Автореферат книги «утешитель. О богочеловечестве. Часть II, Париж 1936. YMCA-PRESS» 286

This work represents the second part of a treatise on God-manhood, the first part of which was devoted to Christology 287 and contains the theological doctrine of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology). Quite a significant part of it, according to the nature of the subject, is devoted to the study of biblical and patristic teaching about the Holy Spirit (it is typed in small print in the book). The Introduction contains an exposition of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as part of the general doctrine of the Holy Trinity in the patristic era, beginning with the Apostolic Age and the Apologists and ending with St. John of Damascus. In particular, different types of subordinationism are studied (in Tertulian in connection with Stoic philosophy, in Arianism in connection with cosmologism, in Origen in connection with Neoplatonism); homoousianism by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, the Trinity of hypostases among the Cappadocians is considered, for whom, however, their common connection in the Trinity remains outside the problematic (in the same formulation, the question remains for the Second Ecumenical Council with its Symbol). On the contrary, the Western system of homoousianism in St. Augustine proceeds from the primary character of the nature of the Divinity, in which hypostases arise only as a secondary act, as intra-trinity relations. In general, in patristic theology the very existence of the Third Hypostasis, given in Revelation and, therefore, given to theological thought, remains not fully mastered, the problem of the Trinity, as such, is not resolved, but bequeathed to future centuries, and yet the work of these Ecumenical Councils was given to Christology, but not to pneumatology. The first chapter is devoted to clarifying the place of the Third Hypostasis in the Holy Trinity and its necessity in Her self-revelation, in which the Hypostasis of the Father is the revealing one, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the revealing ones. The hypostases are interconnected by relations not of origin, as the prevailing doctrine teaches, but of mutual revelation. In the relationship between the hypostases, the trinity and not the dual character must also be maintained, for in the latter case the Trinity would be split into two binaries. In this sense, “taxis”, or the order of the hypostases in the Holy Trinity, is also explained. Chapter two is devoted to the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit in its history in the East and in the West. In the early patristic age in the East, this problem in a strict sense did not exist at all, with great diversity of statements among different fathers, but the general result was expressed in the teaching of St. John of Damascus about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son. The Western theologum on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son received its expression in the filioquistic teaching of St. Augustine, which was shared by the entire Western Church. Both theologumens coexisted peacefully until the Latin-Photius controversy arose, in which both sides sharpened the difference in the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit, understood as His causal origin either from one Father (among Patriarch Photius), or the Father and Son, as one cause (among the Westerners), which was the same innovation in such a complete form for both East and West. This polemic continued fruitlessly in connection with the Union Councils (Lyon II and Florence) and even to this day, fueled by a schismatic spirit, and led to a dogmatic dead end. The reason for this futility lies in the false problematic of origin as the causal emergence of one hypostasis from another, and it also gives rise to centuries-old dogmatic misunderstanding. The question of the procession of the Holy Spirit, according to the conclusion of V.V. Bolotov, was not a “dividing obstacle” in the Ancient Church and should not be so now. The third chapter is devoted to the distinction between “the spirit of God and the Holy Spirit”; “if the “Spirit of God” is the Trinity of three hypostases in their separate personalities,” then “the Holy Spirit is their hypostatic unity in the Third Person” (188), in the final hypostasis in the Holy Trinity, and the direct revelation of God to creation is the action of the Holy Spirit (“grace”), and by no means always this action of the Spirit of God is the hypostatic revelation of the Holy Spirit. It was not like this at all in the Old Testament, and not in all cases, even in the New, which already knows the revelation of the Third Hypostasis (this is shown in a special exegetical section, which is devoted to this distinction. The direct teaching of Christ about the Comforter is also considered here). Chapter four is devoted to the “Twoness of the Word and the Spirit,” which is based on the fact that both hypostases “inseparably and unmergedly” reveal the Father both in pre-eternal life, in the Divine Sophia, and in creation, the created Sophia. God the Father reveals himself to Himself in Sophia, which is one, but there are two Sophia hypostases: the Word of all words, as the ideal content, and the Spirit, which reveals it in Beauty: in Sophia “ideality is real, and reality is ideal,” and the adequacy of the relationship of both revealing hypostases does not eliminate their separate personality, despite their inseparability. Therefore, it is incorrect to correlate the Divine Sophia with only one hypostasis, the Logos or the Holy Spirit; no, both of them only reveal it in their inseparability. This duality is also expressed in the fact that the fullness of the image of God in man is realized in two principles of the spirit - male and female, which only in their union, and together in individuality, reveal the image of pre-eternal Humanity in Hagia Sophia. This analogy also leads us to an understanding of the fact that in God-Humanity the incarnate Logos takes on the male nature for Himself, while the Holy Spirit chooses the Virgin Mary as the Spirit-Bearer, so that the fullness of God-Humanity is expressed only by this Duo: Jesus-Mary. In relation to the created world, although the world is created by the entire Holy Trinity with the special participation of each of the hypostases in accordance with its properties, we distinguish, however, in this triple act the action of the Father as the First Will, the Creator in the proper sense, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are addressed to the creation not hypostatically, but by the Divine Sophia (of course, while maintaining the inseparability of the hypostasis and Sophia). God the Father creates the world with the words of the Word, clothed in the reality and beauty of the Holy Spirit, so that good will also be great. And only with the creation of man do we have an act of not only Sophian creation, but also a hypostatic-divine one, with the participation of the entire Holy Trinity (in Her Divine Council). The Word of God, “in whom all things were,” and the Spirit, “hovering over the waters,” penetrate the world in its being as its Sophia root, the duality of His Sophia self-revelation. Therefore, the Father sends into the world the Son and the Holy Spirit in Their hypostases. They are sent to accomplish the Divine-Manhood, the reunion of the Divine Sophia and the created Sophia. The world in its being is determined by ideas - the essences of the Logos and has the power of life and reality from the Holy Spirit, in addition to, or before, or as if independently of Their hypostatic revelation, which, however, turns out to be possible only due to this relationship. The Holy Spirit acts as an inspiring, life-giving force, as the joy of creation and inspiration in a person, by the power of which he realizes the word, vocation, ideal predestination, creativity of life put into him. Chapter V is devoted to the revelation of the Holy Spirit in His kenosis. The possibility of this revelation is based on the general principle of God-humanity, the ability of the human spirit to be deified through the acceptance of the Divine Spirit. However, the latter has a measure for itself and is determined by it. The immensity of the Holy Spirit accepts this human measure for itself and conforms to it; this is the kenosis of the Holy Spirit, similar to the kenosis of the Son, but at the same time different from it. The Holy Spirit, when descending into the world, does not diminish Himself in His Divinity, like the Son, but is long-suffering and self-limiting in His action, in accordance with the measure of the capacity of creation. Divine inspiration also exists in the Old Testament, in its gifts, and not only within the chosen people, but also outside it, although, of course, in a different way. In Christ we have the fullness of this Divine inspiration, since the Holy Spirit, who descended on Him at Baptism, hypostatically rested on Him in dyadic union, inseparability and non-fusion with Him. The hypostatic descent of the Holy Spirit also took place at the Annunciation on the Virgin Mary, the true Spirit-Bearer. By virtue of this accomplished descent of the Holy Spirit on Christ and His resting on Him, the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is sent into the world already by the Son, although “from the Father,” or, one might say, the Father sends Him through the Son. Pentecost is the hypostatic descent of the Holy Spirit into the world, although it has hitherto manifested itself not in hypostatic revelation, but in the communication only of His gifts. Pentecost ends with God-manhood, which is not limited to the Incarnation of the Logos, but necessarily includes the descent of the Holy Spirit for the deification of the human spirit through union with it in “blessing.” The Holy Spirit, “another Comforter,” reveals Christ, life in Christ, as if by Himself again returning the presence of Christ on earth. He has no revelation of His own, except that He reveals Christ - “He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” The Nativity of Christ, as the Incarnation of God, and Pentecost, as the descent into the world of the Holy Spirit, in their dual unity, reveal in the world the dyadic nature of both hypostases revealing the Father, in their Indivisibility and non-fusion. The work of Christ is accomplished by the Holy Spirit, who reveals not Himself, but Christ, and in Christ the Father. Pentecost continues in the world, transforming the world, blessing humanity, until the fullness of times and seasons comes - for the Second Coming of Christ, which will be combined with the hypostatic revelation of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the latter cannot be the Incarnation of God, as for the Logos, but the human Person, namely the glorified Virgin Mary, becomes transparent to this revelation. The gifts of Pentecost, as they can be determined from the data of the Word of God and from the experience of church life, are, first of all, new love, as living church unity, koinonia, together with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the most important specific cases (according to the book of the Acts of the Apostles); then the gift of prophecy and the ministry of prophecy; spiritual life, in its unique Christian path - asceticism, combined with love for the world, humility, combined with boldness; further, the gifts of love in its various forms - agapic, philic and erotic, in marriage, friendship, family, in personal and impersonal love. Pentecost has no limit to its gifts; it extends into eternal life, from glory to glory. The final chapter, an epilogue-prologue to both parts of the treatise on God-Humanity, bears the title Father, and is dedicated to the First Hypostasis, as the Opening Beginning. The Father's hypostasis, as transcendent in the Holy Trinity itself, and therefore in creation, is nevertheless immanently revealed in the revealing hypostases. And this idea of ​​the transcendental-immanent Beginning provides the only possible way out of the philosophical aporia - the relationship between the transcendental and the immanent. The Father, revealing himself through the dyad of the Son and the Spirit, thereby reveals Himself in Sophia, and in this sense, the self-revelation of the Father and He Himself is Sophia (although not vice versa). The Father, who exists in pre-eternal Sophia, is also the Father in created Sophia, for man adopted by God through the Incarnation of the Logos from the Spirit of adoption. The image of the Father is inscribed in Heaven and on earth, in eternity and in creation. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that the Father in the Word of God is predominantly and even almost exclusively called God and is in this sense God (ὁ θεός, αὐτὸς ὁ θεός) par excellence. Such is He in the Holy Trinity, in pre-eternal Humanity - Divine Sophia, such is He in earthly humanity, created Sophia - Divine Humanity. The Father is revealed in the God-manhood of the Son and the Holy Spirit, He is in this sense Himself - the God-manhood. And to Him, the Heavenly God and Father, heaven and earth pray: Our Father, who art in Heaven! Abba Father! Published by “The Path”... No. 50. January-March-April 1936. P.66–69 – Approx. ed. Lamb of God. 1933. See Path, No. 41. November-December 1933 (or above the chapter “Abstract of the book Lamb of God...” - Ed.)