Opinion of Saint Theophan the Recluse on Protestantism

The article analyzes the views of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky (1815–1894), a famous theologian and spiritual writer of the 19th century on Protestantism. The sources for the analysis were sermons, letters, articles in the magazine “Home Conversation”, etc. The truth of the Orthodox faith, according to Theophan the Recluse, is determined by the principle of succession from the apostles and is characterized by immutability. Protestants, with various innovations and renovations, according to St. Theophan, distorted the teachings of the Church. The saint also criticizes Protestant church historical science, which does not recognize the tradition of the Church. In the spiritual heritage of Saint Theophan there are no separate works devoted to comparative theology. However, materials from sermons, letters and individual small publications make it possible to reconstruct the system of his views on issues of Protestantism, which is what this article is devoted to. The truth of the Orthodox faith is determined by the principle of succession from the apostles and immutability. As Saint Theophan noted: “We believe as we received from our fathers; our fathers believed as the Orthodox East betrayed them; The East believes as taught by the apostles; and the apostles were taught by the Lord and spoke by the Holy Spirit. Look around in your mind all the borders of our fatherland and see that it is all dotted with incorruptible relics, miraculous icons, and other signs of God’s special closeness to us. So gracious was and is St. our faith! [3, p. 189, 191] The Orthodox Apostolic Church was created “by the good will of the Father, the Lord Savior, by the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. People can’t create something like this” [5, p. 7]. In the words “Farewell to the Vladimir flock” before leaving for Vysha, Saint Theophan, giving his last testament to his flock, from the church pulpit testified that at present “many false teachings have spread, corrupting, undermining the foundations of faith, upsetting family happiness and destroying the well-being of the state” [2, p. 683] and calls on her with the words of the Apostle Paul to preserve the tradition of the Church (cf. 1 Tim. 6:20). In his interpretation of this apostolic verse, Saint Theophan gives a clear definition of tradition. The Apostle commands Saint Timothy to keep the tradition, i.e. “what has been entrusted to you, and not what you have invented, what you have accepted, and not what you have invented, is not a matter of the mind, but of teaching, a matter translated to you, and not received its beginning from you, in which you are not a producer (auctor), but a guardian, not a founder, but a follower, not leading, but following” [7, p. 605]. The teaching of the Orthodox Church is, in the words of St. Theophan, “the stone with which gold is tested” [2, p. 683–684], therefore, “every teaching that does not agree with this” must be “rejected as evil, no matter how plausible it is covered with a title” [2, p. 684]. The Orthodox faith, as the saint has repeatedly pointed out, is “an area that is no longer subject to renewal, precisely because, once renewed, it remains invariably new and all-renewing” [6, p. 120], this is a spiritual ladder that “has already been established and has raised many to heaven; it is not necessary to rebuild it, but to ascend along it” [6, p. 160–161]. Saint Theophan repeated more than once: “Let everything in the world move and change,” St. our faith abides and will remain unchangeable” [3, p. 34]. In the article “Standing and Marching Forward in Christianity,” Saint Theophan points out that this immutability in Christianity is combined with a constant spiritual striving forward. In Christianity you cannot be motionless and unchanging. But many fall into a mistake - instead of “in an effort to renew themselves forward according to the model of Christianity, <...> they want to renew Christianity according to their own whims, not subordinating themselves to it, but adapting it to themselves” [6, p. 160]. Many, as the saint notes, think that “Christianity can be changed in its dogmas, rules and sanctifying actions in accordance with the spirit of the times and that, being applied to the changing tastes of the sons of this age, it can add some things and subtract others” [6, p. 448]. However, in reality it is completely different - “Christianity must remain eternally unchanged, not in the least dependent and under the control of the spirit of the age; on the contrary, it is itself appointed to rule, or to rule over it in all those who submit to its leadership” [6, p. 448]. The East and West have completely different vectors of development. In the East, pagan ideals were replaced by Christian ones in all areas of human life - “mental, moral, aesthetic, family, political” [6, p. 282]. “In the West, the Pope, having fallen away from the Church, was the first to accept the root of pagan life - pride” [6, p. 282]. Gradually, “a circle of people imbued with the pagan spirit formed, who set themselves the task of reintroducing pagan principles everywhere” [6, p. 283]. The Western Renaissance was a return to the pagan principles of life, in the words of St. Theophan, this is “the restoration of paganism in defiance of Christianity” [6, p. 283]. According to Saint Theophan, the Catholic Church, and then the Protestants, fell away from the “true Church” [6, p. 355] due to various “fabrications” [6, p. 357] and “novin”, therefore in the Catholic Church “certain parts in the structure of confession and church rite are damaged, or changed with a deviation from the most ancient” [4, no. VII, p. 202]. Saint Theophan said that Luther, “an intelligent but capricious man”, following the Pope, “began to build and rebuild everything in his own way and thus established a new faith, Lutheran, far from being similar to that which was commanded by the Lord and handed down to us by the holy apostles” [6, p. 457]. Moving away from Christian teaching, Luther built his new doctrine of salvation on the following postulates - sola fide, sola gratia, sola Scriptura (by faith alone, grace alone and Scripture alone). As Saint Theophan wrote: “He built for himself a view of the work of God in Christ Jesus and swept away everything that seemed to him incompatible with his construction. The voice of the Church in teaching - away, the sacraments - away, ascetic severity - away, the entire church rite of worship - away. The students followed in the teacher's footsteps. Anyone who undertook theology considered it his duty to come up with something new and rebuild everything according to his own idea. At present, there is no counting of all their views: there is no unity. That is why they do not have theology, but rather indomitable theology. They talk, but they never come to an agreement” [6, p. 52–53]. The reason for such innovations is “inquisitiveness - tickling the mind; It is not the truth that is dear to her, but the news, and especially spectacular, the truth here becomes backward, and in front stands its own invention” [5, p. 298, 299]. Along with materialism and spiritualism, St. Theophan considers “German theology” a destructive ulcer for Russia [6, p. 49], because “they are ready to go against God Himself” [5, p. 212]. In October 1869, in the magazine “Home Conversation”, Saint Theophan published notes “The Orthodox Mind and the German Mind” [10, p. 1023–1024], “New Ulcer” [9, p. 1047–1048], dedicated to the differences between the Orthodox and Protestant worldviews. In our time, these notes were included in the collection “Contemplation and Reflection.” According to Saint Theophan, the essence of the German mind (in modern Protestant terminology) is “the spirit of novelty and constant renewal” [6, p. 49], i.e. “The German mind only becomes clever, it has no standard of faith, and it is still looking for it; He does not undertake to study the faith, but to invent and build, and even having built, he does not rest once and for all, but still searches, still searches, not being satisfied with what he has found. The Orthodox mind, having studied and assimilated the truth, rests in it and delights in the contemplation of its divine face” [6, p. 49]. Saint Theophan lists the signs of Protestant writings, “German habits”: 1. “Where a theory or view is built and then passages of Scripture are adjusted to them, there is a readiness to subordinate the Divine to the human” [6, p. 49]. 2. “Where there is no simplicity of thought and words, but some kind of sophisticated interweaving of sayings and concepts, so that you can’t imagine what it’s all about” [6, p. 49–50]. 3. The desire to “construct different views on Christianity, regarding both its essence and history, and according to these views, strive for the restructuring of Christian society” [6, p. 52]. Summing up, the saint points out: “The Orthodox truth is simple, clear, understandable even for children. He who understands it and accepts it with his heart always speaks simply, without mental or verbal intricacies. The German mentality and words are hooked, dark, confusing. From the outside looking in, the German mind seems to be going deeper, but in fact it is wandering around the tops and outskirts, without touching the very essence of truth. The Orthodox mind recognizes the truth in its essence and without any roundaboutness” [6, p. 49–50]. In his analysis of the teachings of Protestants, Saint Theophan refers to the 19th canon of the VI Ecumenical Council - “whoever brings his personal wisdom into the realm of Divine truth will be subject to an oath” [6, p. 51]. The Orthodox reverence the patristic writings, for in them “the Apostolic tradition is observed, which is recognized in the general agreement of all of them” [4, no. VI, p. 97], “Catholics have muddied the Apostolic Tradition. The Protestants set out to correct the matter - and made it even worse. Catholics have one pope, but Protestants have one pope, no matter the Protestant” [4, no. VI, p. 97]. As a result of such “fabrications,” as Saint Theophan prophesies, many creeds will arise - “every kingdom, then its own confession, and there, whatever the region, and then, whatever the city, and in the end, perhaps, whatever the head, then its own confession. Where they build faith for themselves, and do not accept God’s, it is impossible to be otherwise. And all such will take upon themselves the name of Christians” [6, p. 357]. By the middle of the 19th century, according to the testimony of Saint Theophan, in Russia “a class of people was formed who insist that everything churchly, everything Christian is dilapidation that must be discarded, and European education is a renewal that should be assimilated” [6, p. 284]. With particular concern, Saint Theophan notes that unbelief and infatuation with false teachings are spreading in his contemporary society, where “infidels of all sorts have piled up many dreamy assumptions” [5, p. 364], however, “all their wisdom is a house of cards: blow and it will fly apart” [5, p. 364]. In December 1894, after the death of the saint, a short note by priest N. Milovsky, “Thoughts of St. Theophan on Protestant church-historical science” [1], was published in the journal “Church Gazette” [1], in which the author quotes the saint’s autograph letter dated August 1, 1874. The letter is devoted to the analysis of the work of Fr. Vladimir (Goette) “History of the Christian Church from the Nativity of Christ to the Present Day,” which was published in Russian translation in 1872–1875. A Protestant reviewer, using the example of the legend about the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, asserts the groundlessness of church traditions. In his letter, Saint Theophan clearly formulates his attitude towards Protestant church historical science: “Who doesn’t know that of all false stories, the most false is Protestant church history. One question: does the true history of the Church justify or condemn Protestantism? He judges from head to toe. But if you read any Protestant church history, according to it Protestantism emerges pure and immaculate. It turns out that those historians are notorious misinterpreters. And we take them to the goddess!..” [1, p. 1791]. Saint Theophan has truly prophetic words about the increase of unbelief and lawlessness, about future persecutions and trials for Christians: “For now only a bad roar is going around everywhere; but it is not surprising that what was prophesied by the Lord will soon begin: “they will lay their hands on you... and persecute you... you will be betrayed... and they will kill you.” The spirit of Antichrist is always one; what was in the beginning will be now, in a different form, perhaps, but with the same meaning” [5, p. 365]. The counteraction to these forces is the “root elements of Russian life” - Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. It is this idea, formulated by the Minister of Public Education S.S. Uvarov in the 30s. XIX century, became the subject of consideration in the article by St. Theophan “The Root Elements of Russian Life,” published in 1873 in the magazine “Home Conversation” [8, p. 766–767]. Without these “elements” the Russian people “will cease to be Russian and will lose their sacred tricolor banner” [6, p. 419]. This idea was actively supported by many publicists: S.P. Shevyrev, M.P. Pogodin, F.V. Bulgarin, N.I. Grechem, M.N. Zagoskin, N.V. Kukolnik, D.A. Khomyakov and others. Formulating this idea in a traditional way, however, the saint gives it special sharpness and clarity: “Orthodoxy is expressed by the unity of God-given truth; autocracy - the unity of God-given power; nationality - by the unity of aspirations indicated by the king and sanctified by God. Orthodoxy accepts the truth from God through the Church and humbly submits to it; autocracy receives the king from God through the succession of clans and whole-heartedly obeys him; the people perceive the consciousness of God's chosenness for the special purposes of Providence, measuring them by the known will of God and presenting themselves as its executing instrument. What an indestructible force - a people devoted to God and the king and unanimously striving to fulfill the goals indicated by God! What a deposit of prosperity and success for him in everything! There is a reason to take care of these treasures! Take care, Russian people, don’t waste or spoil them!” [6, p. 419–420]. Protestant teaching, according to St. Theophan, is characterized by “the spirit of novelty and constant renewal” [6, p. 49], distorting the true Christian teaching, which, on the contrary, is determined by the principle of succession from the apostles and is characterized by immutability. Saint Theophan also criticizes Protestant church historical science, which does not recognize Church Tradition. The saint calls for contrasting the ideas of nihilism and atheism, which were actively spreading in his contemporary society, with “the fundamental elements of Russian life” - Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. 1. Milovsky N., priest. Thoughts of Saint Theophan on Protestant church-historical science // Church Gazette. Arr. 1894. No. 50. December 10. S. 1790–1791. 2. Words to the Vladimir flock of His Grace Theophan. Vladimir, 1869. 688 p. 3. Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1859. 330 p. 4. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Collection. letters. Vol. I-VIII. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. 5. Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: Brief teachings. M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. 398 p. 6. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: Brief teachings. M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. 639 p. 7. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul: To Titus. To Timothy (Pastoral Epistles). M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. 849 p. 8. Feofan, bishop The fundamental elements of Russian life // Home conversation. 1873. Issue. 32. August 11. pp. 766–767. 9 . New ulcer // Home conversation. 1869. Issue. 41. October 11. pp. 1047–1048. 10. Orthodox mind and German mind // Home conversation. 1869. Issue. 40. October 4. pp. 1023–1024. Kashirina Varvara Viktorovna – Doctor of Philology, Professor at the Ilya Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (Moscow, Russia).