The teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse on the value of spiritual life as a challenge to Russian society in the 19th century.

Annotation. The 19th century is not an easy one for the Russian people; due to the lack of national ideas, a socio-religious decline occurs in the consciousness of society. This century has seen a flourishing of sectarianism, nihilism and other anti-church worldviews. But it is worth noting that this historical period is also the flourishing of spiritual life, largely thanks to St. Theophan. The author of this article analyzes the teaching of St. Theophanes about salvation and proves its relevance in our days. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit Russian theological thought in the 19th century. experienced the era of its greatest prosperity [11, p. 227], especially after many years of heterodox influence and synodal “persecution.” There were significant achievements in the field of dogmatic, liturgical and moral theology, as well as canon law, church historical science, icon painting and hymnography developed; in general, a kind of “theological renaissance” took place - a return to the patristic heritage. These “revivers” of patristic teaching were such spiritual luminaries of that century as St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), right. John of Kronstadt and especially Metropolitan. Filaret of Moscow. Along with them stands Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815–1894). The future famous Vyshensky theologian was born and lived in a rather difficult era for the Russian Empire in general and for the Russian Church in particular: the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte’s “Great Army”, participation in the protracted Caucasian campaign, defeat in the Crimean War, armed conflicts with the Turks and Persians, bloody uprisings of the Poles, coupled with the hardships of the industrial revolution, the agonizing complications of serfdom and the lack of reforms in the many areas of life. Particularly worth mentioning is the socio-religious decline and philosophical ferment among the population caused by the lack of a national idea, the spread of nihilism and the problems of the era of the “great reforms” of the 1860s, and the tip of the iceberg was the presence of people far from religion at the head of the Holy Synod; although there were, of course, talented figures too. The peasant class, which occupied approx. 80% of the population in the country [4, p. 39], was subject to “religious lukewarmness, and in exceptional cases, to loss of faith, <... > cases of falling away into sectarianism have increased among the people” [11, p. 275]. Among the public self-awareness of the intelligentsia, first the “Alexandrovsky” masons, then the “Nicholas” Westerners, and later the Narodnaya Volya members and early revolutionaries were cool or completely hostile towards the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition, we must not forget about the multi-confessional body of the Russian Empire: large communities of Muslims, Jews and Catholics coexisted in the state, various Protestant denominations had their influence - all this together also influenced the self-awareness of Orthodox Christians in the country. It was in such a difficult era that St. had to spiritually nourish the vast Orthodox flock. Theophan the recluse. Just like St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, St. Feofan also chose the reclusive path for himself - one of the varieties of hermitage, unusual for the period of the New Age. In this way, the saint did not flee from the battlefield, but on the contrary - having fled from the world, he ran to the aid of all those in need; with his spiritual solitude, he completely devoted himself to serving people, and therefore God. After all, the Scripture says: “Whoever says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20). St. Theophan the recluse, of course, did not see anyone in his Vyshensky cell (with the exception of the rector, confessor and cell attendant), but nevertheless he received an enormous number of letters - from 20 to 40 a day - which “received from the most heterogeneous circle of people: from fellow archpastors and high-ranking secular dignitaries with the titles of princes and counts to a peasant in the village and a novice in monastery; from men of science and higher education to the barely literate correspondent; from a grave sinner, repentant and struggling with passions, to a hermit and schema-monk, who extinguished not only passions, but also interest in earthly life itself” [5, p. 291]. The Vyshensky Recluse responded to all petitions with warm fatherly love, for he saw spiritual poverty among the people, especially in the difficult second half of the 19th century. The main body of works of St. Feofana is aimed at spiritual life: its birth, development and maintenance. Against the background of the romantic era of the 19th century. The problem of accepting spiritual life was acute, and a process was underway to trample on spiritual values. However, to what extent did spiritual life generally respond to the very challenge of the time for Russian society of the century before last? To what extent is the teaching of St. Feofana answered spiritual needs and what did it bring to the people? The reclusive saint talked a lot about the rich fruits of spiritual life. Of course, the application of his teaching is valid in the Orthodox Church, and therefore we can safely speak about Christian life - the highest spiritual life for a Christian. Proof of the truth of Orthodoxy are gifts from the Lord - visible miracles, clairvoyance, incorruption of relics [7, p. 39]. In his famous book “The Path to Salvation” St. Theophanes laid out each step from the general scheme of leading a spiritual life; one of its difficult stages is the very beginning; in order to begin to understand the expediency of spiritual life, it is necessary to understand its origin, based on the teachings of St. Theophan the Recluse. St. Theophan the Recluse not only wrote about the path to salvation, but also walked it himself, so we can safely emphasize not only his extensive theoretical knowledge in theology and many years of experience in teaching, but also his personal rich spiritual experience. “Having resurrected with his life the ideal of the true ascetic of the ancient Church and showing its imperishable beauty, His Grace Theophan appeared as a bright spiritual light, showing the path to truth and goodness for his contemporary society” [1, p. 201], as the Recluse’s biographer Archimandrite beautifully noted. Georgy (Tertyshnikov). With his letters, the saint “saved many from spiritual death, revived many to a new life, directed many on the path of truth, and showed everyone valid means to moral improvement” [1, p. 213]. If spiritual life is some kind of huge tree, then its root is confidence in God, which the Vyshensky Shepherd constantly spoke about [9, p. 222–223]. The very importance of spiritual life lies in its consequence, namely salvation - the main goal of a Christian, this explains the high value of the saint’s works, given that this is “an extremely important and little-developed topic” [3, p. 417] in theology. “The science of winning this invisible battle is extremely timely and relevant” [3, p. 418], as a modern researcher of this topic notes. By the way, victory in a military campaign, the discovery of the heliocentric system and even the creation of nuclear weapons are not comparable to the outline of Christian moral teaching, especially clearly set out in the heritage of St. Theophan the Recluse. The spiritual life of a Christian presupposes life in Christ and with Christ, “Christian life is zeal and strength to remain in active communion with God, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, with the help of the grace of God, by fulfilling His holy will, to the glory of His most holy name” [8, p. 12]. As St. himself notes. Theophan the Recluse in his letter: “True life in Christ is a hidden, mysterious life” [6, p. 10]. His famous words about the Christian life itself are set out in another letter: “The essence of Christian life is to become the mind in the heart before God in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and, from there, controlling all internal movements and all external actions, turning everything in oneself, both small and great, into the service of the Trinitarian God, sacrificing oneself [by sacrificing oneself - M. Ch.] to Him completely consciousness and freedom" [6, p. 15]. It is precisely this moral and dogmatic formulation that St. sets out on his path to salvation. Theophan is a recluse to his spiritual children. The spiritual life of a Christian is born in the sacrament of Baptism - a church ritual in which the believer, by immersing his body three times in water with the invocation of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dies to a sinful life and is reborn by the Holy Spirit into a holy life [10, p. 74]. St. Theophan the recluse compared Baptism to the Door to the House of God [8, p. 26]. It is impossible otherwise, as Christ Himself said: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5). It should be added that since the early Christian period there has been an institution of catechumens for those who were going to consciously accept Baptism. For this purpose, the catechumens underwent catechesis, which they approached responsibly. The following saints wrote about catechetical practice. fathers like St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bl. Augustine and others. To this day, the Liturgy of the Faithful is preceded by the Liturgy of the Catechumens, ending with the call “You catechumens, come forth...”. Next, the newly baptized person receives Confirmation - a sacrament in which the believer, when anointing parts of the body with consecrated chrism, is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, nurturing and strengthening in spiritual life [10, p. 78]. This is how a person becomes a child of the one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. A Christian who has put on Christ and received the Holy Spirit must preserve until the end of his life the grace that he has received. However, of course, not everyone succeeded in this; even holy saints during their lifetime lost grace, which they later returned; for this purpose, Repentance exists in the Church. St. Theophan the Recluse talked a lot about the high benefits of those who retained the grace of Baptism, highlighting the following: 1. the integrity of the naturally blessed composition; 2. liveliness, lightness and ease of doing good; 3. evenness and non-stop in life; 4. the first feeling of innocence; 5. steadfastness of virtue throughout life. Saint Vyshensky wrote: “We need to live the way God created us, and when someone doesn’t live like that, we can safely say that he doesn’t live at all” [9, p. 18]. Here the reclusive author emphasizes the need for a spiritual life. “A person is not born a Christian, but becomes one after birth” [8, p. 6], notes St. Theophan, adding that “the seed of Christ falls to the ground of an already beating heart” [8, p. 6]. It is important to understand that being a Christian does not mean calling oneself such, which is what the Gospel says: “Not everyone who says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Heavenly Father" (Matthew 7:21). St. Theophan the Recluse even notes: “You can be among the Christians and not be a Christian" [8, p. 11]. For a clear example, it is appropriate here to recall Judas Iscariot and Simon Magus. “Cold fulfillment of the statutes of the Church <...>,” the saint writes, “correctness, sedateness and honesty in behavior are not yet decisive indicators of what constitutes a truly Christian life in us” [8, p. 14]. After the birth of spiritual life, it is important for a Christian who has God in his heart and shows love for the works of prayer and obedience not to forget about the passions and to wage the necessary invisible warfare with them, for which, by the way, the saint has prepared an entire spiritual strategy. It is especially worth mentioning the spiritual life of children, given their difficult situation in the industrial 19th century, and remembering the words of Jesus Christ: “be like children” (Matthew 18:3). A child will not be able to take a step towards the beginning of a Christian life on his own, therefore “Orthodox education should be aimed at creating conditions conducive to the birth of spiritual life and its development in a person” [2, p. 443]. The grace of Baptism in infants expands from the very performance of the sacrament to the dedication of oneself to God in the Holy Church among Christians [8, p. 29], it tames and muffles sin [8, p. 31], but for the time being, when the youth himself will need to put in the work to save his soul. “The spirit of faith and piety of parents,” the saint truly writes, “should be considered the most powerful means for preserving, nurturing and strengthening a grace-filled life in children” [8, p. 35]. Parents must not inflame passions for sensual pleasures, but teach them to deny themselves. “The most reliable way to heal passions is the use of blessed means” [8, p. 49] – as the wise Vyshensky Recluse correctly notes. As a result, based on all of the above, it is possible to identify the vital importance of spiritual life for the full natural life of a person, which is what St. wrote about. Theophan the Recluse. Consequently, the need for spiritual life is not determined by either place or time. The birth of spiritual life is impossible without the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation; metaphorically speaking, these are some kind of holy gates for accepting Christ into the heart. Even if this is only the first, but an important start for the formation of a spiritual Christian life, its “race” was the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the finish line was salvation. Teachings of St. Theophan and other holy ascetics about spiritual life have always been of the highest value, regardless of age, gender, era; from here we can safely talk about the “timeless” challenge of time regarding the birth and conduct of spiritual life. This problem was highly relevant both for pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern Russia, and for the whole world, therefore the teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse and his high spiritual authority fully and completely respond to the challenge of time in absolutely any era - both past and future, right up to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Georgy (Tertyshnikov), archimandrite. The life and work of St. Theophan the Recluse. M., 2019. 2. Klenin V., prot. Features of the spiritual life of children according to the teachings of St. Theophan the Recluse // Theophan’s Readings. 2015. Issue. VIII. 3. Luka (Stepanov), abbot. Modern sound of the legacy of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky // Theophan’s Readings. 2015. Issue. VIII. 4. Mironov B. N. Russian city in the 1740–1860s. L., 1990. 5. Smirnov P. A. The life and teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse. M., 2004. 6. Theophan the Recluse, St. Letters on spiritual life. M., 7. Theophan the Recluse, St. Letters on the Christian Life. Teachings. M., 2020. Letters about Christian life. P. 11. 8. Theophan the Recluse, St. The path to salvation. M., 2019. 9. Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. M., 2017. 10. Philaret (Drozdov), St. Long Christian Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church. M., 2015. 11. Tsypin V., prot. History of the Russian Orthodox Church: Synodal and modern periods. M., 2007.