A conversation about faith according to the teachings of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow

“Remember your mentors, who preached the word of God to you.” In the 19th century there were many mentors and preachers of the word of God from among the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in Rus'. The most prominent of them was the ever-memorable Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, whose centenary anniversary we solemnly celebrate. In his person, the Russian Orthodox Church had an outstanding archpastor, the most authoritative Orthodox theologian and a universally recognized preacher. His numerous printed works entered the golden fund of Russian theological thought, the treasury of teaching church preaching. The basic doctrinal and moral truths of our Orthodox faith found their place in the five volumes of his sermons. On the day of the centennial anniversary of this outstanding saint, it is most befitting of his memory to remember his teaching about faith and its significance for our life and our hopes for the future, beyond the grave. Many times in his teachings, the Moscow saint returns to questions of faith: its definition and meaning, the law of its action, the shortcomings of faith among people of that time, ways and means of developing faith, the study of the Holy Scriptures for understanding faith and affirmation in it, etc. Brief answers, mainly in the words of the preacher-celebrator himself, to all these questions will form the content of our conversation 1 . 1. What is faith? In answering this initial question of faith, the famous preacher proceeds from the teaching of the Apostle Paul on faith: “He who comes to God must believe that He exists and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). The first half of this text indicates the initial basis of faith: the recognition of the existence of God. This recognition is a faith of the mind more than the feelings, will and the whole being of man. Such mental faith is not sufficient to justify and save a person. To be complete and saving, faith must capture the whole person, “captivate” all his powers and abilities “into the obedience of Christ,” in the fulfillment of His commandments. “Dedicate yourself to faith with your whole soul,” says the saint, “with your whole life, so that all of it (life) is an expression of faith” (IV, 22). And then faith will turn into complete confidence in Christ’s truth, and then into unshakable fidelity to it (Heb. 10:38–39) and, finally, into fiery “zeal” for it (II, 83). In another sermon, on the day of St. Sergius, the God-loving preacher defines faith this way: “Faith is the wings of an eagle with which the soul soars, ascending to the Lord. The essence of things is hidden in faith. What we believe will happen. We believe and we can move mountains” (I, 271). The success of faith is inextricably linked with obedience to God. “Through faith and obedience success is achieved in heavenly teaching: if you believe, you will see. This is the order of Divine enlightenment” (II, 284). Abraham followed this order. For his faith and obedience, God spoke a promise to him (Gen. 12:2–3). Abraham “saw the day of Christ and was glad” (John 8:56). When offering Isaac “as a sacrifice in his heart obedient to God,” through the distance of centuries, Abraham saw Christ as the future Sacrifice for the sins of the world (III, 332). Metropolitan Philaret reveals his thoughts about the close connection of faith with obedience to Christ in his sermon on the healing of a bleeding woman, based on the text “Who is he who touched Me” (Luke 8:45). The mystery of the miraculous touch of the bleeding woman to the Savior is reflected in the words of Christ: “Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has saved you” (Luke 8:48). She saved because she (the woman) was imbued with undoubting faith that Christ would heal her just as he healed many others around Him. Faith here turned into complete confidence and evidence. In this regard, the preacher gives the following new definition of faith: “Faith is the instrument of a saving touch with Christ. He who touches His vestments with it (faith) reaches even to the interior of His Divine fulfillment (providential action).” In this case, faith is “a spiritual magnet that attracts heavenly powers” ​​(I, 77). One person's faith is strengthened by another's. The faith of many living is strengthened by the faith of many deceased fathers, the “universal” faith. If only to be imbued with the power of faith of all of them in the good and saving will of God. “Oh, if only we knew the true universal faith, which in Abel brought great faith, in Noah it pleased God, in Abraham it sacrificed its only begotten son to God, in Moses it crossed the sea with a rod, it opened the eyes of the prophets, it left everything for the apostles to follow Christ.” As a conclusion from all these biblical examples of genuine, miraculous faith, the preacher’s call to imitate these sacraments of faith: “Immerse yourself, believing soul, with all your mind and heart in the depths of all these sacraments of faith and in them, especially find your Savior, approach Him, touch Him, unite with Him! Be bold, your faith will save you” (I, 77–79). 2. By what law does faith operate? The divinely enlightened archpastor answers this question in his homily on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. This law, he says in this word, is known from the words of Christ: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Using the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the preacher reveals the real power of this law: “In order for the Ever-Virgin to give birth to the God-Man, the Savior, the King of the Eternal Kingdom, for this it was necessary that She first heard and believed that she must give birth to Him. Compared to this faith, Abraham's faith in the birth of Isaac during his old age of barrenness is less than a grain of peas compared to the cedar of Lebanon. Without faith, Mariam and we would not have had Christ the Savior” (V, 71–72). With this reasoning, brothers and sisters, the God-wise saint wants to say that by Her faith and obedience, the Ever-Virgin completely surrendered Herself to the will of the Heavenly Father and the gracious power of the Holy Spirit. Addressing us, the listeners, in this regard, the preacher asks: “Do we have real manifestations of faith, marked by the grace of God? And don’t we need to pray with the apostles to the Lord: “increase our faith” (Luke 17:5)?” The Lord, without rejecting prayer, again turns to us the demand of the same law of faith: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed and said to this fig tree: “Be uprooted and planted in the sea, then it would obey you” (Luke 17:6).” In other words: “If you had the beginnings of faith from the sincere disposition of your heart, you would surely receive great power from the grace of God. So, it's up to you. Have a heartfelt disposition to believe, which depends on you. And God will not fail to impart to you strong faith, which is a gift of His grace” (V, 73). The strength and fidelity of our faith has its beginning in the sacrament of holy baptism, when we “give an oath of fidelity to Christ through the godfather... So be constantly attentive so as not to be seduced by sin... Make amends for cases of infidelity with repentance and correction... Be faithful to Christ with the Orthodox faith, in obedience to His Holy Church, faithful to unfeigned love, life according to the commandments and teachings of the Gospel - faithful and obedient in the sincere recognition of his sins and in the restoration of purity of conscience, until death hastened the closing of the doors of repentance” (V, 75). The saint speaks heartfeltly about the importance of the heart for strengthening faith in his sermon at the consecration of the church of St. Alexander Nevsky. How to receive living faith? – With the heart, answers the Apostle Paul: “with the heart he believes in the truth” (Rom. 10:10). But if you have assimilated faith with your heart, that is, in the depths of your soul you felt its dignity, holiness and strength, loved it, clung to it, then as a result of this it is necessary, according to the word of the Apostle, “Christ to dwell in your heart by faith” (Eph. 3:17), that is, bring into it Your grace, Your light, strength and life, Your wisdom, love and virtue, and then you will love all people with the love of Christ” (IV, 122–123), for this love of Christ will be in you, in your heart. As we see, the teaching of Metropolitan Philaret about the importance of the heart in the progress of faith, in the inner spiritual perception of Christ, in a gracious proximity to Him is an edifying commentary on the teaching of the Apostle Paul about the closest unity with Christ, when “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The mystery of spiritual life, unity with Christ was close to the inner religious experience of the Moscow Bishop himself - a great ascetic and a deep, soulful man of prayer. Therefore, he speaks about heartfelt unity with Christ not only in apostolic language, but also in the language of the spiritual life of his own God-loving heart. 3. What weakens our faith and hinders its development? Among the reasons that weaken faith, Metropolitan Philaret points out lack of faith, cowardice, doubt, despondency, fear, etc. Our lack of faith deprives us of the grace of God, and cowardice surrounds us with worldly temptations. Which of us, he asks, will boast that he has acquired true faith? Is it the one who lacks humility or gives in to doubts? “The Apostle Peter thought that he had faith to walk on the waters... However, Peter’s faith only lasted a few steps, and thoughts of doubt would have drowned him if the Lord had not spared his lack of faith and stretched out a saving hand... Do not prepare yourself poison from thoughts of despondency, timidity, impatience, and murmuring. But make up your own medicine from sound thoughts and pure feelings of faith... And then let everything be done to you according to your faith” (V, 434). We can assimilate the pious deeds of the saints in relation to the state of our soul and the circumstances of life. “To protect the peace and security of the Church and the Fatherland, Saint Alexy repeatedly, defenseless, helpless, went to a foreign land, to unfaithful and cruel authorities, and his faith and self-sacrifice were justified by the longed-for successes of his enterprises, and even by the miraculous help of God” (V, 441). The example of St. Alexis should encourage us and give us hope for a favorable outcome of the most difficult circumstances of our lives if we surrender ourselves to the guidance of God. 4. We cannot leave our faith without improvement and development. “It is impossible,” says Saint Philaret in the Sermon on the Paralytic, “to stop acquiring knowledge, for science is constantly moving forward... In the same way, or even more, the believer needs to constantly learn faith, both speculatively and actively. For otherwise, one must be wary that the light of faith shining in the heart, without prudent observation and support, will not go out, like the lamps of the holy fools known in the parable. “The righteousness of God in the gospel of Christ comes from faith to faith” (Rom. 1:17), that is, the path to righteousness and holiness given by God is revealed through faith, ascending from stage to stage, from perfection to perfection. It is fitting for us, every time we hear any word of Scripture about faith, to test this Scripture (John 5:39) and seek what teaching and guidance is taught in it for our faith” (IV, 102). Here, upon careful examination, important and edifying truths regarding faith are revealed. Faith, firstly, has a beneficial effect on a sinner to receive forgiveness of sins, for only it, religious faith, accepts this forgiveness. Faith, secondly, brings relief from disaster to a distressed person. With unbelief, disasters remain a scourge for a person (Matthew 13:58). Faith, thirdly, one person can act beneficially in favor of another. And what is required from this other person is not merit, but only readiness to accept the grace bestowed by the mercy of God through the faith and prayer of one of his neighbors. Finally, “a soul without faith is a vessel locked for grace, but a believing soul is a vessel open to it” (IV, 105). From everything that Metropolitan Philaret said about faith, it is revealed to us what a great good our faith is for us. Through it we receive forgiveness of sins, deliverance from troubles and misfortunes, heartfelt help and connection with our neighbors, and most importantly, saving grace and unity with the Lord. This is the essence of the Orthodox faith. Let us pray: “Lord, increase our faith!” This is how the apostles taught us to pray, and this is how Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, commanded us to pray. Amen. Archpriest Alexander Vetelev References (quotations) to the sermons of Metropolitan Philaret will be indicated briefly: with a Roman numeral - the volume from which the reference is taken, and an Arabic numeral - the page of this volume. All sermons are taken from the collections of the 1877 edition.