Лекция пятая. Введение в нравственное богословие

At the beginning of each science, preliminary concepts about it are needed; it is necessary to view the science from various angles. By this, students are introduced, as it were, into the middle of it, into a circle, and become more capable of further understanding it. The Holy Scriptures do not name our science (Moral Theology) as a science. There they adopted a method opposite to earthly wisdom, one might say, a method of some holy violence. There you need to look not for the name, but for the strength and spirit, of which there is a lot in it. The first name that can be taken for our science from the Holy Scriptures is “the way of God” (Ps. 119:1). What do we mean by path here? Image of activity. This metaphor is taken from the external man. When a person walks, it means that he is acting; and when he lies or sits, it means that he is not acting. David asked God to lead him into a pattern of activity in accordance with His will, calling such activity the way of God. Why doesn't he go this route himself? A person does not have the strength to take this path; he is lame, even motionless; it is necessary for God Himself to take him by the hand and put him on this path. “The way of God...” Therefore, there are other ways: there are human ways. Some people have the path of ambition, others have the path of voluptuousness, others have the path of greed, and so on. There are also the paths of the devil, which a person sometimes falls into. There are people who take carnal pleasure as the beginning of activity. For example, all of Asia suffers from this disease. Some take arrogance as the beginning of activity, which for them extends precisely to the heights of the devil; they say: “I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven... and I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:13–14). David asks the Lord to guide him on His path, on the path that the Lord Himself walks. And indeed, Christian activity is the very one by which God acts: this is the advantage of Christians; They have the same law of activity as God: honor is incomparable! From the same law of activity must come the same divine fruits—bliss. In the New Testament, the expression “the way of God” is repeated from the lips of the Pharisee, who says to Jesus Christ: “We know you as a teacher, and teach the way of God in truth” (Matthew 22:16). So, the first name of our science is the way; therefore, one must walk along it - act with the mind, feelings, bodily members, with the whole being, and not lie and sit in inaction. In the world of God, everything acts, nothing stands in one place, everything strives towards its goal: all the more so does a person need to be active. We will not find any other path that can lead to the Kingdom of Heaven except the path of God for all eternity. The second name for practical theology is the knowledge of the saints (see Proverbs 30:3), because only the saints have this knowledge. Only the one who has this connection has knowledge of the way of God or the image of man’s union with God; To have this knowledge, you must have the deed itself. And in human affairs some things cannot be known without experiencing them; all the more so can and should be the case in spiritual matters. He who has not experienced the effects of grace will not understand them, no matter how you describe them; and what a person feels, he knows without explanation. Saints do not know much of what sinful people know; and vice versa, sinners do not know much of the state of the righteous: “This is what the man says to those who believe in God, and I rest: for I am the foolishest of all men, and the understanding of man is not in me: God teach me wisdom, and the understanding of the saints is understood” (Prov. 30:1-3). The third name is immaculate conscience. The Apostle Paul, defending himself before the hegemon, says: I try to have a blameless conscience “always... before God and men” (Acts 24:16). This is an example of every person, what he should be. Here the types of commandments are shown - “before God and men” - and the goal is to have a “clear conscience”, and not just an external form of piety, consisting in observing certain external deeds; “before God”: for there is nothing to appear before God with a bad conscience; “before people”: the apostle wants people to see in him purity of heart. In front of people, due to his rank and circumstances, he sometimes needed to appear stern, not loving. And good people sometimes behave in relation to others, apparently not as they should, saying at the same time that God sees their heart. But we are placed in society; It is necessary that others not be tempted by us, but see in us a good example and have no reason to condemn us. Sometimes people may have certain secrets that only the Heavenly Father knows; Everyone may sometimes have a precious pearl, which, having found, he does not show to anyone, but even in this case one must appear not to be ashamed in front of others. Our secret thoughts are also open to God, but people do not see our heart; from there there is often a reason for wrong opinions and gossip: we need people to see everything that is ours. However, it is not always possible to be blameless: people often interpret the best actions in the worst possible way. “If you keep the royal law, according to the Scripture: you shall love your own sincerity as you love yourself, and do good” (James 2:8). The Apostle here gave rules for how the rich should treat the poor; he had to root out the root of partiality in this matter. If you are in the matter of religion, he says, you want to act according to the royal law given by God, the Heavenly King, the common Father; then you should not act as you do now. The words of the apostle express the subject of our science and the essence of Christian morality - “love.” In ordinary affairs, “royal law” means the most important, indispensable law (Among the Greeks, βασιλιχος was used in a superior sense: for example, there is nothing more graceful than virtue - ωδεν βασιλιχωτερον αρετης. They sometimes called the mind μερος βασιλιχωτερον ). Many people spend their entire lives collecting and interpreting the laws of the kings of the earth; all the more so we need to take up Divine laws: this is the jurisprudence by which Angels and people are judged. “And wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubt, without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). It is believed that the Epistle of James was written to the Church of Antioch. There was a malady among the Antiochians, which consisted in the fact that many strived to be teachers: a natural malady for Christians of the primal Church. Then it was necessary to spread the faith: the apostles and their collaborators were engaged in this work. But of the other capable Christians, everyone wanted to be a teacher. The apostles did not suppress this hunt, they even stirred it up. But many rushed to do this without a higher title, even without an internal testimony of conscience, but out of arrogance and selfishness; and therefore the Apostle Paul in some of his epistles complains about such teachers. Teachers, of course, are needed, but everyone cannot be a teacher. This matter requires a certain kind of sinlessness; and who has it? The Apostle James attacks especially the tongue; Probably, some of the teachers fell into errors of language, reproached each other and did not teach the doctrine purely. Regarding this, the apostle, at the end of the chapter, depicts the ideal of human wisdom - Divine wisdom, so that teachers, in accordance with this ideal, can see whether they are approaching wisdom or moving away from it. He who teaches and wants to teach others must have a recommendation of deeds: let him show meekness and prudence. And a private person needs to have meekness; and even more so to the teacher: otherwise envy, strife, and abuse will immediately occur. One, for example, will convert more to Christ, and the other less; one will convert the richer and more important people, and the other the poor and humble; in the soul of the first, pride and contempt for the second can be born, and in the heart of the second, bitter envy. A famous teacher could say: I preach better, more purely, I know the apostles personally; but he preaches uncleanly and does not personally know the apostles, has not been to Jerusalem, and the like. Human wisdom is earthly wisdom in its origin. Our thoughts are born from the soul: the soul feeds either on what is above or on what is below it - feelings, thoughts; This is where wisdom comes from. If it were possible to trace human wisdom, it would be revealed that it all consists of earthly objects; its first earthly embryos; it earthens everything, drags everything down. The gift of teaching others is lofty, and this work is heavenly work; but human wisdom also makes this activity earthly, presupposes its own calculations in it: it preaches more for rich and famous people, and not so much preaches Christ as itself. Such wisdom is earthly in its purpose, for everything bows to the earth and time, it has earthly life, earthly pleasures. It is spiritual, because it dwells in the soul, and not in the spirit, it lives in syllogisms or, even more so, in sophisms; it does not reach eternal objects lying in the depths of the spirit; she rises to heaven only as a spy, and not in order to live there forever: she looks into the heavenly world through the glass of imagination. And spiritual wisdom, truly Christian, is from above. If you take the simplest Christian, you can immediately see that he lives in the invisible - in God: he is a practical metaphysician; he lives in the highest realm of thoughts, beliefs and hopes. His determination to live according to the example of Jesus Christ lifts him above all earthly things. On the contrary, the unhappy enslavement of oneself to earthly things overshadows the most sublime eternal truths: the realm of the spirit for such people is closed, and they become pitiful empiricists and unbelievers. They walk the ladder of knowledge not up, but down. Their aesthetic sense is not elevated or enlightened, but grows dull and stops at low and coarse objects. The apostle calls this same wisdom “demonic”: it happens like this at extreme degrees of decline. She is “demonic” (James 3:15) in her original origin. In God, knowledge and action are one and the same; and in spirits and in people it was the same at first. The devil was the first to discover this destructive duality, this division between knowledge and action: his business is to know the truth and not to fulfill it, to have light and to be cold. The devil conveyed such wisdom to man, and its unnaturalness immediately became noticeable. She is “demonic” by her real origin: the devil does not sleep even now; he constantly incites people to evil, and wants to lure them into his networks. When you begin to form your mind, then, if things go properly, you will reach the formation of your heart; The devil tries to ensure that the enlightenment of the mind is harmless to him, and therefore he splits the mind in acquiring wisdom. And if a person feels such a stop, then he must certainly suspect the devil. In some it is even obvious that such wisdom originates from the devil. In the writings and in the lives of some people, passions breathe complete hell; some pages were written directly at the inspiration of the spirit of malice: such are the works of some Frenchmen. It is “demonic” even at the end, for it leads to the same place where wisdom and the devil led. No matter how much such sages decorate their actions, their main beginning is immediately visible - selfishness and disobedience to the will of God; and this is the center of gravity by which the world of the devil is held together. What is “wisdom from above” (James 3:17)? This wisdom is from God, from Jesus Christ, from the Holy Spirit, from the apostles. Are labor and science not involved in the acquisition of this wisdom? No, they are participating; We see this from the example of the Apostle Paul, who read books, from the example of the holy fathers, who had the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time used the means of earthly instruction; but despite all this, this wisdom is “from above.” Everything earthly is not enough to acquire it. What's in it from above? Is it just part of it, or all of it? On the one hand, it’s like a part, because part of it also depends on labor; and on the other hand, everything is from above, for the entire earthly part of it, if not imbued with the spirit from above, is insignificant. We see a hint of this in the physical world. For example, some chemical compositions will be nothing, despite all their diversity, if a ray of sunlight does not fall on them; the ray transforms them into one, makes them what they should be. And the wisdom descending from above can change everything earthly. Wisdom from above is first of all “pure” (αγνη) - unmixed: there is no admixture of impurity in it, either spiritual or carnal; but earthly wisdom is impure, heterogeneous, mixed: it judges, for example, about God, but means man, or something else lower; talks about eternity, but means temporary - glory, self-interest; outwardly jealous of the glory of God, but inwardly driven by his own ambition. Then, heavenly wisdom is “peaceful.” Without purity it is impossible to have peace; the earthly sage will not make peace for selfishness, for honor; everything is disconnected from him, and therefore he will not be meek. What is pure and unalloyed is more difficult to disturb; and consisting of heterogeneous particles, at the slightest vibration, everything suddenly comes into motion, into fermentation. In the acquisition of wisdom there must be purity of motive and purpose; and then the wise man will have peace within himself and with all others. On the contrary, disagreement is a sign of earthly wisdom. It is difficult for two philosophers, they say, to get along, because their wisdom is egoistic, and the property of egoism is to separate. Kant’s principle also suffers from this egoism: “Act in such a way that all others can act according to your example,” that is, always expand yourself - in every action. Heavenly wisdom has inner peace with God and conscience: it is protected by its inner integrity and unity. Earthly wisdom is ignited by friction. What dissimilar materials are mixed together in it! And highness, and lowness, or caressing, and fire, or a penchant for sensual pleasures, and together cold, ice, or insensitivity to the position of another. This is where the internal and external warfare comes from. Wisdom from above is “benevolently submissive”, capable, that is, not so much of dominating as being submissive: its character is humility, self-sacrifice; she is ready to give in to anyone, as long as it is not contrary to the law of God; and she forgets her benefits and benefits. Earthly wisdom loves its weaknesses and shortcomings: with two thoughts, completely equal, it prefers one over the other, even its own worst is ready to defend someone else’s better. “Fulfill mercy”: the sage from above is strict with himself, but merciful towards others; for he knows human nature well. He knows that a person often sins, being prompted to do so by the devil; therefore, he is ready to forgive more, uses as much severity as is necessary to admonish the brother who has sinned, so that, by easing, he does not allow temptation. “Fill with good fruits,” that is, all virtue. The truths of the heavenly sage do not remain only in the mind, but pass through the heart and are finally revealed in action. He receives heavenly food, and digests it into flesh and blood, and lives and acts by it. “Undoubted” (ου διαχριτιχη), not discriminating, that is, does not distinguish between persons, does not make partiality, but gives everyone their due; but she doesn’t mix up the faces either. He does not give more credit to a great person; he does not take away from a smart person what he should rightfully have. She does not at all look at persons before the law, in the seat of repentance, or in church instructions. Whether the king or the patriarch thinks wrong, she does not agree with him, rejects him; whether the last member of the Church teaches law, she agrees with him. “Unhypocritical”, that is, has no duality. Of course, she sometimes has a kind of secretness, if it is necessary for her; but in all other cases, it is open and public. This is the wisdom from above, and we should all strive for this wisdom. The apostle also calls the teaching of Christian morality “hidden in secret” wisdom (1 Cor. 2:7). We preach, he says, not the wisdom of this world, but “the wisdom of God hidden in mystery.” Why is this wisdom “hidden in secret” and from whom? The Apostle Paul says that when reading the Holy Scripture, a veil lies on the face of the Jews, preventing them from seeing its deep mysteries: the princes of the Jews, not comprehending it, rejected Divine wisdom. This wisdom is also hidden from the pagans. Christians had an apa scientia, which they did not open to all pagans, but only to those wishing to join Christianity. Nowadays this wisdom is hidden from those who are proud of their intelligence. It must be felt with the heart; Without this, she cannot be informed. 1 Tim. 3:8, 9. The Apostle Paul, outlining a model for bishops and deacons, says that they should be pure, important, glorious, dignified. Deacons used to be servants at meals; their job was also to distribute the Eucharist to homes; because of this, by easily entering different houses, they could become carriers, losing the importance of a servant of the Church: and therefore the Apostle commands that they should not be bilingual. Also, they must have been “not attentive to much guilt,” for they were welcomed everywhere and treated; “not filthy, but would have the sacrament of faith in a clear conscience.” The sacrament of faith is here called the Christian faith; because it is mysterious both in its origin, and in its image, and in its source. Deacons were the guardians of the faith and the theoretical; they could sometimes, in the absence of a bishop or presbyter, teach the people; but here they are required to have practical faith, consisting not in memory alone, not in words, but in the heart, in a clear conscience, for an unclean conscience cannot contain faith, just as a leaky vessel cannot contain liquid. Practical Christianity, since it is carried out in the soul, in life, contains a lot of mysterious things that are subject not to logic, but to feeling. 1 Tim. 4:7. “Deny with nasty, indecent, secular fables.” These fables were legends that allegedly passed down from Ezra and consisted of genealogies. Since the Jews valued their descent from Abraham too much, they therefore compiled large genealogical lists, showing who came from which patriarch, in what relation to the tribe of Judah, to David, and the like. The pagans also had their own fables about the zones. The apostle advises Timothy to withdraw from these evil fables. Your task, he says, is to exercise in piety, to strive. Exercise in piety is the external side of Christianity. The word γυμνασια is taken from the gymnastic exercises of the Greeks and Romans. In relation to these activities, the apostle shows the advantage of spiritual exploits over them. exercise the body, he says, for a small benefit, for a short time: this crown will soon wither. But your business is to exercise in piety; it can bring a comfortable state in this life, but in the future it can bring all the benefits. 2 Tim. 1:13. “Have sound words.” Have it, that is, keep it before your mental eyes. Christian theology is this image. Our science of this knowledge of God should be a model of all sciences. It should contain passages of Holy Scripture that speak about Christian morality and the life of holy men, which, when put together, provide an excellent model for action. “Sound words” - for words taken from Scripture can become unhealthy through misinterpretation. 2 Tim. 3:5. “Having the image of piety, but denying its power.” True piety consists in strength, in spirit; and the external - in some external pious actions. A true Christian would rather, being righteous, appear unrighteous; but the false one is a hypocrite, and being unrighteous, he will want to better appear righteous. In Christianity, there is one such form of activity - foolishness, and there is the opposite - hypocrisy. Heb. 5:12. The Apostle calls moral Christian teaching “the words of God.” The Apostle speaks to the Jews about Melchizedek as the image of Jesus Christ; but as if remembering that his listeners are still young and inexperienced in Christian teaching, he says: “about him there are many things to say and difficult things to say” (Heb. 5:11). “You are weak,” he tells his disciples, “by your years you should already be teachers of others, but, meanwhile, you yourself demand teachers for yourself: you need to be fed again with the first rudiments of the word of God. Heb. 5:14. Here Christian perfection is expressed, achieved by activity. "The perfect solid food". What is the hardness of food here - in Melchizedek? In the distance of this person from Jesus Christ - in the darkness of his history, just as this is noticed in other cases; hence some reject the transformations in the Old Testament. But whoever has “senses trained by long teaching” will see the strictest correspondence between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ; just as someone who has trained his sight to see in the distance can find similarities between apparently distant objects; but a nearsighted person can only distinguish objects that are somewhat distant, and cannot notice the similarities between them. External senses are now extremely improved; Spiritual feelings can be improved all the more; for example, the spiritual sense of touch can be developed in such a way that one light touch of an object to the spirit will make it possible to understand a lot. Spiritual hearing can easily notice shades of conscience or shamelessness in words, and the like. The soul has all the same feelings (actually, without metaphor) that the body has. There are so many names in the Holy Scriptures for our science: from them one can form the most complete concept of practical theology. Why is the science that sets out the rules of Christian activity called “theology”? After all, she means man, and not God? But by all rights it can be called theology. Firstly, it is compiled on the basis of the word of God, and the highest example of Christian activity is God; therefore, in terms of its subject matter, it can rightly be called theology. In this regard, we can apply to each person what the Savior said: “whatever... the Father does, these also the Son does likewise” (John 5:19), or “My Father works hitherto, and I do” (John 5:17). In the highest sense, these words go to Jesus Christ; but they can be learned by every son by grace. Secondly, the science of Christian activity can be called theology. and according to its very source: “God is the one who works in you both to will and to do” (Phil. 2:13). God acts in man; a person, according to his primary and secondary purpose, must be only an organ of Divine activity, imbued with it to the point of feeling not so much himself as God, in order to say: it is not I who act, but God through me. Practical theology is called “science” - “knowledge”; for it is the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, or the teaching taken from the Holy Scriptures: here the knowledge is the most solid and true. School sciences are called sciences because they have one main principle, which consists of concepts, of ideas formed in the mind. All of them are finally brought to faith in the mind: doubt the principles of the mind, then all sciences will lose their power. Here, in theology, faith in the Divine mind, Christ, is the source of all truths. If there is truth in our mind, then he did not create it himself, but brought it as a guide from where he himself came. And if earthly sages can say about something: “We know this”; much more so are the divine sages: nothing can shake their confidence. Philosophers constantly change their systems, they always undergo metamorphoses: but has a Christian sage ever changed his system? For him, everything is based on alpha and omega: “we are given,” says the apostle, “what has been given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12). Christian teaching has its own hidden things - secrets, and they cannot but exist; but what a Christian needs to know in this life is all sufficiently expressed in him. Socrates, just before his death, said: “perhaps”; and the apostles said: “To her and amen.” Our science is based on the fact that, according to the consciousness of everyone, there is the very truth. Our theology should primarily be an experimental science. It contains important practical truths; but no matter how much we engage in it, if we do not put it into practice, then we will not understand it. To many, this need may seem circumvented. Others will think that with good abilities, with long-term studies, and not conforming their lives to Christian teachings, they can study the rules of Christian morality, they can even point to some practical systems compiled by such people; but Scripture clearly says: whoever sins does not know God, but only he who wants to do it will understand the will of God (John 7:17). Indeed, to understand the importance, sweetness and beneficialness of Christian morality, this requires experience. The very property of the subject of science convinces us of this; This subject is rebirth, the appearance of a new man in the place of the old, union with Jesus Christ, revival by the Spirit of God. This internal, essential change in the soul cannot be subject to understanding: the seat of this is in the heart, in feeling. The essence of active Christianity is some inexpressible mystery. We cannot know how a person is reborn by the Spirit, when and how something new is conceived within him, opposite to his previous desires and actions. And if it is generally impossible to comprehend a moral change, then, looking at it from a higher point of view, it is even more impossible to comprehend it. Only he can know this who has experienced it personally and felt this change of spirit within himself. Life and light are inseparable here, and not so much from light is life, but from life is light, as it was at first: “in Him was life, and life was light by man” (John 1:4). God Himself acts here, and man only participates and receives a portion of his understanding. True understanding is only experienced. And in everyday matters, a physicist, for example, will tell you how to make a certain experiment; but force him to actually do the experiment, and he is often unable to do it, because he lacks active understanding; all the more so can this be in higher, spiritual matters. That theoretical understanding without practical understanding is useless is understandable, for we see that it only produces the collapse of the spirit. But what no science can give, life can give. Let us take, for example, the writings of the holy fathers: it is reliably known about some of them that they did not study in schools, but in their writings there is the deepest logic and psychology, a high exposition of practical truths. What made them such smart writers? Life and exercise in piety. And even what is essential in the school sciences, for example, the classification of abilities - and this is also in the works of the Church Fathers; clearly it didn't come from school. This means that from the Holy Spirit not only the essence of the matter was communicated to them, but even something in form. Our science is based on the words of Holy Scripture: this distinguishes it from moral philosophy; it is not a teaching only according to Scripture, but partly according to tradition, only the true one. To what extent - a lot or a little - traditions should be included in it is another matter - but they absolutely must. There are apostolic traditions, there are traditions of holy men. They are lower than the written word of God, but not far, for they are the same word of God, only not written. The essence of active Christianity is the same as the essence of life. Science must express what is in life; and life, in turn, must express what is in science. The essence of Christian life is rebirth. What do the words “rebirth”, “new creation” express in the Holy Scriptures? It is obvious that these metaphors only half express the essence of the matter. To express this matter in human language there is not and cannot be a proper word; because there is no business itself. Rebirth is accomplished only by the power of God - the grace of Jesus Christ; but the human mind, earthly virtue, cannot accomplish this. These metaphors only suggest that an important, significant change occurs in a person. A person almost always experiences changes in thoughts, desires, and feelings, but the change produced by Christianity is higher, deeper and further than all of them. Rebirth is compared to birth; but there is only one birth in life: all subsequent life is already the development of what is contained in birth, like a seed; it must be the beginning of all human actions. Further, from the metaphorical expression: “putting off the old man... and putting on the new” (Eph. 4:22, 24) - it is clear that an extraordinary change must happen to the regenerating person. Taking off one dress and putting on another means a lot: a person’s whole appearance will change; another was in rags and then suddenly became in purple. But in rebirth what is required is not the removal of clothes, not the removal of feelings, but the whole person: what will remain after that? Nothing! It is also required to put on the new man, and to put on not in parts, but completely: from the heart to the last hair; This change is transformative. The same idea is contained in the expression: “creation”, “creation”; The metaphor here is taken from the whole world, from its origin. When we ascend to the beginning of the world, we encounter being and non-being. But how can this be applied to a person? After all, man existed before rebirth; but the same one, having been born before, is reborn, the one who was put off before is clothed, the one who existed before is created; apparently, it seems to be less than birth, but in fact it is more. There is material for creating a new person, but it is the opposite. Let us agree that it is easier for a person to be born than to come to life, it is easier to put on a new dress than to make an old one new, it is easier to create a person than to recreate an already corrupted nature - especially when a person opposes this action of grace; meanwhile, for revival it is necessary to strive for the destruction of the old material: the old creation does not give room to the new creation. This change is the essence of our science and Christian life. A life of grace must form something harmonious, whole, diverse, numerous, which will manifest itself throughout eternity; but the beginning of it all must be here in regeneration. Let's compare this with the life of the body. The body is the center of life and the whole body. And in spiritual life there is a heart: revive it - and the whole body will be alive, an evil person will be good. And vice versa, if in a good person this outflow of the belly is blocked by something, then although he will apparently perform some virtues, he will remain evil for all eternity. From this it is clear what spiritual change consists of and where its seat is. The innermost beginning of life is unknown to us. We say: the mind has its own beginning, feeling has its own, will has its own; but they all must converge in something common, and indeed they do, only we cannot penetrate this focus, although it is subject to our definition, but in itself it is mysterious, unsteady in infinity. Some reflection of this is visible in the beginning of the actions of some people, however, in the beginning of evil - selfishness; this beginning also seems to be something limitless, it wants to subjugate everything: not only the human world, but also God’s. But where does it itself lie?.. Spiritual change penetrates into the very depths of our being, and here the place is not for our thoughts and strengths, but for the power of God. This change is called the “sacrament of faith” (1 Tim. 3:9) due to its depth; “faith”, and not the mind, for his eyes cannot reach and see this depth, not only control it. The Christian faith degrades the actions of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; these actions revive a person; man in himself has no meaning: he is only a list of the Divine; therefore, the restoration of man is the restoration of the image of God. Man should not be cut off from God, independent, as he is now, but should be an expression of the image of God - alive and free; now he does not see his prototype, he does not see his Father. A person must have independent freedom, but it must be imbued with the Spirit of God. This list must be cleansed, its features must be brightened, and from a dead list it must become a living copy. Ideas are the first reflections of this image, its foundation. But what is the image of God? He is a face. In God, His image is Jesus Christ - the image of the invisible God, the character, the imprint of His hypostasis. Man is also a certain character of the hypostasis of God, and also the son of God; consequently, man is a reflection of the same original image; Only Jesus Christ is the full and perfect image of God, and man, so to speak, is in miniature, or better: man was created in the image of Jesus Christ - He forms the basis of our being. We now have almost no such foundation; our mind, one might say, now rests on nothing: we now have the faintest reflections of the image of God. Consequently, the essence of our science should consist in instilling Jesus Christ in us, in reviving Him in us. We see this from the collection of many passages of Scripture, we also see from the experience of people who could say: Christ lives in me. At first we assume this infusion only by faith, then it begins to correspond somewhat to the sensations of the heart, and then to the concepts of the mind. This was the case before the fall, when man’s spiritual life did not consist in restoring what was worthwhile: even then this was also done mysteriously, although much was subject to the mind. For the union of Jesus Christ with man, of creation with the Creator, cannot all be brought to light. God could not show the creature its creations. This is the distinctive character of the Divine - an incommunicable property. Therefore our teaching must be spiritual; We should not be content with just an overview of human morality, systematic reasoning, but we should rise high, embrace what is final and essential in our soul. It can become this way only with the assistance of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God can be asked for and accepted by the striving of the mind and will united to Him; and if we pray to Him for this, we will feel His breath. But we must consider the Sacrament of Faith from the practical, experimental side; we must preserve it, be filled with it, although we cannot fully see the inner side of it, since this is the action of the Holy Spirit, Who tests the depths not only of man, but also of God. From many places of Scripture it is clear that the Holy Spirit gives part of this knowledge to the one in whom this mystery is accomplished. The Apocalypse says that the Holy Spirit gives the regenerate a new name, which only he who receives knows (Rev. 2:17). And this is because other people do not need to know this: they cannot use this knowledge usefully. However, there is also a side here that opens up a vast field for knowledge: these are various experiences and cases of spiritual life, the growth of the inner man, its preservation, and the like. There is more here than is human: God’s actions here seem to be subject to human arbitrariness. Christian activity must extend throughout life, and its final perfection is not here: the reason is clear. What does sixty or seventy years of earthly life mean for a being destined for eternity? No matter how quickly our abilities unfold, they cannot fully unfold in such a short time and with so many obstacles. The first years of infancy in relation to rationality and rules, in comparison with subsequent years, mean almost nothing, but they already contain the germ of humanity. It’s exactly the same in spiritual life. Real earthly life can be considered infancy in relation to it. The most experienced in spiritual life say about themselves that they only “have the firstfruits of the spirit” (Rom. 8:23): here everything is “in part”, according to the very meaning of this life. But there is another reason for this. A person does not always go forward, but sometimes he comes back, falls, gets sick, is healed and again receives new wounds, and all this needs to be rewarded: you need to cleanse yourself from the filth of sin, submit yourself to the will of God, fight with your mind, will, and body. And will we complain that our life has become an ascetic life? Moreover, having in mind such a high standard to which we are destined to achieve, are we not ashamed to complain? We say that the perfection of spiritual life does not exist here on earth, that here are only the beginnings of it. But if this life has already been conceived and is being formed in us, then its very beginnings are fuller than a thousand carnal lives. Let us remember the life of true Christians: how full of strength they are! Some of them at the beginning were the simplest, like Sergius of Radonezh, who entered the desert, into a circle of animals and trees. What is weaker and more unknown than him? But when spiritual life opened up in him, extraordinary strength also opened up. An uninhabited place becomes a city. Tsars come to an unknown man for a blessing, and in some way he decides the fate of the Russian Kingdom: the place where he once lived becomes a solid support for the Kingdom in troubled times. Take the Apostle Paul as an example. He says about himself: I do not look important: a person prone to illness, expelled from the fatherland; but he forms the world, and how many churches does he found? A poor man with a staff in his hand produces more than any Sesostris or Alexander the Great. And his strength is in the power of Christ, for only Christ can act as Paul acted. Despite many obstacles to this power, despite the very limitations of temporary life, this power has always been great: a person could not help but feel it. The life of Jesus Christ is the life in man of another being. The life of a similar being in us, if only it followed, cannot be insensible; much more so is the life of the source of life. It cannot be felt entirely, but it must dominate in us over other lives. In terms of its strength, it is the best evidence of itself. Lacking it, we demand proof of the Divinity of the Christian religion; but people filled with this life do not demand them. He who is filled with warmth does not need to prove that he is warm; When a person is healthy, a hundred doctors will not convince him that he is sick. Filled with this life, in confirmation of his faith in Jesus Christ, he will boldly go to death, and would go to it a thousand times if he could come to life so many times. The inner feeling of this life cannot be replaced by anything, but itself replaces everything. However, many, even while engaging in Christian activities, do not achieve such perfection: this is because they practice only a few virtues in a fragmentary manner. And such an activity is not bad; but since such people have not completely expelled the spirit of self-love from their souls and have not fully accepted the Spirit of God, they stop at this stage: their occupation is without a head, without life, without success. Everything about them is human; That’s why some come to the idea that rebirth in its essence is something less than what they say about it; but this is, of course, a mistake. True Christian life is precisely a harmonious, whole life, in which everything comes from one beginning and everything turns to one thing - the glory of God, although, it is true, there are sometimes dark spots in it, just as there are dislocations in a healthy body. And a fragmentary life is like life without a heart, like life with only some members of the body. The great work of revival is accomplished in the depths of the spirit, but it needs a receiver in which it can be expressed. This receiver is the human conscience. Conscience is to our life what the earth is to the root of a tree. On the other hand, this conscience is a mirror in which a person can see his whole life, see its rules, whether they are pure or not darkened. If the conscience grows rigid without being refreshed by tears of repentance, nor cultivated by temptations; the tree itself dries up—spiritual life weakens. Why does conscience have this effect? Because she is a free recipient of the will of God. If a person wants, then the Spirit of God continues His action; whether or not to reject the actions of the Spirit depends on conscience. On God's part, the most important thing is grace; and on the part of man - conscience, which always acts according to the will of God, without betraying Christ. If a person betrays Him, then the spiritual life in him by itself, as it were, disappears. However, non-malicious falls, coupled with strict repentance, do not expel the sacrament of faith from the heart, but only diminish it for a while. Our science has two more related sciences: mysticism and asceticism. And all Christian activity can be called mysticism and asceticism, for there is a lot of both in it. But Christian morality must be represented as an average between them. Mysticism delves into the inner actions of the Spirit of God on the human spirit, and into the relationship of the human spirit to God: it hovers in the depths of the spirit. It cannot be reduced to a strict science, but consists of observations and spiritual experiences. Christian activity cannot exist without mysticism, for its essence lies in the depths of the spirit. Asceticism stands on the opposite side, for it deals with the body, and the body is in opposition to the spirit in its coarseness, inertness, tangibility, materiality. The spirit requires revitalization, enlightenment; and the body - killing, curbing, fighting. This struggle is necessary for a Christian. Practical Christianity must borrow from mysticism and asceticism what is more common to them. Mysticism has a more general subject - spiritual experiences; and the subject of asceticism is more private. It should be noted that asceticism and mysticism in their pure form are sciences of high dignity, but when they go beyond the line, they are subject to censure, especially mysticism. Crossing the line, it becomes spiritual poetry; mystics fall into spiritual dreams; looking at everything through the magnifying glass of imagination, they set up for themselves a whole world of ideals, often ugly. Many mystic writers suffer from this disease. Nowadays, mysticism, unfortunately, has become a reproachful word: mystics are looked upon as dreamers, incapable of social life. Asceticism is also subject to many abuses. Asceticism, of course, is necessary, because the body opposes the spirit, but the main source of life is the spirit, the heart. Many sects forget this and expect everything from curbing the body, and therefore extend various strictures towards it too far, for example, fasting, which for them often ends in death or incurable illnesses. Labor stretched to the point of excess is also harmful. For example, on the Valaam Island, one ascetic, to aggravate his toil, decided to place himself on a rock and began to dig a cave there; but, being at a height, he somehow felt dizzy, fell into the abyss and hurt himself to death. Asceticism is hostile not only to luxury, but even to moderation; That’s why she became the subject of censure and reproach not only among secular people. Also: mysticism has as its subject the more active side of Christianity, and asceticism has the passive side. The beginning of Christian life is in God, and in the restoration and strengthening of its strength, man acts on his own, with the assistance, of course, of the power of God. In general, there are two actors in Christian activity: God and man. Where God is more active, man is only penetrated; and where more man acts, there grace is limited only to supervision. The Apostle Paul says: “And the souls are subject to the prophecy of the prophet” (1 Cor. 14:32). At the highest degree of development of spiritual life, the most actions are Divine, and the least human; although the person then acts fully, he feels that he has little activity of his own. Ascetics are engaged in material exploits, and therefore make life boring and bitter. Here a person acts more independently, and his activity is passive-productive. The author of our science is God. For the subject of active theology is active knowledge of God, human activity in the image of Divine activity. Who would begin to teach this activity if not God Himself? “God is not seen anywhere, the Only Begotten Son is in the bosom of the Father, He is the one who confesses” (John 1:18). Consequently, all the voices of earthly teachers are echoes of this eternal Word. And now we will repeat in our science only what the prophets, Jesus Christ and the apostles said in their time. And if the apostle says (Phil. 1:6) that “the one who begins a good work... will accomplish it”; then all the more we need to hope in God. This science is so important and necessary for people that, one might say, all three faces of the Divine reveal it to people, each in a way peculiar to it. God the Father instructs everyone to come to the Son. His Son is the model and source of wisdom, but people who have fallen into love do not come to Him, and therefore the Father Himself draws them to the Son. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.... Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned, that is, having understood and successfully learned the lesson of calling Him, will come to Me” (John. 6:44, 45), says Jesus Christ. Such involvement was especially necessary during the stay of Jesus Christ on earth, for He had to do a lot during the three years of His preaching; but it is still needed now. Without him, despite the fact that the Son of God is so good, no one would come to Him. It’s strange: why, it seems, call the hungry to food, and the thirsty to water? They will come themselves! But there is a disastrous reason in the human race why it does not come to Jesus Christ. Here is an edifying lesson for earthly mentors. And the voice of the Heavenly Father can only be heard in the air, without reaching the hearts of the listeners; and not everyone can do well in His school: what can earthly mentors have? The Son is also a Teacher: He taught, having appeared on earth in a visible way, and still teaches in a tangible way - through the writings of the apostles. Finally, the Holy Spirit also instructs people. After Jesus Christ, He became, as it were, the main, most active Teacher. In the Old Testament, the Father taught more. When the Son appeared, the Father’s teaching became, as it were, secondary. When the Son ascended to heaven and His living examples were taken there, the field of activity opened up for the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit of truth,” says Jesus Christ, “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The Apostle John says the same to believers: “you have the anointing of the Holy One and know all things... and do not demand, but who teaches you: but because the anointing itself teaches you about all things” (1 John 2:20, 27). This teaching is constant, spiritual. It is not limited by any age or condition. Anyone who wants to study can immediately come to this school: the condition for acceptance is one desire. Sometimes this teaching reaches the point of obvious miracles. When such leadership requires an open inner eye, but in carnal people it is closed, then God Himself, as it were, constantly incarnates and works miracles. Providence also used external means for teaching - the book of nature, the book of the human heart and the book of Revelation. In Revelation the entire doctrine of salvation is presented in a compendiose manner. For the Christian life, since it embraces the entire human race, is much more extensive than what is contained in the Holy Scriptures. The same is written in the books of nature and the human heart: the relationship of the creature to the Creator is written in them. Looking with an ordinary eye at nature and at the heart, they found in them, as it were, one half of the teaching about religion; but in fact here lies religious teaching, both theoretical and practical. This is clear from philosophical teaching. The morality of philosophers is not anti-Christian, but not Christian either. They do not, for example, have a doctrine of atonement. Doesn't this show that a third book, Revelations, is needed? But there were and are people who found more in these books - although in merged, diminished terms, they found the same thing as in the positive Revelation - they found the secret of the restoration of man and creation. If this seems dreamy to anyone, it is precisely because the basis of this is too deep, that Christianity in its internal and external nature is not clear; For a nearsighted person it is almost invisible, but it is there. The human race is restored by God from the abyss of the fall through Jesus Christ. Where is the basis for this restoration? In Divine nature, but partly in human nature. Divine nature is reflected in the external and internal world; therefore, the basis of restoration must be in external nature and in human internal nature. If there were no acceptability for rebirth in a person, then it would not have been given to him. Thus, at the basis, the three books of God's Revelation converge. Again: restoration is through Jesus Christ; and nature was created and maintained by Him. Man is created in His image, and is restored by His Original: the foundation must be visible in the list, however soiled it may be. And in the book of external nature the Restorer must be more or less visible. The essence of Christian Revelation presupposes damage in human nature, and hence in all nature, and traces of this damage are actually visible in external nature. But does it also show restoration through Jesus Christ? It is visible in parts: for example, the bad in people or nature can be restored, diseases can be driven away. Further: what is bad in nature can be reborn and improved through the mediation of another outsider; this is visible in the kingdom of animals and plants and sometimes reaches a certain miraculousness: thus, bitter things can become sweet, barren things can become fruitful. This quality in nature provides a person with a path to hope and shows the possibility of deliverance and restoration from evils. But is there not a hint in nature of its restoration through the intercessory death of Jesus Christ? Those who delve deeper into nature testify that this mystery is reflected in the great mirror of the world. How? Different reflections in different parts of nature. In the kingdom of minerals, through chemical decomposition, we find that the evil in itself becomes good (useful) through something else, and this other thing loses its appearance for this - it sacrifices life. In the plant kingdom, when they want to make a bad tree good, they cut off the good ones. We are now grafted into the Vine; but for this the Vine had to die. In the animal kingdom, the life of some continues through the death of others - through nutrition. The mystery of restoration in thunder and lightning is especially remarkable. Here, at first, there seems to be some kind of struggle, and then reconciliation follows: after the thunderclap there is an increase in rain; fire gives birth to water. In nature at this time there is a struggle between opposing forces; and then it all ends peacefully with a rainbow. The book of nature has a special relation to God the Father; books of Revelation - to God the Holy Spirit; and the book of the human heart is to God the Son. The purpose of teaching from these books is so that later there will be no need for teaching. Saint John says: “and you have the anointing..., and that... the anointing teaches you” while still on earth; and in heaven there will be no more need for external teaching. The purpose of this teaching is to reveal in the human heart the eternal Gospel that is contained in it. The goal of our knowledge should be God: for what else should we set as its goal? You can find many goals, but all of them will not be the last, they will all be low. A person sometimes sets himself as a goal, but this is out of ignorance; and having learned himself more, he will least of all set himself as the goal of this knowledge. A Christian may be the lowest in the judgment of the world, but in terms of the goal to which he strives, he is above all carnal people. Other goals are changeable, but the goal we envision is unchangeable. The relative end of our knowledge is the perfection of the saints; This is necessary for everyone, but especially for us, for we are not only obligated to be saints ourselves, but we are obligated to make others saints as well. Now this purpose seems unimportant to some, but how important it will seem in eternity! It is more important to form one saint than to create an entire physical world. The same thing that the apostle says about himself can be applied to us: “we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3:9). God appears to be a worker: we must help Him. Whoever feels this will not be burdened by poverty or straitened circumstances, but will be comforted by the fact that he is doing God’s work. Is it important for this to endure all disasters, and not just one? For those who believe in eternity, this field will seem desirable. We are usually carried away by everyday relationships; it costs a lot to break away from the benefits and seductions of the world; but once you have taken the opposite path, you need to decide to follow this path all your life. God will reward you for this, and how good it is to die after such a life! The subject of our science is the whole person - from the inside and outside. Other anthropological sciences stop at some parts of a person, but this science embraces the whole person: both his soul and his body; considers all his states: vigil and sleep, life and death; all ages, ranks, relationships, abilities. But its main subject is the great change produced in man by the Spirit of God; she is engaged in a new creation that surpasses all laws of nature. Some sciences are reproached for having their origins in the first man, but our science cannot be reproached for this: this is its most natural beginning. We begin with two Adams: the old and the new. Before the fall, human activity was different, different from the present, connected by the union of close communication between God and man; and after the fall she is bound by the union of restoration. But how, they will say, did such a noticeable difference occur from eating one apple? To this it must be said that one simple action can sometimes have countless and extraordinary consequences. For example, in some dreams a person may speak different languages; but one touch to him can bring him out of this state and deprive him of this ability. Before the fall, man’s relationship to God was the same as that of the Angels now: some subordination, but also some reciprocity; after the fall this could no longer be the case—the fulfillment of the law no longer existed. Humanity now fulfills the law only in one of its heads - Jesus Christ. We know that without faith in the Savior, human activity could not be a saving activity. But wouldn't it be simply a moral activity? You can, of course, come to this idea by reading the Old Testament books: they say little about the faith of the righteous. But that this highest principle of activity was still revealed to them - faith - the Apostle testifies to this; and anyone, carefully delving into the matter, can see that their activity was above simple morality. Natural morality alone would not have produced those wonderful phenomena that we see among the patriarchs. For example, in Abraham we see the only self-sacrifice. The egoist Kant himself could not fit it into his framework. Only by imagining Abraham animated by faith and seeing the day of the Redeemer, only then does his certain determination become understandable. The same is true in other cases. If the patriarchs did not show faith in words, they showed a lot of it in deeds. Natural morality cannot even understand and discuss their actions. But due to the differences in time, the internal development of this principle (faith) was expressed in different ways. Before the flood, it was expressed by the idea of ​​the omnipresence of God, “walking with God”: the beginning of activity appropriate to the infant state of man. The baby constantly looks at the mother supporting him; in her eyes, his rules. The patriarchs were, so to speak, led by God by the hand. He often showed them and instructed them. But this infantile state of the human race did not interfere with the depth of his knowledge; only the most secrets, the deepest truths were conveyed to them figuratively - under symbols. For example, the beginning of self-sacrifice, although it belongs to manhood, was also transmitted to Abraham, only in figurative form. Abraham had already matured and was an old child. Abraham owned wealth and had many subordinates; How, then, can we introduce him into the inner sanctuary of self-sacrifice, how can we convey to him this main principle of activity? But it was conveyed to him in a wise way. At first he endures various smaller hardships: Sarah’s barrenness, domestic strife, and finally, he is required to sacrifice Isaac, in whom everything was concentrated, in whom he had to sacrifice all his future offspring. And Joseph was given the secret of self-sacrifice to a significant degree: and his life on the cross, hard, made his image so perfect that he became the image of Jesus Christ. In general, the life of the patriarchs can be represented as if by paintings, in which various truths of morality are expressed: this is a gallery of moral paintings. During the law, internal activity took on an external permanent form in sacrifices and rituals. The ritual law contained instructions: how a person should prepare for purification; and the moral law, as the will of God, is set forth in the decalogue. In the Psalter, morality is presented in its entirety. This is an instrument that makes different sounds - everything. It sets out misfortunes, deprivations, repentance, justification, and many private relationships of a person. Therefore, it was the handbook of all Christian ascetics, and for us it serves as the main book during worship. Jesus Christ on the Cross spoke words from it. In the book of Ecclesiastes, morality is presented polemically; the same in the book of Job. Ecclesiastes presents a man who has experienced all vanity and then turns to piety. The story of every carnivore who finally turns to God is a repetition of the contents of Ecclesiastes. In the book of Job, the suffering Job represents the ideal of all humanity. Such an ideal should have been written by the Holy Spirit Himself, and it was written. In Proverbs and the Book of Wisdom, morality is depicted in small pictures and, in accordance with the spirit of the times, mysteriously. For the most part, they depict external activities and everyday relationships. In some cases, these images come close to images of human truth, but do not cross these boundaries. However, even these passages, when examined impartially, turn out to be clean. The thought in Proverbs may sometimes seem strange due to the very nature of the parable, but nevertheless it always remains pure and good. In the book of Song of Songs, morality is depicted mystically: it is an extremely elegant picture, consisting of seven separate pictures, which depict the relationship of grace to the heart. They began to consider it an ordinary painting, they got used to interpreting it in a secular, careless way, comparing it with Theocritus and so on; but the incident opened my eyes. Orientalists found that in the East it was the custom to depict spiritual love under the symbol of carnal love; and therefore critics were ashamed to reject its mystical meaning. In the prophets, moral activity is depicted very strongly from the political side. Before Moses, this activity did not take a very severe form; all its severity was expressed in the fact that the holy men, in accordance with their infant state, led a wandering life. But under Moses, when passions required the strongest curbing, morality began to prescribe the strictest rules, and ascetic life in the desert opened up. After this, when the spirit of the people calmed down after the capture of Palestine, a small part of the chosen ones represent examples of asceticism: these are the prophets from Samuel to John the Baptist. They strictly enslaved the body to the spirit, despised everything earthly, lived mostly in the mountains and dens, moved from one end of Palestine to the other, appearing as if from heaven. They form schools; and here the spirit of asceticism penetrates society. Elijah's disciple could not live luxuriously; John's disciple could not help but fast. Elisha, immediately upon being called to the prophetic ministry, kills oxen and goes to stand before God. Therefore, the prophets can be considered the ancestors of the ascetics of the New Testament. The life of these ascetics was born at Sinai, on the heights of Carmel, where its cradle was. At the end of the prophecies, five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the people of Israel were left without revelations from above, left to earthly leaders, as if to experience how they would put their teaching into action. At this time, moral activity developed in two opposite directions. The Essenes are especially remarkable. They were distinguished by strict morality; mysticism and asceticism were in force among them. The Essenes were the descendants of prophets and forerunners of Christian hermits. Reading the description of their lives from Joseph, Philo, and Greek and Roman writers, one cannot help but admire many of their good things. They already expressed through experience much of what was later required in the Gospels. That is why, despite the large number of their sect, there is not a word against them in the denunciations of Jesus Christ. It can be said to their praise that they spent their lives in silence. Among the Pharisees, activity deviated into appearance, into churchliness. The Law of Moses was already extensive and detailed, and they further spread its traditions with innovations, and yet the essential eluded them. Wanting to do more than what was needed, they did not do what God required. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. Thus, the positive law obliged us to love everyone and help everyone, especially parents, but a Pharisee with a calm conscience could see his father tormented by hunger and not help him; meanwhile, he imposed on himself an arbitrary vow or gift to the church; he says to his father: “whatever you would use from me,” I intend to give to the church (Mark 7:11); and thought that he was pleasing God with this. Or about oaths they thought that some could be broken, but others could not; or - swearing by the church and the sky meant less to them than by gold and so on. This is because the gold belonged to them, and therefore it was necessary to raise its price; and the church belonged to God, and its humiliation could be without harm to them. Jesus Christ set out the rules of activity in the highest possible way, but not quite perfectly (this must be firmly remembered). It would seem that Jesus Christ had to say everything; but He Himself says: “The imam has many more things to say to you...” (John 16:12). And indeed, He spoke little about the Cross and self-sacrifice, because for the apostles, who were still looking for thrones and crowns, it was too early. But the Holy Spirit, through the apostles, definitively proclaimed the rules of morality. Jesus Christ outlined its essence. He talks about the activity of God in man, about rebirth, and about the activity of man in relation to God. He also expressed the negative principle of morality (self-sacrifice), although not in detail. He talks about the Cross, about the destruction of his soul. Jesus Christ often took materials for His teaching from external nature, which means that the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven are indicated in this mirror of the universe. For He took materials from here not only to explain simple duties, but also to reveal the secrets of the Kingdom. And we need to turn to nature. In the apostolic epistles, morality is set out definitively, although not without mysticism; for they speak, for example, of the entry of Jesus Christ into human hearts; There is also an ascetic side in them - the fight against the flesh; external asceticism. They set out rules for all ages and conditions, however, something is left to the arbitrariness of those who strive. Therefore, it is not surprising if in the lives of some saints and in their writings we find something that is not in the Holy Books, and that (we dare say) seems to be above the apostolic instructions. This is because the apostles set out morality without detail, without refinement; and in the heart it means there is more than what is in the Holy Scriptures. The presentation of Christian activity was carried out by many who only felt its importance; and the library for reading of this kind is very rich. From the times of the Apostolic Church we do not have many moral teachers. The Epistle of Barnabas is a copy of some of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul. Some moral rules, in imitation of Paul, are set forth in him under the cover of allegories from the Old Testament. The main idea of ​​this message is that faith must be combined with good deeds, that the morality prescribed in the Old Testament is indecent for Christianity. In the letter of Clement of Rome there are quite practical truths regarding love and unanimity, for it was written to the Corinthians, who had a lot of enmity and disagreement. In the messages of Ignatius the God-Bearer there are quite practical instructions regarding firmness in faith, contempt for everything worldly, and the benefits of a speedy transition to God. These epistles are remarkable in that they are the first echoes of humanity: the Apostolic Epistles were directly Divine. Close to these Epistles is also the entire practical epistle of Justin the Martyr to Zena and Serena, proposing rules regarding Christian asceticism, regarding pious meetings, relations with the pagans, commanding the victory of the good - love - over the evil. The main rule in it is the following: for a Christian it is not enough to live the way other people live - by nature, at least purified: this is only a worldly virtue; the Christian must be exalted above all desires. Clement of Alexandria embraces Christian activity from the mystical side, and he represented all of Christianity from the ideal and universal side. He also has an ascetic side in the Stromata; He also has an essay entitled “Mentor.” Tertullian was more of an apologist; but later he wrote a lot about morality, and inadvertently fell into Montanism (the Montanists are a Christian sect that preached asceticism. Ed.); for example, his second marriage was already considered adultery. Origen has more allegories. Usually the rules of morality are scattered in his interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. His particularly pompous truths lie in his interpretation of the books of Song of Songs and Exodus. He surpasses himself in his interpretations of the Song of Songs. Cyprian is a mean mentor; Only persecution made him sometimes speak hotly. He wrote about the clothing of virgins and an explanation of the Lord's Prayer. Lactantius embraced Christianity from the, so to speak, martyr side, but had little to do with Christian morality. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote teachings for the catechumens; His morality is more disciplinary and common. In general, until the 4th century we have few Christian moral instructions and writings, although Christian morality was realized in life now much more than ever. And there is nothing to marvel at this: and to this day we see little of the presentation of dogmas; morality required even less disclosure and presentation. The fourth century, rich in all kinds of works, is also rich in works on Christian morality. Basil the Great, it seems, was called great for his writings. He wrote a lot about monastic asceticism. Gregory of Nyssa also wrote a lot about the subjects of Christian activity. There is his book on Christian perfection, published in Christian Reading, in which everything essential in Christianity is concentrated. In addition, the “Life of Moses”, compiled by him, is an ideal of moral life. Gregory of Nazianzus sets out some moral rules in verse. He initially studied theoretical theology, but at the end of his life, leaving the see of Constantinople, in solitude he described his own life in poetry, where he talks a lot about moving away from the world, about peace in God. It’s a wonderful thing: such a great man as Gregory writes poetry in solitude at the end of his life! Chrysostom has golden lips everywhere, wherever and whenever he speaks. Only his moral truths are scattered in his favorite works - interpretations of the Holy Books, in moral teachings during every conversation. These interpretations of him are the best example of how to make lofty Christian truths understandable even to a baby in spiritual life. Here the teaching of Jesus Christ is brought into touch, so to speak, and for all that it does not lose any of its depth and strength. It is useful to read his interpretations. His art is especially remarkable - taking distractions from simple, ordinary life, and making adaptations from them to spiritual life. So, he advises to abstain from any passion, and when they object to him that it is difficult, he says: after all, you always do this from experience, only imperfectly. So, for example, you say that it is difficult to refrain from anger, to extinguish this inner flame, but where does this flame go when you are in front of your bosses? Here you can easily restrain yourself from anger and revenge. Always imagine God as present with you, and you will not be angry with your neighbors. We owe Ambrose the first experience of a systematic exposition of Christian morality. Augustine is more important in relation to dogmatics; but he also provided considerable service in relation to practice. He has something about the inner spiritual life and the beneficial effects of union with Christ. Pelagius made him especially talk about beneficial actions. The main beginning in all his instructions is the beginning of feeling, a deep beginning, as if a person lives more with his heart, and if anywhere, then here the first seed of faith must be planted. Augustine tried with all his might to prove that man's true pleasure lies only in God. This can go for all ages and peoples. Isidore Pelusiot wrote letters to various persons about various moral subjects. His morality is sublime, although not mystical in the proper sense; reeks of some foolishness. Gregory the Great received this name, probably, not only for his wise management of the Church, but also for his writings. He wrote an explanation of the Book of Job and a handbook for the shepherds of the Church. In the Book of Job he sees the ideal of a good man who suffers, and therefore the ideal of, as it were, the whole Christian life; Every persecuted Christian is a Job in his own way. He ends the series of pure, original writers; commentators begin, such as Isidore of Spain - a writer of the 7th century and others. There is also a category of writers who represent morality from a special perspective; and they themselves led a strict, contemplative, ascetic life. These are the two Macarii - the Alexandrian and the Egyptian, Anthony the Great. From Anthony we have letters of amazing spirit; the breath of the spirit of Christ is visible in them: in the teachings there is some kind of simplicity and sweetness - the feather of an angel. Macarius of Egypt also wrote simply about sublime subjects: he was called an old child. And Macarius of Alexandria is also close to him. The works of Ephraim the Syrian should also be included here. His favorite topics were about tears and repentance. Of all the ascetics, he is closest to the people. Such is Isaac the Syrian. Mark the Ascetic wrote especially about eldership and monasticism. Cassian wrote a lot: we have a whole book from him, in which there are special excellent treatises, for example on dreams, on carnal impurities. John Climacus deserves special attention for his “Ladder.” He knew how to explain true Christianity and animate this explanation. Being rich in the spiritual experiences of himself and his brothers (he lived at Sinai), he compiled a “Ladder” of virtues, and took the number for this from the number of years of Jesus Christ’s stay on earth. This ladder is especially wonderful for people who want to know spiritual growth; the experiences presented there could only be born in the field of a blessed life; the school cannot give them. Maxim the Confessor is known, among other things, for his essay on Christian love. He was an ascetic and philosopher. John of the Carpathians has a special character in his writings, different from all others, consisting in the extraordinary lightness of his spiritual view. When you read his moral works, it is as if you are walking through a meadow dotted with various beautiful flowers. It might seem superficial to others, but in reality it is not: just as the deepest river can sometimes seem shallow if it is transparent. He sometimes rises to the seventh heaven. After the separation of the West from the East, Symeon the New Theologian, George Pachymer and Abba Barsanuphius are worth attention. But these writers have some shortcomings, and Protestants try to find them in order to undermine the importance of the Catholic Church. These shortcomings give me reason to tell you that in the writings of the holy fathers, not everything should be accepted indiscriminately, but you need to compare them with the Holy Scriptures: they were also people, just not ordinary ones. They are mainly condemned for the fact that the land, according to their concept, means nothing, each of them lived only by Jesus Christ, religion, and despised everything else. Many of them, for their purity of life, were awarded the gifts of the Holy Spirit and became so close to the spiritual world that they lived as much in this world as in the physical world. For some, the appearances of spirits, about which we find so much in the lives of the holy fathers of the Church, seem inappropriate and unprecedented; but is it really possible to think that, for example, Anthony the Great could be deceived when he was strictly vigilant over all his thoughts, distinguishing what our psychology sometimes does not distinguish? But on the other hand, the lives of the saints are as distant from our lives as heaven is from earth. In scholastic times, morality was fragmented into opinions, school forms: it became more defined, more capable of adapting to many particular cases, but it lost a lot of spirit and turned into petty and varied Pharisees’ traditions. The main rule: “No law lies with the righteous” was forgotten; hence the Dionysian mysticism. Tauler, an exalted writer, wrote about the Cross of Jesus Christ. Thomas a Kempis wrote about the imitation of Jesus Christ in general; His morality is pure and suitable for everyone. Time does not allow us to count all the newest writers, and besides, there is no particular need. We will point out only the most important of them. Of the Catholics, Fenelon is especially remarkable - a man with an angelic soul. He loved to portray active Christian love. His famous friend and collaborator Mrs. Gion, who compiled an interpretation of the entire Holy Scripture, wrote about this same subject. Her works were subject to a ban, but when the reviewer who was entrusted with revising them, a month later, said that he did not find anything contrary to the Christian faith in them, they again came into use. The French writer Francis de Vol is popular among the people, especially his book about peace was written completely in the Christian spirit. Among the Protestants, many were also engaged in expounding the truths of Christian activity. Speight wrote many moral treatises. Arnold wrote church history: his writings were condemned - innocently. Arndt wrote in a popular spirit; and Bem is in the mystical-theosophical spirit, and rightly was banned from us. This is such a Christian metaphysician, in comparison with which all the most sublime metaphysicians look like children. In addition to the metaphysics of nature, he also has the metaphysics of Christianity, in which he talks about the origin of evil, the fall of the devil, and so on. Even some philosophers consider him a dreamer. The almost contemporary writer Saint-Martin, who wrote during the revolution, is somewhat similar to Boehm. From him came the Martinist sect, not devoid of errors. Of the German ones, Eckartshausen is especially remarkable. He comes out of the question: what will Christianity turn out to be if you look at it impartially, with the help of all the discoveries of the natural sciences, and finds that Christianity is the only saving religion, that its basis lies in the very nature of things. It’s just a pity that not many people can understand the mysticism into which he delved. Another remarkable writer is Stilling, who wrote an explanation of the Apocalypse; he did a lot of good, but he goes too far in his predictions: they did not come true and turned into a reproach for him. Of the Catholic writers, Sheit and Reibenger are especially remarkable. Both of them are Austrians, they wrote on behalf of the government, in Latin. In their books there are many treatises on the duties of a Christian; little is said about restoration, and only in the article: repentance. This is because from an early age they were accustomed to looking at Christian morality through philosophical glasses, especially Wolff’s. The French have almost no writers of this kind. England is rich in such writers, but not in systematic writers: many write sermons, but not systems. An example of Christian morality among the British can be seen in the essay: “A New Creature” by Samuel Walker. Of the German theologians, Reinhard is remarkable. He spent his early years among many doubts about faith. According to the fate of Providence, he came to the idea that the Divinity of Christianity can be proven from Christian morality itself. That is why he tries in his practical theology to embrace morality in its entirety. And truly, the goal of moral theology is to teach a cure against all doubts in the Christian faith, to make you love Christianity, to adhere to it with all your heart. Throughout his entire system, he proves the connection of true Christianity with the true happiness of man: all people will live prosperously if they live according to Christian rules. The Reinhard system has its advantages and disadvantages. He applies morality to every condition, every ability, every place; This direction is pleasant and instructive. But since he took up Christian morality in a sick state, one can only see in him an effort to assure, and not complete confidence - the influence of Wolff’s philosophy is also noticeable. He talks a lot about the correction of man, but he understands it morally and philosophically, and not as radically as in the Holy Scriptures. Finally, the lessons of moral theology published under the name of Flaccus are remarkable. In them, the author seems to understand the difference between natural morality and Christian morality; hence he imparts another direction, another spirit and color to all the duties of a Christian. A natural person fulfills the law alone, but a Christian fulfills the law together. There are also other works on moral theology; but they are only painted over with texts, and in spirit they belong to one or another philosopher. It is remarkable that in the past more was said and written about the duties of a Christian; Nowadays, they began to pay attention not so much to duties, but to the correction and restoration of human nature. This can be attributed to two main reasons. In part, the circle of sciences has now expanded; the sophistication that had been wandering on the surface has now turned inward; Previously, she examined a person from the outside, but now she dissects him, and here she sees a lot of damage and disease. On the other hand, unrest in the human race always reveals what is unclean in the depths of human nature. The unrest of recent times has caused intelligent writers to speak with greater force about the reformation of man. What has been done in our Fatherland regarding moral theology? In relation to it, as a science, very little has been done, but in relation to life - as much as we do not find in other Churches. Apparently, our Church seems weak, but in fact, there is a lot of beautiful and great things inside of it. For almost five hundred years since the introduction of Christianity, there were no books on morality in Russia, except the Bible and church books: the material is not rich in earthly wisdom, but sufficient to achieve the goal. One can always say that if everyone could read and understand the Bible, then many moralizing books could easily be dispensed with. This truth is justified by one's works. Our Church has given such fruits as the Church from which it received faith does not now have; we mean many holy saints of God. The field of our Church, as if by its very newness and uncultivation, bore many rich fruits. That these saints attained high sanctity can be seen from certain historical passages, although collected by a meager hand. They crossed the border of our world and entered into communication with the heavenly world. What if their entire life was described - with all the experiences of selflessness and great feats? From all this a ladder could be formed along which Angels ascend and descend, and at the top of which God is established. Do we regret that all their spiritual knowledge and experiences have not reached us? But if it had been necessary, Providence would have preserved everything from their lives for us. We need a moral alphabet, we need average rules, and they are taught to us in the writings of the fathers of our Church. But spiritual experiences and feats of deep selflessness, like some jewels, God saw fit to hide from us and not show to everyone. Something had to be shown - to open the sky, so that a carnal man, buried in the earth, could, although with a clogged eye, see what kind of light there was; complete knowledge of this matter can be achieved by anyone who wants it: the mind has only to follow the path that the ascetics walked. However, so that the perfection of their Christian life would be useful for others, Providence perpetuated their memory by the miraculous preservation of their bodies, incorruption, and thereby made them morally intelligible preachers for entire kingdoms and peoples for many centuries. Their host can be called a system of morality in persons. Each of them has realized some virtue with his life, and at the foot of each of them lies some vice that he has afflicted. In this case, speaking about the saints of God and especially about the saints of Kyiv, it is impossible not to notice that we, who are engaged in this science here, have an advantage over others who are engaged in the same science in other places. In the study of practical sciences, tools or instruments for practice are generally needed; for example, when studying astronomy - observatories and telescopes, when studying physics - physical instruments, botany - plants; and we have our own, as it were, preparations collected by God - the relics of the saints. From the 15th century, when our fatherland began to enter into relations with Western lands and take over education from Western countries, writers began to appear among us who were engaged in expounding Christian morality. Our first writers, as if still remembering the spirit of morality that animated our Church five centuries earlier, pay less tribute to foreign education, are less imbued with the school spirit. This is Nil Sorsky. In spirit, he can be rearranged in the 4th century of Christianity and placed along with Macarius of Egypt. In his charter, he proposed not only rules, but also contemplation of spiritual life. To judge how pompous and lofty he is, you need to read his passage on prayer as an example. He is testified in this case by Isaac the Syrian, but he himself experienced all this from experience.... From this one precious stone one can already conclude how many treasures he has. After Nile takes first place Dimitri Rostovsky is a very important writer and father for Christian morality. In some respects he is similar to the ancient Augustine and Origen; his presentation of morality is light and even playful: this is a tribute to the century in which he lived; but sometimes it is deep and elevated to mystical contemplations. Such is his “Spiritual Alphabet,” especially the article on bodily purity, where, speaking about the primitive state of Adam, he allowed himself mystical reasoning about this state. This writer should be especially important to us students in this place. He spent his first summers at the local school: he didn’t listen to much science; then he entered the Kirillovsky Monastery and was tonsured a monk there; began to practice Christianity; and from a student at the local school he became a great Christian teacher. He is the last, one might say, independent writer. All those who came after him, with the exception of Tikhon of Voronezh, were more adapted to the spirit of other Churches; for example, Feofan Prokopovich is not ours in spirit: his writings could be given to other Churches. Dimitri Rostovsky studied little, but wrote beautifully: this is how a strict life can make up for the shortcomings of school. Among our taxonomists, the spirit of the Apostolic Church was resurrected by Holy Father Tikhon of Voronezh. He was a school teacher in Tver; He wrote first in Latin, and then in Russian. He has an essay called “Spirit and Flesh,” which depicts the struggle between spirit and flesh. Tikhon paid attention to nature, to the external and civil world, and he knew how to collect honey from flowers. From here he compiled the book “Spiritual Treasure Gathered from the World.” It is useful for everyone, because it teaches everyone how to look at the world, at passions, at life events. He also has some compositions for special occasions. He himself dwelled on these cases, delved into them, learned from them, and wanted to teach others to look at them the same way. He also has a treatise “Adoration of the Cross” - an example of a short and touching confession with a strong feeling of a repentant sinner; Reading this treatise several times can soften the roughest feeling. One must wish that his works become popular and be translated into foreign languages. Of the taxonomists who dealt with Christian morality, we do not have many. Our first taxonomist was Theophanes, but he was not particularly concerned with morality. Theophylact already separated moral theology from dogmatic; he made an abbreviation from Budday, then translated Schubert into Russian. But from Buddha he took the more philosophical and left the essential, and therefore his morality is similar to the morality of Baumeister and Wolf. For former theologians, morality appeared only in the so-called “usus doctrinae”. All of them were led by Protestant theologians, and there Christian morality was separated from theory already in the 17th century. Usus doctrinae are not so important at all: they are important only from the point of view that they contain the application of every dogma to moral rules. Of course that's how it should be; otherwise there will be a disunion between dogma and Christian practice. In addition, during the reign of Catherine II, partly from herself, partly for some reason, a society was formed in Moscow under the name of Novikovsky, which was engaged in composing and translating useful books; for example, it translated Arndt’s “Journey to the Eternity of a Pious Soul,” published the work “Uranius or the Blind Man,” which refers to the fallen state of man, and much more. In general, at that time the living spirit began to blow; but this trend soon ceased and was replaced by the spirit of corruption, and the society of these writers dispersed. Subsequent reigns were not favorable to this subject. During the reign of Alexander, moral works began to appear again; but at first the spirit of French philosophy was not favorable to the truths of religion: works in the spirit of Rousseau, Marmontel and others appeared among us. Then the mystical spirit emerged in the Zion Herald, a magazine published in 1806. But in terms of its depth and universality, it did not fall within the frame of mind of some members of our Church; and therefore its publication was stopped. After this, it began to be published again in 1816, but was stopped again. Indifferentism and unfoundedness are noticed in him; but it also contained some wonderful articles on the revival. Around 1812, many began to engage in moral writings on behalf of the late sovereign himself, who was the first mover in this matter. Then “Christian Philosophy” was translated in Siberia. In addition, the sovereign sometimes, through his minister, sent articles, marked by his hand, for translation from a foreign publication in Christian Reading. So, there is an article in “Christian Reading”: “Repent,” which was sent by the sovereign from Switzerland around the time there was a flood in St. Petersburg. At the same time, “The New Creature,” the work of Francis de Sagne, and the interpretations of Madame Guion were translated; Thomas a à Kempis was also translated, and the works of Fenelon were published. We cannot remain silent about two more works, although they are shortened from others: these are “Features of the active teaching of the faith” and “Duties of a Christian” - for cadet corps, the works of Archpriest Kochetov. These works are a rich gift for Russian literature, especially because they are written in Russian, and are also presented in a good systematic order. Finally, we can include here all the works of different writers concerning various subjects of Christian morality; and the first among them should be the teachings of Metropolitans Plato and Michael. All theological sciences more or less have their origin in the word of God; our science is all the more based on the words of the apostles and prophets. But since the word of God is both in nature and in the human spirit; then this word cannot but be used among us. Although it is obscured in these two sources, and therefore incomparably lower than Holy Scripture; but it is absolutely impossible not to use it, for, firstly, the written word of God itself often refers to the word of God in nature and in the heart; secondly, the written word of God has the purpose of confirming the word of God in nature and in the heart; thirdly, the word in nature and heart is closer to us. Theoretical theology is another beginning of practical theology; for our activity is based on faith in the merits of Jesus Christ; Therefore, we must always keep in mind the Cross of Jesus Christ, in which faith and love, speculation and activity converge. There is also a beginning that is subordinate to this, but greatly contributes to the development of Christian morality: this is the experience of holy people. Reading the writings of the prophets and apostles, we can trust them to the experience of holy men and the voice of the Church. We can rarely turn to the living voice of the Church, but always to the historical one. The method of Christian practice may vary. Morality can be presented in admonitions, brief rules, in examples, like those of Basil the Great and in our Four Menaions. The abbreviation Chetiy Menaion is the “School of Piety”, Archpriest Mansvetov. Priest Malov wrote about the duties and virtues of warriors. Secular people, and even some spiritual ones, have views on the Chetiy Menaion that are not entirely high; but the moral and edifying narratives of these Menyas are of great value. Now in the philosophical works of foreigners there are examples from our Prologues. For example, Schubert, speaking about self-sacrifice and not finding a fairly strong example for this in secular writers, took from the Menaion the example of Paul the Simple - how he was forced to carry stones from one place to another without any purpose or benefit, and to carry water with a thin jug. From these books alone can pure morality be extracted. World history does not represent even a fraction of these virtues. The actions of, for example, Regulus, Scaevola, Cato are recorded in all histories as rare, and in the Chetii Menaion the description of such actions is very common. The presentation of Christian morality can still be scientific, for example in catechisms. The last presentation is especially necessary for us. A lot can be summarized here in a nutshell. A teacher of faith must show not only how to do it, but also why it is so. The arrangement made in our system belongs to Buddha, who arranged Christian morality in the same way as philosophical; it is only partially suitable. The third part on Christian prudence is small, consisting of only one treatise. This is because prudence is a great word; but in reality it is small. Just as a Christian should act in the best way in certain cases, there cannot be many general rules for this. In our book “Characteristics of Active Teaching,” the treatise on prudence was first abandoned, and then again added in other editions. Among Catholics, practical theology is arranged in a philosophical manner. First they talk in general about human nature, about morality in general, about rewards and punishments, about imputation, which is generally called metaphysica morum; then they talk about the duties of a Christian, then about the means to fulfill them, which is known under the name of asceticism. Among the Protestants, Reinhard's disposition is good and complete. He organizes his moral system around four questions. 1) What is a person who must act according to the law of Christ? Here he shows the imperfection of every person and his ability to be perfect. 2) What should a person become? Here he talks about virtues. 3) By what means can a person achieve this perfection? 4) How exactly does a person finally become a true Christian? Here he describes the very method of rebirth, renewal and improvement of man. We called this location natural and better than others. What kind of person a person is is the first member of Christian morality. Philosophy does not pay attention to this and does bad things; Now, however, she too is beginning to take some time to consider this. In the form in which human morality had hitherto been presented, it could seem to be the morality of Angels, and not of fallen man; but everything screams against this. The other parts in this arrangement are also very important, especially the fourth part. These parts can be called as follows: 1) anthropology; 2) aretology; 3) paedeutics, or asceticism; 4) mysticism. It is not bad to notice something about the names of some departments of practical theology. And moralists and philosophers cannot pick up good definite names for their science; It’s the same with theologians: they don’t even have names that fully express the essence of science. The second part, which deals with the duties of a Christian, is called Jurisprudentia Divina. But Jurisprudentia Divina can constitute a special science. In general, duties must be separated from rights: otherwise they use rights, otherwise they fulfill duties. The Apostle Paul says: “All things are worthwhile, but not all things are profitable” (1 Cor. 6:12). Philosophers call the science of duties ethics; Theologians sometimes call the Christian teaching about duties the same way: but it can only be called that because it speaks of natural human rights. The following names seem more appropriate for the main four parts of practical theology: the first part can be called Anthropologia moralis; the second, laying down the duties, Anthropologia; the third, which treats the means of moral perfection - asceticism, for these means are more or less ascetic, or moral paedeutics; the fourth part, which sets out the most internal change of a person, can be called Christian mysticism. Let us now say something about the sciences auxiliary to our science. When presenting Christian morality, one must pay attention to all other sciences, because they are also useful in this matter: after all, all sciences, by their original origin, stem from the same word of God. The most necessary science in this case is moral philosophy; this science, kept within certain limits, can be very useful for our science. For Christian morality contains within itself what is also found in natural morality. Just as pagan virtues are preparations for Christian virtues; So natural morality is a preparation for Christian morality. After that, anthropology and especially psychology can be important and useful in this matter. You just need to illuminate this path for yourself first; without this it is impossible to firmly follow it in our science. All anthropological science is needed here, even about the human body. For it constitutes half of the human being and has a significant influence on our activities: sometimes it serves morality, and sometimes it suppresses it; for example, temperaments are involved in passions and the like. After this, the closest place among our auxiliary sciences is occupied by the history of morals. The subject of our science is human nature; but where has it been seen before? This mirror is a story that represents morality personified both in large and small sizes, with perfections and imperfections. You might be interested in: