Human values during the quarantine period.

The coronavirus epidemic that broke out this year has made its own adjustments to our lives. The introduced quarantine regime is a unique psychological experience for a modern person. As we can see, this experience combines, in my opinion, equally positive and negative features. We who are tired of long-term self-isolation, of course, can immediately identify negative features, such as uncertainty, a forced situation of lack of freedom, the threat of losing our jobs with the accompanying despondency, alcohol addiction and family violence. But, as you know, it is necessary to take advantage of any situation, and we will also try to find positive features in this current situation. Here the most important thing is that self-isolation helps a person to look inside himself, as a person has the opportunity to abstract from the fuss and start working on himself. The modern man in the street, burdened by the fear of the unknown, is given a unique opportunity to enjoy communion with God. The person begins to resort to prayer. Prayer is a conversation with God, food for the soul. A praying person prays not only individually, but also for their relatives and friends. There is a prayerful connection between people and thus there is a prayerful unity. Also, being in self-isolation, a person has a chance to pay attention to the arrangement of family life and household chores. Service to one's neighbor is already taking place here. A person is a social person, and cannot live only for himself. Each person among us has a unique chance to reach their potential by performing a spiritual feat – having the gift of communication and a sense of humor, we can comfort and sympathize with people who have a particularly hard time, who are on the verge of depression. With love, compassion, patience, and sacrifice, it is possible to overcome feelings of anxiety and emerging fears, because as the Bible teaches us- "in love there is no fear, but perfect love casts out fear" (1In 4:18).

Let's look at the past and learn about the epidemics that changed the course of human history, taking into account only positive features.

One of the first epidemics that befell humanity was the "Antonine plague" (named after the ruling dynasty, III century). Also called the "assassin of Empire". It led to a decrease in the population of the Roman Empire, destroying part of Roman society: the aristocracy was weakened, the ranks of the once powerful Roman army were significantly thinned. Due to the decrease in population, the raids of barbarian tribes increased. This epidemic was the result of contacts between the civilizations of Rome and India; the same epidemic broke out in parallel in China, which was the result of contacts between the civilizations of India and China. The horror of this epidemic and widespread panic led to a weakening of faith in the old gods. Against this background, there was a natural spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire and Buddhism in China. Thus, in response to the global epidemic, there has been a strengthening of religiosity in two major regions of the world.

The next epidemic that befell humanity is The "Justinian plague", which occurred during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (VI century). It is generally believed that this was the first recorded bubonic plague pandemic in history. Vast territories in the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and North Africa became deserted. Against the background of the weakened epidemic of Byzantium and Persia, the Arab state began to strengthen: the scattered pagan tribes of the Arabs were United by the Islamic faith – the new world religion.

The second bubonic plague pandemic occurred in the XIV century and was called the "Black death". It played a significant role in the process of emancipation of the peasants, contributed to the strengthening of trade and the growth of cities, the growth of the value of labor, the rise of science and the development of medicine. The term "dark ages" was soon replaced by the Renaissance.

Smallpox in Europe, Russia and North America in the XVIII century. After the end of the plague epidemics in Europe, smallpox became the main disease. Her centers have become large cities. In North America, smallpox caused a mass extinction of the Indians. This allowed Europeans to begin settling Canada (XVIII century), and then the Wild West (XIX century).

Nineteenth-century cholera in India, Europe, Russia, and North America. In the 19th century, cholera spread around the world from its original reservoir in the Ganges river Delta in India. Cholera transmission is closely linked to the lack of adequate access to clean water and sanitation. From this point on, a new approach appears — social hygiene. There were sanitary doctors, sanitary inspection. The first measures are being taken to protect public health. The foundations of national health systems are beginning to be laid. Personal hygiene is becoming the norm, and vaccinations are being created and introduced for the population.

So, as we can see, even in such situations, you can find the good side. An epidemic, any tragic event is a test of humanity, so we are required to be a little kinder, not indifferent to each other. We could personally observe a very sad picture at the very beginning of the epidemic, when people showed their far from the most human qualities, creating a panic, sweeping away the contents of the shelves in supermarkets and shopping centers; speculating on the sale of masks and antiseptics, trying to get their own benefits, completely forgetting about others.

Our native Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country. Unity, peace, friendship, harmony are the main signs of our state. I would like to remind you about the events of the last century, when our Kazakhstan became a shelter for many deported peoples and exiles for their faith, for political reasons. Our people welcomed these people with open arms. I want to give an example of one story that happened in our country, and I will even say more – in our Aktobe region. Theodosius Nikiforovich Mogilevsky, now glorified in the face of saints as St. Nicholas of Kazakhstan, the one whose name is the Cathedral in our city, was exiled to our city, and three months later to Shalkar. Here, in the winter, he was thrown out of the car in light clothes and left to die. People were afraid to help the prisoner, fearing prosecution by the authorities. He was saved by a Mullah who picked him up, took him to the hospital, then took him to his home and cared for him. When Nicholas became Metropolitan of Kazakhstan, he made his first trip to Shalkar, bowed at the feet and thanked the Mullah who saved him. At the request of the Mullah, an Orthodox parish was opened in a small task, where the Saint could serve.

All these tragic events of the last century that took place in the Kazakh steppe showed our people a good side. Friendliness, hospitality, and readiness to always help have become the hallmark of our people. Remembering the lessons of the past-we will move into a bright future!

Mosena M., the Orthodox theologian KSU "Ansar»