However, they are no longer there, for what did our Lord Jesus Christ do when He descended into Hades? He freed all of the righteous. Likewise, he released all of the sinners who while yet alive on earth had repented of their sins, had served the One God, and had striven to come to Him. The Lord took them away as well, because they had believed on Him and had come unto Him.

After the Lord destroyed the gates of Hades, it became possible to leave Hades, and those who wanted to, availed themselves of the opportunity. It was those who had sought after God during their life on earth that wanted to; if one had not sought after God in life, he could in no wise want to leave Hades, for after death, there is no repentance.

The possibility of leaving Hades was granted those who had accepted Holy Baptism. This is the basis for the remarkable and mystical rite observed each Pentecost, when during the second prayer, directed to Christ the Savior, we appeal on behalf of the souls that are in Hades, in the hope that they might be shown mercy and help, to provide them some relief from their condition. Hades was, after all, devastated, and Satan was deprived of his power. Today he is in Hades. Before, he was not there. You have to know that before, Satan would come to Hades in order to mock its prisoners; but in no way did he live there. Satan's authority was in another place. It was in the air, which is why he is called the prince of the realm of the air. It is very important for us to know that. Why? Because for practical reasons, it is extremely dangerous for us to hold an idea that demons live in Hades .

According to the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Hades is so structured that ordinarily people's souls were right next to those of their ancestors, all the way to the patriarch of the Chosen People. Thus, all of the ancestors of the first peoples lay as if in coffins. These were rational souls, possessed of consciousness, but incapable of changing anything. They lay in coffins, and around them lay their descendants. By the way, this is what gave rise to the idea of a cult of ancestor worship. This gave rise to the idea that in that world, where you were buried and with whom you were buried, was very important. It was such ideas that gave rise to the attitude towards cemeteries held by Russian people, and not just by Russians, but by other peoples on this earth, attitudes toward certain special places as somehow tied to what happens beyond the grave. There were links, but those links were in the past. Now it makes absolutely no difference to one's soul where his body was laid to rest. Even if the human body is cremated, if the person himself did not want that done, there would be absolutely no sin imputed to him, and the damage to the body would not damage the soul. Did burning the Holy Martyrs inflict damage on them in any way? No. You see? It is very important to remember this, because sometimes people do not understand it properly.

For all of us, in many ways the earth upon which we live is a place to which we have a heart-felt attachment. As the Lord said, "For where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also." (Matthew 6: 21). And a person can be very intimately attached to the earth. One loves the earth, loves some things done on the earth, loves some earthly things. For the soul, none of these things pass away for no reason. The more a person loves the earth, the more attached to it he becomes, the more difficult it is for him to part from it. We will talk about about what happens when a person dies, about his fate and the nature of dying for the a soul. Where do we go when we leave the body? From the body, we go not into Hades, but into the air, and thus the question arises: Who lives there? This is something we need to clearly understand.

Above

Above the earth is the kingdom of Satan. Above the earth is the realm of the spirits beneath the heavens, a place where the devil rules. Sacred Scripture speaks frankly about this, calling it "spiritual wickedness in high places..." (. 6, 12); "the prince of the realm of the air" reigns in this kingdom near the earth. What is this tied to? According to an ancient text based on the readings of the Prophet Ezekiel, a cherub named Lucifer, then still faithful to God, was originally assigned as Guardian Angel of the planet earth (Ezekiel 28: 13-16). According to God's plan, the earth was be the heartland of Creation. Lucifer was the first of the Angels, and accordingly authority to rule over the heart of material Creation ws entrusted to the highest of the Angels. It is precisely related to this is that when the rebellious cherub revolted against God, and when man supported him in that rebellion, he was able to establish his own dark kingdom above the earth and below the heavens. It is dark in the sense that it appears to be in darkness, for within it there is no Divine light. Any of the most unclean places on earth seem like oases of cleanliness in comparison to the uncleanness of the kingdom above the earth, but upon observation the place often appears to be filled with a false light, for, as the Apostle Paul says, "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (II Corinthians 11: 14). He is also capable of appearing to people in other forms, but they are all unreal and changeable, as if some kind of mask that he assumes. Moreover, he shines with a certain light all his own - the light of Lucifer. This is the light seen by practitioners of the occult, sorcerers, and magicians. And they name the devil's dwelling place quite clearly: They call it the astral, from the word "astrum," or star. That is, the skies, the airy realm. The place is also called the cosmos. This does not refer to the material cosmos, which is obedient to the Creator, but rather to that aggregate of people and angels who live according to the laws of evil. It is over them that Satan rules. Therefore, when people talk about cosmic intelligence, they are talking about Satan. If you are invited to partake of cosmic intelligence, you must understand that you are being invited to personally tie yourself to Lucifer, and under no circumstances to God. The Heavens to this day are obedient to God, and are occupied by good, blessed spirits.