I. О ПРОИСХОЖДЕНИИ, ПРОСТРАНСТВЕ И ЦЕЛИ ЦЕРКВИ

§ 167. Foundation of the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ Having come to earth to save people, and bringing with Him a saving teaching for them, the Lord Jesus wanted people, having accepted the new faith, to maintain it not separately from each other, but for this purpose to form a specific, religious society; He himself directly laid the foundation for this society, and then, through the disciples and apostles, he spread and established it throughout all the borders of the earth. Why do we believe and confess that “there is no other foundation of the Church except one Christ, according to the word of the Apostle: for no one can lay another foundation than the one that lies, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11)” (Right. Confess. Part 1, answer to question 85). 1) The Savior expressed his desire to found a single society from his followers more than once, for example: a) after the Apostle Peter, on behalf of all the apostles, confessed Him as the Son of God: on this stone (i.e. confession), then our Lord said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18); b) in the parable of the good shepherd - with the words: I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and they know me..., and other sheep are imam, even though they are not from this fold, and you must be brought, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd (John 10, 14. 16); c) in prayer to the Heavenly Father: that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, and they also may be one in us (John 17:21). With the thought of establishing his blessed kingdom on earth, He began his first sermon to people, as the Evangelist Matthew narrates: from then on Jesus began to preach and say: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near (Matthew 4:17). With exactly the same preaching the Lord sent His disciples throughout Judea: go, He said to them, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; Preach as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:6-8). And how often did He talk to people about this kingdom of God, both in parables and not in parables (Matt. 13, 24. 44–47; 22, 2; 25, 1; Luke 9, 11; 10, 11; 17, 21; 21, 31, etc.)! 2) But what Christ wanted, he did. He himself laid the beginning and foundation for his Church when he chose for himself the first twelve disciples, who, believing in Him, being under His authority, formed a single society under a single head (John 17:13), and formed His first Church; when, on the other hand, He Himself established everything that was necessary for the formation of His followers into a definite society. Exactly: a) established an order of teachers who would spread His faith among the nations (Eph. 4:11.12); b) established the sacrament of baptism to accept into this society all those who believe in Him (Matt. 28:19; John 3:3; 4:1; Mark 16:15); c) the sacrament of the Eucharist for the closest union of the members of society with each other and with Him as the head (Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19.20; 1 Cor. 12:23–26); d) the sacrament of repentance for reconciliation and a new union with Him and the Church of those members who violate His laws and statutes (Matthew 28:15-18); as well as all other sacraments (Matt. 18, 18; 28, 19; 19, 4–6; Mark 6, 13, etc.). That is why, even during the days of his public ministry, the Lord spoke about his Church as if it already existed (Matthew 18:17). But Christ actually founded or established his church only on the cross 449, where He acquired it, as the Apostle puts it, with his blood (Acts 20:28). For only on the cross did the Lord actually redeem us and reunite us with God, without which Christianity would have no meaning; only after suffering on the cross did He enter into His glory (Luke 24:26), and could send down the Holy Spirit to His disciples (John. 7, 39), the Teacher in all truth, as soon as he entered into his glory, he solemnly said to them: to you has given all authority in heaven and on earth; therefore you go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:18-20). And if Christ had not reunited us with God by his death, and through the cross had not entered into his glory and given the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the Church of Christ could not have been established on earth, and all its previous beginnings would have been blotted out imperceptibly. 3) Endowed with power from above (Luke 24:46), St. The apostles, as a result of the Divine embassy, ​​went out preaching everywhere, promoting the Lord and confirming the word with subsequent banners (Mark 16:20). And - a) from believers in different places they tried to form societies that were called churches (1 Cor. 1, 2; 16, 19); b) commanded these believers to have meetings to hear the Word of God and offer corporate prayers (Acts 2:42.46; 20:7); c) exhorted them to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, representing to them that they all form one body of the Lord Jesus, of whom they are only different members, have one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:3.4; 1 Cor. 12:27), and all partake of one bread (1 Cor. 10:17), i.e., they all have and for internal and external unity; d) finally, they commanded them not to leave their congregation, under fear of excommunication from the Church and eternal destruction (Heb. 10:24.25). Thus, by the will and with the assistance of the Savior, who himself directly laid the foundation for his Church, it was then planted in all ends of the universe. It would be unnecessary to cite here further evidence about itself of the Christian Church itself, which, from the time of its origin to the present day, has always believed and claimed that it was founded precisely by Jesus Christ: this is a truth that is completely well known; this is an event undoubtedly confirmed not only by Christian, but also by the general history of the human race. § 168. The space of the Church of Christ: who belongs and who does not belong to it Having founded his Church, Christ the Savior also predicted its space or volume. This volume of the Church can be considered in two respects: a) judging by its purpose and b) in its reality. I. In the first sense, the Church of Christ must embrace not just one nation, like the Church of the Old Testament, but all nations, the entire human race. The truth that the Lord revealed to the entire human race even in ancient times in promises to the patriarchs (Gen. 22:17, 28:14); then to the entire Jewish people in numerous prophecies and foreshadowings (Ps. 2:7, 8, 72:8-11; Isa. 2:2, 3, 9:6, 7; 42:4-7, 49:6; Mic. 4, 1; Zech. 9, 10; Mal. 1, 11, etc.); finally, he spoke directly with all clarity when, having appeared on earth to fulfill the ancient promises, types and prophecies, he commanded his disciples: going into the whole world, preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15); Now teach all languages ​​(Matthew 28:19). And next. All people who are ever reached by the gospel sermon must be members of the Church of Christ. Everyone is obligated: for everyone is still called, by their very nature, into a religious union with God 450. And that means when this union is broken by them, and when, to restore it, the Lord himself offers people the only means in the Christian faith (§§ 147. 148), they, both by their very nature and by the power of God, are obliged to accept the proposed means in order to use it. That is why the Savior added the following words to his commandment to the Apostles about preaching the gospel to all creation: whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved; and those who do not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16:16); If anyone does not receive you, but listens to your words, coming from that house, or from that city, shake off the dust of your feet; Amen I say to you: it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city (Matthew 10, 14, 15). II. All people are obliged to be members of the Church of Christ; but not all are actually its members. Unless someone is born of water and the spirit, the Savior said, he cannot enter the kingdom of God or the Church (John 3:5). Track. Only those who, according to the word of the Apostle, have already been baptized with one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, truly belong to the Church of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13; taken down Acts 2:41). On the contrary, they do not belong to it - a) neither Jews, nor Mohammedans, nor pagans who have not yet accepted the gospel and the baptism of Christ. They do not even belong to b) those who, having already been announced by the gospel, and having accepted it, have not yet been worthy of baptism. “The catechumen is still alien to the believer,” notes St. John Chrysostom 451. “As long as you are a catechumen,” St. also says. Gregory the Theologian to one who put off baptism - until then you stand on the threshold of piety; and you must go inside, walk through the courtyard, see the Holy One, penetrate with your gaze into the Holy of Holies, be with the Trinity” 452. And Tertullian also reproached the heretics for not distinguishing those who were catechumens from those who were baptized 453. Regarding those who have already entered the Church through the door of baptism, we “believe that the members of the Catholic Church are all, and, moreover, only faithful, that is, undoubtedly professing the pure faith of the Savior Christ (which we received from Christ himself, from the apostles and holy ecumenical councils), even though some of them were subject to various sins. For if those who were faithful but sinned were not members of the Church, they would not be subject to her judgment. But she judges them, calls them to repentance and leads them on the path of saving commandments: and therefore, despite the fact that they are exposed to sins, they remain and are recognized as members of the Catholic Church, so long as they do not become apostates, and adhere to the Catholic and Orthodox faith” (Episode of the Eastern Patriarch on the Right Faith, Part II). That is, all Orthodox believers belong to the Church of Christ, not only the righteous, but also sinners 454. This is how the Author and Perfecter of our faith himself taught about this, likening his Church to a supper in which both the good and the evil take part (Matthew 22:2. 13); that field in which, by the will of the householder, both wheat and tares grow in abundance until the harvest (Matthew 13, 24, 30); that flock in which there are sheep and goats (Matthew 25:33); then a net cast into the sea, and bringing out good and bad fish (Matthew 13:47); then to ten virgins, of whom five were wise, and five were fools (Matthew 25:1 et seq.). For this purpose, He established the sacrament of repentance in the Church, in which sinners cleansed themselves of their sins (John 20:22.23), and taught us to pray to the Father who is in heaven: forgive us our debts (Matthew 6:12) 455. St. taught and acted exactly the same way. Apostles. In the great house, writes St. Paul, not only are the vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay (2 Tim. 2:20). If we say that the imams do not sin, another Apostle testifies before the whole Christian Church, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8) 456, and continues: my children, I write this to you, so that you do not sin: and if anyone sins, the imams intercede with the Father of Jesus Christ the righteous (- 2, 1). The Apostle James gives a commandment to Christians: Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, that you may be healed (5, 16). The Apostolic Churches themselves were not strangers to shortcomings, or some members who fell into sins, as can be seen from the apostolic writings (1 Cor. 1:10, 4:18, 21, 6:6; Phil. 2:21, 3:18, 19; 2 Sol. 2:14, 3:6; 1 John 1:8–10, 2:1, 12). In particular, it is known that even an incestuous man belonged to the Corinthian Church until the Apostle ordered his excommunication. He belonged, this can be seen from the Apostle’s rebuke to the Corinthians: you can’t hear fornication in you...; and you will become proud, and no more than a poster, so that he who has done this deed may be removed from among you (1 Cor. 5:1.2). This is necessarily presupposed by the command to excommunicate him (- 4.5): why excommunicate from the Church someone who does not belong to it?.. This is exactly what the teachers of the ancient Church constantly taught, very often arguing with heretics on this subject, for example: a) St. Cyprian: “our faith and love should not be tempted when we see tares in the Church, and this does not give us the right to move away from the Church ourselves” 457 ; b) St. Ambrose: “the all-good (Christ) illuminates everyone, and does not want to reject those who sin easily, but to correct them, not to expel the stubborn from the Church, but to soften them” 458; c) blessed Theodoret: “The whole Church of God does not consist of the perfect alone, but also includes those who indulge in carelessness, lead an immoderate life, and serve vicious pleasures” 459; d) blessed Jerome: “Noah’s ark was an image of the Church; just as in the ark there were animals of every kind: so in the Church there are people of all tribes and of every morality; just as there were leopards and goats, wolves and lambs: so here too there are righteous and there are sinners, that is, gold and silver vessels are used along with wooden and clay ones” 460; d) blessed Augustine: “if the ark prefigured the Church; then you yourself see from here how necessary it is for it to contain within itself, in the midst of this flood of this age, both kinds of animals, both the corvid and the dove. Who are the corvids? Those who are looking for their si. And the pigeons? Those who seek even Christ Jesus... Both the evil and the good are in the Catholic Church” 461. Such a doctrine was expounded by: Origen, Tatian, Theodore of Heraclea, Gregory the Great and others 462. 1) But there is a limit that if sinners transgress, then either “by the visible action of church authority, or by the invisible action of the judgment of God, like dead members, they are cut off from the body of the Church” (Space Chr. cat. on Part IX, p. 74, M. 1840). Thus, they no longer belong to the Church of Christ: a) Apostates from the Christian faith, who, having completely rejected it, again became pagans or generally gentiles, and, in the words of the Apostle, trampled on the Son of God, considered the blood of the covenant filthy, by which they were sanctified, and reproached the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29) 463. b) Heretics, who, although they have not completely renounced the Christian faith, reject and subvert it in its main dogmas. If we, or an angel from heaven, says the Apostle to the Galatians about those who pervert the gospel of Christ, if anyone preaches the gospel to you more than the one who preached the gospel to you, let him be anathema (1: 7. 8). A human heretic, the same Apostle commands his disciple, Bishop Titus, to deny the first and second punishment, knowing that he has become corrupted, sins, and is self-condemned (Titus 3:10.11): the Apostle would not have commanded the shepherd to do this with those who still belong to his flock. She departed from us, but did not run away from us, writes the Apostle John about the heretics, whom he calls antichrists; even if they had been from us, they would have remained with us (1 John 2:19). Therefore, from the very times of the apostles, the Cerinthians, Ebionites and other heretics 464 were excommunicated from the Church; and then all other heretics who appeared in subsequent times were excommunicated at the Councils. This is undoubtedly presupposed by the rules of the Councils, which commanded that repentant heretics be again accepted into the bowels of the Church 465. Confirmed by the unanimous teaching of St. The fathers and teachers of the Church who called heretics, following St. An apostle, antichrists 466, those who rejected Christ 467, unworthy of the very name of Christians 468, like pagans 469. c) Renegades or schismatics, who, although they do not distort the dogmas of the Faith, do not submit to church authority, and through this they willfully separate from the Church. The justice of this thought is evident from the words of the Savior: if (anyone) disobeys the church, let him be as a pagan and a tax collector (Matthew 18:17); from the rules of the first Ecumenical Council, which commanded the acceptance into the Church of the Kafars or Novatians who were returning to its depths - and the Kafars were only schismatics 470; from the 33rd rule of the Council of Laodicea, which forbade even praying with schismatics 471; and from the teachings of St. Fathers, for example: St. Cyprian: “You must know that the bishop is in the Church, and the Church in the bishop, and those who are not in unity with the bishop are not in the Church, and that those who, not having peace with the priests of God, think in vain to find for themselves dishonorable communion with some, when the Catholic Church is one, indivisible and indivisible, but is everywhere united and sealed by the bonds of harmonious relationships between themselves as shepherds" 472 . And in another place: “whoever opposes the Church and separates from it can hope to be a member of the Church when Blessed. Paul, discussing this subject and showing the mystery of unity, says: one body, one spirit, just as you were called quickly in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God (Eph. 4:4)” 473? St. John Chrysostom: “I say and testify that to tear apart the Church is no less evil than to fall into heresy” 474. St. Basil the Great: “in it (the Church) each member contains and combines in unanimity with the other the one and truly only Head, which is Christ. But if there is no unanimity among the members, the union of peace is not maintained, meekness in spirit is not observed, but there is division, strife and envy: then it would be very presumptuous to call such members members of Christ, or to say that they are under the control of Christ” 475 . Blazh. Augustine: “whether someone is baptized with the baptism of Christ and outside the Church, from heretics or from schismatics, he should not reject the sacrament of truth that sanctified him, when he passes into the bowels of the Church” 476. d) And, in general, all those whom the Church, according to the power given to it by the Lord to bind and decide, finds it necessary to excommunicate from the society of believers (Matthew 18:17.18), as it has done to this day 477, and as can be seen from its ancient rules 478 and the testimonies of its ancient teachers. For example: a) St. Cyprian: “the proud and stubborn are killed by the sword of the spirit when they are cast out from the Church: because outside of it they cannot live - when there is only one house of the Lord and salvation is impossible for anyone except in the Church” 479 ; b) St. Basil the Great: “Church statutes excommunicate those convicted of grave sins from the rest of the body, so that no small amount of kvass will harm the whole mixture (1 Cor. 5:6). Therefore, in accordance with the will of the good God, we take away the lawless from the people. For the wicked will not enter with the saints into the Holy Place, because the shovel is in the hand of the Lord (Matthew 3:12). But those who are now, as lawless, excommunicated from the people, calmly endure what happened to them, not thinking that this is an image of what will befall them at the terrible judgment of God. And how harmful it is not to separate the lawless from communion with the holy members of Christ, the Apostle expressed this, reproaching the Corinthians for not weeping, so that such a deed might be removed from among them (1 Cor. 5:2)” 480; c) blessed Jerome: “an adulterer, a fornicator, a murderer and other lawless people are excommunicated from the Church through pastors, and heretics themselves pronounce judgment on themselves, voluntarily moving away from the Church” 481. In order to more correctly judge the provisions we have revealed regarding heretics and schismatics, you need to know what is heresy and what is schism, and what kind of heretics are meant here. The ancient teachers of the Church give us the following concepts about heresy and schism: a) St. Basil the Great: “The ancients called something heresy, another schism, and another an unauthorized gathering - they called heretics those who were completely rejected and alienated in the faith itself; schismatics - divided in opinions about certain church subjects and about issues that allow healing; and by unauthorized assemblies - assemblies composed of disobedient presbyters or bishops and uneducated people" 482 . b) Blazh. Jerome: “Between heresy and schism, in my opinion, the difference is that heresy consists in the subversion of dogma, and schism also excommunicates from the Church due to disagreement with the bishop (propter episcopalem dissensionem). Consequently, these two things may seem different in origin in certain respects; but at the base there is no schism that does not have something in common with some heresy in rebellion against the Church” 483. c) Blessed Augustine: “heretics, thinking falsely about faith, symbol and about God, violate faith itself, and schismatics with their unrighteous views are rejected from brotherly love, although they believe the same thing as we do” 484. When we say that heretics and schismatics do not belong to the Church, we do not mean those of them who keep heresy or schism in secret, trying to appear to belong to the Church, and outwardly fulfilling its statutes; or - they are carried away by heretical and schismatic errors out of ignorance and without any malicious intent or persistence: for it is obvious that they have not yet visibly excommunicated themselves from the society of believers, nor have they been excommunicated by the authority of the Church - although, perhaps, they have already been excommunicated by the judgment of God that is hidden from us and from them 485: such people are best left to the judgment of Him who knows the very thoughts of men, and tests the hearts and womb. But we mean heretics and obvious schismatics who have already separated from the Church or been excommunicated by it, and so on. heretics and schismatics, intentional, stubborn and therefore extremely guilty. It was against them that the sayings of St. Fathers and teachers of the Church, cited above. § 169. The purpose of the Church of Christ and the means given to it for the purpose I. The purpose for which the Lord founded his Church is the sanctification of sinners, and then their reunification with God. This goal was clearly indicated by St. Paul, when he spoke about the Savior: “to him he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, for the perfection of the saints...,” to the building up of the body of Christ, until we attain all things to the union of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). But this goal is just as obvious - a) from the attitude of the Church to faith: if Christ. The Church is a community of people who contain the Christian faith, and the Christian faith is given to us specifically so that we become saints and achieve eternal life and bliss in God (Eph. 1:4; Mark 16:16; John 3:16.16.18.36); then the purpose of the Church cannot be any other; b) from the fact that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ himself: and the only purpose of His coming to Earth was our salvation (John 3:16); track. and whatever He did on earth could only tend to seek and save the lost (Matt. 18, 11, etc.); c) finally, from the fact that, before His ascension into heaven, sending the Apostles to plant the Church throughout the world, He handed over to them and all their successors His Divine embassy, which He received from the Father: just as the Father sent me, I send you (John 20:21), and thus instructed them to continue, with His assistance, the same work (John 4:34), for which came himself - and it consisted precisely in the sanctification of the sinful human race (Eph. 5, 26. 27; Tit. 2, 14), in delivering him from those disasters to which he was subjected through the first and all subsequent falls (Matt. 20, 28; Heb. 2, 11, 14, 16, etc.). II. It is not difficult now to determine the means that the Lord gave to His Church to achieve this goal. They, firstly, must correspond to the goal, that is, the liberation of people from the aforementioned disasters, the sanctification of sinners and bringing them to eternal bliss; secondly, they must be the same as those used by our Redeemer. The first misfortune of fallen man is the blinding of his mind, forgetting the truths of primitive faith, love and hope, and, followed by ignorance of the path to return to God. Therefore, having come into the world, the Redeemer is first of all a prophet (Matthew 24:19), or a teacher (Mark 4:38; Matt. 19:16), goes through cities and towns, teaches in congregations, and preaches the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 9:35; Mark 6:6; Luke 13:22), claiming that He is This is what he was sent to eat (Luke 4:43), and this is what he came from (Mark 1:38). Therefore, He gave His Church two apostles, two prophets, two evangelists, two shepherds and teachers (Eph. 4:11), and commanded them to teach people teaching, and precisely the teaching that He himself preached (Matthew 28:19.20), which was then carried throughout the entire land of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put it in writing and orally handed it over forever to the Church 486. The second misfortune of a sinner is his guilt before God, according to which, even having learned the path to return to the Heavenly Father, the sinner would not dare to go, or could not come along this path to the desired goal. In accordance with this need, our Redeemer deigned to become a high priest or bishop (Heb. 4:15; 5:1), to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sinful human race (Heb. 7:26-28), and thus reconcile us with God by His cross, killing hostility on it (Eph. 2:16). And in his Church he established St. sacraments (Matt. 28:19; Luke 22:19; John 20:21; 1 Cor. 11:24; Matt. 16:19, etc.) and in general sacred rites, through which she would assimilate to people His merits on the Cross, impart saving grace to them, sanctify them, and build them into a habitation of God by the Spirit (Eph. 2, 22). He also established the order of priests or builders of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1), when he taught St. The apostles have the power and strength (Luke 22:19; John 20:22) to perform the sacraments (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:12; John 20:22) and other sacred rites (Matthew 9:38; 24:20; demolished James 5:14); and the Apostles passed on this authority and power to their successors (1 Cor. 2:12.16; 1 Tim. 2:1.2). Finally, the last misfortune of fallen man is his moral impotence, according to which he, having learned the path to reunification with God, and having received boldness and all the grace-filled means to walk this path, can stop there, quenching the spirit of grace in himself (1 Thess. 5:19), can deviate to the right and to the left, or even turn back (Luke 9:62). In this regard, sinners need faithful leaders who would precisely determine their progress with laws and rules, would constantly monitor them, and excite them with rewards and punishments. The Lord Jesus, as the Redeemer of men, fully satisfied this need of theirs, partly by teaching them various laws to guide them to salvation (Matthew 6:5.6; 16,17; John 14:1; 15:9-12), indicating their motives (Matthew 5:2-12), subjecting sinners to His spiritual judgment, and forgiving sins (Luke 5: 23.24; 7, 48.49). But especially - by the fact that he established his Church on earth, as the most comfortable society, to guide people to eternal life. In this society He established spiritual administration and stewards, as they were at the beginning of St. the apostles, invested by Him with the power to shepherd the church (John 21:15-17), and, as a result, to bind and loosen (Matthew 16:19; 18:18; John 20:22.23), to have mercy on the obedient, and to cut off the disobedient from the Church (Matthew 18:17); and then, the successors of the apostles became, receiving from them the same God-given power to shepherd the Church (Acts 20:28; 1 ​​Peter 5:2.3), and to govern it (1 Tim. 5:19.20.22; Tit. 1:5; 2:1.3). Therefore, the Lord is rightly called the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) and the King of His blessed kingdom (John 18:36.37). If, therefore, in order to achieve the highest goal of the Church, Jesus Christ gave it three essential and necessary means: then from here its immediate goal itself is revealed, which consists precisely in the observance and proper use of all these means. That is, the Church is destined and therefore obligated to: a) preserve the precious deposit of the saving teaching of faith (1 Tim. 6, 20; 2 Tim. 1, 12-14), and disseminate this teaching among the nations; b) preserve and use the Divine sacraments and sacred rites in general for the benefit of people; c) preserve the governance established by God in it, and use it in accordance with the intention of the Lord. § 170. The need to belong to the Church of Christ to achieve salvation A necessary consequence of the teaching about the main and intermediary goal of the Church of Christ is the teaching that there is no salvation outside this Church. For salvation requires on the part of man: 1) Faith in Jesus Christ, who reconciled us to God: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12); and even earlier the Savior himself said: he who believes in the Son will have eternal life, but whoever does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36). But the true teaching of Christ and about Christ is preserved and preached only in His Church and the Church, without which there can be no true faith (Rom. 10:17). 2) Participation in St. sacraments, through which all divine powers are given to us, including life and piety (2 Peter 1:8). For it is said: unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3); If you have not eaten the flesh of the Son of Man, nor have you drunk his blood, you will not have life within you (John 6:53) and so on. But the divinely instituted sacraments and their proper celebration can only be found in the Church of Christ. 3) Finally, a good, pious life: not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven: but do the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21); If you want to take it into your belly, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17). But to succeed in such a life, a weak person needs reliable guidance, and, often falling into sin, cleansing himself of sins and reconciling himself with God, without which neither a good life nor salvation is again possible. And this reliable leadership, together with the Divine right to forgive people’s sins, also exists only in the Church of Christ. After this, the sayings of the Savior should be completely understandable, affirming the truth we are considering: whoever does not have faith... will be condemned (Mark 16:16); He who does not believe in the Son is already condemned (John 3:18); If anyone disobeys the church, you will be like a pagan and a tax collector (Matthew 18:17). Also - the sayings of St. The apostles who call heretics lying teachers, who bring heresies of destruction..., bringing about speedy destruction for themselves (2 Peter 2:1), deceivers, for whom the darkness of darkness is reserved forever (Jude 13), people who are self-condemned (Titus 3:11). Finally - the sayings of St. Fathers and ancient teachers of the Church: St. Ignatius the God-Bearer: “Do not be deceived, my brethren, whoever follows the one who creates a schism will not inherit the kingdom of God” 487. St. Irenaeus: “in the Church, as the Scripture says, God placed apostles, prophets, teachers (1 Cor. 12:28) and every other spiritual work, of which all are deprived who do not come to the Church, but remove themselves from true life with their bad thoughts and even worse actions. For where the Church is, so is the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and all grace: for the Spirit is truth. Therefore, those who are not part of Him do not feed on their mother’s breasts to receive life, and in the body of Jesus Christ they do not find the most abundant source for themselves, but they dig up broken treasures for themselves on the earth, and drink rotten water from puddles, moving away from the faith of the Church, so as not to be brought to it, and rejecting the Spirit, so as not to be enlightened by Him.”488 “In it (the Church) one path to salvation is shown for the whole world. For she has been entrusted with the light of God and God’s wisdom, through which she saves all people” 489. Theophilus of Antioch: “To a world troubled and overwhelmed by sins, God gave assemblies, I mean holy churches, in which, as in safe havens on islands, the teaching of truth is preserved, to which those who wish to be saved resort” 490. St. Cyprian: “everyone who separates from the Church joins an illegitimate wife, and becomes alien to the promises of the Church; he who leaves the Church of Christ deprives himself of the rewards predetermined by Christ. He is alien to her, he is indecent to her, he is her enemy. He who does not have the substance of the Church cannot have God as his Father. If anyone from those outside Noah's ark had escaped; then one who is outside the Church could also be saved. The Lord says for our teaching: “Whatever is not with me is on me, and whatever does not gather with me, scatters it away (Matthew 12:30).” Further: “What kind of sacrifices do those who hate priests think to make? Do they really think to be with Christ, gathering outside the Church of Christ? These people, even if they gave themselves up to death for confessing the name of Christ, their sin will not be washed away even by blood itself. The indelible and grave guilt of separation is not cleared even by suffering. Someone outside the Church cannot be a martyr; he who leaves the Church, which has to reign, cannot be worthy of the kingdom” 491. And one more thing: “there is no salvation outside the Church...” 492. Blazh. Jerome: “we say that everyone who is saved is saved in the Church” 493, “whoever moves away from the Church immediately dies from an ulcer” 494. Blazh. Augustine: “no one achieves salvation and eternal life except the one who has Christ as his head; and only one who is in His body, which is the Church, can have Christ as the head” 495. He who is not among the members of Christ cannot have Christian salvation” 496. “Anyone who has separated from communion with the Church, even if his life was worthy of praise, will not have life for the mere iniquity that he has separated from union with Christ, but the wrath of God remains on him” 497 . Blazh. Theodoret: “salvation comes to us through the Church; and those outside the Church do not receive eternal life” 498. In general, according to the teachings of the ancient Christian shepherds: 1) Outside the Church there is neither hearing 499 nor understanding of the Word of God 500; no true reverence for God 501; Christ is not found 502, the Holy Spirit is not communicated 503; the death of the Savior does not bring salvation 504; no table of the body of Christ 505 ; no fruitful prayer 506 ; there can be no saving deeds 507, no true martyrdom 508, no high virginity 509 and purity 510, no soul-beneficial fasting 511, no blessing of God 512. 2) But in the Church, on the contrary, there is the favor and grace of God 513; the triune God dwells in the Church 514; in the Church, knowledge of truth 515, knowledge of God and Christ 516, abundance of spiritual blessings 517; in the Church there are true, saving dogmas 518, true faith originating from the apostles 519, true love 520, and the direct path to eternal life 521. This expression is found in church songs and in the writings of St. Fathers. For example: “the sun and the moon a hundred in their order, you ascended, O Long-suffering, on the tree and you planted your Church on us” (Triod. post. l. 428, Moscow 1835). Or: sic enim, hoc est, per humilitatem, per crucem sibi ecclesiam congregavit (Ambros. Exposit. in Ps. CXVIII, Serm. XIV, n. 20, in Patrolog. curs, compl, T. XV, p. 1398). Entered. in Orthodox Theologian A. M. § 17. A λλότριος γάρ ό κατηχούμενοί τού πιστου. Chrysostom. in Joann. homil. XXV, n. 3.Cfr. Augustin. in Joann. Tract. XLIV, no. 2. Words 40, in TV. St. Father III, 286. De praescr. haeret. sar. 41. That the Church of Christ supposedly consists of only the righteous and saints - in ancient times this was asserted mainly by the Novatians (Cyprian. Epist. LXXIII; Augustin. haeres. XXXVIII) and Donatists (Augustin. haer. LXI); and now some of the Protestants claim that they believe only in the invisible Church. “If anyone says in the Lord’s Prayer that the saints forgive us our debts, they are not speaking about themselves, since they no longer need this petition, but about other sinners who are among their people, and as each of the saints does not specifically say, forgive me my debts, but forgive us our debts, so that this petition of the righteous is understood about others more than about himself: let him be anathema” (Carthage. cathedral 129; demolished 130). “Defined regarding the saying of St. John the Apostle: if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Whoever thinks it is proper to understand this in such a way as to say: for the sake of humility, it is not appropriate to speak. because imams do not commit sin, and not for the sake of it, as it truly is: let him be anathema. For the Apostle continues and adds the following: if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, may he forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (v. 8). Here it is very clearly shown that what is being said is not merely out of humility, but according to the truth” (Carthage. Conciliar Laws. 128). Impediri non debet aut fides aut charitas nostra, ut quoniam zizaniarn esse in ecclesia cernimus, ipsi de ecclesia recedamus (Epist. ad Maximum). ... nec excludere durum ecclesia, sed mollire desiderat (De resurr. lib. II, n. 118). Adv. Lucifer, p. 302, p. IV, T. II, ed. Mari. cfr. in Ecclesiastes. II, 7. Tractat. IV in Joann. v. 2. In general, blessed. Augustine’s teaching is revealed in great detail, especially in his writings against the Donatists. See Index to all his works under the word: Ecclesia (in Patrolog. curs. compl. T. XLVI). Origen. in Joann. T. X, n. 16; in Levit, homil. VIII, no. 1; in Ez. homil. I, n. II; Patian. ad Symp. Epist. III, no. 21; Theodor. in Ps. XXXIX, 13; Gregor. M. in Evang. lib. II, homil. XXXVIII, n. 7. 8. Apostle. rules 62; Petra Alexander. right 4 and 10. In general, see the index to the “book of rules of St. Ap., St. Cathedral. and St. Father" word: renunciation of faith. Iren. adv. haeres. II, p. 28. See the index to the “book of rules” for the words: heretic, heresy. Quomodo enim non sunt antichristi, qui contraria sapiunt, quam Christi confitetur ecclesia? (Didym. Enarr. in 1 Joann. II, 29). Justin. Apolog. I, 26; dialog. cum Tryph. c. 35, 36, 80. Cyprian. Epist. LII; Ambros. in Luc. lib. IV, c. 9: negat Christum, qui non omnia, quae Christi sunt, confitetur. Tertull, de praescr. haeret, c. 37: si enim haeretici sunt, Christiani esse non possunt; Cyprian. de unit, ecclesiaë “just as the devil is not Christ, although he calls himself by His name: so he is not a Christian who does not adhere to the Gospel and the true faith” (Chronicles Reading 1837, 1, 24); Athanas. contr. Arian. orat. I, n. 2; Chrysost. in Acta Apost. homil. XXXIII, n. 4; Basil, in Ps. XLVIII, n. 7; Augustin. de vera religion. c. V, n. 9. Numquid inter illos disstat, nisi quod ethnici non credendo credant, at haeretici credendo non credant? Tertull. de carne Christi c. 15; Chrysostom. homil. in illud: in quia potest... n. 5. See Vasil. led canonical last to Amphil. I, right. 1. “It is not proper to pray with a heretic and a renegade.” Scire debea, episcopum in ecclesia esse et ecclesiam in episcopo, et ei qui cum episcopo non sint, in ecclesia non esse... Epistol. LXIX, no. 8. On the unity of the Church, in Xp. Thurs. 1837, 1, 25. And further: “every person who has separated himself from the Church must turn away and flee: such a person has become corrupted and sins and is self-condemned (Titus 3:11). In fact, does he who rebels against the priests of Christ think to be with Christ, does this separate himself from communion with His clergy and people? No, he takes up arms against the Church, opposes the Divine economy; he is an enemy of the altar, a rebel against the sacrifice of Christ, a traitor in relation to faith, a blasphemer in relation to piety; he is a disobedient slave, a daring son, and a hostile brother. Having despised the bishops and abandoned the priests of God, he dares to build another altar, offer another prayer in words that are not permitted, desecrate the true sacrifice of the Lord with illegal sacrifices, and does not even want to know that those who act contrary to the Divine dispensation are punished by God for reckless daring” (pp. 46–47). In Ephes. homil. XI, n. 5. About the judgment of God, in TV. St. Father IX, 12. De unic. baptis. contr. Petilian. c. 9. See the rite for the week of Orthodoxy. Rules Apostle. 9. 10. 45. 65; I Vselensk. Sob. 11. 12. 14; Ankirsk. 4. 5. 6. 8. 9; Antiochus. 2; Peter. Alex. 4; Grieg. Neok. 8, 9, 10; You. led 84, 85 and many others. etc. Epist. LXII ad Pomponium, n. 4. Tolkov. on Is. Ch. I, in TV. St. Father VI, 83–84. And in another place: “those who are not chastened by ordinary punishments, and removal from prayers does not lead to repentance, must be dealt with according to the rules given from the Lord. For it is written: if your brother sins against you, reprove him between you and that one: if he does not listen to you, understand something else with you: but if he listens below, command the church. If the church also disobeys, let you be like a pagan and a tax collector (Matt. 18:15.17)” (ibid. p. 286). In sar. 3 Epist. ad Titum; cfr. Tertull. Apolog. c. 39; Augustin. de unit. eccles. c. 25. Kanonich. sent. to St. Amphil. I, right. 1. In cap. 3 Epist. ad Titum. De fide et symbolo c. 10. That's why the blessed one said. Augustine: quidam corde positi in parte Donati, praesentiam nobis exhibent corporalem, sive viri, sive feminae, carne intus, spiritu foris (De cathechis. rudibus c. 17). The following words of the blessed one are also remarkable. Augustine on heretics: qui sententiam suam, quamvis falsam atque perversam, nulla pertinaci animositate defendunt, prsesertim quam non audacia suae praesumptionis pepererunt, sed a seductis in errorem lapsis parentibus acceperunt, quaerunt autem cauta sollicitudine veritatem, corrigi parati, cum invenerint, nequaquam sunt inter haereticos deputandi (Epist. 43, alias 162. Conf. tract. 45 in Joann., et de utilit. credendi c. 1). Among the servants of Christ listed by the Apostle Paul (Eph. 4, Epist. ad Philadelphia. c. 3. Adv. haeres. III, p. 24, in Chr. Thurs. 1838, I, pp. 135–136. Adv. haeres. V, p. 20, in Chr. Thurs. 1838, I, 143. Adv. Autol. II, p. 14. Following this, he likens heretical sects to underwater rocks on which ships break and perish along with the swimmers. On the unity of the Church, in Chr. Thurs. 1837, I, 27, 40. In Ezech. VII, 15. Elsewhere: pluit Dominus super unam civitatem, verae confessiones ecclesiam, et super alteram non pluit, quae in haereticorum conciliabulis est. Quumque illa imbrem recipiat sempiternum, ista jugi ariditate siccatur, ut qui sitiunt, coacti penuria veniant ad Domini civitatem, de qua egreditur fons largissimus, qui errigat torrentem spinarum (In Amos. IV, 7). De unit, ecclesiae c. 19. Epist. CLII. Also: extra ecclesiam totum habere potest, praeter salutem. Potest habere honorem, potest habere sacramentum..., potest Evangelium tenere, potest in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus S. fidem habere et praedicare, sed nusquam nisi in ecclesia catholica salutem poterit invenire (Serm. ad Caes. Eccl. pleb. n. 6). in Jes. Nav. interrog. II. Auditum multi habent, qui habere se credunt; in ecclesia omnes habent, extra ecclesiam non habent (Ambros. in Luc. X, n. 39). Hilar. in Math. c. XIII, no. 1; Hieron. in Ecclesiastes. X, 15. Augustin. de ver. relig. c. V, n. 9; Prosper, in Ps. CXXXI, 7. Augustin. Enchirid. c. V; Petr. Chrysol. Serm. XXI. Augustin. de baptism. contr. Donat. III, 17, n. 22; Serm. LXXI, no. 30. Hieron. in Jes. LXVI, 15. 16. Augustin. in Ps. XLII, no. 4. Augustin. in Ps. LXXXIII, n. 6; de bapt. contr. Donat. IV, 17, n. 24. Patian. ad Sympr. Epist. II, n. 7. Chrysostom. in Philipp. homil. II, n. 3; in Ps. XLIV, no. 12; Hilar. in Ps. XIV, n. 8. Isidor. Pelus, lib. 1, epist. CCCLXIX; Hieron. in Ez. VII, 19. Hilar. in Ps. XIV, n. 8; Augustin. de jejunio n. 7. Ambros. de interpell. David. II, 2, n. 9; Hieron. in Mich. I, 14. 15. Apud Euseb. in vita Constant. III, 65. Ambros. de virg. I, 5, n. 22; Augustin. de Symbol, c. VI, no. 13. Greg. Nyss. in Cantic. homil. VVIII; Cyrill. in Jes. lib. I, or. II; Hieron. in Jerem. c. XXXI. Greg. Nyss. in Cantic. homil. XIV. Euseb. in Ps. LXXXVI, 4; in Jes. XI, 9. Iren. praef. in lib. III adv. haeres. August. in Ps. XXI, Enarr. n. 19. Cyrill. Hieros. Catech. ХVIII, n. 28; Cyrill. Alex, in Jes. XXXV, 6, lib. III, T. III. 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