The Distinction between the concepts of Sadness and Depression in Ascetic Theology

Abstract

The study aims to determine the criterion by which such terms of ascetic theology as «sadness» and «despondency» differ. To do this, the author solves a number of tasks to compare these phenomena, namely, to clarify the features of sadness and despondency, their relationship to each other, ways to deal with them, and the virtues opposite to them. The study comes to the conclusion about the independence of each of these sinful passions, which differ from each other in their orientation: sadness always has a specific object of aspiration of spiritual forces; despondency is pointless, it is characterized by aversion to everything and a general decline in strength. It follows from this conclusion that despondency is not always a more severe form of sadness, but has its own weakened forms of origin, which should not leave the field of view of the ascetic.