Единство Церкви и Всемирная конференция христианства

The pre-revolutionary years were a time not only of war, but also of lively contacts and discussions between the Russian Orthodox Church and non-Orthodox denominations. In 1913, meetings of the commission for the preparation of the World Conference on Faith and Church Organization began in New York. In 1914–1918, members of the commission actively corresponded with hierarchs and learned lay theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church. Opinions are divided regarding the possibility of connecting with non-Orthodox people. The strictest position on this issue was taken by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kharkov and Archimandrite Hilarion (Troitsky). “Archbishop Anthony, invited to the ecumenical conference, stated that outside the Orthodox Church there is no grace, that even the correct faith (even if it is completely Orthodox) does not save. Only staying in the Church saves. However, he expressed a sincere desire to take part in the conference and believed that the Orthodox delegation should begin a theological dialogue with the conference... The position of Archbishop Anthony was supported by Archimandrite Hilarion Troitsky” 250. On January 18 (old style) 1917, on the day of remembrance of the zealous fighters for the Church of Christ, Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria, Archimandrite Hilarion finishes his “letter to Mr. Robert Gardiner, secretary of the commission for organizing a world conference of Christianity” 251. This is a response to Robert Gardiner's letters of 1916 with an analysis of his statements from letters addressed to Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky). Despite the relatively small volume of work, it most clearly expressed the deep and clear mind of our theologian, who was able to substantiate his point of view on the issue of unifying Christians in a concise, multifaceted, clear and convincing manner. The author is not at all an opponent of the “idea of ​​a world conference of Christianity.” He declares “his full sympathy and his prayerful goodwill for the projected conference” 252. But he sees the main goals of this conference not in achieving the illusion of non-existent unity, but, first of all, in achieving the understanding that “the Christian Church is not a philosophical or theological school,” but “a new humanity, a new grace-filled organism of love. She is the Body of Christ" 253 . The connections between the parts of this Body cannot be preserved spiritually during external separation. The unity of the Church is so unconditional, obvious and all-encompassing that any deviation from it by those who have separated of their own free will unconditionally places them outside the church body, and if in this case we can talk about some kind of relationship to the Church, then only in the sense of more or less easy conditions for returning and joining it. If we think differently, if we consider that one can be saved equally or with varying degrees of ease in different communities calling themselves the Church of Christ, but blaspheming each other and accusing each other of schism or heresy, and sometimes physically destroying each other for the faith, then “what was the meaning of all the exhortations to obedience, to submission to the hierarchy, to visible unity with church society, with which all ancient church writing, starting with the epistles, had apostolic and continuing with the epistles of Clement of Rome and Ignatius the God-Bearer? 254 “Indeed, why should I avoid church rebellion, schism and even heresy, if falling away from the Church... does not threaten me with anything special?” 255 The testimonies of the holy fathers, church canons, church history in the letter of Archimandrite Hilarion, as if “with one mouth and one heart,” tell us about one truth: outside the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church there is neither salvation nor grace-filled sacraments, including baptism. This dogma is unchangeable and unshakable, but the practice of the Church in accepting those who have departed from it is included in the area of ​​ecclesiastical economy and can be changed for the sake of church benefit, or rather, to facilitate the bringing of the lost to salvation. The power of the Church extends to filling with ecclesiastical, that is, grace-filled content, actions committed outside its boundaries and devoid of grace, thereby turning them into sacraments. The Holy Fathers speak about this, professing the unconditional difference of the Church from other communities. This is evidenced by the church canons, which did not establish firm, immutable laws for the joining of non-Orthodox people, but legitimized certain forms of accepting various kinds of apostates into the Church, guided not only by the degree of damage to their doctrine and rituals, but also by external circumstances. This is also evidenced by the history of the Church, during which members of the same denominations at different times were accepted into the Church, either through baptism, then through confirmation, or through repentance, depending on the ideas prevailing in each era. It should be noted that Archimandrite Hilarion’s broad and thorough argumentation in support of his vision of the dogma of the Church has not lost its significance today. Orthodoxy and ecumenism: Documents and materials, 1902–1998. – M.: MIPT Publishing House, 1999. P. 26. Hilarion (Troitsky), archimandrite. Unity of the Church and the World Conference of Christianity // Sam. There is no Christianity without the Church. P. 54.