A ship capable of surviving an impending flood. God gave Noah precise instructions on how to build the ark and equip it for a long voyage, and what its dimensions should be (Gen.).

By the time work began on the construction of the ark, Noah was 500 years old and already had three sons. After the construction of the ark, before the flood, Noah was 600 years old. The time from the announcement of the flood by God until the completion of the construction of the ark, according to theological interpretations of Gen. , was 120 years.

When the work was completed, Noah was ordered to go into the ark with his family and take with him two from each type of unclean animal and seven from each type of clean animal living on the earth (Gen.). Noah fulfilled the instructions (in some translations, the animals themselves entered the ark), and when the doors of the ark closed, the waters fell to the ground. The flood lasted 40 days and nights, and “all flesh that moved upon the earth” perished, leaving only Noah and his companions. The water stood so high that all the high mountains were covered with it. After 150 days, the water began to subside, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark landed on the Ararat Mountains (meaning the mountain range). However, only the first day of the tenth month did the mountain peaks appear. Noah waited another 40 days (Gen.), after which he released a raven, which, not finding dry land, returned back each time. Then Noah released the dove three times (with intervals of seven days). The first time the dove also returned empty-handed, the second time it brought a fresh olive leaf in its beak, which meant that the surface of the earth had appeared (Gen.). The third time the dove did not return. Then Noah was able to leave the ship, and his descendants repopulated the earth.

Coming out of the ark, Noah made sacrifices, and God promised to restore the order of things and never again destroy the human race through a flood. As a sign of this promise, a rainbow shone in the heavens - God’s covenant with people (Gen.). God blessed Noah, his descendants and everything on earth.

According to the hypothesis of V.V. Emelyanov (in an article in 1997), the dilapidated line 255 mentioned a woman whom the gods give as a wife to Ziusudra [ ] .

The Tale of Atrahasis

The Legend of Utnapishtim

The original account of the flood in the Babylonian version was found during the excavations of the famous library of Ashurbanipal by Ormuzd Rassam, a Chaldean Christian and former diplomat who was excavating at Nineveh for the British Museum in London. George Smith was able to read and translate the found tablets. More precisely, Smith managed to find the beginning of the epic story of Gilgamesh, who, in search of the herb of immortality, goes to the ends of the earth to the only person who survived the ancient flood - Utnapishtim. Here the narrative breaks off, but Smith went to the hill of Nimrud, which hid ancient Nineveh, and discovered the missing part of the text there - in total, as many as 384 tablets.

The story of the flood as told in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Plate XI, lines 9-199, where Utnapishtim tells it to Gilgamesh) was probably originally an independent poem, later included in its entirety in the epic. The name Utnapishtim is the Akkadian equivalent of the Sumerian name Ziusudra ("Finder of the life of long days").

The story begins with the fact that at a meeting of all the gods it was decided to destroy humanity. The reasons for this decision are not mentioned. One of the initiators of the flood - the god Enlil - took the word from each of the other gods that they would not warn people. God Ninigiku (Ea) decided to save his favorite and devoted man - the ruler of the city of Shuruppak on the banks of the Euphrates River - Utnapishtim, whom the epic calls “possessing the greatest wisdom.” In order not to break the oath, Ninigiku-Ea informs Utnapishtim during sleep that he must build a ship and prepare for his own salvation. Ninigiku-Ea also advises Utnapishtim to answer those who question him about the reasons for the unexpected construction, so that they will not guess anything (he says that he is going to leave the country).

Following the instructions of Ninigiku-Ea, Utnapishtim orders the townspeople to build a ship (the drawing is drawn by Utnapishtim himself) - a square structure with a flat bottom with an area of ​​three acres, six decks, high (one hundred and twenty cubits) sides and a roof. When the ship was ready, Utnapishtim loaded onto it his property, family and relatives, various craftsmen to preserve knowledge and technology, livestock, animals and birds. The doors of the ship were tarred on the outside.

Loaded it with everything I had
I loaded it with all the silver I had,
I loaded it with everything I had, gold,
I loaded it with everything that I had as a living creature,
I brought my whole family and my family onto the ship.
I raised the cattle of the steppe, the animals of the steppe, all the masters.

The wind raged for six days and six nights and covered the entire earth with a flood without a trace (the earth here is identified with the plain of Sumer). On the seventh day the water calmed down and Utnapishtim was able to go onto the deck. All humanity by that time had been destroyed and “became clay.” Then the ship landed on a small island - the top of Mount Nitsir. On the seventh day of the stay, Utnapishtim released a dove and it returned. Then he released a swallow, but it also flew back. And only the raven found dry land that appeared from the water and stayed on it.

Then Utnapishtim left the ship and made sacrifices to the gods. " The deities flocked like flies to the smell of sacrifices." and started quarreling among themselves. Ellil is angry that the people were saved. Ishtar says that the azure stone on her neck will always remind her of the days of the flood. After a quarrel, the gods convinced Enlil that he was wrong, and he blessed Utnapishtim and his wife and, giving immortality, settled him far from people in an inaccessible place at the source of the rivers (apparently the Tigris and Euphrates) [ ] .

Berossus's story

The Babylonian legend of the flood was known to European scientists for a long time thanks to its presentation by the “Chaldean” historian Berossus (3rd century BC), who wrote in Greek. The work of Berossus itself has not survived, but his story was retold by the Greek scientist Alexander Polyhistor, who, in turn, is quoted by the Byzantine author George Syncellus. Thus, this version may have been distorted and probably bears the imprint of Greek influence.

According to Berossus, the god (whom he calls Cronus or Cronus) appeared in a dream to (Xisutru), the tenth king of Babylonia, and said that the gods had decided to destroy the human race and the great flood would begin on the 15th day of the month Decia (8 months according to the Macedonian calendar). Therefore, Xisutrus was ordered to write the history of the world and, for safety, bury it in the city of Sippar, and, having built a huge ship, sufficient to accommodate the king's family, his friends and relatives, as well as domestic birds and four-legged animals, and, when everything was ready, set sail " to the gods,” but first of all, “pray for the sending of good to people.”

The king carried out the order, building an ark five furlongs long and two furlongs wide. It is unclear from the surviving passages how many days the flood lasted. When the water began to subside, Xisutrus released several birds one after another. But, not finding food or shelter anywhere, the birds returned to the ship. A few days later, Xisuthrus released the birds again, and they returned to the ship with traces of clay on their feet. The third time he released them, and they never returned to the ship. Then Xisutrus realized that the land had emerged from the water, and, moving apart several boards on the side of the ship, he looked out and saw the shore. Then he directed the ship towards land and landed on a mountain (called Armenia) along with his wife, daughter and helmsman. Having landed on the deserted land, Xisutrus paid homage to the land, built an altar and made a sacrifice to the gods. Berossus clarifies that Xisutrus, his wife, daughters and the helmsman were the first to leave the ship and were sent to the gods. The rest of the companions never saw them again, a heavenly voice announced to them that for their piety Xisutrus and his family joined the host of the gods. According to this version, humanity descended from the companions of Xisuthrus who returned to Sippar.

Possible date of the Flood according to the Sumerian King List

Origin of biblical history

Comparative analysis of literary sources

Legends about the Flood are found among dozens of peoples around the world. However, the biblical story of Noah reveals special similarities with the legends of other Middle Eastern peoples. The oldest dated cuneiform Babylonian flood tablet dates back to c. 1637 BC e. and thus appears to be significantly older than the biblical version. Fragments of a Sumerian poem were also found, which apparently influenced the creation of the Babylonian work (the tablet dates back to the 18th century BC). The Sumerian legend itself is very ancient; its final literary processing dates back to the III dynasty of Ur.

The opinions of researchers about the origin of the biblical story can be divided into three groups:

The difference between biblical history and ancient Mesopotamian history

The external similarity with the narrative of the Book of Genesis is obvious: in both texts we are talking about the destruction of all humanity in the waters of the Flood, about the salvation of one man and his family, about the fact that he takes animals with him into the ship, sends birds on reconnaissance, and, leaving the ship , makes sacrifices.

However, of much greater importance are those differences that escape attention during a cursory acquaintance. According to Soncino, the Babylonian epic is not based on any moral and ethical standards. Everything that happens is described in it as the result of a whim or a game of deities. However, S. N. Kramer notes that already in the Sumerian legend Ziusudra “appears as a pious and God-fearing king, guided in all his affairs by the instructions received from the gods in dreams and predictions.”

From a traditional point of view, the Bible reveals how the Creator controls the world, emphasizing that nothing in the world happens by chance. The Lord sends a Flood to the earth only because man himself perverts his ways on earth, “filling” it with robbery, violence and debauchery. Here, although in a hidden form, is the idea that responsibility for the state of society is shared by everyone who, voluntarily or unwittingly, accepted its norms and did not express protest. Noah is saved not because of the whim of the deity and not because he “possesses the greatest wisdom” (which does not exclude the possibility of doing evil and bringing grief to others), but because he is a righteous man, that is, striving for good. God saves Noah not so that he could be blissful forever, but so that he and his descendants become the foundation of a renewed humanity. According to J. Weinberg, in the Pentateuch “the Flood is depicted as a test by which and in the process of which the transformation of antediluvian pre-humanity into post-flood true humanity is completed.”

The moral and ethical force inherent in the biblical story of the Flood is also recognized by researchers from the school of “Biblical criticism”:

“The Bible's account of the Flood contains hidden power that can influence the consciousness of all mankind. There is no doubt that when recording the story of the Flood, this was precisely the goal: to teach people moral behavior. No other description of the Flood that we find in sources outside the Bible is in this regard completely similar to the story given in it.”

A. Jeremias

“The Babylonian text about the Flood seemed to be specially composed so that the superiority of Israel's idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe One God would become even more clear and distinct. For its part, the Bible crosses out all those descriptions of the Flood that were known to the ancient world before it: their repulsive images lose any meaning.”

Analysis and dating of the Flood story

According to traditional Jewish biblical chronology, the Flood began on the 17th day of the second month (that is, Cheshvan) in 1656 from the Creation of the world (2104 BC) (Gen.), and God commanded Noah to leave the Ark on the dry land that appeared on the 27th of Cheshvan 1657 from the Creation of the world (2103 BC) (Gen.).

The date of the beginning of the global flood is calculated according to the words from chapter 5 of the book of Genesis, which gives the genealogy along the line of Seth, the 3rd son of Adam.

1. Adam lived [ 130 ] years and begat Seth (Gen. 5:3)
2. Seth lived [105] years and begat Enos (Gen. 5:6)
3. Enosh lived [90] years and begat Cainan (Gen. 5:9)
4. Cainan lived [70] years and begat Maleleel (Gen. 5:12)
5. Malaleel lived [ 65 ] years and begat Jared (Gen. 5:15)
6. Jared lived [ 162 ] years and begat Enoch (Gen. 5:18)
7. Enoch lived [65] years and begat Methuselah (Gen. 5:21)
8. Methuselah lived [ 187 ] years and begat Lamech (Gen. 5:25)
9. Lamech lived [ 182 ] years and Noah was born to him (Gen. 5:28)
10. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water occurred on the earth (Gen. 7:6)

Creation of Adam [ 0 ] + Adam [ 130 ] + Seth [ 105 ] + Enosh [ 90 ] + Cainan [ 70 ] + Mahleleel [ 65 ] + Jared [ 162 ] + Enoch [ 65 ] + Methuselah [ 187 ] + Lamech [ 182 ] + Noah [600] = 1656

"Biblical Criticism"

For these versions, it is noteworthy not only that they differ, but also that facts that are in principle the same in both versions are still mentioned twice, for example:

• It is twice reported that Noah had three sons - Shem, Ham, Japheth: in Gen. and Gen.
• It is reported twice that God sees that there is great evil on earth: in Gen. the name Yahweh is named, in Gen. - Elohim
• twice God turns to Noah and shows him salvation in the ark: in Gen. the name Elohim is given, and in Gen. - Yahweh
• The formula “and he did as God commanded him” is repeated twice: Gen. and Gen.
• Twice it is described how Noah, along with his family and animals, enter the ark: Gen. and Gen.
• Noah is described twice leaving the ark: Gen. and Gen.

In addition, when reading the biblical story of the Flood, a number of contradictions are striking:

Apologetics

• The assumption of a mechanical combination of two sources using different names of God is very doubtful. The name Elohim, used in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, also appears in the second and third chapters 20 times along with the Tetragrammaton (a four-letter name). "Biblical critics" resolve this problem by explaining it as the work of an "editor" or "editors."

• The contradiction in the instructions given to Noah is also not difficult to explain. In Noah he is commanded to take two of each type of animal into the ark, while in the next chapter he is commanded to take a pair of unclean animals and seven pairs of clean ones.

• The conclusions of the school of “biblical criticism” look even more dubious when considering the Babylonian version of the account of the Flood, which generally coincides with biblical history. There are a number of correspondences between the information given in the Babylonian text and a number of information attributed to source P: for example, the exact instructions how the ark should be built, the fact that it stopped on a mountain, etc. There are also several characteristic matches of the Babylonian text with those passages in Genesis attributed to Source J. For example, sending the bird, building an altar, and offering sacrifices. The mere coincidence of the Babylonian text with those texts attributed to sources P and J can be considered strong evidence of the integrity of the biblical text telling about the Flood [ ] .

Greek mythology

According to the most common Greek version, there were three floods: Ogigov, Deucalion, Dardan (in that order). According to Servius, there were two of them, according to Ister, four, according to Plato, many [ ] .

Ogigov's flood

The Ogygian flood occurred during the reign of Ogyg, one of the mythical Theban kings and founder of Eleusis. As a result of the flood, Attica was devastated and its policies were destroyed: a period of anarchy began, which lasted about two hundred years and ended only with the accession of Cecrops. According to Sextus Julius Africanus, a 3rd century Christian historiographer. n. e., the time of Ogigov's flood correlates with the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

Deucalion flood

The Deucalian flood was caused by the wickedness of Lycaon and his sons, who offered human sacrifices to Zeus. Zeus decided to destroy the sinful human generation in a flood. Prometheus' son Deucalion escaped with his wife Pyrrha in an ark built according to his father's instructions. On the ninth day of the flood, the ark stopped on Mount Parnassus or one of the peaks of the Ophrian range in Thessaly.

Having descended to earth, they went to the sanctuary of the Titanide Thetis near the Kephissus River, where they offered a prayer for the revival of the human race. Thetis answered them: “Cover your heads and throw the bones of your foremother over your head!” - since Deucalion and Pyrrha had different mothers, they considered that the “bones of the foremother” were stones - the bones of Gaia. They began to collect stones and throw them over their heads; men appeared from the stones thrown by Deucalion, and women appeared from the stones thrown by Pyrrha.

However, Zeus did not achieve his goal: in addition to Deucalion, the inhabitants of the city of Parnassus, founded by the son of Poseidon Parnassus, who invented the art of prediction, were also saved. They were awakened by the howling of a wolf and followed the wolves to the top of Mount Parnassus, where they waited out the flood. Some of them then moved to Arcadia and continued the Lycaon sacrifices there.

Dardan's flood

Dardan's flood (named after the mythological Dardan, son of Zeus) is also mentioned in Greek legends about Troy.

It was also reported by Diodorus Siculus.

Hindu mythology

Chinese mythology

Anna Birrell identifies 4 traditions of describing the causes of the flood and its elimination, associated with: the goddess Nuwa (contained only in the Huainanzi); with the image of Gong Gong (English) Russian(“Huainanzi”, “Guanzi”, “Guo Yu”); with images of Gunya (English) Russian(“Questions to Heaven”, etc.) and Yu the Great (the most common version. Birrell advocates a separate interpretation of the myths about Gun and Yu, despite the fact that they are traditionally depicted as father and son).

Bashkir mythology

Scientific research results

§ 104. There is another opinion against the rise of mountains from the bottom of the sea and the raising of shells with them, for which writers are not from the rabble of the learned society, attributing this effect solely to Noah’s flood; however, even this is easily destroyed by important arguments. 1) That the rising sea water cannot raise the shells to the top for the sake of their greater burden, and art itself shows that they never rise to the shores with the tide, which in many places rises no more quietly, as the water had to rise, producing the drowning described under Noah, which can be easily calculated. It is known that in the world known to earth-describers there is no mountain that rises up to one mile perpendicularly to the top, higher than the equilibrium of the sea surface. And so let’s assume that in forty days the water rose by 3,500 fathoms; then it will be 4 fathoms per hour. Such a speed occurs in many places, where during the equinoctial new moons and full moons in narrow places it flows at the greatest speed; for although the stay lasts six hours; however, it is very quiet from the beginning to the end; and the most powerful effect and a lot happens for two hours, raising the water to 6 and 7 fathoms. 2) The flooding water under Noah descended in heavy rain: therefore, merging from the heights, it rushed towards the shells and did not allow them up the mountain. 3) It is also impossible to believe that the skull-skinned animals crawled onto the mountains during 150 days, since the water stood above the ground because the movement of these animals is very inert; In addition, large shells always search for depths. Finally 4) nature is disgusted that they would climb the mountains to look for an unknown settlement and food, leaving natural ones.

Scientific hypotheses

The story of the global flood is common among many peoples living tens of thousands of kilometers from each other. Reconstructions of the absolute age of the flood provide a roughly similar data set from 8 to 10 thousand years ago. At the same time, from paleogeographic data, it is known that the last glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere (Laurentide Ice Sheet in North America) disappeared from 8 to 10 thousand years ago.

In particular, Ryan and Pitman associate the rise in the water level of the Black Sea by 140 meters around 5500 BC with the Great Flood. e. (See Black Sea Flood Theory). They established (based on the analysis of flooded coastlines and the distribution of layers of sedimentary rocks) that at this time the sea level rose by tens of meters from −50 to 0 meters (in the modern absolute coordinate system), one of the consequences of which was the formation of the Bosphorus Strait and an increase the area of ​​the Black Sea is almost 1.5 times. The effect of such flooding of large coastal areas could, according to researchers, play a role in the emergence and global spread of the flood story.
Deep sea explorer R. Ballard believes that he has found confirmation of the hypothesis of Ryan and Pitman - with the help of underwater robots, he examined sunken settlements off the coast of northern Turkey and data analysis showed that the flooding was sudden and the dating of this event, according to Ballard, is close to the biblical

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'

with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Russian Union of Rectors, the Russian Council of School Olympiads, the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church,

Presidential Grants Fund

Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University

Olympiad “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture. “Holy Rus', keep the Orthodox Faith!”

School tour,VClass, 2017-2018 academic year

The work was completed by ________________________________________________ Class __________

Time to complete the work: 45 minutes

EXERCISE 1.Choose the correct answer:

What is the name of the action in which a person is given the grace of the Holy Spirit in a special, secret way?

Order of rites

Sacrament

What is the name of the cross depicted on the flag of the Russian Navy?

Alexandrovsky

Andreevsky

Vladimirsky

Georgievsky

Which of the following holidays is not the Twelfth?

Annunciation

Epiphany

1. Nativity

What was the name of the Old Testament righteous man with whom the story of the Flood is connected?

On what day of the week is Easter always celebrated?

Resurrection

1. Monday

How many twelve holidays are there in the Orthodox calendar?

Twelve

1. Eleven

   Fourteen

From Greek this word is translated as “books”:

2. Gospel

A beautiful cathedral was built in Crimea in memory of the Russian deceased Emperor Alexander II. The temple had two altars: the lower altar was consecrated in the name of the Holy Martyr. Artemia, on whose memorial day, October 20, Emperor Alexander III died, and the top one is in honor of the patron saint of both emperors. What temple are we talking about?

Vladimir Cathedral (Chersonese Tauride)

Petro-Paul Cathedral (Simferopol)

Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky (Yalta)

Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Foros)

What is the name of the day before Christmas?

1. Day of Prayer

   Christmas Eve

What feature distinguishes Orthodox churches from all other architectural structures?

There is always a cross at the top

At the entrance to the temple there is always the Star of Bethlehem above the door

The structure of the temple is always cubic in shape

The temple is always surrounded by a fence

TASK 2.
2.1. Read a fragment of text from Sofia Kulomzina’s book “Sacred History in Stories for Children.” Answer the questions.

“A large crowd of people gathered around John. He told them that it was not enough to see themselves as God's people, whom God especially loved. You need to live as God commands.

What do we do? - people asked. And John taught them that they must leave all bad deeds, repent of the evil they have done, they must be kind and sympathetic, share everything that God has sent with others, not offend anyone, not demand anything extra for themselves... To confirm that they really want to cleanse themselves of everything bad, people were baptized: they entered the water of the Jordan River, washed themselves with it, and John prayed to God.

When John was asked: “Are you the Savior for whom we are waiting?” - he answered:

No, I am not Christ. I baptize you in water, but there is Someone standing among you whom you do not know. The one coming after me is stronger than me.

The day after John was asked “Who is he?”, he suddenly saw Jesus Christ among the people crowded on the banks of the Jordan.

He immediately recognized Him, and when Jesus Christ wanted to be baptized, John began to refuse. He said:

I baptize people so that they will regret all the bad things they have done. It is I who must be baptized by You, and not You by me. I dare not even untie the strap of Your shoes.

But Jesus said:

We are called to do everything according to the truth of God.

And John obeyed and baptized Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ came out of the water, John saw that from the open sky the Holy Spirit, like a dove, descended on Him. And he heard the voice of God:

You are My Son, whom I love, in whom I am well pleased...

On that day, the revelation of the Holy Trinity truly occurred: God the Father spoke from heaven about His Son, who was baptized in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. That is why the day when we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord (January 19th according to the new style) is called Epiphany. On this day, water is blessed in all churches of God. And we bring home the holy “Epiphany” water, keep it at home, drink it with prayer to God, and it helps with all ailments.”

2.2. Which of the following icons is an icon of the holiday being described?

Answer: __________

TASK 3.

Read poems by two Russian poets. Answer the questions.

What Orthodox prayer formed the basis of the poem by A.S. Pushkin?

____________________________________________________________________________________

Who left this prayer for people?

____________________________________________________________________________________

Who does Alexei Tolstoy write about in his poem?

____________________________________________________________________________________

What logical connection is present in the two poems given?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

TASK 4.(Historical portrait)

Here are facts from the lives of two famous historical figures. Based on the facts given, determine who we are talking about. For each fact, indicate which person it applies to.

The Flood is, first of all, a biblical story, described in the first of the books and the entire Bible. However, there are legends or stories about the global flood in a number of mythological and religious texts of various peoples of the world.

In this article we will look at Biblical Flood or, as it is often called, Noah’s Flood, because it is a key figure in the events associated in the Bible with the Great Flood.

According to the Book of Genesis, the Flood is God's punishment for the sinfulness of mankind.

And the Lord said: I will destroy from the face of the earth man whom I have created, from man to beast, and the creeping thing and the bird of the air I will destroy, for I have repented that I created them. (Book of Genesis. Chapter 6)

The flood is God's way of destroying sin in man. God left only Noah and his family alive, commanding Noah to build an ark in which Noah and his family, as well as a couple of different animals and birds, hid. We will not dwell in detail on the history of the construction of the ark and its voyage, since there is already an article about this on the site that you can read -. Let's talk in more detail about the Flood, its symbolism and possible scientific interpretation.

Flood in the Bible.

As we have already said, the biblical story of the Flood is told in the book of Genesis.

The Great Flood is a monstrous catastrophe in biblical history, the consequence of which was the flooding of the entire planet and the death of almost all living things. During the flood, water increased not only due to the continuous rain for 40 days, but also due to the discovery of giant underground springs.

God's plan included perfection and universal harmony. Everything changed after. Evil and sin have settled on Earth. The first result was something committed by his blood brother out of jealousy. Some lived according to God, others lived in sin. Over time, there were so many sinners and unbelievers that the Lord decided to cleanse the Earth by sending the Great Flood.

All are open “springs of the abyss”, and opened “windows of heaven.” It was raining. unprecedented strength, and he walked for 40 days. Water oozed from the depths of the Earth for 150 days. After this, the water began to decrease. It took seven months for the peak of Ararat to emerge from the water. Noah came out of the ark and built an altar to the Lord and made a sacrifice. The Lord, seeing Noah’s grateful heart, decided never to repeat the Flood again.

... I will no longer curse the earth for man, because the thought of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will no longer smite every living thing, as I have done. (Genesis chapter 8)

Flood in the Apocrypha.

In addition to the canonical books of the Bible, the story of the Flood can be found in, for example, in (chapter 5), as well as in the Book of Enoch. In general, the apocryphal stories about the Great Flood do not contradict the canonical text of the Book of Genesis, but the cause of the flood in the apocrypha is the relationship of angels with women, which led to the emergence of magic and witchcraft, as well as to a general decline in morals.

The Flood divided biblical history into two eras: antediluvian and post-flood times.

The origins of the biblical story of the Great Flood.

The biblical story of the Great Flood has its source - the Assyrian myth of Gilgamesh, which is preserved on clay tablets. These tales, written in cuneiform, date back to the 21st century. BC e. the story tells of the miraculous rescue of the Assyrian Utnapishta with all his belongings and animals in the ark during the Flood. On the seventh day of the voyage, the ark of Utnapishta stopped, clinging to the top of Mount Nitsir.

The biblical story differs significantly from the legend of the salvation of Utnapishta only in the duration of the flood: according to the Bible, the flood lasted almost a year, and according to Assyrian sources - seven days.

The description of the construction of the ark, as well as the method of determining the water level with the help of birds, coincide. Utnapishty released a dove and a swallow, and Noah released a raven and a dove. The amazing similarity between the Assyrian and biblical narratives seems even more wonderful if we mention that sometimes these versions are absolutely identical in expression. The Assyrian story of the Flood reduces the flood to a small and plausible size - the flood lasts seven days, the water does not cover the top of Mount Nitzir (its height is about 400 meters).

But is the Assyrian legend the ultimate source? No. Archaeologists often refer to the land of Mesopotamia as a “big layer cake.” Civilizations replaced one another here. The Assyrians, who conquered the valley of the two rivers, were a very young nation compared to the Babylonians, who lived in this territory long before the arrival of the Assyrians. The Assyrians, of course, borrowed the story of Gilgamesh from the more ancient inhabitants of the Tigris and Euphrates valley - the Babylonians. After a number of Sumerian monuments were found in the 20th century, it became clear that the story of the flood migrated to the Babylonians from an even more ancient people - Sumerians. However, here we will not find the end point of our journey to the source of the story about the Flood.

Leonard Woolley, the famous archaeologist and researcher, while excavating Ur, discovered that the Sumerian culture was preceded by another, even more ancient one, it is called El Obeid culture named after the hill where traces of it were first found. Among other valuables, the people of the El Obeid period passed on to the Sumerians the story of the Flood.

The Sumerians were very ancient nomads who, having come from outside, adopted the achievements of a sedentary people. An analysis of the words of the Ubaid language that have come down to us shows that it has much in common with the language of the Dravidians living in South India. The Dravidian peoples also have a legend about the global flood.

Was there a Flood? Scientific point of view.

The story of the Flood described in the Bible has analogues among different peoples, far from the Old Testament ideas. This suggests that such a cataclysm took place and its consequences were indeed severe, since legends about the Great Flood were preserved in the memory of the peoples of all continents of the Earth.

Today, scientists reject the version that in the times described by the Bible there really was a World Sweat. A large number of legends, including the biblical one, most likely describe various disasters associated with water and flooding, which occurred at different time periods and were of a local nature.

Thus, the Great Flood is most likely a huge number of local disasters in different regions, to which residents of the affected areas attributed a global nature. The probable causes of local sweats were:

• tsunami due to earthquakes or meteorite falls,
• rise in water level for one reason or another,
• water breakthroughs from closed reservoirs due to karst processes,
• typhoons.

What are we dealing with when we talk about the Biblical Flood?

Questions about the flood worried the Austrian geologist E. Suess, who studied the biblical text, as well as the primary source of the biblical legend - the Assyrian myth of Gilgamesh, and concluded that Noah's Flood was nothing more than a devastating flood of the Mesopotamian lowland in the lower reaches of the Euphrates. E. Suess considered the main cause of the Biblical Flood to be a tsunami formed as a result of a strong earthquake in the Persian Gulf. Scientists who followed Suess found that the probable cause of Noah's Flood was not a tsunami - tsunamis of such force are not typical for this region, but a devastating flood that occurred as a result of prolonged downpours and strong winds blowing against the flow of rivers. Similar floods have been observed more than once in the Bengal region. The water level during such floods quickly rose by 16 meters. Hundreds of thousands of people died. Probably a similar flood 4000-5000 years ago was described in the Bible as the Great Flood.

There is, however, another opinion among scientists, according to which the Flood took place precisely in the form of a global catastrophe, when the Black Sea ceased to be closed. Due to a powerful earthquake, the water level rose by 140 meters, the Black Sea connected with the Mediterranean, causing flooding of vast regions and the death of a huge number of people.

Flood time

When was the Great Flood? At what year? The Bible contains enough chronological information to answer these questions. Genesis very accurately records the genealogy from the creation of the first man, Adam, to the birth of Noah. The flood, according to biblical tradition, began

in the six hundredth year of Noah's life (Genesis, chapter 7).

If we take 537 BC as our starting point. e., when the remnant of the Jews left Babylon and returned to their homeland, then by subtracting the periods of the reign of the judges and kings of Israel, as well as the years of life of the post-flood patriarchs indicated in the Old Testament, we get that the Great Flood occurred in 2370 BC. uh.

It should be remembered that the biblical story was borrowed from the Assyrians. An Assyrian legend describes a natural disaster that occurred around in 5500 BC.

There are also alternative versions. Based on the chronological system of the English Archbishop Usher, the flood can be dated 2349 BC e. According to the Septuagint chronological data, the Flood occurred in 3213 BC e.

Information for the site was provided by OPK teacher Ekaterina Petrovna Saltunova

Participation of 4 B in a school tour

10th All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren

According to the Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture (OPC)

It has already become traditional for elementary school graduates to participate in this Olympiad in September. The guys just started studying this course, but they coped with the tasks with dignity. Everyone received a certificate for participation, and the winners received diplomas of varying degrees.

OPK teacher Ekaterina Petrovna Saltunova will help students understand all the issues that will arise in these lessons. I would like parents to also take an active part in studying this course. We hope that the guys will become kinder to others, more responsive and tolerant of each other.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'

with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Russian Union of Rectors, the Russian Council of School Olympiads, the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church,

Presidential Grants Fund

Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University

Olympiad “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture.“Holy Rus', keep the Orthodox Faith!”

School tour,IVClass,2017-2018 academic year

The work was completed by ________________________________________________ Class __________

Time to complete the work: 45 minutes

EXERCISE 1. Choose the correct answer:

1. What is the name of the action in which a person is given the grace of the Holy Spirit in a special, secret way?

A. Rite

B. Order of rites

B. Sacrament

G. Ritual

2. What is the name of the cross depicted on the flag of the Russian Navy?

A. Alexandrovsky

B. Andreevsky

V. Vladimirsky

G. Georgievsky

3. Which of the following holidays is not the Twelfth?

A. Annunciation

B. Epiphany

V. Pokrov

G. Nativity

4. What was the name of the Old Testament righteous man with whom the story of the Flood is connected?

A. Abraham

B. David

V. Jacob

G. Noah

5. On what day of the week is Easter always celebrated?

A. Resurrection

B. Tuesday

On Monday

G. Wednesday

6. How many twelve holidays are there in the Orthodox calendar?

A. Twelve

B. Ten

At eleven

G. Fourteen

7. From Greek this word is translated as “books”:

A. Angel

B. Apostle

B. Bible

G. Gospel

8. A beautiful cathedral was built in Crimea in memory of the deceased Russian Emperor Alexander II. The upper altar of this temple is consecrated in the name of the patron saint of Emperor Alexander II . What temple are we talking about?

A. Vladimir Cathedral (Chersonese Tauride)

B. Petro-Paul Cathedral (Simferopol)

IN. Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky (Yalta)

G. Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Foros)

9. What is the name of the day before Christmas?

A. Akathist

B. Day of Prayer

V. Canon

G. Christmas Eve

10. What feature distinguishes Orthodox churches from all other architectural structures?

A. There is always a cross at the top

B. At the entrance to the temple there is always the Star of Bethlehem above the door

IN. The structure of the temple is always cubic in shape

G. The temple is always surrounded by a fence

TASK 2.

2.1. Read the text about the great Russian saint. Answer the questions.

Monasticism in Russia revealed many amazing saints, whom the Lord glorified with great miracles. One of these holy monks was St. Seraphim of Sarov. He was born into the pious family of the merchant Isidor Moshnin on the night of July 20, 1754. At baptism the boy was given the name Prokhor. When Prokhor was three years old, the head of the family died. Prokhor lost his father, and his mother Agafya lost her beloved husband. But, despite all the grief, Agafya found the strength not only to raise her son, but also to continue the work of her husband: the construction of the Church of God in Kursk.

A great miracle happened in the life of seven-year-old Prokhor. The boy climbed the bell tower of a temple under construction and fell down. His mother rushed to her son and found him completely unharmed. Even then Agafya realized that the Lord was protecting his chosen one, and that an amazing fate awaited Prokhor. Prokhor studied well, but his heart was not earthly. Time passed, and when Prokhor turned seventeen years old, he asked his mother for a blessing to go to a monastery. His mother blessed him with a large copper cross(stamp No. _____), which Prokhor carried on his chest with faith and trepidation for the rest of his life.

Prokhor worked a lot in the monastery and prayed a lot. He took monastic vows, in which he was given the name Seraphim. And the Lord gave him the ability to help people: to heal, to guide them on the true path. Before you begin your ministry, the monk prayed for 1000 days and 1000 nights, standing on a stone(stamp No. _____). After this feat of prayer, the elder began to help people. And so great was his love for every person that even today believers affectionately call this saint simply “father.” The saint performed many miracles during his earthly life. Father Seraphim greeted everyone who came to him for help with the words: “My joy, Christ is risen!”

2.2. Examine the icon of the saint. In the very center there is an image of the saint, and around there are scenes from his life (each scene is depicted on a separate stamp). Find among the plots those that are highlighted in the text. In the text, indicate the number of the stamp on which each plot is reflected.

TASK 3.

Russian literature is filled with Orthodox spiritual values. Read poems by two Russian poets. Answer the questions.

TASK 4. (Historical portrait)

Here are facts from the lives of two famous historical figures. Based on the facts given, determine who we are talking about. For each fact, indicate which person it applies to.