn't care as much, he just tries to educate himself on his faith (not obsessive) and believes God will understand he is trying to understand His message.

I struggled with this for years. It was absolutely debilitating and no one at my church or in my family understood what I was going through. They all had wonderful theological advice, trying to explain away my anxiety. However, trying to fix this on a spiritual level just never seemed to help. It's not that the advice was wrong, it's just that the anxiety wouldn't leave. It only started to get better when I realised that it might actually be related to childhood trauma and is a form of OCD. My hope is that anyone with scrupulosity who reads this be open to the possibility that you may need to speak to a mental health professional as well as a priest. I pray you find peace.

The protestant group I am from is very scrupulous. Orthodoxy is a breath of fresh air.

Roman Catholic here. I used to have scrupulosity. And I can honestly say that apart from demonic possession, there is nothing worse for your spiritual life than scrupulosity. Who knows, scrupulosity could very well be a form of possession. And yes, I have met Ortbodox Christians who have/had it, but they are few & far between compared to Roman Catholics. The only way you can be cured from is by reaching out to somebody who has dealt with it, a priest, a spiritual father, a spiritual director or somebody who has a profession in helping people overcome OCD, because scrupulosity *is* actually a form of OCD. Once your cured from it, know that it should stay away for a very long time, but it can in some cases creep back. I hope this helps any of you 👍

Roman Catholic here, very close to converting to the American Orthodox Church. We suffer scrupulosity because although the Church I THINK doesn’t intend it, the implication is that it’s very legalistic. I have looked for a way to see it differently, but I can’t find it. This is why the emphasis on Confession before Communion is taught, BUT logically since we can’t stop sinning AT LEAST at first, you start looking at everything you do and think as “sinful/non-sinful, which leads to scrupulosity. Basically, I dont see how you can be serious about the Roman Catholic Sacraments, and NOT have scrupulosity. Just my observation.

Thank you so much, I never even knew what scrupulosity was, but it's exactly what I am going through. Every single time I think I sin, God is going to chastise me and punish me in order to correct me, and I seem to live in fear of that. Some of them are so ridiculous like ex (I mention something about pirates, but since pirates committed sins and crimes on the seas therefore I am enticing the people I'm talking to sin and think positively of pirates). It ruins my conversations and makes me feel alien and unrelating to anyone. I also thought this was how to be pious, but your right, its a stumbling block, not a step. God bless you so much, ill try to stop being scrupulous and having to trust in Gods mercy and grace, even when I feel like hes gonna wind up a fat punch to me.

Yes, it exists in Protestantism. I’m Lutheran and I suffer from it. Although it’s not as bad as it was there are lingering effects.

So glad to hear that you are shocked at the mention of times someone sinned. I hear this originated in the Council of Trent. It sets the mind up to turn a confession into an interview that you might have here in the U.S. with a tax accountant. Your comments are apt, especially your cartoon of being dumped on with a pile off shall we say dirt. I agree with the advice..."lighten up, get a grip." Thanks!

Mnogo hvala Bojan, it's important that this is said, in my humble opinion. This is a very important matter to me and dear to my heart. I have struggled with scrupulousity quite a while since I tend to be of rather serious and conscientious character. It took me a quite some time and very painful experiences to find the right balance between this conscientiousness and the humility to trust in the Lord and His doing. I think the attitude derived from penitential theology, scholasticism and Roman supremacy plays a role in this phenomenon, but I of course might be wrong. It's important to be aware that God loves us, even the most sinful person and awaits us with open arms.

9:20 oh how wonderful it is to see you laugh like this 😂

Wow thank you whoever asked this question I never heard of this before and every single little detail is exactly what I've been suffering with

Bojan, since you have covered saint Chad in the past I was hoping that maybe you'd be able to cover other English saints such as Oswald or Edwin, would that be something that interests you? Long time fan, keep making good content and despite the theological differences between the RC and the Eastern Orthodox churches I hope we will continue to reach out and our churches reunite before the second coming.

Thank you Bojan

Bojan - what are your thoughts on Scholasticism in general in the West and (more historically) in the East? I read in Norman Russell’s book that after the fall of Constantinople, Orthodox thought was marked by an “arid scholasticism” that spanned several centuries. Apparently this aspect was only rehabilitated after WW2 when Greek theologians embraced the thought of the Greek Fathers and were influenced by certain Western patristic scholars. Of course the rediscovery of Palamas’ mystical/apophatic approach to theology and spiritual practice was also huge in making Orthodoxy what it is today.

Coming from a Lutheran background (now Orthodox), scrupulosity definitely exists in Protestant traditions as well albeit in different ways. In the Reformed tradition there's obviously worrying around double predestination and whether or not you are "elect," and in Lutheranism the focus on grace through faith and insistence on total depravity definitely can promote a lot of anxiety. I grew up in a very liberal ELCA parish, but I remember from a very young age being incredibly neurotic about the ways in which I had wronged God.

I used to be scrupulous. I was baptised as Catholic as an infant. I am worried every second that I'm going to hell and everything I do will bound me to hell. I would be an insane person. After baptism, I am no longer scrupulous. I really believe my scrupulousity is a demon that got drowned from the baptismal waters.

I needed that, thank you!

A lot of the problem has to do with the concept of merit: the idea that if we do something correctly, there is some reward for it. Orthodoxy is quite refreshingly free of this, though there is a lot of folk religion here in the Balkans that relies on this concept... and the boundary between Orthodoxy and folk religion is sometimes very thin. The Catholic and Orthodox views on epiclesis also shows that the problem of scrupulosity is foundational to Catholicism. There the Liturgy is done in order for the Consecration to take place: the process is linear and prescriptive and nearly like cookery (or a spell). The Orthodox Liturgy is about the priest and people getting themselves into the zone for the Blessed Trinity to really and effectively work amongst them, it is much less to do with the specific linear actions of the priest and more to do with unquantifiables like the reality of the Resurrection, our total unworthyness, the state of everyones' hearts.

11:09 one of my favourite moments from your videos so far. a very child-like,"i dunnooo" hahaha

I was born Protestant, converting to Traditional Roman Rite Catholic, scrupolosity is a demon for me. Most of the people in the very Trad community (SSPX, SSPX resistance etc) share it with me, most of the people who come out as Sedevacantists especially. Scrupolosity has left me in an almost perpetual state of fear of damnation, it's not good. As for the mortal and venial sin thing, it leaves us in a constant fear our venial sin might be mortal and so we end up confessing literally every sin because it might me mortal. When I'm baptisted etc I will probably end up this way unless my priest will understand my brain. The system itself does not make you scrupolus like you'd think. I've also spoken with Protestants, they always fear the "unforgivable sin" against the Holy Ghost. They think they committed it and since they have no confession they just think they're dead spiritually and enter deep depression. I have Aspergers and most other scrupulants I think also do. I think you covered this video very well, I just don't think the system of mortal vs venial sins cause this to exacerbate, in any other system it would still present itself. PS I think Seraphim Rose was a scrupulant, base don some quotes about converts.

I was a Protestant with a huge scrupulosity and I only lasted a week before becoming an atheist (I’m not an athiest now)

Ok, I surrender. Subscribed.

I requested batushka video. Again, u helped me with this video a lot

Bojan, what are some of your favourite books? Whether they be prayer books, spiritual books, non-fiction, fiction, etc?

Mortal Sins Explained by a Roman Catholic To be Mortal (Breaking the relationship with God) the sin must be all 3 of the below 1. Grave Matter (violating the 10 Commandments) 2. Done knowingly (you must know that it is evil) 3. Done willingly (you must mean to do evil) If you dont have all 3 criteria you dont have a mortal sin.

I was not really familiar with the term in a religious context. And if I ever heard it I would have assumed it was a good thing, because I believe there are Orthodox confession guides that go in that direction and because of this I assumed that that was the norm.

3 disclaimer if you forget not hide a mortal sin it forgiven in that confession. There is a rule that you have to mention it next time I your regular confession, but venial is not necessary. Plus you can ask your confessor if you are scrupulous he may say don't comeback to you past sins. Since in theory scrupulous people my suspended from this rule. Because any way if there was a will but you just forget or you were not sure that you did know did you had full knowledge or will or was it a sin You are forgiven!

Conditional sins turned me away from Rome. Thank God He allowed me to discover Holy Orthodox.

you do have to confess venial sins in the Catholic church, they just arent sins that completely sever your connection. Venial sins damage your relationship with God, but do not completely sever it. This is the Catholic teaching, however u must confess venial sins you remember. Scrupulosity is a condition of any Christian who takes their faith seriously. Its a temptation to disturb your peace. You can find both eastern and western saints who dealt with scrupulosity. Also there is no strict formula for confession, you are encouraged to remember how many times you commited a sin so that the priest can understand what you are dealing with. The actual number is not important for absolution, if you tell the priest im habitually sleeping with women, then he understands what kind of life you are living, u dont need to say a number etc. I agree with ur remedy very well said.

So, when I confess watching Creepshow Art drama vids, should I mention every video and every creator or not?

👐

😂 '3' 😂

There is no official list of grave/serious matter, although some sins have been clearly identified as grave by the Catholic Church. If someone forgot to confess some of their mortal sins, there is no question about whether it was a valid confession- it was definitely valid regardless. What you're identifying there is scrupulosity, not Catholic teaching. And the reason why you confess the number of times you have committed mortal sins is so that the priest can have context to give you good advice. The problem isn't scholasticism- there's nothing wrong with thinking logically about our faith- it's the attitude of some people to confession. Fundamentally there's little difference between Catholic and Orthodox teaching as far as I'm aware- both Churches teach Christians should examine their consciences, and confess serious sins they are aware of before receiving the Holy Eucharist.

Why would you laugh at someone's disease? Beware!

In catholicisme to call something a mortal sin = 1 had to be grave matter braking 10 in serious way for example masturbation ,not attending church, sex outside marriage , kill or allow to be kill , still things with great value or sentimental value like church things etc. ) We can use Catholic catechism book that explains many of grave matter. 2. Full knowledge that is bad. You did know , your a small child 3. Full accepted by your will. Ex. You were put in live fretting situation. Stress like in sucide Or you make it by accident The situation that you are willful not know is also a sin. Example When did know that not attending a church is sin , but you don't want to check it out.

If someone asks me if that particular sin is mortal or venial I just say "sin is sin"

Can you make a video on Orthodox view on interracial marriage ?

What are your opinions on those that believe in a form of universal religion transcendent and unifying beliefs of all religions?

Protestant here: ... what?