Часть вторая. О Боге в отношениях Его к тварям

God in His relation to the world and people is the Creator and Provider of the world, the Savior of man (Redeemer and Sanctifier) ​​and, finally, the Judge and the Rewarder. The disclosure of these truths of faith constitutes the content of the second part of Dogmatic Theology. § 36. The origin of everything that exists from God through creation Creation from nothing. – The difference between this teaching and dualistic and pantheistic teachings. - The creation of everything visible and invisible. The first action of God in relation to all finite being was the creation of this being itself. God, the Church teaches, is “the Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible.” That God is the only Author and First Cause of the world, as the totality of all finite being, and that the world did not arise in any way by itself, causelessly or accidentally, this truth is recognized by the natural mind of man, not illuminated by the light of revelation. It necessarily follows from the very concept of God as an unlimited and original being. And therefore, everyone who admits the existence of the Divine acknowledges that the world originated from God. But the true answer, consistent with the highest perfections of God’s being, to the question about the very way in which God created the world is given only by revelation in its teaching about the origin from God of everything that exists in space and time through creation. Under the name of creation in the revealed teaching is meant such an action of the omnipotence of God, by which everything that exists outside of God was produced not from anything, but from non-existent things, solely by the free action of the will of God. Hence, to believe in God as the Creator of heaven and earth means to recognize that the world, that is, the totality of all finite existence, was created by God not only in form (or the image of its existence), but also in matter (or in its essence) from complete non-existence. The doctrine of the origin of the world through creation denies all other possible assumptions about the method of origin of the world, expressed in ancient times and now, namely: the dualistic doctrine - about God’s formation of the world from ready-made matter that existed from eternity, the pantheistic doctrine - about God creating the world from His own being, and, moreover, the materialistic doctrine - about the self-formation of the world from eternal matter. Revelation proclaims the truth about God as the Creator of the world in its very first words: in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). The words heaven and earth are usually used by sacred writers to designate the entire volume of created existence (for example, Ps. 149:1-10; Acts 14:15), the same as the apostle uses the words visible and invisible (Col. 1:16). God created all this - bara (creavit). The word bara in Hebrew. language the creative actions of God are designated in contrast to human actions. It contains the concept of not just education, formation from a ready-made substance (in the latter case, words synonymous with bara are used, namely: asah - to do and jazar - to form), but creative creation (from non-existent). In particular, that the writer of everyday life also uses this word to denote the idea of ​​the creative origin of heaven and earth (from nothing) is evident from the connection and composition of his speech. In connection with the word in the beginning, i.e. when there was nothing yet, create - bara undoubtedly expresses the thought of creation from nothing. The same truth is repeated throughout the Old Testament writings. Job professes faith in God as the Creator of the world when he says: who has no understanding in all these (i.e., in creatures), as the hand of the Lord has done this (Job 2:9)? The Psalmist says: In the beginnings, O Lord, You founded the earth, and the works of Your hand are the heavens. They will perish, but You remain: and like a robe they promise, and like a garment I wear, they change. You are the same (Ps. 101:26–28). The prophets constantly reminded their people of this truth due to the tendency of the Jews to worship vain and insignificant gods (for example, Is. 51:13; Jer. 10: 11–12; Dan. 14, etc.). In later times, the most sublime example of the confession of faith in God the Creator was shown by the pious mother of the Maccabees. Convincing one of her sons to patient martyrdom for the faith of the fathers of Antiochus, she expressed the confession of this faith as follows: I pray that you, child, look at heaven and earth, and all that you see in them, understand that from things that do not exist (εξ ούκ όντων) God created these things (2 Mac 7, 28), - from non-existent ones, that is, everything was created by the one power of the omnipotence of God, and not from any ready-made beginning (ούκ εξ όντων, - not from anything, as it is said in the Aleksandr list of the Princes of the Maccabees, in the Vulgate - ex nihilo). In the New Testament, the Old Testament teaching about creation is confirmed in all its strength, but with the addition that the participation especially of the Son of God in the work of creation is shown. Thus, it is said about God that He calls things that do not exist, as if they exist, that is, He calls the non-existent into being (Rom. 4:17; cf. Gen. 17:5). About the Son of God Evang. John teaches: everything was by Him (πάντα, i.e. everything that exists, therefore matter), and without Him nothing came into being (strengthening and confirmation of the previous thought). the hedgehog came to pass (John 1:3; cf. Rev. 4:11). Ap. Paul says: By him (the Son of God) all things were created, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible (Col. 1:16; cf. Heb. 3:4). Only frank religion tells us about this method of the origin of the world, i.e. through creation, from which the idea of ​​creation passed into the so-called. natural religions, for example, Mohammedanism, as well as philosophy. Natural reason did not reach it through its own efforts, and even now, when this truth is proclaimed to a person from childhood and seems very simple and understandable, a person either distorts it or does not accept it every time he breaks away from the soil of revelation and surrenders to his own speculations. By his own efforts, man could only rise to the idea that God is generally the First Cause of the world, its Artist or World-Shaper, but could not step over the abyss separating being from non-existence, otherwise he rose only to the idea of world-formation, but not to the idea of pure creation, and at the same time fell and fell, as the history of the many different systems of ancient and modern philosophy shows, into dualism, or pantheism, and rejection of the existence of the Divine - and into materialism. As for the possibility of the origin of everything that exists from complete non-existence, it finds an explanation for itself in the omnipotence of God. To the pagans, who knew only about God the World-Former, but did not rise to the thought of creation, the ancient apologist, St. Theophilus Antiochus wrote: “What great thing would happen if God created the world from ready-made matter? And a human artist, if he receives a substance from someone, makes of it what he wants. The power of God is revealed in the fact that He creates out of nothing what He wants, and the way He wants” (To Autol. II, 4; sn. Irin. Prov. heresy 11, 10). According to St. Athanasius “if God is not the creator of matter Himself, but every creature creates from ready-made matter, then it is clear that He is powerless, because He is not able to produce anything real without matter, just as a woodmaker, no doubt, due to powerlessness, not having wood, cannot make any necessary thing” (Sk. on the Incarnation. 2). § 37. The creation of the world is not from eternity, but in time, or together with time Revelation's indication of the temporality of the created world. – Objections to views teaching about the eternity of creation. If the world was created, it means that it never existed and, therefore, does not exist from eternity. The Creator and his creation cannot be co-eternal: the producing cause must exist before what came from it. Thus, what is created must be recognized as initial or temporary. Not only this, God created everything that exists not only not from eternity, but in time, but also together with time - a form of finite and conditional being. The Church teaches that God is “the Creator not only of things, but also of the very time and age in which things came into being” (Rev. Spanish 33). Revelation affirms the truth about the temporality of the world when it directly mentions the beginning of the universe: in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and indicates that it once did not exist: before even the mountains did not exist and the earth and the universe were created (Ps. 89:3), or - now You, Father, have glorified Me with Yourself with glory, even though before You the world was not (John 17:5). The creation of time itself is assimilated to God in the words of the Apostle about the Son of God: By Him also made the eyelids (Heb. 1:2; cf. Proverbs 8:22–23). A sound thought can be convinced that the world is not without beginning, from the changeability observed in it, from the constant emergence and growth, decay and destruction (Ps. 102:26-28). What is changeable cannot last forever; change takes place in time and cannot be represented without a beginning. And, on the contrary, this constitutes a generally accepted truth: “what exists from eternity must eternally remain as it exists from eternity,” that is, it must be eternally unchangeable, and moreover, not only in essence, but also in state. Therefore, it would be inconsistent with sound thinking to assume the eternity of a world subject to constant changes in all its parts. On the other hand, to recognize the originlessness or eternity of the world would mean to recognize it in this respect as equal to God. But “if God is not the only eternal one,” notes Tertullian, then He is not God (Prot. Hermog. 4; Prot. Mark 1:15). Then either dualistic or pantheistic ideas about the Divine are inevitable, equally false. This is the special significance of the frank teaching about the temporality of the world and its superiority over the teaching (materialism and pantheism) about the eternity of the world. § 38. Image of the divine creation of the world The Word as the action of God's omnipotence. The image of God's creation of the world is incomprehensible to us. In constant experience, we see only the origin from ready-made material, but we do not see the origin of anything from complete non-existence. We can understand the mystery of creation only by faith. By faith we understand that the word of God will be perfected forever, in which things cannot be seen that do not appear (Heb. 11:3), the apostle teaches. Faith, according to the apostle, introduces us to the understanding of how, through the action of the omnipotence of God, the ages (τούς αιώνας), i.e., times that began to exist only with the appearance of creatures dependent on the conditions of time, and consequently the entire created world, from the non-appearing (μή φαινομένων), i.e. that is, from their existence from eternity in the mind of God only in one mental and hidden form, they began to be visible, that is, God’s thought about the creation of the world was manifested and realized in reality in the absence of any external ready-made material. Without explaining the essence of the mystery of creation, revelation makes it clear that the image of the creation of the world is completely consistent with the properties of the most perfect being of God. It teaches that creation was not caused by any unforeseen by God, random or external causes, but was predestined from eternity by Himself. Known (known) from eternity are all His works (Acts 15:18; cf. Dan. 13:42). The creation of the world, therefore, is only the realization of God’s eternal mental conceptions (ideas) about the world, in which He has contemplated all His future creations from time immemorial. Further, the world was created by God according to the will of His free will, and not due to any necessity. Create everything that the Lord wills in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the abysses (Ps. 134:6; sn. Ps. 113:11; Rev. 4:11). Otherwise, it is impossible to imagine the creation of the world as an action of the free will of God. If God had not had a free desire to create the world, then He would not have created it, because in relation to the actions of God, neither external nor internal coercion is unthinkable. External coercion is unthinkable, for He is the only original and omnipotent one. But there could not be in God an internal compulsion to create, for He, as an all-perfect being, and therefore all-blessed, had no need for any other being, different from Himself, to complete His perfection and bliss. The assumption of the internal compulsion of God to create the world necessarily leads to false concepts about God and the world in the pantheistic sense. Finally, everything was created by God without the slightest difficulty or any obstacles, according to His eternal ideas about the world and the determinations of His will. This is presupposed by the very concept of God's omnipotence. Scripture testifies to the creativity of God: God spoke: let it be, and it was (Gen. 1 ch.); To that speech, and it was, That commanded, and it was created (Ps. 149:5; fn. Is. 40:22–23). By the creative word of God, of course, we must understand not anything similar to the human word, but precisely the expression of the omnipotent will of God. God does not call what exists, but what exists. So, God created the world according to His eternal prototypes (ideas) about it, completely freely, by the omnipotence of His will. The plan of the universe was predetermined in images from time immemorial; free will deigned to realize this plan at a certain time; the action of God’s omnipotence called forth from non-existence into existence a world consistent with the eternal prototypes. § 39. The motive and purpose of creation The goodness of God and the bliss of creatures. – The glory of God in creation. The will of God, as the will of the most perfect Being, does not tend to act without worthy motives (voluntarily or according to random impulses of feeling), and the omnipotence of the Most Wise One does not tend to act without goals. “I did not create it in vain,” says God about the earth (Is. 45:18). He did not create everything in vain, the great things that I have created in it (Jerusalem), says the Lord Adonai (Ezek. 14:23). So, what prompted God to create the world and for what purpose was it created? No one knows God’s message, only the Spirit of God. Therefore, we can only know about the motives and purpose of creation from the revelation of God. The Orthodox Church teaches the frank teaching about the motives and purpose of creation as follows: “one must believe that God,... being good and most good, although He is in Himself most perfect and glorified, created the world out of nothing to the end, so that other beings, glorifying Him, would participate in His goodness” (Prov. Isp. 8; fn. Catich. 1 ch.). Thus, the motivation for the creation of the world was the infinite goodness of God, or the desire to have participants in His glory outside His inner life, and the purpose of creation was the bliss of creatures and the glory of the Creator. Love gave birth to the desire in God to create the world and moved Him to fulfill this desire. It is difficult to imagine another motivation for creation that is more worthy of the Divine. Goodness and love are, as it were, the very essence of God. God is loving. No one is good, only one God (Mark 10:18). Therefore, His will is good and desires only good. But it is not typical for love to remain closed, not to manifest itself outside. On the contrary, one of the main properties of love or goodness is to communicate its benefits to the greatest possible number of beings and to the greatest possible extent. By His infinite goodness, God created the world with countless kinds of finite species and forms of life capable of receiving benefits and imparted to them as many and such benefits as a finite living being can accept by its very nature. And Scripture, turning our gaze to the creation itself, invites us to see and confess in creation the work of God’s goodness: the Lord is good to everyone and His bounty is in all His deeds (Ps. 144:9; fn. Wis. 11:25–27). Confess to the Lord, for it is good, for His mercy endures forever (Ps. 105 et seq.; sn. 135: 5–9). In accordance with the motive and purpose of creation. God created everything for the bliss of creatures and for the great sake of His glory. That the happiness of creatures is one of the purposes of creation is clear from the motive by which God was pleased to create the world. Revelation confirms this when it teaches that all of God’s actions in relation to the world - providence, redemption, human salvation - have as their goal the bliss of creatures. This shows that the bliss of creatures was also the goal of creation. But the final, general, highest goal of created existence is the glory of God. According to the clear teaching of revelation, everything created is destined to be a revelation of the glory of God outside, that is, a reflection of the perfections of God, an expression in external existence of His eternal power and Divinity, and exists for the glory of God. In the prophets, all nature appears to glorify God or is called to glorify Him: the heavens tell the glory of God, but the firmament proclaims the creation of His hand (Ps. 18:2); the whole earth is filled with the glory of the Lord of hosts (Isa.6:3). Man was also created for the glory of God and for the revelation of His perfections (Sir.17:7-8, 10-11; Is.43:7; 61, 3). His whole life and existence should be directed towards one goal - the glory of God: glorify God in all your bodies and in your souls, which are the essence of God (1 Cor. 6:20); Whether you eat, whether you drink, or do anything else, do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31; cf. Matt. 5:16). Angelic life seems to be a continuous and unceasing praise in honor and praise of God (Is.6:3; Ps.102:20; Rev.4:8). Finally, in individual actions of God in relation to the world and man, their final goal is the glory of God. The Savior testifies that the greatest work of divine love - the redemption of men - has as its goal the glory of God: now the Son of man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him, He said in a farewell conversation with his disciples (John 13:31; cf. 8, 50, 54; 17, 1, 4). In the same way, the second coming of the Lord to earth will be for the sake of His glory: He (the Savior of the world) will come to be glorified in His saints and to be wondrous among all who believe (2 Sol 1:10). In short, all the actions of God have one goal - His infinite glory, or the manifestation of His eternal perfections in temporary and external existence: the Lord did everything for His own sake (according to some translation from Hebrew - “to suit Him” - Proverbs 16:4), says the Wise. According to the apostle: all things were created by Him and about Him (εις Αυτόν - for Him) ( Col. 1:16); For His sake is all things and unto Him all things (Heb. 2:10); for from Him, and by Him, and in Him (είς Αυτόν) are all things (Rom. 11:36). Everything is directed towards this, that God may be all in all (1 Cor 15:28). The glory of the Creator, combined with the perfection and bliss of creatures, is the general and final goal of all created existence. It goes without saying that this goal does not exclude special, private goals for certain types of created beings - for the angelic world, the earth and earthly creatures, for humans. But these private goals are subordinated to this last and highest goal. Note. – The creation of the world for the sake of the glory of God does not stand in any contradiction with the teaching about the creation of everything for the bliss of creatures. Essentially, these are not two goals, but only two sides of the same goal, viewed from different points of view and in different relationships. The glory of God is not anything like human glory. God seeks glory for Himself not in the same way as people seek it: His glory is inextricably linked with the bliss of creatures - it is their perfection and bliss. To the extent that a creature assimilates or reflects the glory of God or His perfection, through this it joins the Creator, the source of true perfection and bliss, to that extent is its bliss possible. § 40. Main types and order of creation The spiritual world, the material world and man. – The concept of the progressive and regressive order of creation. God called into existence three kinds of creatures: the spiritual world, the material world and man. About the order in which different types of creatures came into being, the following teaching is proposed in revelation. Before all other creatures, God created the invisible, spiritual world, the kingdom of disembodied spirits. Revelation does not tell us about the order of origin of the countless beings of the spiritual world, that is, whether they were created at the same time, or whether their various degrees gradually came into being - in an ascending or descending order. Then God created the sensory world, the history of whose origin in the order of ascension from less perfect forms of being to more perfect ones is set out at the beginning of the book. Genesis. The creation of the world ended with the creation of man (husband and wife), who by his bodily nature is adjacent to the sensual world, is its highest member, the crown of creation, and by soul - to the supersensible, spiritual world. It contains the contact and connection of two worlds - the world of pure spirits and the world of pure matter (small world - microcosm). I. The creation of the invisible or angelic world § 41. The concept of angels. The existence of created spirits or angels. The universality of belief in their existence and its justification by considerations of reason Name "angel". – The basis of our belief in the existence of angels is frank and experimental. – Objections to rationalists who reject the existence of angels. – The universality of belief in the existence of angels. I. The first place in the time of creation and the highest in the perfections of its nature in created existence belongs to the spiritual world or the angels of God. The name "angel" (άγγελος, Heb. maleach), according to the production of the word, is the name of a ministry, position, and not nature, and means actually a messenger or messenger. Therefore, in Holy Scripture it is sometimes learned by people, sometimes as human messengers or messengers (for example, Gen. 32:3; Num. 20:14; Judges 11, 12; Is. 18, etc.), sometimes as envoys or messengers. God's. In the latter sense, St. Malachi calls the Forerunner of the Lord I. Christ an angel (3, 1), which name confirms. I. Christ: this one is, and about him it is written: Behold, I send My angel before Thy face (Matthew 11:10). The Son of God himself, who appeared in the Old Testament in the form of an Angel of Jehovah, is called by the same prophet the Angel of the covenant (Mal. 1:3). The name angel is also adopted by some other prophets (2 Chronicles 36, 15-16; Hagg. 1:13), the priest of the Lord of Hosts (Mal. 2:7), and also by the apostles (Luke 9:52), and in the revelation of St. John - and to the bishops, as the successors of the apostles (Rev. 2:1; 8, 12; 1, 20). This is applied even to the elements of the world, as instruments of the will of God, for example, in the words of the Psalmist: create angels your spirits (Ps. 103:4). But in the proper sense, the angels in St. The Scriptures name special creatures of God, different from man and visible nature, personal beings (and not any soulless forces of nature), endowed with reason and freedom, incorporeal and immortal, superior to man, but serving in relation to God. II. Belief in the existence of angels is based on the evidence of revelation that they actually exist. And this is understandable. Angels, as incorporeal beings, stand outside and above those conditions and experiences that lead to conviction in the existence of beings and objects of the material world. Old Testament revelation presupposes and affirms the existence of the angelic world in stories about numerous appearances of angels to people (usually in human form) to proclaim to them the will of God and, in general, to fulfill His commands. Thus, to guard the path to the tree of life, the Lord placed in the east near the Garden of Eden a Cherubim and a flaming sword that turned (Gen. 3:24). Angels brought Lot out of Sodom (Gen. 19). Jacob in one case (in a dream vision) saw a multitude of angels ascending the stairs to heaven and descending to earth (Gen. 28:12), in another case (in the waking state) - entire regiments of angels (Gen. 32: 1-2). Under the order of the angels (Acts 7:58; cf. Deut. 33:2) the Israelites accepted the law of Moses. David saw an angel, at the command of God, striking his people (2 Kings 24:16), and the angel struck the Assyrians for the pride of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35). Isaiah Ave. saw the seraphim surrounding the throne of the Lord and received cleansing from one of them (Is. 6 ch.). Ave. Daniel had a vision of thousands of thousands serving the Ancient of Days and ten thousand angels standing before Him (Dan.7:10). Ave. Ezekiel was honored to see the many-eyed cherubim (Ezekiel 10:8–22). In other Old Testament references to angels, they are depicted as praising God (Ps. 149:2) and as servants of God (Ps. 102:2), it is said about them that they stand before the face of the Lord when He pleases to declare His will (Job 1:6; 2, 1), that angels take up arms around those who fear the Lord and deliver them, guarding them in all their ways ( Ps.33:8; 90, 11) etc. Note. Rationalists subject the Old Testament testimonies about angels to peculiar reinterpretations. There is a particularly widespread opinion (among opponents of the authenticity of biblical books) that the belief in angels was borrowed by the Jews from the Persian religion of Zoroaster during and after the Babylonian captivity, and before that time they did not have a clear doctrine of spirits. But if the Persian religion really had an influence on the appearance of the doctrine of angels in the Bible, then this doctrine should only be found in those books of the Old Testament that appeared from the time of the Babylonian captivity. Meanwhile, the teaching about angels extends from the book. Genesis, through all sacred writing. But to attribute the origin of all Old Testament Scripture to the time of the return of the Jews from captivity would be to directly contradict historical evidence. Most of the canonical books were written before the time of Zoroaster. At the same time, the Jews began to be subjected to foreign, pagan influences later than the Babylonian captivity, and only the Jews of the dispersion. The independence of the biblical teaching about spirits from the influences of the religion of Zoroaster is also proven by the fact that it differs significantly from the Persian teaching. There, the doctrine of spirits is based on dualism and emanatism, and in the biblical teaching - the concept of the creation of one God. In particular, the differences between the teachings of Zoroaster (Zend-Avesta) and the biblical teaching about spirits are as follows. 1) The spirits of the Zoroaster religion originate from two principles: the good ones from Ormuzd (otherwise Agura Mazda), the source of good and light, the evil ones from Ahriman (Angramainia), the source of evil and darkness. According to biblical teaching, all spirits were created by one God, and created good. 2) All spirits created by Ormuzd and Ahriman, like their leaders themselves, are not incorporeal; between them there are male and female spirits. According to biblical teaching, spirits are incorporeal beings; There is no gender division between them. 3) The spirits of the Zoroaster religion are not separate in nature from their creators; as originating from their light or darkness, they are identical with them in nature. On the other hand, they merge and mix with the visible world: the good and pure spirits of Ormuzd personify the positive side of existence and life, and the spirits of Ahriman - the negative. Meanwhile, according to biblical teaching, angels are separate from God and the world. 4) The spirits of the Persian religion are not free beings. Evil spirits are evil by nature, like the offspring of Ahriman; they appeared like this from the very beginning of their existence. But the spirits of Ormuzd are strong in goodness not as a result of free improvement in goodness, but only as a product of a good principle. The biblical teaching is completely different. Finally, 5) in the Persian religion, good spirits had a widely developed cult. They, being identical in nature with Ormuzd, were given almost the same worship as Ormuzd. But the Bible directly prohibits such worship of angels, which is befitting only one God. Thus, in essence, Zoroaster’s teaching about spirits is completely different from the biblical one, and, therefore, the latter cannot be recognized as borrowed from the Persian religion. The New Testament revelation affirms the truth of the existence of the spiritual world also, first of all, by indicating numerous cases of the appearance of angels to people. Thus, an angel announced to Zechariah the conception of the barren Elizabeth the Baptist (Luke 1:11) and St. Virgin Mary – seedless conception of the Savior (Luke 1:26); a large army of angels sang the glory of the birth of the Savior (Luke 2:13); the angel resolved Joseph's bewilderment (Matthew 1:20) and commanded him to flee to Egypt with the baby Jesus and His mother (Matthew 2:13); angels served Jesus Christ after His temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11); an angel appeared to strengthen Him in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43), angels opened His tomb (Matthew 28:2) and announced to the women about His resurrection (John 20:12), and to the apostles, when He ascended to heaven, about His second coming (Acts 10:10–11). The angels loosed the bonds and brought the apostles out of prison (Acts 5:19; 12, 7–15). An angel appeared to Cornelius and gave him instructions (Acts 10:3–6); the angel announced to the ap. Paul during a sea voyage that he must appear before Caesar (Acts 27:23–24). There is a lot of evidence in the New Testament that positively (dogmatically) affirms the existence of angels. So I. Christ, explaining the parable of the tares (Matthew 13:37–39), said: the good seed which is manifest is the Son of man, and he who sat down in the field is the world! This good seed is the son of the new kingdom, and the bad seed is the son’s enmity, and the enemy that is revealed to them is the devil!... and the harvesters are angels. In order to encourage His disciples not to despise any of the little ones who believe in Him, I. Christ pointed out: for their angels always see the face of My Father (Matthew 18:10). Admonishing the Sadducees, who rejected the existence of angels and the resurrection of the dead, He says: You are deceived, not by the soul of the Scriptures, nor by the power of God. On the resurrection, for they neither marry nor commit violence, but as the angels of God are in heaven (Matthew 22:30), and speaking about His second coming, he taught that the Son of man will come in His glory and the angel of the Father and the saints (Luke 9:26; fn. Matthew 25:31). The Apostles teach about angels that angels were created by the Son (Col. 1:16), bring reverent worship to Him as their Creator and God (Heb. 1:4-14) and are submissive to Him (1 Peter 3:22), that they monitor everything that happens in the church of God on earth (Heb. 3:10), are sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). ) etc. There is an opinion (of rationalism) that I. Christ and the apostles spoke about angels as real beings only in an adaptive way to the concepts of their contemporaries, not wanting to destroy false popular beliefs in their existence, inherited from the Old Testament, and they themselves did not recognize their existence. But such an assumption is incompatible with the dignity and greatness of the personality of I. Christ, His unconditional holiness and the height of His entire teaching. In the same way, it is incongruous with the moral qualities of His disciples and the way of their actions that they could deliberately support error in believers with inaccurate expressions, or deliberately remain silent about the truth. I. Christ once affirmed the existence of angels before the Sadducees, who rejected it (Luke 20:36; Matt. 22:29), and the ap. Paul - before the Colossians, who rendered improper service to the angels (Col. 2:18-19). In both cases there was a reason to express the doctrine of angels without adapting to popular beliefs, but in both cases their existence is definitely affirmed. III. The belief that in addition to the visible world there is another, invisible, supersensible world, the world of spirits, is contained not only in revealed religion, but was widespread both in the ancient pagan world (among the Egyptians, Persians, Arabs, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, etc.), and is also found today in all natural religions (among the Indians, Chinese, Mohammedans), not excluding the religions of Africa, America and Australia. fetishists. One might even say that it is almost as universal a belief as the belief in the existence of God. The universality of this belief, which, no doubt, passed into the religions of different peoples from the primitive religion and then more or less distorted, clearly shows that it is based on truth and corresponds to the needs of the rational and moral nature of man. The conviction of humanity in the existence of a world of pure spirits, higher than man, but lower than God, is completely consistent with the principles of sound thinking. In the ancient world, it was shared not only by ordinary pagans, but also by philosophers (for example, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Cicero and especially the Neoplatonists). During the Christian period, this teaching was and is also recognized by all right-thinking scientists and many philosophers (for example, Locke, Leibniz), as having justification for itself in considerations of common reason. These considerations are usually borrowed: from the concept of God as the Creator of the world, who wanted to reflect His glory in His creation, and from observation of world life, its structure, and the position of man in the realm of the universe. The essence of the first consideration is this. God wanted to reveal His perfections in the creation of the world. But to the highest possible degree of perfection of God, they are reflected only in the pure, incorporeal spirit, while in the sensory world and in people the image of God appears in a form closed by corporeality. Hence it is necessary to assume that in addition to the visible world and man, God also created a world of higher spiritual beings, free from corporeality, in which the image of God appears in a purer, brighter and closer to its Prototype form. The second consideration is this. Observation shows that the totality of earthly creatures and objects is like a ladder, having different steps, along which different forms of being rise in rows, starting with the lowest and simplest and ending with the highest, most complex. Between these forms there are no jumps or empty spaces anywhere; on the contrary, in the transition from one form to another, an amazing gradualness is noticed everywhere. At the highest level of earthly existence is man. What position does man occupy in the realm of the universe? By his bodily nature he is a member of the visible world, but only the highest, final member. But in its consciousness, rationality and moral personality, in short, in its spirit, it leaves the realm of visible nature. In this last respect, man is an exceptional being in the visible world. This exceptional position of man on earth can serve as the basis for the conclusion about the existence of a world of pure spirits, varying in degrees of perfection. The following conclusion by analogy leads to the recognition of the existence of the spiritual world: if a purely material nature exists below man, then above man there must certainly be a world of rational beings, pure spirits, the connecting link between which (the world of spirits and matter) is man; or in other words: if matter manifests itself in countless forms, then the spiritual principle must also be manifested not only in the form of the human spirit, but in various higher forms of the human spirit, i.e. angels. Further (to continue the analogy), if a number of earthly creatures and objects represent, as it were, a ladder of gradually ascending forms of being, then it is natural to think that the world of invisible intelligent beings, in accordance with this, also constitutes a ladder, the different steps of which are occupied by their relative dignity by invisible beings - angels, going to God in a gradually ascending order. Without the existence of angels, the gradually rising ladder of beings filling the universe would suddenly end in man, since the highest spiritual world would not have its completion and completeness. But is the existence of pure spirits possible? That their existence is possible, that they really exist, the proof of this is the existence of the human spirit; The spirit of man, although connected to the body, can exist separately from the body, and in any case constitutes a special entity, distinct from all material essence. If the existence of the human spirit is possible, then the actual existence of disembodied spirits is also possible. The denial of the existence of the kingdom of pure spirits (angels) serves as a more or less tangible sign of the rejection of the spirit in general, as an independent principle distinct from the body, as well as personal immortality. The Sadducees actually said that there is no resurrection, no angel, no spirit (Acts 23:8). § 42. The origin of angels from God. The time of their creation The teaching of Revelation on the origin of angels. – Opinions about the time of creation of angels and their foundation. I. Angels are not original, but have their existence from God. All of them were created by God, and did not receive their existence from God in any other way, for example, not through an outflow from the divine being. The truth of the origin of angels from God through creation is especially directly and clearly expressed in the New Testament, precisely in the following words of St. Paul about the Son of God: By Him were all things created, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether they were thrones, if they were dominions, if they were beginnings, if they were all powers, and by Him were created (Col. 1:16). In the Old Testament there are no such direct indications of the creation of angels, although their created origin is assumed both by the general teaching about God, the only Creator of everything that exists, and by the teaching about the angels themselves as ministering spirits. In explaining why Moses, who outlined the history of the universe in detail, kept silent about the creation of angels, ancient teachers pointed to the Jews' tendency towards polytheism, which could lead them to deify angels. II. When were angels created by God? This is not clearly stated in Holy Scripture. The ancient teachers of the church therefore expressed different opinions on this issue. The Orthodox Church has accepted the opinion that angels were created by God before all other creatures, and in general the spiritual world was created before the material world. (Reg. isp. 18; Cat. I part.). In Holy Scripture, some basis for such an opinion can be found in the words of God to Job: who is the one who laid the cornerstone on it (on the earth)? When the stars were created, all My angels praised Me with a great voice, or in other words, according to the Hebrew translation, who laid the cornerstone of it, that is, the earth, with the general rejoicing of the morning stars, when all the sons of God (Heb. benei Elohim, translated LXX - πάντες άγγελοι Μου) shouted for joy? ( Job 38:6–7 )? Here, firstly, by the position of the cornerstone one cannot understand anything other than the position of the foundation of the earth, the structure of its first principles, and, therefore, by the morning stars one cannot understand the stars of the visible world, which did not yet exist at the foundation of the earth, but one must understand rational beings, or angels, who are called morning stars because they constitute the first creation of God, which preceded, like the morning stars of the visible world, the day of the harmonious existence of the universe. Secondly, by the name of the sons of God, which are spoken of here, one cannot also mean anyone other than the angels of God; so they are named above in the same book of Job twice (1, 6; 2, 1); the people who are also sometimes called sons of God in Scripture did not yet exist at that time. Thus, the angels praised God even when the foundations of the earth were laid. From this we can conclude that the creation of angels preceded the formation of the material world. The opinion about the creation of angels before the material world was dominant in the ancient church. The expression of this opinion in St. Gregory the Theologian: “since it was not enough for Goodness,” he says, “to exercise only in contemplation of Itself, but it was necessary for the good to spread, to go further and further, so that there would be as many benefited as possible (for this is the property of the highest Goodness), then God invents, firstly, angelic and heavenly powers. And the thought became a deed that was filled with the Word and accomplished by the Spirit. This is how the second lordships came into being... God created the intelligent world... Since the first creatures were pleasing to Him, He invents another world - material and visible; and this is the harmonious composition of heaven, earth, and what is between them” (Sk. 38). St. I. Damascene, accepting the opinion of the Theologian about the time of the creation of angels, adds: “I agree with the Theologian: for it was more decent to first create an intelligent essence, then a sensory one, and then from both essences of man” (Accurate ex. c. II, 3). § 43. Nature and properties of angels The spirituality of angels or their incorporeality. – The difference between the spirituality of angels and the spirituality of God. – The limited nature of angels and their dependence on spatial and temporal properties. – The rationally free nature of angels. The nature and properties of angels are contained in revelation and taught by the church: angels are disembodied spirits, endowed with the powers inherent in the spirit - mind, free will and feeling, the most perfect human souls, but limited in their nature and its properties. I. Angels are spirits. The Apostle directly calls good angels ministering spirits (πνεύματα, - Heb. 1:14). The fallen angels by both the Savior (Matthew 12:43; 8, 16) and His apostles (Eph.2:2) are also called spirits by their nature - πνεύματα. Angels are ethereal or incorporeal spirits. In Scripture, angels are nowhere attributed to the corporeality not only characteristic of people in the conditions of real life, but even corporeality in a glorified, spiritualized form. If any corporeality in the strict sense were characteristic of angels, such silence from Scripture would be inexplicable. Meanwhile, there are also some indirect indications in Scripture of the incorporeality of angels. So, I. Christ, answering the question of the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead, said: on the resurrection they neither marry nor commit violence, but as the angels of God are in heaven (Matthew 22:30), neither can anyone die (Luke 20:36). In the words of the Savior, corporeality in the nature of angels is denied in a crudely sensual form, with its destructibility, but glorified corporeality is not assimilated, for people who are resurrected only become like angels, and are not identified with them, that is, they will not be angels or will not change into angels. Ap. Paul calls angels invisible (Col. 1:16), i.e. having nothing perceptible to the sense of sight, and contrasts them with flesh and blood: our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). Finally, the very name of them as spirits - πνεύματα - leads to the conclusion that their nature is incorporeal. The Savior explained to His disciples when they mistook His appearance after the resurrection for the appearance of the spirit. Along with evidence suggesting the incorporeality of angels, Scripture indicates many cases of the appearance of angels to people in sensual images, usually in human form (sometimes with wings, see, for example, Dan.9:21; Rev.8:13; 14, 6), the language of angels is mentioned, with which they glorify God, surrounding Him (Isa. 6:1-3; Cor 13, 1), they acquire great purity, wingedness (Ezek.1 ch., Is.6 ch.); the manna sent down from heaven to the Jews is called the bread of angels (Ps. 77:25), and about the men who appeared to Abraham, it is directly said that they ate (Gen. 18:8). It would be a mistake to conclude from this that angels are not incorporeal by nature. The sensual images in which they appeared to people do not belong to them essentially; it is only their temporary state, and not a permanent existence, just as God Himself apparently appeared to people. “When the angels,” says St. I. Damascene, - by the will of God they are worthy, then they are not what they are in themselves, but in some transformed form (εν μετασχηματίσμω), so that those who see can see them. They are transformed into whatever the Lord God commands, and thus they appear to people and reveal to them divine secrets” (Ill. v. II, 3). In accordance with this, one should look at their eating during appearances to people. They have no need for material food. But if angels can take on a body, they can also take on food. By angelic bread we must understand, of course, not material food, but special, spiritual food, a weak likeness of which was the manna sent down from heaven. Angelic tongues, multiplicity, wingedness are figurative representations of the spiritual properties inherent in angels. The ancient fathers and teachers of the church, with few exceptions, taught about angels as incorporeal beings. Their usual names for angels were the names of their beings “incorporeal”, “incorporeal”, “spiritual”, “pure spirits”, “luminous, invisible angels”, etc. The opinion that suggested the existence in angels of a body similar or close to the sensory body of a person was expressed by very few (apologists, Origen, Tertullian), but it was rejected as contrary to Scripture, wicked and foolish. However, the most authoritative ancient teachers of the church understood the incorporeal nature of angels in the sense of relative incorporeality, namely, that they are incorporeal only in comparison with us, clothed with coarse and heavy flesh. “An angel is a being endowed with intelligence, free, incorporeal,” says St. I. Damascene. “An angel is called incorporeal and immaterial in comparison with us. For everything in comparison with God, the only incomparable one, turns out to be crude and material. The Divinity alone is entirely (όντως) immaterial and incorporeal.” Therefore, angels “although they do not have gross physicality, they also have the appearance and limitations inherent in their nature” (Ill. v. II, 3 and 12; Sl. 3 on icons, 24; sn. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 38). Some of the ancient teachers understood and expressed the idea of \u200b\u200bthe relative incorporeality of angels in the sense that although angels do not have bodies in the proper sense (incorporeal and invisible), they have a kind of material shell, fire-like and air-like (so they thought on the basis of Ps. 107:4; Heb. 1:7), which has nothing in common with visible, sensory bodies (for example, Basil the Great. About the Holy Spirit, to Amphil. 16; book of the ep. Thessal., read on VII. However, the idea of ​​such a shell of angels is only an assumption and a personal opinion. II. As disembodied beings, angels are less constrained by the conditions of space than people and are dependent on place in a completely different way than we and any body. This is confirmed by the extraordinary speed and speed with which the angels are transferred from place to place. But as limited beings, they, of course, cannot acquire complete independence from the conditions of space, or omnipresence. They are only located where they act. “Angels are limited,” says St. I. Damascene, - for when they are beyond heaven, they are not on earth, and when they are sent by God to earth, they do not remain in heaven, and cannot at the same time be and act here and there. However, they are not held in place by walls, doors, locks, or seals” (Ill. v. II, 3). Angels are less dependent than beings clothed with flesh on the conditions of time. They are gifted with immortality (Luke 20:36). But this independence, like immortality, is not unconditional, but relative. Changes occur in their spiritual life: gradual improvement in goodness, in knowledge of truth, in love. and this kind of changeability in the spiritual life of angels also presupposes their dependence on the conditions of time. In the same way, although they are immortal, “but immortal,” as St. I. Damascene, “not by nature, but by grace (i.e., the goodness of the Creator, who granted them immortality by nature at their very creation), for everything that has a beginning by nature also has an end” (Ill. v. II, 3). Like all created beings, they depend entirely on God for their existence. III. As spiritual beings, angels have powers inherent to the spirit: reason, free will and feeling. Revelation presents the powers of the spirit with which the Creator created the disembodied spirits as perfect as the powers in the primordial man were not perfect. The psalmist testifies that man was created as a little thing, lower than the angels (Ps. 8:5). In particular, the mind of angels in Scripture is depicted as so perfect that their knowledge appears to be an example of the extraordinary knowledge that is communicated to the elect of men (2 Samuel 14:20). They see the heavenly Father (Matthew 18:10) and their knowledge should therefore be in all respects more perfect than human. About the power and willpower of angels. Peter teaches that angels are greater in strength and power, that is, superior to all earthly principalities and powers (2 Pet 2:11; cf. Ps. 103:20). The power of angels is also evidenced by the actions they performed at different times, such as, for example, the beating by an angel in one night of all the firstborn of Egypt (Ex. 12. 23; 4, 24), the beating of 185 thousand Assyrian troops in one night (2 Kings 19, 35), the defeat of the Jerusalemites under David (2 Kings 24, 15-17). The Savior Himself testified to the depth and strength of their feelings when he said: there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). But although the spiritual perfection of angels is high, their powers are limited, just as their nature in general is limited. Scripture testifies to the limitations of their mind when it indicates that the being of God is known only to the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:11), therefore, it is also unknown to the angels that they do not fully know the great mystery of our redemption (Eph. 3:10) and are still trying to penetrate into it (1 Peter 1:12), they do not know the day and hour of the second coming of Christ (Mk 13:32), knowledge does not even spread them on the secrets of the human heart (1 Kings 8, 39; Jer. 17:9; 2 Chronicles 6, 30). A similar limitation is characteristic of angels in terms of their will and feelings. Thus, the power of angels does not extend to the point that they can work miracles with their power; only God alone can perform miracles (Ps. 71:18). Right Job confesses that God sees something obstinately in the angels (Job 4:18), and therefore, both the perfection of the will of the angels and the movements of their feelings do not extend to perfect holiness. § 44. Number of angels. Heavenly hierarchy. Seven Higher Angels The immensity of the number of angels by the human mind. – Heavenly ranks, their differences. – The teaching of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite on the hierarchy of angels. – Seven highest angels. I. Angels exist in an incalculably great multitude. Therefore, Scripture does not determine approximately their number, but only makes it clear that it is very large. Yes, Patr. Jacob saw entire armies of God's angels (Gen. 32:1–2); tens of angels were intermediaries in the legislation at Sinai (Deut. 33:2; cf. Acts 7:53; Gal.3:19). The Prophet Daniel saw that when the Ancient of Days sat on His throne, then thousands of thousands (that is, millions) of angels served Him and ten thousand thousand (billions) stood before Him (Dan. 7:9-10). The New Testament seer also saw around the throne of God and heard the voice of many angels, and their number was thousands upon thousands (Rev. 5:11). Many heavenly howls praised the birth of the Savior of the world (Luke 2:13) and they will accompany Him in darkness at His second coming (Jude 1, 14; Matthew 16, 27; 24, 25, 31). I. Christ, when the ap. Peter drew his sword in His defense, saying that through His prayer more than twelve legions of angels could have come to help Him, if it had pleased Him (Matthew 26:53). Based on such instructions from Scripture, the ancient fathers and teachers of the church asserted that “the innumerable blessed army of the worldly minds” (On heavenly Jer. 14). “There are,” says St. I. Chrysostom, - myriads of myriads of angels, there are thousands of thousands of archangels, thrones, dominions, principles, powers, countless hosts of incorporeal forces and their inscrutable generations" (Private anom. II, 4. Book of Blessed Theodore. Abbreviated exposition of divine dogmas. Chapter 7). To clearly represent the innumerable multitude of angels, some of them used the well-known image of the Savior’s parable about the lost sheep (one of a hundred), while searching for which the owner left ninety-nine sheep in the desert (Luke 15:4–5; Matt. 18:12). By one lost sheep they meant the entirety of the human race, and by the other ninety-nine sheep they meant the entirety of the angelic order that was not involved in sin. “Count how numerous the Roman people are,” says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, - count how many barbarians are now still alive, and how many of them have died in a hundred years, count everyone from Adam to this day. This number is great, but it is still small; because there are even more angels. They are ninety-nine sheep, and humanity is one hundredth sheep.” (Olch. lecture XV, 24). The angels, existing in such an innumerable multitude, all received existence through the action of God's creativity (Col. 1:16), and did not increase to such a number through gradual reproduction. In the words of the Savior to the Sadducees: in the resurrection they neither marry nor commit violence, but as the angels of God are in heaven, the possibility for angels of reproduction through birth is rejected. But since their number cannot decrease through death, for they cannot die, it is clear that angels at the very beginning were created by God in that innumerable number, in whatever quantity it pleased the Creator so that they would always exist. II. All the countless numbers of angels constitute a special kind of kingdom in which God Himself reigns as the true King of all things. Between the members of this kingdom there are angelic ranks that are higher and lower in dignity and degree of closeness to God; in general, there is a special kind of hierarchy or hierarchy, just as there is disparity of talents and positions in the human world and degree of diversity in the entire sensory world. The Holy Scripture indicates the following nine degrees of the heavenly hierarchy: seraphim (Is.6:2), cherubim (Gen.3:24; Ex.25:18-22; Ps.79:2; 17, 11; 98, 1; Is.37:16; Ezek.1 and 11 ch.; 41, 18-25; Rev. 4:6–8; 5, 8–14), powers (Eph. 1:21; Rom. 8:38), thrones, dominions, principalities, powers (Col. 1:16; Eph. 1:21; 3:10), archangels (1 Sol 4:16; Jude 9) and angels (1 Pet 3:22; Rom. 8:38). The Church, in the person of the fathers and teachers of the church, has always recognized the gradual difference between angels and their division into classes. The ancient fatherly teaching about the ranks of angels is expressed with particular clarity in the book “On the Heavenly Hierarchy,” known as the work of Dionysius the Areopagite. The teaching about the nine ranks of angels set forth here was also included in the symbolic books of the Orthodox Church (Right. Spanish Rep. 20). The nine orders of angels mentioned in Scripture in the said creation are divided into three hierarchies ('ιεράρχιαι) and each hierarchy into three faces (χόροι). Their order, according to the degree of perfection of their God-created nature and approach to the One God in the Holy Trinity, is as follows: Higher hierarchy (έπάρχιαι): Seraphim (Heb. Seraphim). Cherubim (Heb. cherubim). Thrones (θρόνοι, throni). Middle hierarchy (μεσάρχιαι): Dominations (κυριότητες, dominationes), Forces (δυνάμεις, exercitus), Authorities (ίξουσίαι, potestates). Lower hierarchy (ύπάρχιαι): Beginnings (άρχαί, principatus), Archangels (αρχάγγελοι), The writer of the book “On the Heavenly Hierarchy” (VI, 2) makes this division of the ranks of angels from his mentor, the apostle. Pavel. The same division of the angelic ranks into three triple degrees is given (based on the teaching in the book “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”) by St. I. Damascene (Ill. v. II, 3) and St. Gregory the Dvoeslov (On Ev. John II, 34). All calculated degrees of the angelic world are indicated in Scripture. But do they embrace all the ranks of angels? In ancient times there was an opinion that they do not hug, and that there are many other names and faces that are not revealed to us in the present life, but will become known in the future life. Yes, St. I. Chrysostom says: “there are angels and archangels, thrones and dominions, principles and powers; but not only these hosts exist in heaven, but endless hordes and innumerable tribes, which no word can depict. How do we know that besides these forces there are many others that we do not know by name? Paul, having spoken about the first, also mentions the second, expressing himself about Christ this way: He has set Him above all principality and authority and power and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come (Eph. 1:21). Do you see that there are some names that will be known there that are now unknown?” (Priv. Anom. IV, 2. Sn. Orig. About the beginning. I, 5; Blessed Theodore. and Theophilus. On Eph. 1:22). The basis for the division of angels into degrees and ranks is the difference in the perfections of the God-created nature of angels, otherwise, the greater or lesser strength of their spiritual powers received during creation. An indication of this can be seen in the words of the Apostle Paul about the Son of God: By Him were all things created... even thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, all kinds of things (hence, other angelic degrees besides those enumerated) By Him were created (Col. 1:16). If the ranks of angels were created, then the division into ranks did not appear ever after. Therefore, the church (at the V Vs. Sob.) condemned the opinion of Origen that all angels were initially equal in nature and powers and that the degrees between them appeared after some of them had fallen. In accordance with the perfections of God-created nature and the position of various angelic ranks in the heavenly hierarchy, the church fathers presented their knowledge and mutual relations. They are enlightened, according to St. Gregory V. “in proportion to their nature and rank” (Sl. 28). “Thrones, cherubim, seraphim are taught from God, as the highest and closest to God, and the lower ranks are taught from them,” says St. Afanasy. “They enlighten each other,” says St. I. Damascene, - primarily by rank or nature.” Such a teaching was also included in the Orthodox Confession of Faith” (answer to question 20), which says: “they (angels) are placed in such an order that the lower angels receive enlightenment and the benefits of God through the higher ones.” In accordance with this, one must think, the secrets of the hierarchy are carried out in the angelic world, but only God, the author of their hierarchy, knows exactly about this, and they themselves also know. (On heavenly Jer. VIII, 1; IX, 2). III. In Holy Scripture, in addition to the mention of the nine ranks of angels, some of the angels, the highest ones, are given proper names. The names indicate, first of all, their occupations, but together they also make it possible to see the properties of these angels. Holy Scripture indicates five such names (two in canonical and three in non-canonical books), and two names are indicated by Tradition. These seven highest angels by name and “order in their rank” (St. Demetrius Rost.) are: Michael, whose name from Hebrew means: who is like God, or - who is equal to God (Dan.10:13; 12, 1; Jude 9 v.; Rev. 12:7-8), Gabriel - the man of God, the power of God (Dan.8:16; 9, 21 ; Luke 1:19, 26), Raphael - help, healing of God (Tov.3:16; 12, 12-15), Uriel - fire or light of God (3Ezra 4, 1; 5, 20), Salafiel - prayer to God (3Ezra 5, 16). These same angels also include Jehudiel - the glorifier of God or the praise of God, and Barachiel - the blessing of God, whose names are not found in Holy Scripture 24. These angels in church liturgical hymns are called the archangels of the heavenly armies. They, according to the belief of the church, are closest to the majesty of God, above all the heavenly ranks, directly before the throne of the Trinitarian Divinity, and, by the will of God, govern all the ranks and hierarchies of the angels (Dimit. Rost. Ch.-Min. under 8 Nov.). In the revelation of John the Theologian there is a mention of them in the following connection of speech: grace to you and peace from the One who is, and the one who is, and the one to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne (1, 4; sn. 8, 2). II. Creation of the visible world § 45. Moses' legend about the creation of the material world. Its historical character Six days and its interpretations. I. In revelation, the teaching about the origin of the material world is contained in the sacred history of the universe, with which Scripture begins, that is, in the account of life of Moses (Gen. 1 ch.). None of the sacred writers, not only of the Old, but also of the New Testament, speaks more fully and in more detail than in this description of everyday life; The completion of this legend by later sacred writers consists only in a clearer indication than in Moses of the participation in the work of creation of all persons of the Holy Trinity. Hence, when revealing the doctrine of God the Creator of the visible world, clarification of the nature and meaning of this narrative is required. II. According to the legend of Moses, the universe with everything living on it came into existence not by a single wave of the almighty Creator, but through the repeated creative actions of God. The question arises: does Moses’ narrative about the gradual creation of the world represent the actual history of the creation of the world, or is it an allegory in which the saint is freely depicted? the writer possible or more or less probable order of the universe for a more visual expression of the idea that God is the Creator of the world? Even in ancient times, we expressed a view on the narrative of Moses as an allegory. But with particular persistence they began to reject the historical nature of this story in modern times, under the influence of the latest discoveries in the field of natural science, which were supposedly irreconcilable with this legend when taken literally. But such a view of the legend of Moses must be considered unfounded. This legend contains an image of the truly accomplished history of peacemaking, which occurred precisely with the gradualness and consistency indicated by the sacred writer of everyday life. The correctness of this understanding is confirmed by Moses’ own view of his story, and by the acceptance of it as history by subsequent sacred writers, as well as by its ancient interpreters. Moses looked at his story as history. He placed it at the very beginning of his history book. If his entire book is historical, then, of course, one must also look at the narrative of peacemaking. Moses gives no reason to look at him differently. Meanwhile, if he were conveying not history, but his personal assumptions and views on the world, or walking legends, then, of course, he would have mentioned this, or would have given something to notice it. The main thing is that the laws on the Sabbath rest (Ex. 20:8-11; 31, 12-17) and on jubilee celebrations are based on this narrative, which laws could not have binding force if they were not based on historical truth. The later sacred writers of the Old Testament, as well as those of the New Testament, looked at the story of Moses as the true history of the creation of the world. This can be seen from their numerous testimonies. confirming the authenticity of the Mosaic legend about the creation of peace (see, for example, Ps. 32:6, 9; 103, 19; 148, 4; 2 Pet 3, 5; 2 Cor. 4: 6; Heb. 4, etc.). The Savior Himself, in the narrative of the creation of man, affirmed the indissolubility of marriage as a divine institution, and condemned divorce (Matthew 19:4–6), and St. Paul also derives from here the rules that determine the behavior and mutual relationship in the marriage of husband and wife (1 Cor. 11:3-12; Eph. 5:28-31, etc.). Jewish interpreters (with the exception of Philo) accepted the story of Moses as history, without expressing doubt about its divine origin. The same understanding was dominant in the ancient patristic teaching about peacemaking and in the ancient patristic interpretations and conversations on the Sixth Day. “No one should think,” says, for example, St. Ephraim the Syrian, - that the six-day creation is an allegory" 25. The newest defenders of the opinion about the allegorical nature of the Mosaic narrative about the creation of peace against accepting it as the true history of peacemaking point primarily to the impossibility of allegedly reconciling this legend with the conclusions of the natural sciences. Antiquity, they say, did not have such broad and accurate information about nature, which is why it was then possible to look at the biblical story as pure truth. But the discoveries of modern science destroy this view, which is why in the legend of Moses only the idea that God is the Creator of the world should be recognized as revealed by God, and everything else in it is the fruit of human considerations. Such reasoning cannot be considered valid. If the Bible and nature are two organs of revelation, if through one and the other God speaks to man, if both of them are, as it were, books written by the hand of God so that man can read the truth in them, then there can be no contradiction between what the Bible says and what nature teaches. It is necessary, however, to remember that the story of Moses is not an ordinary historical narrative. Since no one could be a witness to the creation, its subject could only be revealed by God Himself. It is a revelation of God, which was given, without a doubt, not only to the prophet Moses, but also to the first people. § 46. History of the creation of the material world Creation is general (original) as creation from nothing. – Private or educational creation. - Days of creation. - The order of peacemaking. Outlining the history of the creation of the world, Moses distinguishes two main types of creation: general creation, the original, which consisted in the creation of the very substance of the world (the so-called creatio prima), and private or educational creation (creatio secunda), which followed the general and consisted of the creation from the primordial substance by the power and wisdom of the Creator of various types of creations during six extraordinary times, called “days” in the history. He who lives forever created everything in common. (Sir.18:1), says the wise son of Sirach, meaning this first type of creation, and about the six-day formation of the entire sensory world by the creative and organizing activity of God from this primal substance, another sage of the Old Testament says: the omnipotent hand of God created the world from an imageless substance (εξ άμορφου ίλης – Prem 11, 18). The writer of everyday life tells: in the beginning God (Elohim) created (bara) the heavens (schamaim, - plural, heavens) and the earth. The earth is invisible and unsettled: and darkness is on top of the abyss, and the Spirit of God is carried on top of the waters (1-2 vv.). The first creative act of God in the creation of the universe was the creation of heaven and earth. By “earth” Moses undoubtedly did not mean earth in the proper sense, created later, but the substance that was initially in a state of confusion and disorder, from which further world formation followed. But what should we mean by heaven? The words “heaven”, “heavens”, in addition to the cosmic meaning (i.e., their use in Scripture to designate the atmospheric and astronomical sky), also have a symbolic, figurative meaning in the Old Testament. Heaven is often understood in Scripture as the world above, above the senses (2 Cor. 12:2), the place where God dwells (Ps. 67:34; Matt. 6:9; John 6:38; Heb. 8, etc.), angels (Ps. 149: 1–2; Matt. 18:10; Eph. 1, etc.), called the heavenly host (1 Kings 22, 19; Luke 2 and others). etc.), and the saints of God (2 Kings 2, 11; Matt. 6:20; 19, 21, etc.). There is an opinion that the word “sky” is used in a figurative sense at the beginning of the book. Genesis, precisely by heaven is meant here the heavens of heavens (1 Kings 8, 27, 30, 39), or the invisible world, the angelic one, created before the visible world. But such an understanding has no decisive basis. The famous ancient interpreters of Shestodnev (for example, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Chrysostom, Blessed Theodoret, Ephraim the Syrian, I. Damascus) understood the entire visible universe to be the primordial heaven and earth, and did not understand the word heaven in an improper, spiritual sense. In accordance with the initial state of the earth and under the primordial sky, it is more correct to understand the same state of confusion and disorder of the primary substance of the world, from which all celestial bodies were later formed. God created the heavens and the earth, that is, the general composition of the entire visible world (bara), from nothing. The emerging initial earth (actually the universal substance) was invisible and unstructured (Heb. tohu vabohu - formless and empty), that is, it was an imageless, empty, lifeless mass. The original substance was thus barely rising above the insignificance, alien to any definite structure. This first state of things is further called the abyss (Hebrew tehom - an expanse of water, amazing in its depth or vastness), or, as it were, a boundless sea, as well as waters, which shows that “of the known types of bodies, the world’s primary substance came closest to the property of liquid bodies” (Zap. on the book of Genesis, Metropolitan Philaret). This whole abyss or amazing emptiness was in complete darkness, since light did not yet exist. And the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) is the Divine creative Spirit, the beginning of all life (Ps. 103:30; 32:6), the third person of the Holy Trinity, floating on top of the water. that is, over a shapeless, lifeless mass. The word worn (merachephet) in translations from the original text, according to the explanation of St. Basil the Great, used instead of the word “warmed, revived”, in the likeness of a bird. incubating eggs and imparting life-giving force to the heated one (On Hex. 2 demon). Thus, the Spirit of God hovered over the imageless and lifeless mass (hovered over the waters) in order to breathe vital forces into it, to prepare those forms of life that were to be called into existence by the subsequent creative word. Private or educational creation consisted in the creation by God from the primordial world substance, through the action of His omnipotent word, of various private types of creation in the gradualness of six creative days. First day. (3–5 tbsp.). – The creative week began with the creation of light. And God said: let there be light: and there was light (Heb. or), or, as the apostle says, light shone out of the darkness of the abyss (2 Cor. 4:6). By light, the first product of the divine word, is meant luminous substance or matter, different from the carriers of light, luminous bodies created later. Light was the first called forth from the primordial substance and separated from it, as the first manifestation of the vital forces invested in it by the Divine Spirit. And this is because light and the heat associated with it (Hebrew “or” combines two meanings - light and heat) are the first and most important condition for organic life in the world: without light and the heat associated with it, neither plant nor animal life can develop; and for inorganic compounds the influence of light is in most cases necessary. – Natural science also sees the kinship and connection between the phenomena of light and heat. Natural science recognizes that heat and light are caused by the movement of parts of matter and represent, so to speak, a type of movement. This may somewhat clarify for us the essence of God’s creativity on the first day of the world. The words of the Creator: let there be light, can be understood precisely in this way: the Lord, with His wise and omnipotent word, first brought into a state of motion the primal substance, which was incapable of moving by itself, without an outside push, and then, through this, awakened in it, along with heat and other phenomena, light. Thus, God is first the Creator of inert matter, and then its Prime Mover. Second day. (6–8 st.). – On the second day, by the creative command of God, the firmament (Heb. rakia) appeared in the midst of the waters. The Hebrew word rakia (from the verb raka - to stretch, spread) means extension, stretching of the air space, which, like the atmosphere, surrounds, like a tent (Ps. 103:2), or a transparent blanket (Is. 40:22), the globe and separates it from other bodies of the universe - the same thing that is now denoted by the vague expression heaven, the firmament. The creation of the firmament established a division between the waters that are under the firmament and between the waters that are above the firmament. The work of creation on the second day, therefore, can be represented as follows: in the immeasurably enormous mass of primordial matter, which had no definite outline, division took place into parts, that is, into celestial bodies; the space formed between the parts of the divided whole became their firmament. With the recognition that, according to the creative command, let there be a firmament in the midst of water, the formation of world bodies began to take place, one must think that on the second day, our planet, the earth, received a separate existence in a certain outline and volume, with the atmosphere surrounding it: but it is still water under the heavens or under the firmament, like other bodies - waters above the firmament (cf. 2 Pet 3, 5; cf. 10 and 12 art.). Third day. (9–13th century). On the third day, according to “the word of the Creator, the division or dismemberment of the hitherto unknown whole earthly body into water and land took place (explained in more detail in Ps. 104:6-10) and the first life on land, plant life, arose. And God said: let the waters that are under heaven be gathered together into one, and let the dry land appear; and be it. How the collection of earthly waters into known reservoirs and the emergence of land took place, everyday life does not tell us. One can imagine the creative action of the third day presumably like this. Above the earth's body there was an atmosphere already cleared of vapors, but the earth itself was still water. According to creative command, the thickened and gradually cooled substance rose in some places and sank in others; elevated places were exposed to water, became dry land, and the depressions and depressions were filled with water flowing into them and formed rivers and seas (Ps. 23:2). Land and sea are two components of the globe, and with their separation its formation was completely completed. With the advent of land, plant life became possible. Other conditions for the existence of the plant kingdom already existed (light and warmth, air, humidity). The second creative action of the third day was the creation of the plant kingdom. God commands the earth to produce plants: let the earth sprout the former grass, sowing seed according to its kind and likeness, and the fruitful tree, producing fruit, and its seed in it according to its kind on the earth: and so it was. However, one should not assume here the phenomenon of the so-called. spontaneous generation. By itself, without any seeds and by its own natural forces, the soil cannot produce any plants, even the most simple ones. Plants could appear and actually grew only at the creative command of God. The Creator commands the earth to produce plants, and does not simply command them to be, because the beginnings of their origin were invested by Himself in its maternal depths (one might think, by the action of the Spirit of God, hovering over the primordial abyss). The earth, according to the creative word of God, brought forth greenery, grass yielding seed according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit, in which is their seed according to its kind. These three classes embrace all species of the plant kingdom. What is remarkable is the enumeration of the newly created species of the plant kingdom, first the simplest, and then more complex and perfect. One might think that the sequence in the description also indicates the sequence of the very creation of species of the plant kingdom, according to their genus, that is, in various specific forms. Fourth day. (14th–19th century). On the fourth day, the sun, moon and stars, in general the celestial bodies, were created. The creative command about the existence of these bodies is depicted in the words: let there be luminaries (Heb. maor) in the firmament of heaven. This expression does not indicate the original creation, that is, out of nothing, but the creative formation of objects. The basic matter not only for the earth, but also for the sky and celestial bodies was created in the beginning (the heavens and the waters above the firmament); the formation of the celestial bodies, one might think, took place simultaneously with the formation of the earth and in the same sequential order. On the fourth day the creative formation of these bodies is only completed, just as on the third day the creative formation of our planet is completed. Together with their complete education, from the fourth day, by a special creative command, they became luminaries for the earth - carriers of the primordial light, its instigators or instruments (this is precisely the meaning of the Hebrew maor, in contrast to or, - the primordial light), which before that time they were not - they alone became the so-called. self-luminous bodies (the sun and fixed stars), others - shining with borrowed light (for example, the moon and other planets or so-called dark bodies) 26. Fifth day. (20–23 art.). – On the fifth day, the creation of the animal kingdom began: first the inhabitants of the waters were created, and then on the same day the inhabitants of the air. When creating the inhabitants of the waters, God said: let the waters destroy the living souls of the living... and so be it. The expression: let them exhaust (Heb. jeschrezu - let the waters become swarming) actually means: “let the water be filled with living creatures” capable of living in it, but not through the action of the forces imparted to the substance, but through the action of the creative command of God: and create (bara, - a verb used only where creation is indicated in the proper sense) God (direct denial of the idea of ​​the ability of matter to produce life) great whales (Heb. taninim - large sea monsters, which applies both to large fish, and to monstrous lizards, saurs, etc.) and every soul of animal reptiles (Heb. scherez - reptiles or many-bearing, from scharaz - crawl, swarm, swarm, embraces all aquatic animals - from the greatest to the smallest), even having plagued the waters according to their kind 27 . The fifth day includes creation and the inhabitants of the air. God's proclamation about their existence is expressed in the words: let the birds fly over the earth across the firmament of heaven. “According to the immediate translation of the words of Moses, God’s proclamation,” explains Rev. Metropolitan Filaret, says this: let everything that flies (hence, not only birds, but also insects) fly on the earth in the firmament of heaven.” God created (bara) the inhabitants of the air according to their kind. Sixth day. (24–25 st.). On the sixth day, the animals of the earth and man, the crown of the creatures of the earth, came into being. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, the four-legged thing, the creeping thing, and the beast of the earth according to its kind. The Creator of animals is God, who formed them from the earth (2, 10), as well as people (2, 7). Everyday life description divides earthly animals created from the earth (i.e., from the elements of the earth) into three classes: firstly, cattle (Heb. behema) - four-legged animals that are most capable of taming, which, being tamed, are called domesticated; secondly, the reptiles (Heb. remes) of the earth - actually crawling, or all small animals that move without legs or with the help of barely noticeable legs (for example, worms, wingless insects); thirdly, the beasts of the earth (Heb. haija haarez - wandering beasts), i.e. wild animals living in the wild. These classes embrace all types of earthly animals. They were created (Heb. asah) according to their kind. This is the biblical story of the creation of the visible world. From this story the following general dogmatic propositions emerge naturally. I. Heaven and earth and all their hosts, otherwise, the entire material world with everything living on it owes to the Creator not only its existence, but also its particular formation and perfection. God is the Creator of the basic elements of the material world - the primal substance of the world. He is the Creator and Organizer of the majestic and beautifully decorated world (cosmos) from primordial matter. Through the action of God's creativity, all creatures living in water, air and land, each according to its kind, received existence and the perfections of nature. II. The world was not created instantly, not by a single creative action of God, but, in addition to the creation of heaven and earth at the beginning, its complete formation took place within six days. What kind of days these are, whether ordinary or some special times (however, not multimillion-dollar epochs assumed by naturalists who affirm the self-development of the world), the duration of which is known only to God, but is hidden from us - both are equally conceivable with the concept of the universe as the creative action of God. But “the days of creation show the true order of the immediate actions of the Creative Power that took place at a certain time” (Zap. on the book of Gen.). III. The order of world creation consisted of a gradual ascent from the general to the more and more particular, from the simplest to the more and more complex, from the lower degrees of life to the highest, in general - from the less perfect to the more and more perfect, and each link in the chain of God’s creations is a preparation for the higher and in the higher has its own immediate goal. In the entire history of the universe, one cannot help but see preparations for the creation of such a being on earth who could understand the wonders of God’s creation and wisely use what was created, that is, man, appointed king of nature, with the creation of which God’s creativity was completed. § 47. The relationship of the sacred history of the universe to evidence about the origin of the world of natural sciences The consistency of the conclusions of the natural sciences about the origin of the world (with an abundance of models) with the Revelation about the creation of the world. The sciences that study the structure of the earth and celestial bodies and what is in them and on them (astronomy, geology, biology, paleontology, etc.) are very closely related to the sacred history of the universe. From the side of these sciences, many different objections have been made and are being made on one page of the Mosaic legend about the creation of peace; they see in it both contradictions to the conclusions of experimental science and internal inconsistencies. But it is impossible to admit that there is a real contradiction between the Bible and natural science. God could not write on the pages of the Bible contrary to what He wrote in the great book of the universe. Using the light of reason, science cannot reach precise conclusions that would be contrary to the teachings of the Bible. In the same case, when the Bible and natural science apparently contradict each other, then this contradiction or disagreement between them always turns out to be imaginary, arising from the fact that either the Bible, or the book of nature, or both of these books are incorrectly read. In fact, the sacred history of the universe in its main and essential aspects not only does not contradict the teachings of natural science, but, on the contrary, is confirmed and explained by it. This can be considered fairly firmly established. Thus, natural science recognizes that the world was not from the beginning the same as we see it now, that its formation took place gradually and has its own history, from which it follows that it does not exist from eternity, but appeared in time. The Bible also states this. Further, according to scientific assumptions, now generally accepted, all the elements of matter that make up the world's bodies were initially scattered in the space of the universe and did not have a specific shape, they were in a gaseous state; The chemical composition of celestial and terrestrial bodies, formed from an unimaginable mass of matter, is essentially the same, but is only found in different combinations and states. This assumption, obviously, is also in full agreement with the biblical teaching about the creation at the beginning of universal matter, without its figurative state (tohu vabohu) and the formation of heavenly bodies and earth from it. – The world, according to the teachings of modern astronomy, is a collection of systems (countless numbers of them), partly similar to our solar system, partly consisting of double or crowded stars and nebulae (millions of stars or suns and their systems) - systems with mathematical regularity located in space and moving, apparently, around one common center. This statement of astronomers is only an explanation of the biblical thought about the innumerability of the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5; 22, 17). There is no such firmly established teaching about the method of formation of the celestial worlds in astronomy that does not have very significant objections to it from a natural scientific point of view. This is understandable, because in relation to this issue only fortune-telling is possible, changing depending on the success of natural science itself. Until recently, the most plausible explanation for the formation of celestial systems seemed to be the so-called. Canto-Laplace hypothesis. But this hypothesis is even remarkably consistent with biblical teaching. New experiments in constructing the history of the formation of celestial bodies (Fay, Ligondet, etc.), which are based on the same hypothesis, do not essentially contradict the Bible. The differences generally encountered on this issue between the Bible and natural science concern not so much the substance as certain details that do not have religious significance and belong to the field of scientific curiosity. The same can be said about the relationship of biblical teaching to natural science on the issue of the formation of our planet. The Bible's teaching on this is brief. It reports only about the internal division of the entire composition of the earth or its entire embryo into water and land, and the creative bringing of it into such a state that life could appear on it. But, of course, this does not at all deny the fortune-telling of scientific natural scientists that the earth in the history of its gradual formation in a corresponding manner could pass through the stages they assumed, common to all parts of the world, starting from the initial fiery-liquid indifferent state of its planetary mass to the gradual formation on it of a solid crust and its various layers (geological formations), until it finally came to its last state. The Bible directly denies only that all this could be accomplished only by the action of natural mechanical forces of nature, without the participation of the omnipotence and wisdom of the Creator. Finally, in the main and essential respects, the teaching of natural science and the time and sequence of the origin of plant and animal life on earth are in agreement with the biblical teaching. While agreeing on the main points, the biblical narrative often presents a striking agreement with natural scientific conclusions and in many details. And the more success natural science makes, the closer its rapprochement with the Bible becomes more and more closely; much that previously seemed contradictory to natural science in biblical cosmogony now turns out, on the contrary, to be very consistent with more accurate and extensive research. Several examples can be cited to confirm this. Thus, in the old days, when the hypothesis of the outflow of light from self-luminous bodies dominated in physics, in the Mosaic legend of creation many found the inconsistency that it speaks of the creation of light on the first day, and the sun on the fourth day, and about the existence of days and nights before the appearance of the sun. In modern times, another opinion about light has emerged (Huygens's theory of waves), almost generally accepted now, according to which light is a kind of subtle liquid (weightless matter) diffused in space, called ether, and not at all an outflow from the sun and other celestial bodies. The wavy movements of this ether, which can be caused by various reasons, and not just the sun, produce in us the sensation of light. Through this, not only was the previously seemingly intractable contradiction between the Bible and science resolved, but the subtle distinction made by Moses between the “Light” (or) of the first day and the “luminaries” (maor) of the fourth day was also clarified. At the same time, the confusion about the existence of three days before the creation of the sun was also clarified. - Another example. The Bible’s statement about the appearance of plants on earth before the sun once seemed inconsistent with the evidence of science and experience, for plants usually develop only when exposed to the sun’s rays. But the latest research has shown that in this too, the biblical story warned the discoveries of natural science. It has been established that plant life is possible without the action of the sun's rays, but only with the general existence of light and heat (as they were before the advent of the sun), that electric light has all the qualities necessary for development, and there were even experiments (Famintsyn with algias) of growing plants only with the strong light of a gas lamp. The remains of plants found in the Carboniferous formation (coal was formed from the burial of primeval forests under sedimentary layers) confirm that primitive vegetation developed in the absence of a variety of climatic influences, as well as the direct influence of the sun's rays (under the influence of only diffused light). – Or another example. There was a time not long ago when it was considered doubtful whether man had come into existence at the same period as the extinct antediluvian animals, and the more determined followers of Cuvier's school outright rejected the existence of man before the flood. Nowadays it is considered established that man appeared in the same creative period with the higher animals, and the existence of antediluvian man is recognized as indisputable. From these examples one can judge how premature assurances about irreconcilable contradictions between the Bible and natural science on one issue or another can be. It is clear from this how one should look at those differences or contradictions between them, which are indicated by one-sided adherents of experimental science. Some of them are completely arbitrary, because they are not based on exact scientific data, such as, for example. astronomical and geological calculations of the duration of world formation in hundreds of thousands and even millions of years, the differences contained in the doctrine of the so-called. the arbitrary origin of organisms and the theory of transformation or evolution (otherwise Darwinism), others can easily be eliminated (the differences indicated by geology and paleontology regarding the time and sequence of the appearance of the plant and animal kingdoms) - if not now, then in the future. Both geologists and theologians have been working on the agreement of differences of the latter kind for a long time, and they have presented several experiments of such an agreement. There are four such experiments, or, as they are commonly called, hypotheses: the flood, restoration or restoration (restitutive), idealistic and the hypothesis of the agreement itself (concordistic or harmonistic), or otherwise - the hypothesis of days-epochs. None of these hypotheses provides sufficient explanations in all respects for the differences that exist between geological data and biblical teaching. But the very existence of agreement experiments shows that such an agreement is achievable. Much has already been achieved to clarify these differences. It is, of course, very desirable to establish such an agreement now, but the time has hardly come for that. Both geology and paleontology still belong to relatively new sciences, and the explanation of the biblical text is far from finished. It is better, therefore, to wait than to resort to such agreements, from which either biblical or natural scientific teaching always suffers. There are sufficient reasons to hope for such an agreement. The history of discoveries in the field of natural science shows that the more science is enriched by them, the closer its rapprochement with the Bible becomes. There will be a time when those insignificant differences that are found today will be eliminated, and the Bible and nature, as the revelation of the one God, will be read and understood by people equally. III. Creation of the human race § 48. The essence and meaning of the Mosaic legend about the origin of the first people The revealed history of the creation of man in the image and likeness of God. – The historicity of this event. – An assessment of the trends in modern natural science that affirm the “natural origin” of man. I. Man can have true knowledge of his original origin only from the revelation of God. In revelation, this mystery is most fully proclaimed, as well as the origin of the material world, in the history of Moses (Gen. 1: 26–27; 2, 7, 18–24). According to the legend of Moses, man was created on the sixth day of creation, but after the creation of all earthly creatures, after the earth was arranged and adapted for his habitation and life. The image of the creation of man is significantly different from the image of the creation of all other creatures. Whereas before everything appeared simply according to the creative word: let it be, the creation of man was preceded by the advice of God: and the speech of God (Elohim): let us create man. This is a council in the Trinitarian God Himself, that is, between the persons of the Holy Trinity, and not a council of God with the angels, “council”, one can assume (based on the use of this word in Holy Scripture sometimes in the meaning: foreknowledge and predestination, for example, Acts 2:23; Eph. 1:11), not only about the creation of man, but also about his re-creation after the subsequent fall by the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (1 Pet 1:20). Further, although the previous creatures reflected the infinite perfections of the Creator, not one of them received such a property that in its very nature it had some resemblance to its Creator. In the person of man, according to the definition of the Creator, a godlike and godlike being was supposed to appear on earth. Let us create man in Our image and likeness. Finally, according to His advice, God creates man not with a single word and a single action of His omnipotence, as other earthly creatures are created, but with some special action, namely: He Himself takes up the dust of the earth and from it forms the body of man: and God created man, dust from the earth; then he introduces the soul into the body prepared in this way, and not just creatively - let it be, or by commanding the earth to bring forth the living soul, but He Himself breathes it in with the breath of His lips: and I will blow into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul. Some time after the creation of Adam, God, also according to the special definition of “council” in the Holy Trinity, and with a special creative action, created a wife, forming her body, as a sign of her unity with her husband, from his rib. The writer of everyday life tells the story of the creation of the wife as follows: and the Lord God (Elohim) spoke: it is not good for man to be alone: ​​let us make him a helper after him... And God put a curse on Adam, and succeeded: and took one from his side, and filled it with flesh in his place. And the Lord God created a rib, taking it from Adam, for a wife, and brought it to Adam. This is the revealed history of the creation of man. It is impossible not to see the superiority of the teaching contained in it over the fortune-telling invented by man himself about his original origin and dignity. The Bible does not relegate man to the category of animals, as we see in the materialistic teachings of ancient and modern times, but it does not equate him with God, which is what pantheism does. As created from the dust of the earth, man, by the corporeal nature of his being and by his external life, belongs to the visible, material world, and is only the crown and completion of the entire earthly creation. But by his spiritual nature he is elevated above all earthly nature: his soul is the breath of the mouth of God, that is, although it is not in the proper sense part of the breath or being of God, it is God-like, which is why man can be called, as he is called in Holy Scripture, the race of God (Acts 17:28). II. They pose the question: is the biblical narrative about the creation of man a true story of the creation of the first man, or is it just an outer shell, a free invention of a sacred writer for a more visual expression of the divine, dogmatic truths contained in it - just a metaphor, an allegory in which there is no correspondence between what is described and reality? It would be strange to think that a historical book, such as the book of Genesis, begins with an allegory. Obviously, just as the legend about the creation of the material world is history, so the story about the creation of man is not an allegory or fiction, but a true story. Moses himself looked at his story in the same way. This is evident from the very tone or character of this narrative, its simplicity and some details (especially from the quoted words of Adam upon the creation of his wife - 2, 23), and even more from the genealogical tables found in the books of Moses, according to which the genealogy of many persons can be drawn from Moses to Adam. The narrative of Moses and subsequent sacred writers looked at it as history. All the main ideas of this narrative are repeated both in the Old and New Testaments, and in the Gospel of Luke the genealogy of I. Christ Himself is traced back to Adam (3, 38). I. Christ, in the story of the origin of the primordial couple, affirmed the law on the indissolubility of marriage (Matthew 9:4–6; Mark 10:6–8). Ancient interpreters of the book. Genesis also gave it historical significance. Only very few from the school of Alexandria were inclined towards an allegorical understanding of it, more than others - Origen. III. In the latest natural science of a certain direction, the positive teaching of revelation about the creation of man by the omnipotent will of the Creator is contrasted with fortune-telling about his “natural origin”, through the gradual degeneration or transformation of lower forms of animal life into higher ones, so that a person should consider reptiles, fish, birds, quadrupeds to be his distant ancestors, and some ape-like animal to be his closest ancestor (Darwinism). Basil the Great, regarding the homogeneous teachings about the origin of man of ancient pagan philosophy, gives the following expressive warning: “run away from the nonsense of gloomy philosophers who are not ashamed to consider their soul and the soul of a dog to be homogeneous with each other, and to say about themselves that they were once wives, and trees, and sea fish, but with all their effort I am ready to assert that when they wrote this, they were more senseless fish" (on Hex. 8 demon). The sentence is strict, but stems from the very essence of such teachings, which equate the image and likeness of Eternal Wisdom on earth with a dumb and unreasonable animal. § 49. Descent from Adam and Eve of the entire human race Unity of the human race in spirit and body. – The teaching of Revelation is about this. – Refutation of the opinion of the pre-Adamists. – The teaching of the Church on the unity of the human race. – Data from science about the unity of the human race. – Refutation of the opinions of polygenists. God, having created husband and wife, gave them the blessing to reproduce their kind: and God bless them, saying: grow and multiply, and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). And this blessing, like the blessing of the almighty Creator, did not remain inactive. Adam and Eve were truly the ancestors of the entire human race. All peoples, throughout the entire globe, with all the differences in language, education, skin color, physical and spiritual talents, are descendants of a single primordial couple and therefore represent a single human race in spirit and body. I. In revelation, the truth of the origin of all mankind from one primeval couple is proclaimed in both the Old and New Testaments. a) In the book. Genesis, as if to further establish this truth, the story of the origin of all people from one couple is repeated three times. Having depicted the mysterious advice about the creation of man, the writer of everyday life narrates about its completion: and God created man, in the image of God created him: husband and wife created them; and God bless them, saying: grow and multiply, and fill the earth, and rule over it (1:27-28). The writer’s reference to the creation of one husband and one wife, in connection with the indication of the only God-established method of reproduction of people - by birth, and with God’s blessing given for this, makes it clear that the primordial husband and wife are destined to be the ancestors of all humanity. The writer of everyday life affirms the same truth in more detail in the narration about the very image of creation of both husband and wife (Chapter 2). He points out that Adam was the first and only progenitor of all people, whom no one preceded on the created earth: before Adam, man did not make the earth (v. 6). As the reason for the creation of the wife, the writer presents that at that time there was no helper like him found on earth (v. 20), which is why the first wife was created, who is clearly called the progenitor of the entire human race: Adam called the name of his wife life, as she is the mother of all living (3, 20). – Finally, in the genealogical table of the antediluvian patriarchs (chapter 5), the creation of one couple is again affirmed - husband and wife, and from them is produced the entire human race, which perished, with the exception of Noah and his sons, in the waves of the flood. But that all post-Flood humanity, which spread throughout the entire earth, came through Noah from one primordial couple, this is shown by the life writer in the genealogy of the sons of Noah (Gen. 10 ch.). From Noah and his sons he produces all the multitude of peoples now diverse in terms of tribal characteristics (such as, for example, the descendants of Misraim, Hus, Shem and Japheth), and in general about all the peoples of the earth, concluding the calculation of the tribes, he says: these tribes of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, according to their languages: from these the islands of languages ​​were scattered upon the earth after the flood (verse 32). By the name of the islands, the language of the Jews generally meant all the remote countries separated from Judea by the sea (Is. 11:11; Zeph. 2:11), which received inhabitants from one descendant of Adam through the sons of Noah: from these they were scattered throughout the whole earth (Gen. 9:19). In accordance with the narrative of Moses, the origin of all people from Adam is depicted throughout the Old Testament. So, given in the book. Chronicles: The genealogy of people is traced back to Adam, as the ancestor of all people (1 Chronicles 1–8; cf. the genealogy of I. Christ in Luke 3:23–38). Tobiah confesses in prayer to God: Thou didst create Adam and gave him his helper Eve, support (i.e., gave him support) - his wife. From them the human seed was born (Tov.8:6; cf. Wis. 10:1). Note. Some of the opponents of the doctrine of the origin of the entire human race from one primordial couple, known as the Pre-Adamists, argue, referring mainly to the book. Genesis, that before Adam there was a human race, which was created on the sixth day, along with animals. It is assumed that she appeared simultaneously throughout the entire earth and that she was not swallowed up by the flood. From her came the pagans. As for Adam and Eve, they are only the ancestors of the Jews. They were created after the seventh day and settled in an earthly paradise, from where they were expelled for disobedience - and later their descendants, with the exception of Noah, died in the waters of the flood. Other people, pagans, also sinned, only through violation of the natural law. But there is not and cannot be any real proof of pre-Adamism in the Bible; the evidence presented is based on a perverse interpretation of Scripture. Thus, the pre-Adamists argue that the story in Genesis 1 about the simultaneous origin of the first human couple is completely different from the story in Genesis 2 ch. about the origin of first Adam, then Eve, settled in paradise, and that the man of the first chapter of the book. Genesis is not Adam of the second chapter of the same book. But in fact, the narrative of the 2nd chapter not only does not contradict the first, but, on the contrary, serves as its necessary addition and explanation: the first chapter speaks generally about the creation of the first people, man and woman, and in the second this general legend is supplemented by an explanation of the very method and time of the creation of first one husband and then a wife. They further point to the commandment given to Adam - to keep paradise (2, 15). If paradise needed protection, then, therefore, the pre-Adamists conclude, there were other people besides Adam and Eve. But such a conclusion is wrong. Paradise demanded its protection not from people, but from unreasonable animals, who, running into paradise, could bring disorder and damage into it, just as this commandment gave the man himself a lesson in careful and careful handling of the property entrusted to him. The pre-Adamists see the most important proof of their opinions in the story of Cain and Abel (Gen. 4), in the following instructions from the Bible: 1) Abel was engaged in shepherding, and Cain was engaged in agriculture, but a shepherd with the flock is necessary to protect the flock from thieves and robbers, and agriculture presupposes the preliminary invention of the necessary tools, the existence of certain arts, etc.; yet this seems to lead to the idea of ​​the existence of people who did not descend from Adam; 2) Cain, after committing fratricide, before fleeing from the country of Eden, expressed fear that anyone who met him would kill him, which also supposedly proved the existence of people who were not children of Adam; 3) Cain had a wife and 4) built a city in the land of Nod, in which he settled. Indeed, these data lead to the conclusion that many people already existed on earth at that time, but it does not follow from them that these were not the descendants of Adam. The writer of everyday life points out that in addition to Cain and Abel, and then Seth, Adam also gave birth to sons and daughters (5, 4), and, more correctly, he gave birth between the birth of Cain and the death of Abel. before the birth of Seth - the comforter from God (4, 25), born after the murder of Abel. and Seth was born in 230 (according to the text of LXX) of Adam’s life. If we now assign the birth of Cain to the 30th year of Adam’s life, then it will be clear that by the time of Cain’s flight (i.e., within about 200 years), the offspring of both Adam and his children and grandchildren, with the special effectiveness of God’s blessing on reproduction and the longevity of the patriarchs, could have become significantly widespread and populated not only two, but also more countries of the earth; At this time, the descendants of Adam could have discovered the initial amenities of a community and simple tools for cultivating the still virgin soil of the earth and for constructing buildings. From here all the perplexities of the pre-Adamists, based on the story of Cain and Abel, are resolved. Abel's herding of sheep could have been aimed at finding better pastures, protecting livestock from predatory animals, etc. When Cain expressed fear of being killed, obviously, he feared blood feud on the part of Adam's descendants: the imaginary pre-Adamists, as alien to any tribal kinship with the clan of Adam, could not have any incentive to take revenge on the fratricide. “Who did Cain have as his wife,” asks the blessed one. Theodorite. - “Obviously my sister; then it did not serve as an accusation, because no law prohibited it” (On Gen. 44). Regarding the city built by Cain in the land of Nod, it should be noted that it was not a city in the real sense of the word. The Jews called “city” (Heb. ir - a place of refuge, protection) any village surrounded by walls, and Cain needed such a fence either for protection from wild animals, or, more likely, from the expected attack and revenge for the blood of Abel. In the construction of such a city, as well as in its settlement, Cain could have been assisted by his own offspring, with whom he retired and which could have been quite numerous. Finally, they think to find a basis for the idea of ​​​​the origin of various tribes of the human race from various ancestors in the genealogy of the sons of Noah (Gen. 10 ch.). The tribes and peoples counted here belong only to the so-called. to the white generation of the human race, about other peoples significantly different from the Caucasian race, such as the Negro and Mongolian races, Moses allegedly says nothing in the description of the tribes descended from the clan of Adam. This proves something different and separate from what was described in Chapter XI. book Genesis is the origin of these tribes unknown to either Moses or the people of Israel. But, firstly, the special purpose of this genealogy, the depiction of the state and destinies of the Church of God on earth, does not allow us to look for a complete ethnographic genealogy of peoples in it, and therefore it cannot be concluded from Moses’ silence that he did not know about their existence, or that they do not belong to the descendants of Adam. Secondly, in the record of Moses, neither the tribes of peoples black in skin color are excluded from the descendants of a single ancestor, as can be seen from the mention of the descendants of Hus (the descendants of Hus are considered to be the tribes of the Ethiopians - Gen. 10:6-7; sn. Jer. 13:23; the country of Hus is Ethiopia; Jude 1, 10), nor the nomadic tribes of the so-called. Mongol tribe, one of whose ancestors was, according to interpreters, Magog (Gen. 10: 2; cf. Eze. 38:6; 1 Mac 4:47). Thirdly, scientific research and traditions preserved among different peoples are increasingly confirming that all human tribes have one common fatherland - Central Asia, from where they settled in all parts of the world, and it follows from this that they originated from one ancestor - Adam through Noah and his sons. There is clear evidence of the origin of the entire human race from one forefather in the New Testament. God, the apostle teaches, created from one blood the whole language of man to live on all the face of the earth, having established the predeceased times and the boundaries of their settlements (Acts 17:26). But the most important confirmation of the truth of the unity of the human race in the New Testament is the doctrine of original sin, which spread to all people through the bodily descent of all from one: by one man, - the apostle teaches, - sin came into the world, and death came into the world by sin, and so death came into all men, in which you sinned... Just as through one sin, condemnation came into all men, In the same way, through one justification there is justification for all men (Rom. 5:12, 18). II. The Church has invariably professed and professes the truth about the origin of all people from a single primordial couple, as one of the fundamental truths of Christianity. The teaching of the church about original sin, about its universality, about death as a consequence of Adam’s sin, as well as about the need for redemption for the entire human race and the comprehensive significance of the redemptive merits of Jesus Christ, is based directly on the truth of the origin of all from one forefather and without it would not have a fulcrum. This same truth underlies the doctrine of universal love, brotherhood and equality of peoples proclaimed by the Church. Faith in the unity of the human race gives rise to the best aspirations that developed especially in the Christian world, such as: the enlightenment of savage peoples, the liberation of enslaved and oppressed tribes, the establishment of peaceful international relations, etc. The denial of this unity is combined with the denial of the brotherhood of peoples and their spiritual union. III. The doctrine of the unity of the human race and, in particular, the origin of all people from one couple is also confirmed by positive data from the natural sciences. First of all, decisive evidence of the unity of the human race can be found in the data of anatomy and physiology. These sciences certify that no matter what clan or tribe people belong to, they all have the same anatomical structure of the body: not a single extra bone, not an extra vertebra, or tooth is found in any human tribe. In relation to the most important functions of life and the laws of animal economy, there is complete similarity between all tribes: all tribes have the same average life expectancy, average pulse rate, average height of people, duration of burden, manner of birth, growth, consumption of food, ability to live unhindered throughout the globe, etc. This is the reason for the remarkable phenomenon that mixed marriages of people belonging to the most different tribes can produce fertile offspring. And this circumstance is new proof of the unity of the human race. Psychological data also indicate the unity of the human race. There are similarities between people of all races in their spiritual properties. All people, no matter what clan or tribe they belong to, equally possess all the basic spiritual abilities, such as reason, will or freedom and feeling, equally display religious, moral feelings and the gift of speech, everyone has the ability for gradual spiritual improvement. In this regard, there is a difference between people in the degree of spiritual development, but the difference in degree does not say anything against the unity of the human race. An unequal degree of development is observed among people belonging to the same people and even to the same family. Finally, one cannot help but see confirmation of the truth about the unity of the human race in the similarity of religious traditions about the initial times in the history of mankind among various peoples, separated from each other from time immemorial. These are the legends that have been preserved, although not to the same degree of clarity and similarity with the biblical legend, about the most ancient events of the world - even before the time of the dispersion of the human race: about the first couple of forefathers, their blissful paradise life - about their fall, about the loss of primitive bliss, the wickedness of the descendants of the forefathers, who brought the execution of the Divine with their crimes, about the longevity of the first people and about giants the primitive world, about the global flood, about the dispersion of peoples - legends about the origin of the world and man, among some peoples even preserving the biblical order of six-day creation. The remarkable similarities of these legends with each other and with the legend of these times of the writer of everyday life indicate their common origin from one source, and through this the unity of the origin and habitat of the first people. Note. Some, while recognizing the unity of the human race, doubt the possibility of both the origin of all races from one couple, and the settlement of people from one place over the entire face of the earth, and therefore admit that a single human species received its origin simultaneously or sequentially in several countries of the earth. But all the data available regarding human reproduction do not allow us to doubt this possibility. This can be proven even through simple mathematical calculations. Thus, according to some calculations (Andrew Wagner), after 1600 years a whole billion people could have descended from one couple, or, according to another calculation (English Fowler), after 50 generations several billion people could have descended from one original couple. But the number of all people on earth even today barely exceeds 1,000 million. and the Bible also presents real examples of a rapid increase in population, when there is a blessing from God, such as, for example, the multiplication of the descendants of Abraham during 405 years, from the birth of Isaac to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, to at least two million (Numbers I, 1-2, 45-46), the origin of twelve nations from Ishmael (Gen. 17:20), etc.... The bewilderment as to how a person could to populate not only connected, but also continents and islands separated by large spaces? According to the Bible and all scientific data, the cradle of the human race was Central Asia. Hence, the settlement of people throughout Europe and Asia, separated only by a mountain range, of course, did not present any difficulties. In the same way, the settlement of Africa from Central Asia (through the Isthmus of Suez and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait) could have been accomplished without difficulty. What seems more difficult is how the original settlers could have entered America. But even this bewilderment can be resolved with modern geographical knowledge. Even if we do not keep in mind the likelihood of the assumption of the inseparability of America with Asia in ancient times, then there is no obstacle to admit that people could penetrate into America from Asia through the Bering Strait and the chain of the Aleutian Islands (and now there is a living relationship between the tribes of North America in this way), or through a group of islands of the Pacific Ocean. But that the inhabitants of America are immigrants is clearly proven by the study of religious and social institutions, traditions, language, morals and customs of the American tribes. § 50. God-established method of human reproduction. Analysis of opinions about the origin of souls 1) about the pre-existence of souls. – 2) about the creation of souls. – 3) about the birth of souls from the souls of parents. I. The Creator of the primordial world united husband and wife in a union according to which husband and wife are one flesh (Gen. 2:24), and which man does not separate (Matt. 19:5). With the establishment of the marriage union, God also established the method of reproduction of people, blessing the primordial husband and wife, saying: grow and multiply, that is, for them to give birth to others like themselves. This method of origin of people is the only and obvious one in relation to the origin of each person according to his bodily nature. But is this the divinely established way of the origin of people and their spiritual nature? II. The origin of human souls is a mystery, about which only assumptions are possible. There is no express teaching about this in revelation. Therefore, even in Christian antiquity, several opinions were expressed on the issue of the origin of souls, which are still shared today. These are: a) the opinion about the pre-existence of souls, b) the opinion about the creation of souls and c) the opinion about the birth of souls from the souls of parents. All these opinions have their advantages and disadvantages. a) Opinion about the pre-existence (praeexistentia) of souls. This opinion is of ancient pagan origin. In pagan religions it was associated with the belief in the transmigration of souls. In the Christian world, it was initially expressed by some of the Gnostics, and Origen, having learned this opinion from the philosophy of Plato, presented the experience of its agreement with the truths of the Christian doctrine (in the book “On Principles”). According to him, all souls were created by God simultaneously at the very beginning of creation and since then have existed in the invisible world as pure spirits; they would never have left their heavenly abode if the abuse of free will had not made it necessary for them to cleanse themselves from sin in this earthly life. In accordance with the degree of sinfulness, as punishment and for correction, they are sent by God from heaven to earth and are united with certain bodies at the conception of these latter, and, in accordance with their moral state, are doomed to unequally favorable external conditions in this life. Origen's opinion was shared by many of his followers. In modern times, a similar opinion has been repeated in philosophy and Protestant theology, as well as the so-called. spiritualists. But this opinion is nothing more than an arbitrary assumption; One cannot point to one saying of Holy Scripture in his favor, but one can see the contradictions between his teachings and Scripture. Scripture clearly teaches that sin entered the human world along with Adam's crime, and not before it. It is obviously impossible to reconcile the doctrine of the pre-existence of souls with this teaching. This opinion also contradicts internal experience. If the soul existed in another world before its transition to this world, it would remember something from its previous state: to forget an entire life with its actions is not natural; It is also impossible to explain forgetfulness by the new conditions of her life. and yet there is no memory of the previous life in the consciousness of human souls. It is even more incomprehensible how a soul will repent throughout its entire life for sins that it does not remember or know at all. Ancient church teachers called this opinion “absurd and unchurch” (Gregory the Theologian), “fabulous” (Theodoret, Gregory of Nyssa) and “heretical” (Blessed Augustine), and the church condemned it as a wrong opinion at the V Ecumenical Council (1 Anath. against Origen). The church teaching on the origin of souls in conciliar acts is expressed as follows: “the church, taught by the divine scriptures, affirms that the soul is created together with the body (τήν ψυχήν συνδημιουργηθήναι τω σώματι), and not that one comes before and the other after, as seemed to Origen’s extravagance.” b) Opinion about the creation (creatinismus) of souls. According to this opinion, souls are created by God out of nothing at the very time when the body is formed. To those who accepted this opinion (Irenaeus, I. Chrysostom, Cyril Alex., Blessed Theodoret, Lactantius, Jerome, etc.), it seemed that it was more consistent with the high dignity of the soul to recognize it as a direct creation of God, rather than having any earthly origin. The advantages of this opinion include the fact that it easily explains the qualitative diversity of souls - the dissimilarity of spiritual talents in different people, the birth in certain times of people with rare and extraordinary talents, in others - with ordinary or unexceptional ones, and so on. Souls are created as such by God according to the wise purposes of His providence. Nevertheless, there are significant difficulties in accepting this opinion. First of all, how can we reconcile the idea of ​​a new creation of souls with the testimony of the writer of everyday life that after six days of creation, on the seventh day God rested from His works, that is, from the works of creation (Gen. 2:2)? Further, this opinion makes the creative will of God dependent on the action of human passions (carnal lust) and even seems to be in some cases pandering to these passions (especially the birth of children from illegal or criminal relationships). Finally, this opinion breaks the natural connection between generations of the human race and makes the transfer of moral properties, and, consequently, sinful corruption, from parents to children inexplicable. In fact, if every soul is a new creation of God, then where does the evil come from in it? The opinion about the direct creation of souls by God has no clear basis in Holy Scripture. True, some sayings of Scripture are cited in support of this opinion, but they do not directly contain thoughts about the creation of souls. Thus, they point to the words of Ecclesiastes: and the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it (12:7); but here we are not talking about the origin of the soul in every person, but in general about its origin from God, as the culprit of everything that exists in time. Despite such shortcomings of the opinion about the direct creation of souls by God, in modern times it has become in the Roman Church the basis for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (1854), and at the same time it itself acquired a dogmatic character and even the direct meaning of a dogma. c) Opinion about the birth (generatismus, or translation - traducianismus) of souls. This opinion assumes that souls pass (or are transferred) successively from parents to children when a body belonging to one or another soul is formed, or, just as a seed is separated from the giving birth body to form another body from itself, so a special spiritual seed is separated from the soul to form a similar soul from itself. Therefore, the first source or first matter of human souls was the soul of the first man - Adam. Tertullian was the first to express the opinion about such an origin of souls, and it was accepted “by many both in the east and in the west” (Jeron. Letter 78, to Mark). This opinion, one might think, is more consistent than others with the evidence of Scripture and the data of experience. So, Moses says this about the birth of Seth by Adam: and bear a son after your own kind and in your own image (Gen. 5:3). These words can be understood to mean that Seth is the son of Adam both in body and soul. The Savior says that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). By flesh (σαρξ) we must understand here the whole person, as he is born from someone like him. From this we can conclude that a person is born from parents both in body and soul. Further, this opinion is in full agreement with the church teaching about the heredity of ancestral sin. Experience confirms this opinion by the similarity of children with their parents in perfections and shortcomings, which sometimes extends very far. As objections to this opinion, they put forward: cases of striking dissimilarity between parents and children, the transfer of original sin to children from such parents who are cleansed from it and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, as well as the fact that all personal, freely acquired sins should pass to children if their souls came from the souls of their parents. They also find this opinion irreconcilable with the simplicity and uncomplexity of the soul (and therefore the question insoluble: do the souls of children come from a husband or a wife, or from both together?) and with the lack of consciousness in the soul of the ability to produce from itself a similar other soul. These objections, however, are not insurmountable from the point of view of this opinion. But although the opinion about the birth of souls from the souls of parents is comparatively more in its favor, it nevertheless needs to be supplemented by the opinion about the creation of souls. In this completed form, we can recognize this opinion as closest to the truth and resolve the question of the origin of souls in this way. Souls do not come from nothing, but from the souls of parents and with the participation of the souls of parents. One might think that the birth-giving power given to people by the blessing of God - grow and multiply, was given to them to produce others like themselves, not only in body, but also in soul. However, each born soul is not just a simple repetition of the genus and species (as in irrational nature), or previous personalities, but is a new, independent personality, a new form of the image of God. But natural forces alone cannot produce a new creation; here the participation of a higher creative force is necessary. Thus, it is necessary to assume that each soul receives existence not only through birth, but also through a special action of God’s creativity. § 51. The composition of human nature Man consists of a material body and a spiritual soul. – The importance of the body in the composition of human nature. - The existence of the soul in man. – Analysis of opinions about the three-part composition of a person. Man, by the composition of his nature, belongs to two worlds: in body - the visible, material world, in soul - the invisible, spiritual world. He is not only the body, but also not pure spirit: he is the unity of body and spirit. The doctrine of the two-component nature of human nature is expressed in the narrative about the very image of the creation of man. The meaning of the body in the composition of human nature. According to frank teaching, the body, compared to the soul, is the lowest component of human nature. Without a soul, it is dead (James 2:26), it is dust, which is what it really was before it was revived by the soul and becomes after the separation of the soul from the body (Eccl. 12:7). Nevertheless, it is an essential part of human nature, a church (2 Cor. 5:1, 4; cf. 2 Pet 1:14) and a vessel of the soul (2 Cor. 4:7). A person can live and act in the present visible world only in the body; without a body he is not a complete man (incorporeal beings are angels, and corporeal beings, but without a god-like soul, are dumb animals). The body is intended to be an inseparable companion and collaborator of the soul in all its functions and actions, to be its ministering instrument. Scripture calls on a person to act until it is day, that is, while earthly life continues; night will come, that is, earthly life will cease, when no one can do anything (John 9:4). At the general judgment, everyone will receive good or evil according to what they have done to the body (2 Cor. 5:10). The union of the soul with the body is an eternal union; death of the body or separation from the spirit is only a temporary phenomenon, for all bodies will one day be resurrected for eternal life with a soul (John 5:28; 1 ​​Cor. 15:22, 44). Therefore, all Christians are called to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God (Rom. 12:1; cf. 1 Sol 5:23). Such bodies are glorified by God even before the general resurrection - in the miracles of the incorruption of holy relics. The teaching of revelation about the significance of the body in the composition of human nature contains a decisive condemnation of both unnatural asceticism, emanating from the thought of the body as an evil principle, and the unrestrained service of sensuality, and from here one can see that this teaching is of significant importance for the religious and moral life of man. The existence of the soul in man. – The invisible, spiritual principle is miraculously connected with the body in human nature. In Scripture this principle is called either the soul - ψυχή, anima, nephesch (Heb.), or the spirit - πνεύμα, Spiritus, ruach (Heb.). The existence of such a principle in man is clearly affirmed both in the Old and especially in the New Testament. 1. In the Old Testament this truth is especially clearly expressed in the narrative about the image of the creation of the soul. According to the image of Moses, while God created the human body, as well as animals, from the earthly elements, when creating the godlike human soul He did not borrow anything from the earthly elemental principles, but instead used His own creative breath (Gen. 2:7). Ecclesiastes, in accordance with what the writer of everyday life says about the origin of man, expresses himself about his death: and the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it (12:7). The same truth is affirmed in numerous testimonies of the Old Testament about the immortality of the soul, as well as in the depiction of the resurrection of the dead under the guise of the return of the soul to the body (1 Kings 17, 21; Ezek. 37:6, 8-9). 2. In the New Testament, the existence of the soul, as a spiritual essence distinct from the body and the higher body, is stated more clearly and more often. I. Christ said to his disciples: do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to restore the soul; Fear ye rather than him that is mighty, to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). About the high advantage of the human soul over the earthly and sensual, He says: what good is it for a person if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul and (damages the soul)? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:26)? Regarding the burden of sleep on His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38), and at the moment of His death He cried out to His Father: Father, in Your hands I commend My spirit! (Luke 23:46). There is much of the same evidence in the apostolic epistles. The Apostle James writes: a body without a spirit is dead (2:26), which shows that the spirit is the bearer of life in man. The Apostle of Languages ​​inspires: glorify God in all your bodies, and in your souls, which are the essence of God (Cor 6:20). He also teaches that the spirit in some special states can even be detached from the body, so that it is difficult for a person to say whether he is then in the body or outside the body (2 Cor. 12:2), that a person can live a personal and independent life after separation from the body: his desire to be resolved and to be with Christ (Philip 1:21-23). The existence of the soul in man is also presupposed by the New Testament teaching about the general resurrection of the dead. Opinion about the tripartite composition of man. – The spiritual principle in man is called in Scripture either the soul (ψυχή), or the spirit (πνεύμα). A at up. Paul there are sayings in which the soul and spirit are more directly distinguished in the spiritual nature of man, and the complete man appears to consist of body, soul and spirit. Thus, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle writes: For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and passing even to the division of soul and spirit, members and brains, and judges (judges) by the thought and thought of the heart (4, 12), and he expresses his goodwill to Thessalonians like this: May the God of peace Himself sanctify you, the all-perfect (in to all): and may your spirit and soul and body be all-perfect (τό πνεύμα, καί η ψυχή, καί τό σώμα) blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23, cf. Phil. 1:27). Some of the teachers of the church in the first centuries of Christianity (for example, Tatian, Justin, Clement Al., especially Origen, Didymus) tended to understand the teaching of Scripture and especially the apostle. Paul about the soul and the spirit in the sense of the two-component spiritual nature of man, and in relation to the whole person, thus accept a three-part division (spirit, soul and body, the so-called trichotomy). The Arians expressed their opinion more decisively about the tripartite composition of human nature, and Apollinaris (the younger) in this teaching even found the basis for his heretical opinions about the face of the God-Man. He distinguished in man the body, the living soul and the rational soul (ψνχή νοητική); the place of the latter in the incarnate Lord, in his opinion, replaced the Divinity. But such an opinion about the composition of human nature must be rejected. In revelation there is no teaching at all about the three-part composition of man - body, soul and spirit. When revelation depicts man as consisting of body and soul, or of body and spirit, then by spirit and soul he means only two different names for the same inner, invisible side of the human being. In particular, in the teaching of St. Paul's soul and spirit are distinguished not as two separately independent parts of the spiritual nature of man, but as only two directions or forces of a single indivisible soul. The soul is ψυχή in the teachings of the apostle. Paul is the lower side of the single spiritual principle in man, facing the earth and the sensory world. Spirit - πνεύμα - is not a special principle near the soul, the same soul, but only at the highest level of its life, at which man is a moral being and knows God. A spiritual person, according to the apostle, is a person who is occupied only with carnal or worldly calculations, who has set the task of his life to achieve temporary goals, peace and earthly happiness, because the highest things of earthly life are not available to him, and are not considered essential by him: a spiritual person (ψυχικός άνθρωπος) does not accept even the Spirit of God, For he has foolishness: and cannot understand, he is spiritually challenged (ανακρίνεται - discussed - 1 Cor. 2:14). A spiritual person (πνευματικός άνθρωπος) is a person who pursues higher goals: making himself like God and glorifying Him, and also uses spiritual means to achieve these goals: faith, sacraments and the grace of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:9; 8, 10, 16; 1 Cor. 1:10, 16, etc.). In accordance with this teaching of the apostle. Paul about the soul and the spirit should also be understood by the given sayings of Hebrews 4 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Spirit and soul differ in them only as two sides or forces of the same spiritual nature of man. In the first saying this is clear from the very composition of the speech: the word of God passes in exactly the same way to the division of the soul and spirit, as well as the members and brains; but members and brains are only parts of the same human body, and not separate parts of the body. Based on this, we can conclude that in the goodwill of the Thessalonians, the spirit does not mean a special component of nature, but the highest ability of the same soul, and the goodwill of the Thessalonica Christians is understood in such a way that they, along with the integrity of the body and soul, preserve their spirit until the day of Christ’s coming - that spiritual structure of life that distinguishes the regenerated (spiritual) person from the natural one. The doctrine of the two-part, and not three-part, nature of human nature was the common teaching of all the most famous fathers and teachers of the church. “The mind (also the spirit) is in a person,” according to St. I. Damascene is not anything different from it (the soul), but the purest part of the soul itself. For as the eye is in the body, so is the mind in the soul.” Since the appearance of the false teaching of Apollinaris, the opinion about the three-member composition has been decisively condemned. “According to the teachings of Apollinaris,” writes Blessed. Theodoret, - in a person there are three components: the body, the animal soul and the rational soul, which he calls the mind. But divine Scripture recognizes one soul, not two; this is clearly shown by the history of the creation of the first man” (Abbr. Exposition of God’s Dogmas. Chapter XI). Finally, our immediate consciousness testifies to us about the existence of only two parts or principles in our composition, about the spirit or our “I”, and about the body, its instrument, but says nothing about the existence of any third component. parts. § 52. The image and likeness of God in man The meaning of the terms “image” and “likeness” as applied to the creation of man by God, the use of these terms by the holy fathers. Man is created in the image and likeness of God. What is the image of God in man? Since God, by His nature, is the purest and most perfect Spirit, then the image of God must be placed in the being of the human soul. The external sign of the image of God in man, according to the instructions of the writer of everyday life, was the royal power granted to man over all creatures of the earth (Gen. 1:26). But it is clear that the ability of such dominion relates to the soul, and not to the body. The ancient fathers and teachers of the church believed that the image of God was in the soul, and not in the human body. The most particular features of the image of God in the human soul, according to ancient patristic teaching, are in particular: spirituality, as the image of the most perfect simplicity of God’s being, reason, as the image of the infinite mind of God, free will, capable of loving good and being holy, as the image of the infinitely free will of God, which is the highest love and holiness, immortality, as the image of the eternity of God, the gift of speech, as the image of the hypostatic Word. Is there a difference between the image and likeness of God in man? In St. Scripture provides the basis for this distinction. Thus, the writer of everyday life indicates that God, in the council of the Holy Trinity, determined to create man in His image and likeness, and about the creation itself it is expressed: and God created man, in the image of God created him (1, 26–27). The silence about the creation of man and in his likeness is, without a doubt, not accidental. One might think that this indicates that the image of God was given to man in creation itself, as something innate to the spiritual nature of man, and the likeness is given only in possibility, there is only an ideal to which man can approach by revealing the God-given powers and abilities of his nature. In other places of Scripture there are indications that the image of God is also in fallen man, for example, in the words of God to Noah: shed the blood of man, in its place it will be shed: for in the image of God he created man (Gen. 9:6; fn. James 3:9), or in the words of the apostle. Paul that a man is the image and glory of God (1 Cor. 2:7), and meanwhile Christians are commanded to put on the new man, created by God in righteousness and the likeness of the truth (Eph. 4:24). From this we can conclude that not only in fallen man, but also in the primordial man, the likeness of God had to depend on his freedom and activity, and what is given to man in the very nature of his soul is only the image of God, which is preserved in fallen man, although in a darkened form. The ancient church fathers also made a distinction between the image and likeness of God in man. “The word “in the image” signifies the power of the mind and the power of freedom,” says St. I. Damascene, - and the word “in likeness” - assimilation to God in virtue, as much as possible” (Ill. v. II, 12). “To be in the image of God,” argues St. Gregory of Nyssa, - it is characteristic of us from our first creation, and to be in the likeness depends on our will... and exists in us only in possibility, but is actually acquired through activity” (Demon on the word “Let us create man”). So, the image of God in man is a similarity with the Prototype, innate and constant in our soul, although it can be obscured under the influence of sin, and similarity constitutes the task or goal of human life, which can be achieved by exercising and improving the natural abilities of man according to the commandment of the Savior: you will be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect. § 53. Perfection of creation Perfection as fitness for purpose. - Objections to opinions about the imperfection of creation. I. The Universe, understood in the sense of the totality of all created being, with all the individual types of created beings - angels, earthly creatures, man, was created by the Creator completely perfect, that is, corresponding to the purpose determined for it by the Creator. The creation of the Most Perfect cannot but be perfect. For if God is infinitely omnipotent, wise and good, then nothing could prevent Him from imparting proper perfection to His creation. And revelation shows that the world, at its beginning, actually corresponded to the creative thoughts about it. What was created in each of the six days of creation by the Creator Himself was recognized as good, and at the end of the six-day creation God saw that God had created everything and every good thing (Gen. 1:31). The wise one testifies: everything that God has created is good in its time (Eccl. 3:11; cf. Wis. 11:25; Sir.39:21). Even about the world in its present state, the apostle teaches: every creature of God is good (1 Tim 4:4). According to the testimony of the same apostle, the world, from the beginning of its creation, has never ceased to show in itself, like a mirror, the invisible God, His eternal power and Divinity, so that those who do not know God through the world are unrequited (Rom. 1:20). The psalmist depicts the world as a wonderful and majestic organ of the revelation of the glory (Ps. 18:2), wisdom (103, 24) and goodness of God (144, 9), and, due to such a reflection of the perfections of God in the world, points to it as the best school for people of true knowledge of God and worship of God (Ps. 86:8-10; 91, 1-6; fn. Isa.40:26). At the same time, the Creator gave each creature the fullness of life, perfection, and well-being possible for it. The Father of bounties and the God of all joy (2 Cor 1:3) richly gives us all things to enjoy (1 Tim 6:17). The psalmist sings with delight the goodness of God, blessing the fertility of the earth (Ps. 65:10-14). Delighted by the manifestation of God's goodness in the world, he confesses: the Lord is good to everyone, and His compassion is in all His deeds (Ps. 144:10). Even in relation to the smallest and most insignificant creatures, God showed in the arrangement of His world protective love for their lives and needs (Matt. 6:26; Ps. 145:15–16, etc.). But, on the other hand, revelation does not contain the thought affirmed by optimists (for example, Plato, Leibniz, etc.) that the present world is the best possible world that God could create. On the contrary, it teaches that the present heaven and earth will pass away (Matthew 24:35; sn. 2 Pet 3:10, 12), that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which truth lives (2 Pet 3:13, sn. Rom. 8:20–21), that is, the best and most perfect world of the present. To think that God could not create any world better than the present would mean recognizing the omnipotence of God as limited. The perfection of creation required by the concept of God, therefore, must be understood in a relative sense - not in the fact that the created world was the most perfect of all possible worlds that only God could create (such a world would be equal to God), but in the fact that it was structured in accordance with its purpose and reflected the perfections of the Creator as much as possible under the known conditions and laws of its existence, and this is the quality that our world has, as a purposefully and rationally structured whole. II. Objections and confusion are expressed against the doctrine of the perfection of creation. It is impossible, they say, to recognize as a perfect creation of God a world in which we see a whole series of evil phenomena, a whole kingdom of powerful evil spirits, the destructive actions of nature, the suffering of creatures, illness, sorrow, the lawlessness of man, constant manifestations of injustice, the terrible dominion of death. Proponents of a pessimistic worldview, paying exclusive attention to the phenomena of physical and especially moral evil, even argue that evil and suffering are a necessary lot of world existence, and therefore the non-existence of the world is better than its existence, and others, in view of the grave and varied manifestations of physical evil itself, admit that God Himself, foreseeing the fall of our ancestors, from the very beginning deliberately created the visible world with some imperfections known to us now, in advance adapting the external environment to the state of fallen man. For these and similar considerations, it is enough to note that in the world created by God, and created by divine goodness, there was and could not be evil; evil cannot be among the works of the Creator. If in the present world we see a whole series of manifestations of evil, then this evil did not appear along with creation, but happened subsequently, and, therefore, its culprit is not the Creator of the world (Post. Eastern Pat. 4 ch.; Right. Confess. 31). According to the revealed teaching, the manifestations of evil in the material world and death are the consequence and punishment of sin or evil in the corresponding sense, which appeared after the fall of our first parents (Gen. 3:17-18), and are sent by God to heal sin, and sin, or moral evil, is the work of morally free beings, angels and people who have abused their freedom contrary to the intentions of the Creator. The existence of evil phenomena in the world therefore relates to God not as the Creator, but only as the Provider of the world. In particular, the position that the sum of evil and suffering exceeds the sum of good and happiness and therefore the non-existence of the world is better than its existence is also incorrect. According to experience, in the lives of individuals there are more happy states than disasters and suffering, which is why every person is attached to life and suicide is an exceptional and unnatural phenomenon (Eph. 5:29). The history of mankind, testifying to the gradual development and improvement of the world. shows that all over the world there is a slow but constant preponderance of good over evil. The existence of a world with a predominance of evil over good - the beginning of destruction and disorder - would be impossible. The main thing is that the world in its present state is a place of education and achievement for people, and therefore serves only as a transitional step to another, better and more perfect world, which has to appear through the power of the redemptive merits of Christ - the God-man, along with the glorification of man himself (Rom. 8:19-22). Having created the world, God did not leave it to himself, but has constant concern for preserving the existence of His creation and achieving its goal, otherwise, He continuously provides for it. The providence (or otherwise, providence) of God embraces the entire created world, visible and invisible, but in relation to rationally free beings, such as angels and people, revelation indicates some special actions of God's providence. Therefore, in accordance with the essence of the revealed teaching about God’s providence, we will present the teaching: I) about God the Provider in general and II) about God the Provider in particular in relation to the existing spiritual world and to man. § 54. The concept of God's providence, its actions and types Preserving the existence and strength of creatures, directing them towards good goals. – General and particular types of God’s providence. “The providence of God is the unceasing action of the omnipotence, wisdom and goodness of God, by which God preserves the existence and strength of creatures, directs them to good goals, helps every good, and suppresses the evil that arises through removal from good, or corrects and turns them to good consequences” (Catichos about 1 part). The concept of God's providence indicates that God's providence is revealed primarily in two actions: preservation and management. The preservation of the world is called that action of God's providence, by which both the whole world and all the creatures located in it, as well as the forces of all creatures with their activities, are supported in existence. The government of God consists in the fact that God directs all actions and events, both in the material world and in the moral world, towards the purpose of creation proposed by Him. The actions of God's providence embrace not only the great objects of the world, not only the genera and species of creatures, as well as the general forces and laws of nature, but also extend to small things, to all indivisible and particular phenomena of nature. God “knows everything exactly from the smallest to the greatest, and provides especially for every creation” (Prov. Rev. 29). Hence, God's providence is divided into two types: general and private. The general providence is the one that embraces the entire world in general, as the totality of all kinds of beings with the forces and laws operating in them, the private one is the one that extends to private objects and phenomena, to private beings and to each of the indivisible, no matter how small they may seem. § 55. The reality of God's providence Revelation about God's providence in the world. – Reasonable grounds for recognizing the providential activity of God in the world. Conviction in the real existence of God's providence is a conviction as universal in the human race as conviction in the existence of God, like religion itself. Without faith in providence, no religion is possible. This faith underlies all human relationships with God, which are called religious. A clear evidence of the universality of faith in God the Provider is prayer, through which a person strives to enter into living communication with the Divine; prayer could not arise without confidence in God's immediate proximity to the world and His providential care for the world. I. In revelation the truth about the immediate providential action of God is clearly expressed. It testifies that God rested on the seventh day from all His works that He had done (Gen. 2:2), that is, from the works of creation. but he did not remain an inactive and indifferent spectator of the world He created. I. Christ, answering the Jews who accused Him (based on a misunderstanding of Genesis 2:2; Exodus 20:10) of violating the Sabbath rest, said; My Father works hitherto, and I work (John 5:17). Here two actions of God on the world are clearly distinguished: one that is completed is, obviously, the creation of the world, the other that continues is the providence of the world. Ap. Paul says about the Son of God that He bears all things (φέρων τά πάντα) by the verb of His power (Heb. 1:3), that by Him all things were created..., and all things are made in Him (τά πάντα έν Αύτώ συνέστηκεν – Col. 1:16–17 ). World life in these sayings of the apostle seems to have the basis and purpose of its existence in God: God stands towards it in such a relationship that it seems to hold it, carries it in Himself and with His invisible co-presence with the world keeps everything from destruction and destruction, however, not merging with the world, but being above everyone (έπι πάντων - E f 4, 6), i.e. in a special area of existence, not involved in world life. But not just individual sayings, but all of Scripture in general testifies to the providential action of God in the world. It in itself serves as evidence of God’s providence for the world and man. For it is an extraordinary means of God’s providence that arranges the salvation of man. II. A sound mind that has correct concepts about God and the world cannot but recognize the real existence of God’s providence for the world. God is a personal, all-perfect Being. The concept of God as a personal Being presupposes a living, active discovery of His properties. A complete and living personality cannot only be aware of what is outside of itself, but has a need to love or not love what exists outside of itself, and to act in one way or another on what is outside of it; in a word, it cannot be in an indifferent and indifferent relationship to the world in contact with it. and therefore, if it is impossible for a person to have an indifferent and indifferent attitude towards the world around him, then all the more impossible is such an attitude towards the world as His creation on the part of God. The concept of God, as the most perfect Being, presupposes that the activity of God is an unceasing, eternal activity, for the most perfect Being, already by virtue of the infinite fullness of His life, cannot but be eternally active in everything that is included in the circle of real existence, which owes its origin to Him as the Creator. Thus, on the basis of the very concept of God, it is impossible to imagine that God, having demonstrated the highest perfections: omnipotence, wisdom, goodness and others in the creation of the world, after that became disconnected from the world and ceased His presence in it. The world, with its properties, also leads to the recognition of the need for God's providence. The essential properties of the world are its limitations and imperfection. The limitation of the world consists, firstly, in the fact that it is not original in its origin, has a reason for its existence independent of it, that is, it was created by God. As such, the world and in the continuation of its existence is completely dependent on the Supreme Cause of its existence, for an action cannot exist separately and independently of the cause that produces it, just as, for example, a flame cannot exist separately from the combustible materials that produce it, a plant - without soil, air, light, which condition its life. Secondly, the limitation of the world lies in the fact that, as a non-original being, the world is not a necessary being - that is, both the whole world and each particular object can exist and not exist. The world is not a necessary manifestation of the divine nature. But if this is the nature of the world and it continues to exist despite all the upheavals and changes, then this shows the providential preservation of it by the power of the Creator. Without the action of the all-preserving power of God, the world could not exist for even one moment - everything would immediately collapse 28 . With the limitations of the world is connected its imperfection. Imperfection is expressed in its constant changeability. In addition, there are other shortcomings in him, in the field of both sensory and spiritual being. This includes all types of moral evil and disorders in the visible world caused by the influence of the evil will of free beings. And if, despite such imperfections, the world in the whole course of its existence reveals harmony and well-being, then doesn’t this clearly indicate that the life of the world is controlled by that action of the divine will, which is called providence, and by the same action is directed towards achieving the intended goals. Only through the Lord can everything in the world successfully achieve its destination (Sir.43:28) 29. § 56. Items of divine providence God's care extends to all objects and all creatures of this world. God's providence extends to everything that exists in the world, to the great and the small, to the invisible and visible world, to general world events and to particular insignificant manifestations of existence and life, to the entire human race, to individual kingdoms and peoples and to each person in particular, as well as to every living being, otherwise there is not only a general, but also a private providence. It is not easy for human thought to imagine God’s providence as so comprehensive and to agree with the greatness of God’s being about the smallest and even seemingly unclean creatures (for example, many insects). In the ancient (pagan) world, thinking about small things, even about each person in particular, seemed unnecessary and offensive to the greatness of God. Similar opinions were and are repeated in the Christian world. But this kind of opinion is based on a false, humanoid idea of ​​God. It is impossible to consider anything in created existence unworthy of God's providence due to the seeming smallness of creatures and objects to us. The concepts of great and small are relative; This is how we measure things with the limited measure of our mind, but before the boundless greatness of God nothing is great in the world - and the whole world is before Him like a drop of morning dew descending to the earth (Wis. 11:23), and all the nations are like nothing (Isa. 40:17) - and before His boundless goodness nothing is small, which He was pleased to grant existence. If the creation of small and insignificant creatures was not unworthy of God’s greatness, then His providence for them cannot be unworthy of His greatness (Wis 11:25–27). a) God’s providence embraces the entire universe and our earth with all its powers and laws, the entire structure and order of world life. Revelation teaches that God, as Creator, is Lord of heaven and earth (Matthew 11:25), the supreme King and Ruler of the universe. In the hand of God you are the ends of the earth and the heights of the mountains of Him (Ps. 95:3-4; sn. 92, 1; 95, 10). Therefore, everything in the universe takes place according to the determinations of the will of God, as the will of its supreme King and Lord. To You, O Lord, is majesty and power,” King David confesses, “for You have dominion over all, in heaven and on earth... You are ruler over all, O Lord, the beginning of every beginning, and in Your hand is strength and power, in Your hand are mercy, the Almighty, magnified and strengthened all (1 Chronicles 29, 11-12). He does everything that pleases Him in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the abysses (Ps. 134:6; cf. 113, 11-12). Hence, the phenomena occurring in the world and, in general, the entire expedient structure of world life are not a necessary and inevitable consequence of the self-acting elemental forces of nature, but the action of their controller through the established laws of God’s providence. God, according to the testimony of Scripture, His sun shines..., and rains on the righteous and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45), clothes the hay that exists today... (6, 30), shows the way for thunderous lightning (Job 28:26; 38, 25, 35), drives out the winds from his treasures (Ps. 135:7), etc. More specifically, all phenomena and changes in the material world are consistent with the ways of providence about man - they serve the purposes of God’s moral world rule. Therefore, it is no coincidence that certain natural disasters occur in the world. Fire and hail, snow, bareness, and a stormy spirit create His word (Ps. 149:8; fn. Sir. 39:36). He creates His angels, spirits (winds) and His servants, flames of fire (Ps. 103:4). The Lord rained bogey (brimstone) and fire from the Lord on Sodom and Gomorrah from heaven, with which these cities were destroyed (Gen. 19:4–25). Depending on the goals of the moral world government of God, Scripture contains not only private and local changes, but also changes in the state of the entire material world, both those that have occurred (the curse of the earth for the sin of man and the global flood - Gen. 3 and 7 ch.), and those that are about to happen (at the opening of the kingdom of glory - Rom. 8:19-22). b) God preserves the existence and life of all creatures, both higher and lower. In His hand are the souls of all living things and the spirit of every person (Job 12:10). He Himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything (Acts 17:25). Without the all-containing power of God, all creations are close to destruction and destruction. “All (animals) look to You to give them food in good times,” says the Psalmist. If I give you to them, they will collect it; I will open Your hand, and all things will be filled with goodness. I will turn away Your face, and they will rebel: take away their spirit, and they will disappear and return to their dust; according to the slash of Your Spirit, they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth (Ps. 103:27-30; sn. Job 34:13-15). c) If every creature of an irrational nature is not deprived of God’s care, then all the more does every person serve as the subject of divine providence. For in Him we live and move and are (Acts 17:28). It is not His will that one man should perish (Matthew 18:14), even one hair of our head (10:30). He cares for man more than his own mother, as He Himself testifies through St. Isaiah: Will a woman forget her food in her youth, lest she have mercy on the offspring of her womb? Even if the woman forgets these, I will not forget you (Is. 49:25). The Savior taught: do not call your father to earth, for one is your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 23:9). In the Discourse on the Mount, He thus depicts God’s caring love for every person (as well as for every even insignificant creation of God): look at the birds of the air, how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them: are you not better than them to eat? I say to you, that Solomon was clothed with all his glory, as if he were one of these. Even if the hay from the village is swept into the oven today and in the morning, God clothes it like that, isn’t there much more lack of faith than you? Don’t worry about saying: what are the pits, or what are we drinking, or what are we wearing? The pagans are looking for all of these: for your heavenly Father knows that you require all of these (Matthew 6:26-32). Aren't there two birds worth the price of a single Assar? And not a single one of them will fall on the earth without your Father, but you are the main ruler and all of them are accounted for. Do not be afraid: you are better than many birds (Matthew 10:29–31). The life of every person, according to the images of Scripture, is a continuous series of actions of God’s multi-caring love for him, arranging his destinies, starting from birth and even uterine formation (Ps. 21:10; 138, 15; Job 10, 11) until death. He disposes of all events, happy and unhappy: the Lord dies and gives life, brings people down to hell and raises them up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich, humbles and exalts (1 Samuel 2:6-7). He creates and restores that disease (Job.5:18). From the Lord the feet of a husband are straightened (Wis 20:24); from the Lord a wife is matched to her husband (Prov. 19:14). He will help those who do good in every way, for those who love God will be helped in every way for good (Rom. 8:28). But wicked people are not deprived of God’s providence. God, like the sun, shines on the evil and the good, and rains on the righteous and the unrighteous. Not wanting to constrain the freedom given to them, He allows evil actions, but directs them to good consequences - the salvation of people and the glory of His name, examples of which are full of biblical history (for example, the story of Joseph). Sometimes He destroys evil intentions and bad plans (Exodus 15:9-10; Isaiah 8:10; Psalm 32:10), sometimes He stops or limits them, as He stopped, for example, the iniquity of Abimelech (Gen. 20:6). But, although God’s providence extends to all people, pious and ungodly, the pious are rewarded with special care from God for themselves. As a father gives generously to his sons, the Lord will show compassion to those who fear Him... The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness is on the sons of sons, who keep His covenant and remember His commandments to do (Ps. 102:13, 17-18). The entire Ps.90 (Alive in the help of the Most High,...) serves as an image of the special protection of God for those who trust in God amid the sorrows and disasters of life. I. Christ promised His faithful followers not only to stay with them all the days until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20; fn. 18, 20) and in general an abundance of spiritual blessings, but also special assistance in meeting the needs of everyday life: seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (i.e., various external blessings) will be added to you (Matthew 6:3), - as if for work and as reward for seeking the kingdom of God. Ap. Paul teaches: godliness is profitable for all things, having promise for the present life and for the life to come (1 Tim 4:8-11). In confirmation of this, Scripture presents us with many examples of God’s special care for His chosen ones, for example, in the preservation of the pious Noah and his family from destruction during the flood, in the history of Abraham, Joseph, David, St. Elijah and many other pious men, in the New Testament - on all the apostles. Once I. Christ asked them: when did you send without a vagina, and without fur, and without boots, and when did you worry about deprivation? They decided: nothing (Luke 22:35; cn. 2 Cor. 6:9–10). The reality of God's providential care for individuals can be confirmed by careful observation and reflection on the circumstances of one's own life and those around him. There is not a single human life so poor that there are no special traces of God’s providence in it. d) Embraces the providence of God and entire kingdoms and nations. God is the supreme King over all the earth (Ps. 46:3, 8; 94, 3). He, according to the figurative representation of the prophet, keeps a scripture or census of nations, in which every newborn is recorded in one or another nation (Ps. 86:6; sn. 138, 16; Is. 4: 3; Eze. 13: 9). It is no accident that nations arise and disappear from the face of the earth. The wisdom of the World Ruler has assigned each people its own time and its place on earth, the limits of existence, reproduction and degree of prosperity. God, who created the world and everything in it, is the Lord of this heaven and earth, teaches the apostle. Paul, - from one blood he created the whole language of man to live on all the face of the earth, having established the times and boundaries of their settlements (Acts 17:24. 26). In accordance with the purposes of His world government, God at certain times raises up in one or another nation the necessary men as instruments for the fulfillment of the wise purposes of His government of the nations. The power of the earth is in the hand of the Lord, says the Wise, and He will raise up what is needed in it in time (Sir 10:4). Ave. God Himself said to Jeremiah: before I could create you in the womb, I knew you, and before I could bring you out of your womb, I sanctified you and made you a prophet of the tongues (Jer. 1:5). In the same sense, the apostle says about himself that he was chosen by God for apostolic service from his mother’s womb (Gal. 1:15). Power, without which the existence of society is unthinkable, comes from God. The Most High owns the kingdom of man and He will give it to him (Dan.4:22, 29; fn. Sir.10:4), He appoints kings and deposes (Dan.2:21; fn. Jer.27:5-6). He gives from Himself to rulers or kings power and strength (Wis 6:4), anoints them with holy oil (Ps. 89:21; 1 Sam. 12:3-16; Is. 41, etc.), so that from that day the Spirit of the Lord moves over them (1 Sam. 16: 11-13). Finally, He Himself rules the kingdoms of the earth through kings: By me the kings reign and the mighty write the truth (Prov. 8:15–16); the heart of a king is in the hand of God (Proverbs 21:1). Supplied through kings, as God’s anointed, the lower authorities are appointed by God, which is why obedience to authority is obedience to God’s command and institution: let every soul obey the powers that be, for there is no authority unless it is from God: the existing authorities are created by God. In the same way, if you resist the authorities, you resist God’s command (Rom 13:1-2; cf. 1 Pet 2:13-14). They are appointed by God in order to fulfill the providential intentions of God for human societies: the ruler of God is the servant - for good to those who do good and an avenger to the wrath of those who do evil... Princes... servants of God are in this truth abiding (Rom 23: 4-6). Faith in the providence of God governing kingdoms and peoples finds confirmation and justification in the history of kingdoms and peoples. Of the individual nations, the history of God's chosen Jewish people is especially rich in events of obvious providence for an entire people. But similar events can be indicated in the history of other peoples of ancient and modern times, as well as in world history. From the traces of God's rule of the world that are revealed in history, one can see that the entire history of the ancient world was a preparation for Christianity, and the efforts of peoples were unconsciously directed towards this very goal - reunification with God. In the historical destinies of modern humanity (in the Christian period of history), God’s providential actions are especially visible in the direction of events towards mankind’s assimilation of the grace of redemption and towards the Christian education of mankind, otherwise towards its achievement of the kingdom of God, although no human mind can comprehend the mysterious ways of providence in this regard (to explain, for example, why such multimillion-dollar states with a unique culture, like China and India, remain outside Christianity). So comprehensive is God's providence! It is obvious that only with such an understanding of God’s providence can the very dogma of God the Provider have a morally beneficial meaning for a person. With the thought that the Creator’s gaze is turned only to the general conformity of the world and history, but that He does not pay attention to individual beings and small objects of the world and phenomena in it and, in particular, left us and our private life to chance - with this thought, man’s concerns about virtue, about self-improvement, about the fight against vice and in general manifestations of evil are deprived of the necessary point of support. § 57. Natural and supernatural images of industry about the world The laws of the created world, the expediency of events determined by God's providence. – Signs and wonders that do not violate, but overcome the actions of these laws. According to the image of God's providential action in the world, a distinction is made between natural and supernatural providence. The natural image of God's worldview is manifested in natural phenomena and events, when the existence and powers of creatures are supported by God through the forces and natural laws given to the world, and God's destinies come to fulfillment according to the natural course of things, established by God, only under the guidance and providential supervision of God. Scripture points to this image of God’s world government when it says: You founded the earth, and it remains; By Thy commandment the day endures (Ps. 11:90-91), - He set them (the sun, the moon and the stars) forever and ever; gave a statute that will not pass away (Ps. 149:6; cf. 118, 89–91), or: God makes His sun shine... and gives rain on the righteous and the unjust (Matt. 5:45), from heaven gives rain and fruitful times (Acts 14:17), etc. In the moral world, the phenomena of natural providence include when, for example, a depraved life followed by disorder of health and loss of tranquility, according to the immutable law of God’s truth, indicated by the Wise One: by them whoever sins is tormented (Wis 11:17). Obviously, in the actions of God’s natural providence, the natural forces of nature, acting according to the laws established for them, are instruments of God’s will, executors of His world-providential intentions. In the phenomena of natural providence, the co-presence of God in the world and His activity in it are hidden by the constancy and immutability of the world order, and therefore are not perceptible to everyone. The providence of God is revealed with particular clarity in supernatural events, or miracles, in which, in the words of a church song, “the rules of nature are overcome.” In the word of God, these visible revelations of the omnipotence of God in the universe are called miracles (τέρατα, e.g. Ps. 139:14; Heb. 2:4), that is, extraordinary, amazing, amazing events, also powers (δυνάμεις – Matt. 11:20–23; Mark 6:5–14; Acts 4:33, etc.) – to signify the power of God as the active cause of miracles, and signs (σημεία – Matt. 11:38–39; John 2:11, 18, etc.), i.e., visible signs, obvious evidence of what He says and acts in miracles directly, or in the person of His messengers. God. The miracles spoken of by revelation strongly testify that the infinite power of God operates in the world not only through created forces and laws, but also in addition to and beyond the finite, created forces and laws that He has placed in nature. This is especially obvious in miracles that exceed all known forces and laws of nature, such as, for example, the resurrection of the dead, healing with a single word, sometimes in absentia, of the sick, even such as lepers (Num. 12 13–15; Matt. 8:3; Luke 17:14), blind from birth (John 9), taming a storm at sea with a single word ( Matthew 8:23–27), feeding thousands of people with several loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:15–21; 15, 32–39) and many others. etc. In addition to miracles, the actions of the supernatural providence of God include the whole series of supernatural actions of the divine economy that the Lord performed and is performing, especially as the Redeemer and Sanctifier of the human race, such as: the incarnation of God the Word, the actions of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments (for example, transubstantiation in the sacrament of the Eucharist), spiritually grace-filled rebirth and sanctification of man by the grace of God and others. § 58. False teachings about providence. Analysis of the main objections to fishing Denial of God's providence for the world or its limitation. – Analysis of the main objections (the presence of physical evil, the lawfulness of the world, the reduction of the role of the individual, etc.). The human mind, not illuminated by the light of revelation, encounters insoluble difficulties in the doctrine of providence and/or falls into false ideas about it, or completely rejects the reality of providence. Thus, the ancient pagan world neither in religion nor in philosophy rose to the true concept of providence 30 . But even in the Christian world, the deviation of reason from subordination to sound faith led both to a perversion of the dogma of providence, its entire content (for example, in dualistic Gnosticism and Manichaeism) or its particular aspects (denial of the private providence of God, the doctrine of the incompatibility of God’s providence and free will in connection with the idea of ​​unconditional predestination), and to a complete denial of the reality of providence. However, in the Christian world they openly raised objections to God’s providence in later times, in the 18th century. English and French philosophers, known as deists, and in the near future - pantheists and materialists. According to deists, the world, as the work of the all-perfect Creator, is so beautifully structured that it cannot have the need for God to take care of itself, just as a well-built machine does not require constant intervention in its operation on the part of the master who designed it. Providence for the world would be God's amendments to Himself, making up for the oversights made during creation. In pantheism and materialism, the rejection of providence is combined with the denial of the Divine itself, as a personal being and separate from the world, in whose place is the immutability and constancy of the world order. It is obvious that in all these teachings the denial of providence is due to the falsity of their basic principles. The objections they put forward to providence are not such that they could destroy the Christian and universal conviction of the reality of God’s care for the world. 1. One of the oldest objections to providence is based on the defects and various manifestations of evil observed in the world. They say that if God really provides for the world, then how can one reconcile with this the existence of evil phenomena in the material world (earthquakes, storms, floods, pestilences, etc.) and disorder in the moral world (extermination wars, political coups, crimes, vices, etc.)? Of course, these phenomena cannot be denied, but all of them, having their main source in man’s abuse of his freedom, only point to the imperfection of the world, especially in its present state. But the imperfections of the world should naturally lead not to the denial of providence, but to the recognition of God’s providential influence on the world in order to correct these imperfections and direct everything towards good. Without such care, the world would inevitably move towards destruction. Further, the phenomena of physical evil and moral disorder would contradict God’s providence for the world if they completely distorted the entire order of the world and made it completely impossible to achieve the goal of the world that the Creator suggested. But this is actually not the case. The harmony of the visible world is preserved, despite some private violations of it, and in the moral world one can also observe the gradual movement of humanity towards perfection, despite all the private deviations away from the path of truth and goodness. This shows that despite the shortcomings and evils, the wisdom of divine providence is able to lead the world to achieve its goal. That's not enough. All phenomena of apparent disorder in nature, as well as phenomena of moral evil, are directed by the wisdom of God to good consequences. In relation to man in particular, physical disasters, as well as the moral upheavals that occur in the world (for example, wars of extermination, political upheavals, etc.) represent a powerful means of moral education of people. 2. They further point out the imaginary impossibility of reconciling the natural conformity of the world with the idea of ​​God’s actual participation in the life of the world. They say that the world is governed by constant and unchanging laws. Providence for peace would therefore be an inappropriate intervention of God in the law-governed course of world life. In the name of this same conformity with the law, they completely reject the existence of miracles in the world. But strict conformity with the law in the world cannot serve as an objection to fishing. Unconscious nature cannot be conceived otherwise than as acting according to necessary, constant and unchangeable laws, and God, who established the very laws of the world, cannot be characterized, as the highest rational being, by constant changes and violations of these laws. On the contrary, the conformity of the world with laws serves as one of the proofs of the reality of God’s providence for the world. The laws of the world are not any rational beings who could know why they exist and direct their actions towards one specific goal; they act blindly and unconsciously, and if, despite all this, they act purposefully, then this means that they are ruled by that Higher Power that established them - matter itself, as inanimate and unreasonable, can neither give itself laws nor determine the mutual relationship of forces and natural phenomena - otherwise, that they serve as an expression of the rational will of the Creator who rules the world. Denial in the name of the conformity of the world and the reality of miracles is unfounded. They say that miracles would violate the laws of nature, upset its order and order, that in miracles God would appear to correct the oversights He made in the world. But miracles are real, historically verified events. They do not stand in any contradiction with the law-governed course of world life. When a miracle was performed somewhere, for example, the healing of a man born blind, a leper, the resurrection of the dead, the taming of a storm, etc., the natural course of not only world life in general, but also other phenomena in the very place where the miracle was performed did not change. Miracles do not change or violate the laws of nature, but only overcome them, and then only for the time and place of the miracle. In miracles, by the power of God, the ordinary laws of nature prevail because in the world in general, higher powers and laws can limit, constrain, and delay the action of lower powers and laws (for example. Mechanical laws are limited to dynamic ones, chemical laws are limited to vital ones, physical laws are limited to moral ones). The more a person improves in knowledge, the stronger he becomes in relation to external nature, finding means to limit forces in it by forces, or to elevate some forces and constrain others and thus modify their actions in accordance with his goals. Just as all such human actions on nature do not in the least upset the natural course of its life, so the supernatural actions of the Divine in the world do not in the least contradict the natural conformity of the world. – Miracles do not stand in any contradiction with the properties of God. God does not correct Himself when He produces something directly by His own power in the world He created, but only corrects the deviations of rationally free beings from the established order. Not illness and death, but health and life constitute the normal state of God-created man. 3. Objections are also raised regarding God’s providence for private individuals. They find that God's real providence for people is incompatible with the freedom of moral beings. But with a correct concept of human freedom and distinguishing it from arbitrariness, the question of the relationship of God’s providence to human freedom is resolved without much difficulty. By the name of free will (formal or psychological) we mean freedom of choice, i.e. the ability to direct one’s activities towards good or evil, to make oneself either a child of God or a slave of sin. Human will, as created and not unconditional, can act only according to stimuli or motives, which are presented to it in countless numbers from everywhere (in the nature of the spirit, body, in society, external nature, etc.). However, these excitations serve only as a reason for the manifestation of the will; The reason that produces actions is free will, regardless of anyone or anything, giving preference to one or another motive. If our freedom consists only in independent, at our choice, subordination to one or another of the impulses acting on it, then it is obvious that voluntary subordination to the providential will of God is not a denial of freedom; on the contrary, only by such submission does the will of man rise to the degree where it becomes truly free (freedom of the spirit), rises above the desires of the flesh to the state about which the Savior spoke: if you abide in My word, you will truly be My disciples. And you will understand the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31–32). God's providence, therefore, cannot be accompanied by a denial of the free will of those who strive for true freedom. As for those who do not strive to achieve freedom by coordinating their will with the divine will, they do not have true complete freedom, but are free in a lower, purely psychological sense - they retain the freedom of choice between good and evil. If providence limits their freedom of action, then freedom of desire always remains with them. Therefore, when God denies them the means to carry out the decisions of the will, He does not limit the freedom of desire, but only withholds the consequences of desire 31 . I. About God the Provider of the existing spiritual world The entire spiritual world was initially created perfect. But Holy Scripture reveals to us that a great revolution once took place in this world. Some of the spirits have fallen away from God and constitute a dark world, a world of evil and spiritual death, but the other part, remaining faithful to their Creator, represents a world of purity, holiness and bliss. The latter are called good angels, and those who fell away from God are called evil. The attitude of God the Provider towards both is different. § 59. The attitude of God the Provider towards good spirits Preserving their existence. – Their achievement of perfection and bliss. God's providence for angels, as for all created beings, consists in preserving their existence and in governing them. That the angels are preserved in being God is self-evident. Although they are spiritual by nature, but since they do not have a belly in themselves, but have received being from the Source of life, they necessarily need the help of the all-preserving power of God to continue their life and, like all creatures, they yearn for Him to give them food. God's governance of the angelic world consists in the fact that God directs and assists the angels in achieving the goal of their existence - perfection and bliss. They are led to achieve this goal in direct and indirect ways: directly - through God’s use of them to directly serve Himself, and indirectly - through their use to serve people and nature as instruments of God’s providence for the universe and the human race. § 60. The service of angels to God Revelation about the direct service of angels to God, the meaning of this service for the angels themselves. Angels serve God directly by standing before Him, worshiping Him, and glorifying Him. So, St. Isaiah saw that the seraphim stood around the throne of God, and they called out to each other, and said: holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth will be filled with His glory (Is.6:3; cf. Ezek.3:12). St. John the Theologian testifies to the powers on high that they have no rest day and night, saying: holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who is and who is and who is to come (Rev. 4:8; 7, 11–12). Ave. Daniel was also honored to see the Ancient of Days sitting on the throne of heaven, and thousands of thousands of angels serving Him, and darkness standing before Him (Dan. 7:10). And according to the Savior, angels (διά παντός - always) see the face of the Heavenly Father and do His will in heaven (Matthew 18:10; 6, 10). They also serve the Son of God, who is at the right hand of God the Father (1 Pet 3:22; Eph. 1:21). The purpose of assigning such service to the angels is for the benefit of the angels themselves. Since God is the ever-present Light (John 1:9; 1 John 1:5; Ps. 60:19-20) and the inexhaustible Source of life (Ps. 36:10; 1 Tim 6:13), then, being rewarded with close communication with God, they draw from here, to the best of their ability, the light necessary for their illumination and the grace necessary for strengthening in goodness, and as a result, not cease to grow more and more and succeed in the knowledge of the truth, as well as to be established in goodness. “God’s servants, who stand near the high throne,” says Gregory the Theologian, “illumined “from the first Cause, have so imagined and imprinted the Good in themselves that they have become secondary lights, and through the outpourings and transmissions of the first Light they can enlighten others” (Sk. about God. 2). According to Basil the Great, angels, “as a result of communion with the Holy One by nature, have within themselves a shrine that has penetrated their entire being and united with their nature” (Prov. Eun. 3). § 61. Angels as instruments of God’s providence for the world in general and for people in particular Participation of God's angels in God's providence for the world. – Participation of angels in the economy of salvation of the human race. The Lord was pleased to make angels the instruments of His providence for the world in general and for man in particular. As Almighty, He, of course, has no need for any instruments to achieve the wise and good goals of His providence. Therefore, if He intended the angels to be the instruments of His providence, then, of course, because for the angels themselves, the performance of various ministries entrusted to them by God represents a necessary path to their improvement and strengthening of the will in good. I. Angels are instruments of God's providence for the material world. In Scripture there is a mention of angels having an area on the fires (Rev. 14:18), of four angels standing on four corners of the earth and holding four in the three corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1), or of an angel of the water (16:5), ready to fulfill the will of the World Ruler over these elements. These and similar indications of Scripture lead to the conclusion that God appointed some of the angels as guardians of the parts and elements of the visible world. Such a teaching is not a dogma of faith, but as an opinion, it has been expressed and accepted since ancient times 32. The revelation also indicates examples of the action of angels as executors of God’s commands in the sensory world. Thus, through the mediation of angels, the Lord accomplished the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:13) and the defeat of the inhabitants of Jerusalem by a plague under David (2 Samuel 24:15–17; 1Chronicles 21:14–16). The New Testament says: the angel of the Lord went down into the font (in Jerusalem, at the house of mercy) every summer (κατά καιρόν - at times) and troubled the water; and those who were earlier overcome by the disturbance of the water were in health, but were also overcome by illness (John 5:4). II. But angels have a particularly close relationship with the human race. As elder brothers in the same family of the same Heavenly Father, as members of the one body of Christ - His Church, they take an active part in the affairs of man and the destinies of all mankind. The participation of angels in the destinies of people is generally expressed in the fact that they are sent by God to promote our salvation: aren’t all the souls of service, sent in service for those who want to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). The entire history of the economy of human salvation has been accomplished and is being accomplished with the participation and assistance of angels in the cause of the salvation of mankind. Thus, in Old Testament times, the times of preparing people to accept the Redeemer, angels often taught people the will of God when they appeared to the pious patriarchs, for example, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, revealed the future to them, consoled them and gave them help. Sometimes they were sent to execute sinners, for example, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, according to the righteous judgment of God. During the ministry of angels, the written law itself was given to people (Deut. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19). Angels, even after the giving of the law, often instructed people, appeared to the prophets, for example, Daniel (9, 21), Zechariah (3, 1), and revealed to them the will of God regarding human salvation. The angel announced the conception of the Forerunner (Luke 1:28) and the birth of the Savior of the world Himself (Matthew 1:20). With the appearance of the Savior of the world, the angels are depicted as taking a very active part in His accomplishment of the work of redemption and in the assimilation by people of the fruits of redemption, and in general in the destinies of the kingdom of God. They welcomed the joyful event of the birth of the Redeemer with the song: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14). At the very beginning of His ministry to the world, the Savior said: from now on you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man (John 1:51). This meant that with the appearance of the Son of God in the flesh, the connection and communication of the angelic world with the human world would become closer and more tangible; the inhabitants of heaven should appear as servants of the Son of Man. History of public service I. Christ provides constant confirmation of this: angels came and served Him after temptation (Matthew 4:11), an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him in the dying prayer (Luke 22:43), an angel rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb at His resurrection (Matthew 28:2), angels announced to the myrrh-bearers about His resurrection (Matthew 28:5–7; Luke 24:4–6); John 20:12–13), and to the apostles - about the ascension into heaven and His second coming (Acts 1:10–11). They contribute to the establishment and spread of the Church of Christ on earth. Thus, the angels repeatedly freed the apostles from prison bonds (Acts 5:19; 12, 7); the angel inspired Cornelius to call the apostle to himself. Peter and receive baptism from him (Acts 10:3). Angels offer the prayers of the faithful to God (Rev. 8:3–4). With such closeness to the Savior and those being saved, they will appear at the last revelation of the Son of man at His second glorious coming as executors and participants in the last judgments of God (Matthew 13:39–42, 49; 25, 31). But, in addition to the general service of angels to the human race, there is also a special and private service to their people. Some of the rank of angels are entrusted with entire human societies for preservation and good governance, others are entrusted with the care especially of private individuals. § 62. Guardian angels of human societies Guardian angels of kingdoms and peoples. – Guardian angels of private churches and societies of believers. Angels are instruments of God's providence for entire human societies. “They are given,” the Orthodox Church teaches, “for the preservation of cities, kingdoms, regions, monasteries, churches and people, both spiritual and temporal” (Prov. Isp. 19). I. The doctrine of ruler angels or guardian angels of individual kingdoms and peoples was adopted by the New Testament Church from the Old Testament Church 33 . In revelation, evidence of the existence of angels who rule the people is found in the book of St. Daniel (chap. 10). The prophet testifies that when he multiplied his cries and intensified his prayers to God for an end to the misfortunes of the Jews, for their complete liberation from the Persian yoke, he had a revelation (vision) of great power. After his three-week fasting and prayers, an angel appeared to him, and with him for twenty and one days he interceded before the throne of the Most High for the liberation of the Jews from the Persian yoke, and announced a revelation about the further continuation of the history of the people of God in connection with the history of world monarchies and the whole world. But at the same time, the heavenly messenger allowed the prophet to contemplate invisible disputes (the fight with the “weapon of prayer,” as I. Chrysostom put it) in the heavenly world. He said that the prayer of the prophet was heard from the first day... “and I would come according to your words (i.e. proclaim the revelation of the will of God), but the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me for twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the first princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. and now I have come to tell you what will happen to your people in the last times... Now I will return to fight the prince of Persia; and when I go out, then the prince of Greece will come... However, I will tell you what is written in the true Scripture, and there is no one who would support me in that (more precisely, against them), except Michael, your prince "... Then the messenger revealed what is about to happen in the kingdoms of Persia, Greece and Syro-Egypt (chap. 11 and 12). Among the upcoming grave sufferings and disasters that Israel will have to endure, the people will still be saved: “And at that time Michael, the great prince, who stands for the sons of your people, will arise; The one who announced the revelation was a messenger from heaven, which means that the events he spoke about took place in the heavenly world. And from here it follows that by the names of the princes of the Persian, Greek and Jewish kingdoms we should mean not earthly princes, but heavenly ones, that is, angels to whom the designated kingdoms have been entrusted by God. This is all the more obvious because the Jewish prince is directly called Mikhail - by name. belonging to one of the heavenly archangels, and among the Jews, history does not know any earthly prince Michael. It follows from this that if not only the Jewish, but also the Persian and Greek kingdoms, pagan kingdoms, were not without special patrons and guardians from the heavenly face of God’s angels, then there is no reason to doubt that each earthly kingdom had and has a special patron and guardian in its guardian angel. “Each (of the angels) was given,” according to Gregory the Theologian, “special authority from the Tsar, to have under the supervision of people, cities and entire nations” (Song of the Mysteries, 6 ff.). The purpose of the ministry of the guardian angels of kingdoms and peoples is, of course, to assist the peoples entrusted to their care in achieving those goals that are assigned to each people by the one World Ruler, more particularly to promote the good of the peoples, and for this - to protect and deliver from evil, to lead along the path of civil improvements, especially to lead to God, that is, to lead the unenlightened to enlightenment with the light of Christian truth, and the enlightened - along the path of piety. The main means to achieve these goals are: prayerful intercession before God for the peoples entrusted to their care (Dan. 11), and instilling in people, especially kings and other rulers, thoughts and intentions that serve the good of the nations (Gen. 41:1–28). But they may also have other means to achieve the welfare of the peoples. They can know better than people the needs of the kingdoms and peoples they protect, and can find appropriate ways and means to satisfy them. II. The belief in the existence of guardian angels of private churches or societies of believers is also an ancient belief. Its foundation is found in the words of the Lord about the seven angels of the seven churches of Asia Minor: the mystery of the seven stars, which thou hast seen on my right hand, and the seven golden lamps (this is): the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven lamps, which thou hast seen, are seven churches (Rev. 1:20). True, the symbol of stars here also refers to bishops or visible representatives of churches (this is clear from Chapters 2 and 3), but at the same time an indication is given of the invisible heads of churches, who are the angels of churches in the proper sense. This is exactly how the ancient fathers understood the above saying. “I am sure,” says Gregory the Theologian, “that a special angel patronizes every church, as John teaches me in Revelation.” Therefore, saying goodbye to the flock of Constantinople, he exclaimed: “Forgive the angels, overseers of this church, as well as my stay here and departure from here” (Sk. 42; sn. Vasil. V. Pis. 230). The purpose of the ministry of the guardian angels of private churches is, of course, to guide the churches and all their members to the heavenly homeland, and the main means for this are prayer and instructions and suggestions to the members of the church, especially its leaders and leaders in the person of the pastors of the church. § 63. Guardian angels of private individuals Revelation about the guardian angels of people. – Private questions: Does God give each person a guardian angel and when? – Is a guardian angel always with a person? – What are the purposes of the service of guardian angels to people? Angels serve as instruments of God's providence for individuals. The Church teaches that each believer has his own special angel who stays with him and protects him, and therefore is called a guardian angel. I. Belief in guardian angels of private individuals existed even in the Old Testament Church. The psalmist confesses: the angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him (God), and will deliver them (Ps. 33:8). He assures those living under the protection of the Most High: evil will not come to you, and no wound will come close to your body. As His angel commanded you, keep you in all your ways (90, 10-11). and in the book of Tobit there is a living and touching image of those actions of protection, guidance, admonition and assistance that a person devoted to the faith can hope to receive from a guardian angel in different circumstances of his life. The angel was visible. although an unknown companion of Tobias in the city of Ragi, he saved him from danger at the Tigris, gave beneficial advice, arranged everything for good, and finally arranged the healing of Tobit. In the New Testament, the truth about the existence of a guardian angel for each of the believers is attested by I. Christ Himself and His Apostles. Convincing to respect every believer, no matter how small and weak he may seem, Christ said to the apostles: take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of the heavenly Father (Matthew 18:10). Whether this saying is applied to infants of faith, or understood about natural infants, of whom one was the visible object of the word of Christ (verses 2–5), the same conclusion follows that each of the believers has as his guardian one of the spirits of the angelic world. In the church of the apostolic age there was a strong belief in guardian angels for each believer. This was expressed especially clearly on the occasion of the release of St. Peter as an angel from the bonds of prison (Acts 12:12–16). When the servant reported that Peter was standing at the gate of the house, in which many people were gathered and praying, they did not want to believe her, but said: he is an angel. Those who spoke thus obviously expressed the conviction that not only every child of faith, but also each of such men of faith as Peter and the other apostles, has a special guardian angel. II. Revealing more specific features of the teaching about the relationship of guardian angels to us can be found in the works of the ancient fathers and teachers of the church. Based on the instructions of Scripture, they tried to answer all the major questions presented by this teaching. 1. To the question of whether and when God bestows a guardian angel on every person, the prevailing opinion in the ancient church was that angels are not given to every person indifferently, but only to those who believe in the Redeemer and are reborn by faith through grace in baptism. From the time of baptism, but not from the very birth of a person, the ministry of his guardian angel begins (based on Matthew 18:10; Heb.1:14; Ps.33:8). Regarding the members of the Old Testament Church, when there was no baptism yet, an opinion was expressed (based on Ps. 90:11) that the God-fearing among them had a guardian angel by faith in the coming Savior. It is natural to conclude that even in New Testament times, when some of the sincere believers, due to life circumstances, sometimes remained for many years without baptism (and in the first centuries, they sometimes sealed their faith with martyrdom without having had time to receive baptism), they were not deprived of the help of guardian angels even before baptism; This idea can be confirmed by the story of the conversion of Cornelius with the assistance of an angel (Acts 10, 3, 6, 22; 11, 13–14). 2. Regarding the question of whether the guardian angel given to him at baptism is constantly with a person and until what time, one should think, in accordance with the ancient patristic teaching, that the service of a guardian angel to a person who belongs to the kingdom of God continues throughout a person’s earthly life. From the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:22; cf. 12:20) one can see that angels do not leave a person even at the hour of his death, but lead his soul to the unknown land of eternity. However, there are times in the lives of those protected when the angel moves away from the person. Sometimes this happens due to the special wise intentions of God, during the struggle against temptations, as was the case with I. Christ Himself in the wilderness of temptation. But the main culprit in removing the guardian angel from oneself is the person himself, when he completely indulges in passions and vices. “Just as smoke drives away bees and stench drives away doves,” says Vasily V., “so does lamentable and stinking sin drive away the guardian of our life” (Demon on Ps. 33). However, even the greatest sinner can be reconciled with his guardian angel through sincere repentance of sins and leaving them forever. In this case, according to the word of Scripture, there is great joy for all the angels in heaven (Luke 15:10). 3. The purpose of the ministry of guardian angels to people is to help achieve salvation for those who seek it (Heb. 1:14). In accordance with this, their service to the believers, according to the images of Scripture and patristic teaching, is expressed in the fact that they are: 1) faithful mentors in faith and piety. (Zech.2:3; 2Kings 1, 3, 15-17; Judges 2, 1-6, etc.), which they can be because their knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God, wisdom and insight are higher than human ones, and they are so strengthened in goodness that they cannot sin; 2) guardians of our souls and bodies (Ps. 91:10–11). “Just as city walls, surrounding the city, repel enemy attacks from everywhere,” says Basil the Great, “so an angel serves as a wall in front, protects from behind and on both sides, and leaves nothing uncovered” (On Ps. 33). Finally, angels are 3) our prayer leaders before God (Matt. 18:10; Rev. 8:3; Tov. 12:15–20). They not only excite those who are kept to prayer, but they themselves pray with those who pray and offer up our weak prayers in their holy prayers to Him who lives in the unapproachable light. St. I. Climacus, one of the most experienced teachers of prayer, writes as a teaching to those praying: “if you are pleased or touched by any word of prayer, then stop there. For then our guardian prays with us” (Lev. 28:11). § 64. Moral state and happiness of good angels Their sinlessness is by the grace of God. – Their joy and bliss. Disembodied spirits, as created by free beings, by their nature can freely abide and succeed in good and deviate towards evil, but good angels are so established in goodness that, by the grace of God, they will never fall away from it. There is direct evidence in revelation that confirms this truth. They are called in Scripture angels of light (2 Cor. 11:14), the elect (1 Tim 5:21), are depicted as models of meekness (2 Pet 2:11; Jude 9 v.); it is said about them that they see the face of the Heavenly Father, which is promised in the afterlife only to the saints. But Scripture especially confirms the complete confirmation of angels in goodness when it teaches that they will remain holy at the end of the world, when the Lord will appear with them to judge the living and the dead, and they will surround His throne (Matthew 25:31; Jude 14 v.). If they retain their purity until that time, and after that there is no chance or possibility of losing it, then it follows that they will never fall, therefore, they are established in goodness. However, such a moral state of angels that they remain and will remain good is a gift of God’s grace, deserved by them, and not a property of their very nature. “They cannot sin,” the church teaches, “not by their nature, but by the grace of God.” This grace was given to them for long-term obedience to the will of God and unwavering loyalty to God, which they showed during the fall of Satan (Prov. 20). Holiness by nature is characteristic only of God. The inability or immobility of them (the angels) towards evil comes from none other than the Holy Spirit,” teaches St. Gregory the Theologian (Sl. 41; sn. Vasil. V. Prot. Eunom. III). Without God's help, they too, as creatures limited by nature, can show something obstinate (deviate from the path, road), that is, deviate from their high purpose (Job 4:18; sf. 15, 15). With their affirmation in goodness, the angels were, of course, affirmed in a bliss commensurate with their moral state, which will not be taken away from them. The bliss of the angels lies in the fact that they see the face of the Heavenly Father, surround the throne of God, and from this the highest joy and bliss cannot but arise. They are also in mutual friendly communication of the most perfect like-mindedness and love, for which they, of course, have their own special language peculiar to them, which is also mentioned by St. Paul, when he speaks of the tongues of angels and the verbs he heard in the third heaven (1 Cor. 13:1; 2 Cor. 12:4). Revelation about the existence of evil spirits. – New Testament teaching about their existence. The name of evil spirits in Holy Scripture refers to personal, freely rational and disembodied beings who, of their own free will, fell away from God, became evil and formed a special kingdom hostile to God and good, but dependent on Him. The belief in the existence of evil spirits in general is a universal belief; in all natural religions of ancient and modern times there is a doctrine of evil spirits. However, this conviction has firm support only in revealed religion, and in it alone the doctrine of evil spirits is revealed in its true light. In modern times, with increasing disbelief in the existence of the spiritual world in general, many rebel against the doctrine of the existence of evil spirits. Particularly widespread among those who reject their existence (the so-called ademonists) is the view that although Scripture contains the doctrine of the existence of evil spirits, it was allegedly borrowed by the Jews during the Babylonian captivity from Persian mythology. By the time of I. Christ and the apostles, this teaching, however, had become so established in the popular consciousness that it acquired the meaning of dogma. Therefore, I. Christ and the apostles did not dispute the popular belief, but did not share it either; they spoke on this subject in the general expressions of their time. But all such statements are completely arbitrary. Mentions of the existence of evil spirits, as well as good spirits, are contained in the most ancient sacred books, starting with the Pentateuch. The first such mention is in the legend about the fall of our ancestors (Gen. 3 ch.). Moses, reminding the Israelites of their deviations towards paganism, says that they devoured, that is, they sacrificed to the demon (Hebrew shedim, plural from sched - destroyer, destroyer, according to the translation of LXX - έθυσαν δαιμονίοις), and not to God ( Deut.32:17; sn. Ps.105:37; 1Cor.10:20), - a clear indication of the existence of evil spirits (as they understood the saying of Moses LXX transl.). A similar indication can be seen in the law on the celebration of the great day of atonement (Lev 16:8,10). On this day, it was commanded to take two goats - one for Jehovah, the other “for Azazel”; the goat on which the lot fell “for Azazel” was ordered, without sacrificing, after laying on it the iniquities of the people (through the laying on of hands), to drive it into the desert “for Azazel” (Hebrew la Azazel), so that it would bear the iniquities into an impenetrable land, and take away a goat into the wilderness was made unclean (v. 26). By “azazel” here we mean not an abstract concept (removal or absolution), but a living and personal being, moreover, an evil being, that is, the devil. This is revealed from the fact that here azazel is opposed to Jehovah (lot for Jehovah and lot for azazel; the lot is usually cast between a person and a person), as well as from the purpose of establishing a holiday of purification, as well as indicating the desert as the place of residence of azazel (fn. Matt. 12:43), a place completely removed from the sacred habitat of Jehovah among his people. The contrast of azazel with Jehovah gives grounds for the conclusion that azazel does not mean the subordinate spirit. and the leader and chief of the desert demonic kingdom. There are mentions of evil spirits in other Old Testament books that appeared before the Babylonian captivity, for example, a mention of an evil spirit that from God attacked Saul and tormented him, and, moreover, a mention without any explanation, as an event, the possibility of which is recognized and assumed by everyone (1 Samuel 18, 10-14; 19, 9), an indication. that the devil should kill David, that he might number Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1). The clearest indication of the existence among Jews of the doctrine of evil spirits before their acquaintance with Persian beliefs is contained in the book. Job. Here (1, 6–12 and 2, 1–7) the evil spirit is directly called Satan and is depicted as full of deceit and enmity towards the righteous and virtue. Thus, undoubtedly, even before the Babylonian captivity, the Jews had a belief in the existence of evil spirits. But in content, the biblical teaching both about spirits in general and about evil spirits in particular is completely different from the ancient Persian (see § 41), which also indicates the independence of the former from the latter. As for the explanation of the New Testament teaching about evil spirits by the adaptation of I. Christ and the apostles to the superstitious concepts of their contemporaries, it contains the idea that is inconsistent with the moral character of I. Christ and the apostles, that in their teaching there is an admixture of lies, silence about the truth, misleading listeners with deliberately inaccurate expressions. At the same time I. Christ expressed His teaching about evil spirits sometimes without external reasons, not only in general terms, but also in detail (for example, Matt. 13:39; 25, 41; John 8:44; 16, 11 and many others), and revealed it to His disciples (for example, Matt. 17:21; John 12, etc.), in relation to whom such an adaptation was inappropriate. Finally, this explanation must therefore be rejected, because, as the apostle teaches. John, the very coming of the Son of God into the world is in connection with the truth of the existence of evil spirits: the one who commits sin is of the devil, since the devil sinned from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Free fall into sin in the angelic world. – Pride is its foundation. – The passion for the fall of countless angels. - The time of this fall. All beings of the spiritual world are created good by nature. Evil spirits are also created good by nature. They later became evil through abuse of their own freedom, not prompted to this by any necessity. This is what revelation and the church teach about the origin of evil spirits. I. The Savior, denouncing the unbelief of the Jews in Him, said to them: you are of your father the devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He is a murderer from time immemorial, and does not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him (John 8:44). It does not stand in the truth - έν τή αληθεία ουχ εστηκεν (perfectum means in Greek an action that took place in the past and extends to the present) actually means: the devil did not stand in the truth and now does not stand. The truth in which the devil could not resist is, without a doubt, the moral truth about which the Savior spoke: understand the truth, that is, your true purpose, and the truth will free you, of course, from slavery to sin (John 8:32). The spirits of malice could not resist in this truth—fidelity to their purpose. The meaning of the Savior’s words, therefore, is this: fallen spirits did not remain faithful to their purpose, which was to live for God, placing the goal of their existence in Him alone. The apostles also taught about the fall of angels. Ap. Peter says: God did not show mercy to the angels who sinned, but bound them in captivity in darkness, and delivered them over to the tormented to watch over judgment (2 Pet 2:4). Similar to this and ap. Jude writes that God did not keep the angels from their rulership, but left their habitation, and kept them in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day (Jude 6 v.). Both apostles indicated in the above sayings examples of God’s punishment for sin in order to warn people from sin. This is the purpose of the instruction, in connection with the direct statement that God did not spare the angels who sinned (άμαρτησάντων), that they did not preserve their beginning (την αρχήν), but left their dwelling (τό ίδιον οίητήριον), clearly indicates the fall from grace that took place in the angelic world. Ap. John writes: from the beginning the devil sins (άπ άρχης ό διάβολος άμαρτάνει – 1 John 3:8). Here the expression from the beginning means the time when the devil became the devil, and the word sins contains the following meaning: from the beginning he (the devil) sinned and still sins and leads into sin, which is why sins are further called the works of the devil (Art. 8). II. The fall of the devil and his angels, created as free beings, was, of course, also a free fall, not forced by any necessity, neither external nor internal, or by any temptation. This constitutes the constant and unchangeable teaching of the church, it is a dogma of faith. But questions have long been raised regarding the circumstances of the fall of angels. These are: 1) what was the sin of the fallen spirits? 2) Did they all fall at the same time? 3) Did they fall soon after their creation? Various private opinions have long been expressed on these issues. 1. On the question of what the sin of the fallen spirits was, the dominant opinion among the church fathers was that this sin consisted of pride. The basis for this opinion was seen in the apostle’s warning not to appoint a bishop from among the converts, lest the devil become proud and fall into judgment (εμπέση εις κρίμα, i.e. condemnation or punishment τον διαβόλου, - 1 Tim 3:6). The sameness of conviction presupposes the sameness of the crime. From this we can conclude that the sin of the devil, for which he was condemned, is pride, and in general the beginning of sin is pride (Sir. 10:15). It was suggested that the pride of the devil was expressed in the fact that he became proud of the height of his position and had a desire to be equal to God (to become a god for the world, or to replace God for the world) and to enjoy divine honor and glory in the world, which self-delusion was followed by obvious disobedience to God and daring indignation against Him 34 . The image of the devil's outrageous action against God was seen covertly expressed in the description of the pride of the king of Tyre (Is. 14:12–13). Confirmation of the possibility of such a manifestation of pride in an angel with a bright mind can be seen in the testimony of Scripture about the Antichrist, who will sit in the church of God, showing himself that God exists (2 Sol 2:4). 2. Did the fall of all spirits follow at the same time, or did they fall away gradually? Various names of fallen spirits in Scripture give reason to think that first one of the highest angels sinned and that he dragged many other angels with him into the abyss of sin; the latter are called in Scripture the angels of the devil (Matt. 25:41), and he himself is the father of lies, who sinned from the beginning, a slanderer who deceives the universe (Rev. 12:7–9), the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) and other names that distinguish him as the founder of evil from among other fallen spirits. Suddenly the fall of all of them could not follow, for it is impossible for the will of all of them to suddenly take arms against the Creator. That is why the church fathers thought that the main angel fell first, “and countless angels subordinate to him followed and fell with him,” or more than others friendly with him (Damascene Ill. c. II, 4). 3. When did they fall? - Undoubtedly - before the fall of man, but how soon after the creation of angels - there are no direct indications in Scripture. The ancient church expressed different opinions on this issue. But it is more natural to think that the angels fell soon after their creation, perhaps in the very first steps of their lives, when they still had little taste of the blessed life in union with God and did not have time to strengthen themselves in goodness (August. About the book of Gen. 11:20, 23; About gr. B. XI, 15). § 67. The nature of evil spirits, their number and degrees Distortion of the will of evil spirits. - Countless numbers of evil spirits. – Hierarchy in the world of evil spirits. I. The angels who fell away from God, like the good angels, were all created by God with the same spiritual nature and the spiritual powers inherent in it. The same spiritual nature, alien to materiality, with consciousness, will and feeling, remained in its essence the nature of the angels even after their fall, for the gifts of God are unrepentant (Rom. 11:39). Only the moral state of this nature and the direction in the activity of its forces have changed, but not its very nature and structure. And revelation in its references to evil spirits directly calls them spirits. (Matthew 8:16; 2, 43; Luke 10, etc.), spirits of wickedness in high places (Eph.6:12). As spirits, they assimilate in the word of God the essential powers of the spirit - mind (2 Cor. 2:11), will (2 Tim. 2:26) and feeling (Matt. 8:29; James 2:19; Rev. 20, etc.). From the point of view of the mind, they are portrayed as knowing a lot of things. James claims that demons believe and tremble at God (2:19), and know the time until their power will continue (Rev. 12:12). I. They often confessed Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 8:29); They said about the apostles: these men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim the way of salvation (Acts 16:17). From the side of the will, fallen spirits are depicted as beings who are forever established in evil, which is why they are called spirits of evil (Eph.6:22; cf. Luke 7:21), unclean spirits (Matthew 10:1), enemies of truth and good (Matthew 13:30; Luke 10:19; John 8:44) and other similar names. As having the ability to feel, the spirits of malice acquire feelings corresponding to their moral state, for example: awe or painful fear of God (James 2:19), envy (Wis 2:24), pride (1 Tim 3:2,6; Sol 2:4), malice and hatred of everything good and holy; it is indicated that they experience torment and fearfully await the great day of judgment (Luke 8:31; Matt. 8, etc.), that they seek peace and do not find it (Matt. 12:43; Luke 11:24). Even after the fall, their natural powers remained superior to human powers. Scripture assimilates to the fallen spirits such strength and power that it calls them the authorities and rulers of the world (κοσμοκράτορας) of the darkness of this age (Eph. 6:12). II. The number of angels who fell away from God is not determined in Scripture, but it is only given to understand that it is very large. The society of evil spirits is called the whole kingdom (Luke 11:18). I. Christ cast out many demons, a legion, from one man in the land of Gadarene (Luke 8:30), and seven demons from Mary Magdalene (Mark 6:9). In the ancient church there was a belief that in general there are many evil spirits, that “the Lucifer”, the first of the indignant highest angels, “was rejected, he was followed and with him an innumerable number of spirits subordinate to him fell” (Damascene). III. Fallen spirits constitute a special, although dependent on God, kingdom, and a kingdom cannot exist without ranks, higher and lower. without domination and subjugation. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided among himself: what will his kingdom become (Matthew 12:26)? Every kingdom, being divided against itself, will become desolate (Luke 11:17). Thus, there is a difference in degrees, superiority and subordination, and in the kingdom of evil spirits. Revelation presents one of the fallen spirits as the head of this kingdom, calling him by various names. These are: the devil (διάβολος, i.e. slanderer, slanderer, deceiver - Ps.109:6; Matt.4:1-11; John 8:44; Jude 9, etc.), or Satan (Heb. satan, i.e. adversary, insidious, destroyer, deceiver - Job 1:6; Zech.3:1; Matt.4:10; Rom.16:20, etc.), Beelzebub, whom the Jews called the prince of demons (άρχων των δαιμονίων – Matt. 10, 25; 12, 24, etc.) 35, Belial (Heb. belijal, from beli - without and jal - benefit, - worthless, dishonest, evil, - Ps. 40:9) or beliar (Sir, compound of beli - insignificance and ar - high, prince, in 2 Cor. 6 - the culprit of idolatry and all atrocities), the ancient serpent and dragon ( Rev. 12:9; 20, 2), tempter (Matt. 4:3; 1 Sol 3:5), prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), father of lies and murderer (John 8:44), and others. The fallen spirits subordinate to him are called the angels of the devil (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:9), demons or demons (τα δαιμόνια - Matt. 7:22; 10, 8; John 10:20; 1 Cor. 10: 20–21, etc.) and simply evil (Luke 7: 21; 8, 2; Acts 19:12) or unclean (Mk. 9, 25; Rev. 18, etc.; spirits. There is also a difference and subordination between them. Thus, the Savior mentions the unclean spirit, which, having departed from a person, then brings into him seven other spirits that were bitter to themselves (πνεύματα). τονηρότερα - the most evil spirits - Luke 11:26; Matt. 12:45) The Apostle distinguishes between the evil spirits of the principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this age (Col. 2:15; Eph. 6:12), as differing from each other in strength and power. The difference between evil spirits in degrees, according to the guess of one church teacher, is either a remnant of the difference and subordination in which the fallen spirits were to each other before their fall, or is based on the relatively different success of each of them in evil (Cassian, Sob. VIII, 8). § 68. Moral state and fate of evil spirits Their unrepentance and strengthening in anger. – Eternal fire is their fate. Evil spirits have fallen so deeply and are so established in evil that they can no longer repent and rise, and therefore “are condemned forever and can never receive the grace of God” (Proverbs 21). I. In revelation, an indication of the state of moral unrepentance of fallen spirits can be seen in the very names of them as evil spirits, or spirits of malice, which show that there are no good principles left in their nature from which the desire to free themselves from evil and become good could arise and develop in them. The same truth is expressed more clearly in the words of the Savior about the devil, that he does not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him: whenever he speaks a lie, from his own (εκ των ιδίων) he says: for falsehood (ψεύστης) is also the father of lies (John 8:44). I. Christ did not say: there is a lie in the devil, or his words are lies, but he himself called him a liar. This means. that its very essence is a lie, a denial of truth and goodness. Most directly, Scripture points to the decisive and irrevocable descent into the abyss of evil of fallen spirits when it teaches that the devil and his angels are condemned to eternal torment. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that at least one of the evil spirits can be saved, or that at least one demon is converted. The belief that fallen spirits would forever remain evil was common in the ancient church. and therefore on the Vth Universe. The Council condemned as a decisive error the opinion (of Origen and his admirers) that the restoration of demons would follow, for they too, having repented, would turn to God. II. The fate of fallen spirits is in accordance with the moral state. At the beginning, as soon as they sinned, they were expelled from their primitive home (Jude 6 v.) - cast out of heaven: I saw Satan, - said the Savior, - like lightning falling from heaven (Luke 10:18). Heaven, the dwelling of angels and the place of the highest revelation of God, could not be the place of his residence after the fall of Satan, and, therefore, the words of the Savior indicate the punishment that befell the fallen spirits after their first indignation against God 36. Like any temporary punishment sent by God, it was at the same time medicine, reproof, a means of converting fallen spirits to the path of truth and goodness. But they did not repent of their sin; they committed a new crime, instilling in people disobedience to the will of God. For this new, second crime, they were subjected to a new, gravest punishment, although not yet final: and the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you (Gen. 3:14). Whatever the effect of the curse was, in any case it was an aggravation of the previous punishment, for there we do not yet see the curse of God. Currently, their fate is a state of painful languor and melancholy, fear of God and anticipation of judgment and condemnation. I. Christ testified that when an unclean spirit leaves a person, it passes through a waterless place, seeking rest, and does not find it (Matthew 12:43; Luke 11:24). Ap. James teaches: demons also believe and tremble at God (James 2:19), and according to the testimony of the apostle. Peter and Judas, God keeps them bound in bonds of hellish darkness (Apostle Peter), or in eternal bonds under darkness (Apostle Jude) for the judgment of the great day. The expressions: “eternal bonds”, “chains of hellish darkness” show that evil spirits cannot free themselves from hellish darkness, that is, from their present disastrous state. At the same time, they are still awaiting God’s righteous judgment and condemnation to endless torment. Thou hast come (here) ahead of time to torment us, the demoniac shouted to Christ (Matthew 8:29), and the legion of demons pray to Him, that He may not command them to go into the abyss (Luke 8:31). From these cries it is clear that evil spirits know and feel that the fate awaiting them is painful, and this increases the severity of their present situation, painful and bitter. In the future, eternal fire awaits them (Matthew 25:41; Rev. 20:10). § 69. The relationship of evil spirits to the entire human race The desire to subjugate the human race and form a kingdom of evil. – The devil is like the prince of this world. - The desire to hinder the work of salvation. Fallen spirits are closely related to the entire human race. After being cast down from heaven, not having the opportunity to spread their kingdom among its inhabitants, they directed their efforts to sow, increase and establish evil among people. Through the deception of the devil, the fall of the founder of the human race took place: through the envy of the devil, death came into the world below, teaches the Wise One (Wis 2:24). Having paved the way for his dominion in the world through this, he and his angels strive to alienate all people from God and from good. generally destroy the kingdom of God, establishing their own in its place. In the revelation one can find an image of the very history of the struggle of the devil against the kingdom of God and his success in capturing fallen humanity in his nets. Revelation teaches that the devil is the prince of this world, that is, the world of sin, the god of this age, and about wicked people in Scripture it is said that they are under the influence and power of the devil (1 John 3:8), they are the children of the devil (1 John 3:10; cf. John 8:44; Acts 13:10); turning to the faith of I. Christ is deliverance from the power of darkness (Col. 1:13), turning from the realm of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). It follows from this that all of Old Testament humanity, as sinful as it was, constituted the realm of Satan, and especially the realm of Satan constitutes the pagan world. In the pagan world, evil developed to such an extent that without the participation of creatures who were completely evil and depraved, human strength alone was not enough to produce it (see Rom. 1 ch.). This is how the word of God represents the state of the pagan world, calling the pagans walking in the age of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air - the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2) 37, and paganism - serving demons, and not God (1 Cor. 10: 20-21; fn. 2 Cor. 6-16; Rev. 9:20; Deut.32:17; Ps.106:37). The condition of God's chosen people was comparatively much better, because God was known in Judea (Ps. 75:2). But the devil and his spirits managed with all their might to harm the Church of God, which was preserved in the descendants of Abraham. When the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil among people (1 John 3:8), then the devil, for his part, strained all his efforts to destroy the work of redemption at the very beginning. For this purpose, he tempted the Perfecter of our redemption Himself (Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13). Having suffered defeat, after the powerful command of the God-man - follow Me (get away from Me), Satan - the devil left Him, but not forever, but for a time. He did not dare again to tempt I. Christ directly, but throughout the entire period of His redemptive feat, He approached temptations through the mediation of his tools (especially the scribes and Pharisees - John 8:44). The devil managed to take possession of even the Savior’s disciples. To one of them (Apostle Peter), who rejected the Savior from the path of the cross, He said: follow Me (get away from Me), Satan (Matthew 16:22–23). Satan took possession of Judas in such a way that he entered into him and put into his heart the thought of betraying Jesus (John 13:2, 27). He asked about all the apostles - to sow them like wheat (Luke 22:31). The last tension of the struggle of the devil against the Redeemer was when I. Christ finished His work on Calvary: the prince of this world is coming, and in Me he will have nothing, - said the Savior in his farewell conversation with his disciples (John 14:30). Since the founding of the Christian Church, the devil has used and is using every effort to hinder the spread of the Gospel and the salvation of people. Ap. Paul testifies that Satan several times prevented him from coming to the Thessalonians (1 Sol 2:18). The Savior Himself called the devil His enemy, who sows tares in the village where He, the Son of man, sows good seed (Matthew 13:37, 39). Persecution of the church, schisms, heresies and other disasters befall the church, no doubt, not without the influence of the devil. In general, he walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). He also arms all his principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this world, not only to keep in his power the sons of opposition to God, but to snatch and subjugate the sons of the Church of Christ under his power. But especially he will rise up against the church at the end of the world and before the second coming of the Son of God, when Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the tongues of existence in the four corners of the earth (Rev. 20:7). Then he will erect a special, extraordinary weapon to fight the church in the person of the Antichrist (2 Sol 2:8). § 70. The attitude of evil spirits to each person Influence on the human soul through temptation. – Influence on the human body by removing his soul from controlling the body, disrupting the functioning of organs. - Obsession. – Disorder of a person’s external well-being. Fallen spirits have a close relationship with each person separately. According to the teaching of Scripture, every person who is not enlightened by baptism is subject to the power of an evil spirit. The apostles called the conversion of pagans to Christ a conversion from the domain of Satan to God. But even after a person turns to Christ, the efforts of the devil to take possession of a person do not stop. Scripture presents the life of a Christian under the image of continuous warfare with the spirits of evil. Put on the full armor of God, for you are also able to stand against the wiles of the devil: for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, that is, not against weak, weak people, but against the rulers, and against the authorities, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spirits of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:11-13). Ap. Peter calls on all Christians to be vigilant in these words: be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet 5:8; cf. Luke 12:4–5). The harmful actions of the devil can extend to the soul and body of a person, as well as to his external well-being and generally to visible nature. I. Fallen spirits can exert an evil influence on a person’s soul, on his thoughts and dispositions, and on his moral state in general; they can blind his mind, arouse vicious desires in his heart, and incline him to criminal actions. The nature and properties of the temptations of the devil are especially visible in the history of the temptations of the ancestors and of I. Christ himself. But the same is the nature of other temptations. Thus, Satan instilled in David the vainglorious thought that he might number Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1), inspired false prophets to prophesy the destruction of people (1 Kings 22:21–22; 1 Chronicles 18), in the heart of Judas he put the thought of betraying I. Christ, and filled the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). As for the methods of temptation, Scripture makes it clear that the devil can take on various visible images during temptations. Thus, he tempted his ancestors in the form of a serpent, and I. Christ in another visible form. Ap. Paul testifies that he can take the form of an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). But mostly fallen spirits wage invisible warfare, having the ability to influence the human soul in an invisible way. The history of the church confirms this with numerous examples of actual temptations from the devil. Ascetics of piety were especially exposed to such temptations; their lives are full of examples of evil spirits appearing to them in various visible forms. They were predominantly attacked for obvious reasons. Those who are careless about the matter of salvation, who are in unbelief, who are obsessed with passions and vices, who are generally given over to sin and without temptations from the devil, constitute the domain of Satan. II. Fallen spirits, by God's permission, can take possession of the human body, cause bodily suffering, cause disorder in it and generally control it according to their evil will. The complete state of this terrible misfortune is called in Holy Scripture (in contrast to temptation - the action of the devil on a person’s soul) demon possession, and those in such a state are demon-possessed (δαιμονιζομένοι, e.g. Matthew 4:24; 8, 28, etc.). From the gospel tales about the possessed, one can see that in a state of possession, an evil spirit that has taken possession of a person (the body) removes his soul from dominion over the body and, throughout the entire state of possession, dominates the body, which is subordinate to it even to a greater extent than to its own soul. Often the evil spirit that dwells in the body of the possessed produces in it only individual painful conditions or damage to organs, for example, deafness and dumbness (Mark 9:25), blindness and dumbness (Matthew 9:32), cramps (Luke 13:11, 16). But in a complete state of demonic possession, the evil spirit completely controls the entire human body, even uses the organ of speech and in human language expresses its evil intentions and its own knowledge, which exceeds the knowledge of man (Matt. 8:29, 31; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34, 41, etc.). and what terrible and extraordinary bodily suffering the evil spirits subject those possessed by them can be seen especially from the evangelists’ description of the state of the Gadarene demoniacs (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–13; Luke 8:26–33), or the one who was possessed on the new moon, healed by the Savior at the foot of the mountain of transfiguration (Matthew 17:14–21); Mark 9:14–21 ; Luke 9:37–42 ). Gospel history shows that cases of demonic possession during the Savior’s earthly life were especially numerous. Many demons were brought to I. Christ (Matthew 16), and, at the command of the Lord, demons departed from many (Luke 4:41). Among those healed from possession, there were also those in whom many demons took possession, for example, seven demons left Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9), and many demons came into the Gadarene demon possession - a legion (Luke 8:30). Christ also gave the power to cast out demons to the apostles (Matthew 10:8; Luke 9:1), and the apostles actually cast out demons. Thus, the seventy disciples, upon returning from preaching, joyfully said: Lord, even the demons obey us in Your name (Luke 10:17). After the Ascension of the Savior, the apostles not only cast out demons themselves, but even their things healed those possessed by demons (Acts 19:12; 8, 7, etc.). The Scriptures of the Old Testament, with the exception of the case of Saul, who was outraged by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:44), do not speak of demons, but belief in demons, as well as in the possibility of casting out demons through a spell, existed among the Jews even before the time of J. Christ. There is also mention of Jewish exorcists in the New Testament (Matthew 12:27; Acts 19:13–16). Demonstration was common in the first centuries of Christianity, so that Christian apologists (for example, Just. Apol. II, 6; Tertul. Apol. 23; Orig. Prov. Celsus 1, 46; Cyril. Jerusalem. Ogl. teachings XVI, 15, etc.) pointed out to the pagans numerous examples of the exorcism of demons in the name of I. Christ, as one of the proofs of the divinity of the Christian religion. In the 3rd century. Even special persons appeared whose duty it was to conjure demons (the so-called exorcists – exocirsti); they received special dedication to fulfill their position (Laod. sob. pr. 26). Without a doubt, manifestations of demonic possession still occur today, although they occur less frequently and to a lesser degree, which is why they are more difficult to recognize. The power of hell is noticeably crushed by the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, and at the same time the grossest manifestation of its power is limited. Believers have been given weapons to fight the malice and violence of fallen spirits. As for the possibility of the devil invading a person and the actions of an evil spirit alien to the soul on the human body, there is no evidence of the impossibility of this. Experience shows that sometimes a person so subjugates other people to his will that they often become unconscious, but nevertheless complete instruments of his will (especially in the phenomena of so-called hypnotic suggestion). Demons - spirits of higher power and intelligence, have, without a doubt, knowledge about the structure of nature and people, are not bound by the body, and therefore are even more capable, with God's permission, to take possession of a person and produce disorders and diseases consistent with the structure of the body. How this is possible is an impenetrable mystery to us; but it is also a mystery to us how our own spirit acts on the body. III. Finally, evil spirits can harm a person’s external well-being, because they can act on the material world, and even with greater force and to a greater extent than people who are inferior to them in power by nature. Their actions in the material world can sometimes seem even supernatural to people, having the appearance of miracles. So, I. Christ was drunk by the devil in the holy city and placed Him on the hill of the church... The devil gave Him drink on a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Matthew 4:5, 8) at this time (Luke 4:5). About the man of lawlessness, whose coming will be according to the work of Satan, it is said that it will be with all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10), about his false prophets - that they will give great signs and wonders, as if it were possible to deceive even the elect (Matthew 24:24), so that they will bring down fire from heaven ( Rev.13:13). With such power over nature and its forces, of course, fallen spirits can harm the external well-being of a person, and indeed they do harm. The book of Job says that due to the action of the devil, Job was deprived of all external happiness: the oxen and camels were taken into captivity, the sheep were burned by fire that fell from heaven, the servants died from the edge of the sword and heavenly fire, the children were buried under the ruins of the house and, finally, Job himself was stricken with leprosy (Job 1 and 2 ch.). Due to the action of evil spirits, about 2 thousand Gadarene pigs rushed down a steep slope and drowned in the sea (Mark 5:13). Ap. Paul commands the Corinthian incest to be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Cor. 5:5), that is, so that the evil spirit takes possession of his body and emaciates him (according to the explanation of Blessed Theodoret, he did something similar to what happened to Job). § 71. God's providential actions in relation to evil spirits Preserving their existence. – Limiting their evil activities. – Allowing temptations of a person by the devil to strengthen a person. – Ways of a person’s struggle with evil spirits: invoking the most holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ, fasting and prayer, spiritual wakefulness. Evil spirits led by Satan, although they constitute a special kingdom hostile to God, are dependent on God both in their being and in all their activities. I. God preserves them in being. They are kept, that is, preserved by God in eternal bonds for the judgment of the great day (Jude 6), and will exist and suffer torment after the final judgment. In preserving the existence of evil spirits, one cannot help but see God’s loyalty to Himself, preserving the existence of His creatures even when their freedom has become completely perverted, although they could be destroyed with one wave of God. God controls evil spirits. The actions of God’s governing providence in relation to evil spirits consist in the fact that God, not wanting to deprive them of the freedom given to them, only allows evil spirits to produce evil, but as an infinitely righteous and wise One, by His power He limited and limits their harmful actions in the world and directs them to good consequences. II. Fallen spirits can manifest their evil activities in the world only with God's permission. “You need to know,” the church teaches, “that demons cannot use violence against any person or any other creature, unless God allows them” (Prov. 21). So, in the book. Job points out that the devil could begin to tempt a righteous man only after first asking God's permission, and even what he himself wants to do, he does not dare to call his own work: send, he says, Thy hand and touch everyone he has (Job 1:11; 2, 5). From the story of Job it is clear that, allowing the devil to commit evil, God sets limits to his actions: the Lord said to the devil: behold, all that is unto him, I hand over into your hand, but let him not touch it... (1, 12). Behold, I convey it to you, only to preserve your soul (i.e., life) (2, 6). The New Testament says that without God’s permission evil spirits could not enter even animals (Matthew 8:31), that God does not allow the devil to tempt us more than we can bear; God is faithful, He will not leave you to be tempted more than you can, but He will also create an abundance with temptation (with temptation He will also give relief), so that you can bear it (1 Cor. 10:13). But, allowing the activity of evil spirits, God directs their actions, if possible, to good consequences. So, with regard to God’s allowing temptations of man from the devil. then all such temptations are directed by the Provider for the moral benefit of people - their salvation. In some cases, temptations are allowed by God because they provide people with an opportunity to exercise and strengthen themselves in virtue, and this contributes to the achievement of greater and greater rewards from the Righteous Judge: blessed is the man who endures temptation; having been tempted beforehand, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12; cf. 1 Pet 1:6–7). In other cases, temptations serve to reveal the hidden properties and dispositions of a person, a means for him to recognize his shortcomings and sinful predispositions, and protect him from spiritual pride. The Apostle says about himself: because of the many revelations, let me not be arrogant; let me not be arrogant; I am given to the bone of the flesh, the angel of Satan, and play dirty tricks on me, so that I am not arrogant (2 Cor. 12:7). In many cases, temptations protect a person from negligence and carelessness, and, of necessity, force him to be more attentive to himself, to which vigilance all those who seek the kingdom of God are called. The good and wise purposes of God's providence are also served by cases where God allows the evil actions of the devil on the human body. The cruel actions of the devil in the manifestations of demonic possession are, in the hands of God’s providence, a means for God to punish vicious and criminal people, in order to admonish them, keep them from new sins and save them from greater, eternal punishments. “God, a lover of mankind,” says Basil the Great, “uses the cruelty of them (demons) to heal us, just as a wise doctor uses the poison of echidna to cure the sick. For to such it is not the spirit that is given over, but the flesh to destruction: that the spirit may be saved (1 Cor. 5:5). But Figellus and Hermogenes (2 Tim. 1:15) were handed over by Paul to Satan, not to destruction, but not to be punished for blasphemy” (Interpretation on Is. 13). For others, this type of punishment can serve as a means of admonition: the manifestations of demonic possession visually make one feel all the evil of sin, and understand how through sin a person transfers himself to the power of Satan. III. God limited and limits the evil activities of fallen spirits. Without such restrictions, the evil they sow in the human world, gradually increasing, could reach terrifying proportions. So, for the rebellion against God, the devil and his angels were cast out from heaven and bound captivity and darkness are subject to judgment and torment, and for the temptation of the ancestors they are under the influence of God’s curse. But true defeats and losses for the kingdom of Satan came with the coming to earth of our Lord I. Christ, who for this sake... appeared and would destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), yes by death he will abolish him who has the power of death (Heb. 2:14)). These defeats began during the Savior’s public ministry to the human race. The Lord defeated the devil during temptation in the desert, destroyed his kingdom, directly and through the apostles, casting out unclean spirits from those possessed by them, and with His teaching and life destroyed the works of the devil - lies and vices. But the decisive blow to his dominion over the world was laid on the cross. Contemplating His death and resurrection as if completed, I. Christ, before His suffering on the cross, testified: now is the judgment (i.e., condemnation) of this world: now the prince of this world will be cast out (i.e., from the region over which he ruled, from his possession); and even if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everything to Myself (1 John 12:31–32; cf. 16; Col. 2:14–15). Immediately after death, He descended with His most pure soul into the dark region of Satan, freed from the bonds of the devil all who believed in Him, and destroyed his strongholds (1 Pet 3:18-20). With the completion of redemption and the spread of the church, all people living on earth, under the condition of faith and communion with Christ, are made free from slavery to the devil, who ruled the world through sin; from the former sons of disobedience and children of the devil, they become children of God. However, the defeat of the devil by the death and resurrection of the Savior is not yet final. The opportunity to seduce the universe has not been taken away from him. But believers are given all the divine powers, including life and piety (2 Pet 1:3), with the help of which they can extinguish all the arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:16), and the means to resist the devil and defeat him. These in particular are the following. 1) Invoking the most holy name of I. Christ: these signs will follow to those who believe: in My name demons will be given birth (Mark 16:19). “Strike your enemies in the name of Jesus,” teaches St. I. Climacus, - because neither in heaven nor on earth is there another weapon so strong” against the devil (Lest. XXI, 7). The sign of the cross, combined with the thought of the victorious suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross, has the power to drive away demons. 2) Fasting and prayer. This generation can come forth in no way except through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune (temptation), the Savior taught (Matthew 26:41; sn. 6, 13). Prayer is powerful to bring down both gracious help and intercession in the fight against the enemies of salvation. 3) Spiritual vigilance: be sober, be vigilant, your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walks about, looking for someone to devour (1 Pet. 5, 8; cf. James 4:7; Eph. 6:11-18). According to the Savior’s parable, the enemy the devil takes advantage of people’s sleep to sow tares to the destruction of people (Matthew 13:25, 39). But the time will come when the influence and power of the devil and his angels over man will be completely crushed. This will be accomplished with revelation in the full power and glory of the kingdom of God and Christ. II. The attitude of God the Provider towards man § 72. The virtues and properties of the primordial man. God's providence for him in his primitive state. The Bliss of the Forefathers in Paradise The bliss of the ancestors in paradise. – The perfection of primordial man, his sinlessness and the possibility of becoming like God. – The necessity of God’s providence for him due to his limitations. – God’s commandments to man in paradise as a guide to his improvement. – A note on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. – The state of bliss of the ancestors in paradise, their communication with God. I. The first man was created by God perfect in all his nature. There was not a shadow of sin in him. “I have found this,” says the Wise One, “for God has created a just man (Ecl. 7:30). However, the perfection of the primordial nature of man, despite its sinlessness, was not the fullness of spiritual and moral perfection, the state of human powers revealed in the knowledge of truth and established in goodness. Man had to develop and strengthen his strength through his own initiative; in his godlike and sinless nature he is granted only the ability for unhindered, gradual and endless improvement. More specifically, the properties and state of nature of the primordial man in revelation are depicted in the following features. In his soul, the primordial one did not have the imperfections of the age of infancy; were his powers strong, healthy, not damaged by sin, but still in need of development? His mind was pure and bright, alien to all prejudices and errors, and was capable of an easy and quick understanding of all things (as Adam’s naming of the names of animals shows), but was not in a state of full understanding, did not possess the very knowledge of the truth, could deviate from the right path, and indulge in many thoughts (Ecl. 7:29). The will of the first people had complete, unconstrained freedom of choice, did not know the internal struggle between good and evil, had a primary attraction to good, but was not in a state of unshakable holiness: the possibility of evil remained in it. His heart was pure and not disturbed by anything sinful: besta o ba naked, Adam and his wife, and not ashamed (Gen. 2:25), which constitutes, in the words of St. I. Damaskin “the height of dispassion.” The law of good, inscribed in the heart of every person (Rom. 2:15), spoke especially clearly and vividly to the consciousness and feeling of an innocent person about good. Therefore, his heart could freely strive for the supreme good, cultivate love for God, but it was not alien to the possibility of allowing sinful movements within itself, it could be carried away by the beauty of the tree fruit. The body was free from the state of infantile weakness and the destructive effects of the elements, illness and death, did not receive any defects, either internal or external, and was endowed with strength (Sir. 17:3), that is, it had fresh and unspoiled forces, and was an obedient instrument of the spirit. However, a person's bodily strength needed constant reinforcement and refreshment, just as the whole body needed to maintain life. II. Given this state of his nature and its powers, it is obvious that from the very beginning man, like all created beings, had a need for the constant assistance or providence of God in order to achieve his destiny. And the Creator immediately after creating man showed him His assistance. According to the exceptional condition and needs of the primordial, He Himself was the direct educator and mentor of man. The extraordinary and unique story of the direct education of man by God is depicted in the life-writing of Moses in the following terms. For the habitation of man, God, by the action of His special intention, grew (of course, not after the creation of man, but together with the rest of the products of the earth) on earth a paradise of sweetness, i.e., a beautiful garden (in the translation LXX - παράδεισος της τρύφης), and introduced man into it (Gen. 2:8, 15). Paradise abounded in all kinds of fruitful trees, red to see and good to eat (verse 9). It was, according to St. John of Damascus, “like some kind of royal palace, living in which a person would have a blissful and completely happy life... Being well-dissolved and illuminated all around by the finest and purest air; flaunting ever-blooming plants, saturated with incense, filled with light, surpassing the thought of all sensual charm and beauty, it is a truly divine place, and a dwelling worthy of one who is created in the image of God; not one of the dumb creatures dwelt in it, but only man, the creation of divine hands” (Ill. v. II, 11). To exercise and develop bodily strength, God commanded Adam to create and maintain paradise (Gen. 2:15). This should, of course, contribute to the increase in knowledge about nature, and the exceptional beauties of paradise and the benefits it provides would elevate the thoughts and feelings of primordial man to the Creator of the world. In paradise, among other trees provided for man's use, God gave him one special kind of tree - the tree of life (i.e., the tree that gives life) in the middle of paradise (Gen. 2:9, 16). It was appointed for the eternal preservation of human life (3, 22), so that “eating its fruits, a person would be painless and immortal in body” (Prov. Katich. About 1 person), and, of course, would not know the infirmities of old age. God did not create death (Proverbs 1:13), but created man into incorruption (Wis 2:23). This feature of this tree, according to the opinion expressed in ancient times (Blessed Augustine, St. I. Damascus, etc.), was not its natural property, but represented one of the types of special supernatural action of divine grace associated with eating the fruits of this tree, as with its symbolic sign 38 . Having improved and provided for the external life of man, God appeared as his educator and leader in his spiritual improvement. According to the description of Moses, God brought all the animals to Adam, see what I will name (2, 19). God Himself was present at this and watched as the man gave names, which, of course, could not but be accompanied by a beneficial effect on his consciousness and thought. This was together with man’s assertion of the rights of dominion over the unreasonable creature (Gen. 1:26). To give a name, in the language of Holy Scripture, means to declare oneself the ruler of something (Is. 40:26; 2 Kings 23, 34; 24, 77). In ancient times, it was a custom that when slaves were purchased, as a sign of dominance over them, their names were changed. Finally, observation of the life of animals led man to the idea of ​​the need for an assistant (2, 18–20). For the exercise of moral freedom and its decisive affirmation in goodness, God gave a definite and positive commandment, and, in accordance with the spiritual-sensual nature of man, one to which both sides of his nature are subordinated. For this purpose, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was located in paradise. Having blessed us to eat the fruits of all trees, and moreover the fruits of the tree of life, God forbade eating from the fruits of this one tree: but from the tree, which means good and evil, you cannot eat from it; and if you take away a day from him, you die. (Gen.2:17). This commandment is an easy commandment, adapted to the state of a person’s will, which, naturally, first had to learn to fulfill the easier ones. and then move on gradually to more difficult ones. It concerned one particular case, but despite its apparent simplicity and uncomplicatedness, it expressed the entire law that determines our attitude towards God and requires perfect obedience from a person to his Creator. Fulfilling it was supposed to teach a person the most important and significant things in life. In order to protect a person from violating the commandment, God protected her by warning her of death for her crime. Death was understood here as both spiritual - alienation from the life of God (Eph. 4:18), and physical - destruction of the body. And the primordial ones understood the meaning of the warning, as can be seen from Eve’s words to the serpent. In the giving of the commandment - on the part of God, and in its preservation - on the part of man, was the essence of the first covenant of God with man (or, what is the same, religion in paradise). Note. Various opinions have been expressed regarding the nature of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some think (rationalists) that this tree was poisonous by nature, which is why eating its fruit was forbidden. But Adam and Eve did not die immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, but lived for a long time after that, therefore, its fruit was not poisonous. Others mean by it the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the proper sense. But it cannot be allowed that eating the fruits of any tree entails such disastrous consequences as the origin of evil in the nature of the eater. Others by this tree generally mean something allegorical (a tree in the spiritual sense), but such an understanding does not agree with the instructions of the Bible that it was in the middle of paradise (Gen. 3:3) and, along with other trees, it was planted by God from the earth (2, 2). Consequently, it was an ordinary tree, and all the consequences of sin that occurred from eating the fruits of this tree did not arise from the properties of the tree, but from the violation of the commandment of God. The ancestors could and did have rational (theoretical) knowledge of evil as lawlessness, the difference between evil and good, before breaking the commandment, but they did not only have an experienced sensation of evil, just as, for example, a healthy person can know the nature and properties of a disease that he has not experienced experimentally and understand the difference between health and illness. Finally, God assisted the first parents in their spiritual perfection by deigning them to have close communion with Himself. There were epiphanies in heaven. The writer of everyday life points out that God Himself brought the first-created into paradise, He Himself gave the commandment, He Himself brought a wife to Adam. Already about the fallen ancestors he says: and she heard the voice of the Lord God, walking into paradise, at noon. Adam says to God: I have heard a voice of You walking into paradise (3, 8, 10). Such closeness of God to man illuminated his natural powers with abundant light, enlightened his mind to a prophetic insight into the future expansion of the human race (2, 23–24), supported and reinforced his will in goodness, and generally contributed to his natural powers in achieving the highest perfection to which they are destined 39 . III. But although in the primitive state people were only on the way to achieving their destination, however, their state was a state of bliss. It combined such benefits that could well constitute this bliss. So, their soul was pure and innocent, with bright and active powers, the body knew neither illnesses, nor the harmful effects of the elements, nor lack of food and drink, for the soul there was no heaviness or constraint. Therefore, the person, of course, experienced contentment, inner peace, and undisturbed peace of conscience. External nature with all the kingdoms was submissive to man, serving him as its king and ruler. Handling the beautiful nature that had just emerged from the hands of the Creator, as well as the very labor of making and maintaining paradise, could not but give the ancestors pure and high pleasure. Finally, they were in close communication with God, and this could not but fill their hearts with a feeling of the highest bliss. One might think that they were also in communication with the angels, who even now do not shy away from treating us, and communication with them is a new source of joy and contentment. And such a blessed state of the first people, without a doubt, would not have diminished over time, but increased more and more, and would have become their eternal property, if only they had stood in the commandment of God and through this were forever established in goodness and obedience to God. Then the human body itself, from eating the fruits of the tree of life, would retain the ability to live forever (Gen. 3:22) and would mature to a painless transformation from a spiritual body to a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44–45), i.e., into such as the body of fallen man will become only through redemption, after the general resurrection. § 73. The unfoundedness of the opinion about the savagery of the first people The latest natural science of a certain direction contrasts the revealed teaching about the primitive state of man with the opinion about the savagery of the first people. They claim that people developed gradually to the degree of consciousness and truly human manifestations, but initially they lived only a sensual-animal life, had no religion, no morality, no language, or other higher manifestations of the human spirit - they lived a life similar to or even lower than the life of existing savages. But such an assumption is nothing more than an arbitrary assumption arising from an equally arbitrary statement about the origin of man from animals. Never and nowhere have we found a person in the so-called. primitive state (just as no connecting link was found between man and animal). The savages observed today are not types of primitive man, but are only savage descendants of people who possessed a higher culture. In their customs of life, language, myths, traditions, religion, indelible memories of millennia of the past are preserved, and these memories are invariably retained by them. The main theoretical basis for the idea of ​​the primitive savagery of people is the conviction that the life of mankind is subject to the general law of gradual development, which is unconditionally valid in the world, which is why the initial state of people was supposedly the most imperfect, wild, animal. But history shows with many examples that the life of mankind does not always obey this law, that times of rapid improvement are often followed by times of strong decline and complete coarsening; Examples of such a decline from a better to a worse state are especially frequent in the area of ​​religious and moral life. Thus, the indicated law of development cannot prove the savagery of primitive man. On the contrary, the conditions to which human development is subject lead to the opposite conclusion, to a confirmation of the biblical teaching about the condition of the first people. Human development can only occur under the condition of influence on him from other self-conscious beings. In particular, observation of the awakening of self-consciousness in a person, the emergence of thinking and language in him, the manifestation of feelings in him in general and religious in particular, testifies that he can begin spiritual life only under the influence of self-conscious verbal beings who educate him. The life of every person is subject to this law: children develop most closely under the influence of their parents, the development of parents took place in turn under the influence of those who gave birth and raised them, etc., and ascending in this way higher, it will have to reach the closest descendants of Adam. Who could teach them language, thinking, morality, religion? Of course, Adam. But, if he could convey to others language, thinking, the truths of faith and morality, then, of course, he himself possessed all this, therefore, he was not in a wild state. The development of himself had to begin, and could not begin otherwise, than under the influence of God on him. And as a creation of God, he was, of course, created so perfect in soul that he had not only special sensitivity, but was also able to instruct and guide others. It is no less necessary to recognize this, as well as the fact that in body a person should have had the ability not only to preserve his life, but also to procreate, that is, to appear not in a state of childish immaturity and helplessness, but as an adult. They think to see confirmation of the given theoretical proof of the primitive savagery of man in the fossil remains of primitive culture (weapons, utensils). In the most ancient layers of the earth there are the most imperfect tools made of stone, in the later ones there are bronze objects and then iron ones. From this they conclude that the ancestors lived in the age of stone tools - an age of very low, crude culture. But in reality, this does not testify to the animal savagery of primordial man and does not prove a contradiction between experimental science and the biblical story about the life of the first people. The Bible does not say that primitive people stood at a high level of cultural development, that they had any works of art or inventions. The fact is that in development it is necessary to distinguish between two sides: material and spiritual, or moral, which very often diverge from each other. The moral side can be very high with a very low material culture, as well as vice versa. History is full of examples of this. Therefore, when the Bible speaks of the great perfection of the first people, it means the more important side of perfection - the spiritual, and not the material. That is why it is impossible to see contradictions between the evidence of the Bible and anthropology about the life of the first people. The assertion of such a contradiction is all the more arbitrary since the conclusions of anthropology are not firm on the issue of the state of the ancestors, even more so - science does not have any direct data for judging the primitive state of man. The birthplace of humanity was Asia, but anthropology draws its conclusions on the basis of excavations not in Asia, but in an insignificant part of Europe. The source from which, in addition to the Bible, information about the initial state of man can be borrowed is the traditions of different peoples about the primitive times of the human race. But all these traditions affirm an idea that agrees with the testimony of the Bible. In legends, the primitive state of humanity is usually depicted as happy, free from the worries and needs of subsequent times, a state of closeness to the Divine and moral perfection, a “golden age” (in Hesiod), and the subsequent one as a time of sighing for a lost paradise, a time of repentance. and also the disorders in the world. Such legends are found among the peoples of Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia, as well as among peoples discovered in modern times (for example, among the Americans - residents of Mexico, Paraguay, etc.). Such a remarkable mutual agreement of legends cannot be a figment of fantasy. It can only be explained by the fact that all these traditions reproduce in parts the original true tradition about the primitive state of man, preserved in its pure form in the Bible, and that at the basis of all these traditions lies a real, historical event. § 74. The Fall of the Forefathers The story of the Fall. – The devil is like a tempting serpent. – The formal, external side of sin. - The essence of sin. – The historical nature of Moses’ tale of the Fall. – Explanation of confusion about the Mosaic legend about the fall of our ancestors. The innocent and blissful state of the forefathers was not an unchangeable state and was not inherited by their descendants. The writer of everyday life does not indicate how long the first parents lived in paradise, but says that they broke the covenant with God and fell. The possibility of the fall of the first people lay in the fact that they were still on the path of testing, and their freedom was not yet completely confirmed by experience and skill in goodness. However, it is clear that with the perfections that they possessed, and with their constant communication with God, this was only the possibility of a fall, so that their fall would have been incomprehensible if the writings of life had not revealed the original source and causes of it outside of man. The life writer tells about the fall of our ancestors as follows: the serpent was the wisest of all the animals that exist on the earth, which the Lord God created. And the serpent said to the woman: What did God say: Do not eat from every tree of paradise? And the woman said to the serpent: from every tree of paradise we will eat from the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of paradise, God said, let us not eat from it; let us not touch it, lest we die. And the serpent said to the woman: You will not die. Knowing that God is like him, even if you take away the day from him, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like a god, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing to see with the eyes, and that it was red to eat; and when she took from its fruit, it was poison; and give it to your husband with you, and eat it (III, 1-6). Thus, sin penetrated into human nature under the influence of the tempting serpent; who seduced Eve into breaking the commandment. By the serpent-tempter in the proper sense one must understand not an ordinary serpent, but a special being - spiritual, rational and at the same time evil, who only used the animal serpent as an instrument of temptation. Such a being was an angel who fell away from God, that is, the devil. In other places of Scripture, the temptation of the first parents to sin is directly attributed to the devil. Thus, the Savior calls the devil a murderer from time immemorial, and precisely because he is the author of sin and death in the human race, and all sinners are the sons of the devil (John 8:44), Ap. John also calls that great dragon or ancient serpent, who tempted man, the devil and Satan, who deceives the world (Rev. 12:9; 20, 2-3). Ap. Paul, saying that the serpent deceived Eve with his wickedness, by the cunning of the serpent meant the cunning of Satan, who spoke through this animal (2 Cor. 11:3). The book of Wisdom says: through envy of the devil, death comes into the world below (2, 24). But, although the fall of the first parents took place under the influence of the devil, the internal and main reason for the origin of sin lay in the first parents themselves, in their freedom. The devil appeared in paradise not as an oppressor of man, but as a seducer who could act with cunning, advice, suggestion, precisely those tools that, although they can act on freedom, cannot force it. On the other hand, people themselves had all the means to repel all his insidious suggestions. and therefore, if they bowed to the side of the tempter, by their very act they showed disobedience to God, it was not out of necessity or compulsion, but by the decision of their own freedom. So, sin in the first people arose from their freedom under the influence of their temptation from the devil. These are the same sources of sinful actions of all the descendants of Adam. Consequently, God cannot be considered the author of sin, nor sin itself as a necessary phenomenon in the human race. The biblical account of the fall of man also gives an idea of ​​the very essence of sin committed by our first parents. The visible side of sin consisted in violating the positive commandment of God by eating fruit from a forbidden tree. But this commandment was given to the first people directly by God Himself and was, thus, an expression of His will. Hence, from the external (formal) side, the sin of the first people, like any sin (sin is lawlessness - 1 John 3:4), was a transgression of the moral law and disobedience to the will of God (Rom. 5:15-20). But in its inner essence, this sin consisted in the proud separation of the creature from its Creator, it was a manifestation of exorbitant pride, expressed in the desire to achieve equality with God and to be completely independent of Him. Consequently, this is the same sin that was the cause of the fall of the tempter himself and many of the heavenly spirits from the heights of angelic greatness into the abyss of death and humiliation. The nature of the discovery of such a perverse moral mood in a person had only that feature inherent in man himself, as a spiritual-physical being, that the desire for criminal sensual pleasure was added to the purely spiritual desire - “to be like God.” The writer of everyday life speaks in relatively detail only about the fall of the wife, and about the fall of the husband it is only noted that the wife gave her husband, that is, the forbidden fruit, and he ate. His special temptation and incentives to sin are kept silent; it is only indicated that he sinned because he listened to the voice of his wife, that is, more than the Lord. Therefore, one can think that he fell as a result of his wife’s convictions and passion for her, sharing, of course, all her sinful thoughts and feelings. The indicated properties of sin also explain its extreme criminality or severity - so great that to restore man and destroy all the consequences of the Fall, such a means as the incarnation and death of the Son of God was required. Blazh. Augustine calls Adam's sin “ineffabilis apostasia,” and says that the enormity of this sin cannot even be comprehended by our thoughts. “There was also pride here,” he says, “because man wanted to be in his own power rather than in God’s; and desecration of the shrine, because he did not believe God; and murder, because he subjected himself to death, and spiritual fornication, because the integrity of the human soul was violated by the conviction of the serpent; and theft, because he used a forbidden tree; and covetousness, because he desired more than he should have been content with” (Enchirid p. 45). And Tertullian saw the violation of the commandment by his ancestors as a violation of the entire ten-column (Proverbs of the Jews, 2 chapters). However, the sin of the forefathers is not as serious as the sin of the seducer himself, the fallen spirit; It was not people who were the first culprits of evil in the world; they did not invent it for the first time, but sinned at the instigation of the father of lies and all sin. The historical nature of Moses' tale of the Fall. This legend must be understood literally. For various reasons, many do not find such an understanding possible. Even in ancient times, some (Philo, Clement Al., Origen) understood it as an allegory, an allegory. In modern times, rationalists reject its historical character. But it cannot be assumed that God, in the revelation of such an essentially important truth as the origin of evil in the world, through allegory and symbols, would lead people into various perplexities and hesitations, which often turn into delusions. The writer of everyday life himself teaches us to see in his narration the true history of the origin of evil and sin in the world. In connection with the story of the Fall, in the same chapters of his undoubtedly historical book there are geographical, ethnographic and purely historical indications that do not allow allegorical understanding. All Old Testament legislation, the entire sacrificial cult and, in general, the entire doctrine of salvation are in connection with the story of the book. Genesis about the Fall as a historical event. Priest writers of both the Old and New Testaments refer to this story, taking it as the true story of the Fall (for example, Hos. 6:7; Wis. 2, 23–24; Sir. 25:27; Rom. 5:12–21; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2, 14, etc.). Likewise, the fathers and teachers of the church usually understood and explained the story of the Fall in its own, literal sense, as true history (for example, Ch. Finally, confirmation of its historical nature can be found in the legends existing among many pagan peoples about the beginning of evil in the world, similar to the biblical one. This similarity does not lie in the general or basic thought alone, but also in the details. They mention the wife as the first culprit of human misfortune, the divine commandment, some special plant, from the eating of which evil occurred on earth, an evil creature in the form of a snake or some other monster who tempted the wife, etc. Obviously, the similarity of the legends about the Fall, as well as about life in paradise, can only be explained by the fact that they are based on the memory of actual events that took place at the dawn of human history and described in the Bible. Clarification of confusion about the Mosaic tale of the Fall of our ancestors. – The biblical story of the Fall, especially in view of the immense depth of evil that occurred as a result of the sin of our ancestors, is not free from some objections and bewilderments. 1. They propose a question: if sin arose from human freedom, then why did God give man freedom, which contained the possibility of sin? The answer to this perplexity can be given as follows. By granting man freedom, God elevated him above all unreasonable creatures. Consequently, to grumble at God for the gift of freedom means to grumble that He is too good to man, that He did not equate him with animals. As for giving man freedom with the possibility of sin, without such a possibility freedom would not differ from necessity. Then virtue would not be a merit and he would not enjoy bliss rightfully. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the possibility of sin in human freedom, as the latter strengthens in goodness, would gradually weaken and, finally, turn into the impossibility of sin, like the freedom of angels and holy people established in goodness in the afterlife. 2. Why, they further say, did God give man a commandment when he foresaw its violation? Such a commandment was necessary to exercise and strengthen his will in goodness. In the giving of the commandment, God’s love for man is visible, so that he, developing in accordance with his nature and purpose, could gain even higher bliss than what was granted to him at creation. And at the same time, this commandment for the one who owned the whole paradise and the whole earth was an easy commandment. In the innocent state of man, the prohibition did not have the same irritating and exciting character as desire in the state of fallen man (Rom. 7:7). But even in a fallen state, it is not the law that is to blame for the fact that people violate it, just as it is not the doctor, but the patient, who is to blame for the poor use of medicine. 3. Why, they object, was God allowed into heaven by a tempter, and, moreover, so cunning and strong in evil, when God foresaw his deception of the ancestors? God did not forbid the devil to tempt man, just as he did not forbid man to pluck the deadly fruit from the tree of knowledge. To do this, it would be necessary to deprive them of their freedom, but the gift of God is unrepentant. The devil does not have omnipotent power over man. He came to heaven not as an oppressor, but as a tempter. Man, with the help of God-given powers, bright and unclouded by sin, overshadowed by the grace of God, could resist temptation and defeat it. Moreover, Adam sinned by following the suggestion not of the devil, but of his wife. 4. They also express the following bewilderment: since God foresaw from eternity that man would not stand in goodness, would fall along with himself and cast all creation into destruction and disaster, then why did He create him? An ancient bewilderment that worried the minds of the Old Testament righteous (3Ezra 7:46-54). But, foreseeing the fall of man, He also predestined redemption from eternity (Ap 13:8). “God knew,” says St. I. Chrysostom that Adam would fall, but he saw that from him would come Abel, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Elijah, prophets, wondrous apostles - the adornment of nature, and God-bearing clouds of martyrs, exuding piety. He gave fallen humanity the means to return to its former blissful state; if not everyone uses them and others perish, then this is their own fault, and if for the sake of these God deprived millions of rational beings of the joy of blissful existence, then wouldn’t this mean that because of evil He denied existence and goodness. “Then evil would have conquered the goodness of God” (Damascene Exact. Ill. c. IV, 21). § 75. Consequences of the Fall Man's alienation from God. – Damage to a person’s spiritual nature. – Damage to the mind, will and feelings. – Damage to the image of God in man. – Preservation of freedom and remnants of goodness in a person. – Disorder of human bodily nature and bodily death. – The spread of sin to the entire human race. – The harmful consequences of the Fall in relation to the external well-being of a person. - Expulsion from paradise. - Curse of the earth. – Promises of salvation. The sin committed by the ancestors in paradise was accompanied by various disastrous consequences for humanity, that is, both for the ancestors themselves and for all the descendants that came from the sinners. Even in ancient times (in the 5th century), the Church rejected as false the doctrine that the violation of the commandment of paradise by the ancestors had no special consequences either for the ancestors themselves or for their offspring (the opinion of the Pelagians, repeated in modern times by Socinians and rationalists). The consequences of the Fall, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church (see Post. Eastern Patr. 6 and 14 ch. Right. Rev. 12–24; Catich. 3 ch.), extend to a person’s soul, to his body and external well-being. Even the most visible nature was cursed for the sin of man. These consequences, however, are not only the natural product of sin, but some of them serve as positive punishments from the truth of God for sin. I. Man, in violation of God’s commandment, discovered a proud desire for independence from God, and internally desired to be God himself. The first consequence of such alienation of man from God was that the soul was deprived of the grace of God, which strengthened the natural strength of an innocent person in the direction of good. Through this, man doomed himself to spiritual death, according to God’s definition: if you take away a day from him, you will die. The death of the soul is not the cessation of a person’s personal existence, for the soul is immortal, but its separation from God, in Whom is the life of everything living and the life-giving light of the human spirit (John 1:4; Acts 17:28; Ps. 36:10). As a result of such separation, although the soul retains existence, its life takes on a false direction, contrary to its nature, for the true life of the spirit without the grace of God is just as impossible as bodily life is impossible without food and air. Therefore, to the extent that a person moves away from God, rushing along the path of evil, the extent to which he becomes familiar with spiritual death (James 1:15; 1 John 3:14; 5, 16–17; Rom. 1, etc.). Hence there are different degrees of spiritual death, as well as spiritual life. Of course, the first people had not yet felt all the horrors of spiritual death, for they repented of their sin and received the promise of a Savior. But in the descendants of Adam, evil and distance from God were revealed to the point of a decisive departure from God and hardening in evil. Such awaits in the future life, after the general resurrection and judgment, eternal death, the second death (Ap 2, 11; 20, 6, 14). Then the words of God will clearly reveal themselves to the consciousness of man in all their terrible majesty: you will die by death. Another consequence of sin in relation to the soul of a person was positive damage to the spiritual nature of a person - the appearance in the soul, according to the apostle, of another law, warring against the law of the mind (νόμος της αμαρτίας), or a new incoming principle, which can be called the beginning of evil or sinful actions. Ap. Paul depicts in the following terms the dwelling and action of this principle in the fallen nature of man: we know that good things do not live in me, that is, in my flesh; For I strive to do what I want, but I do not find it to do good. If I want good, I do it, but if I don’t want evil, I do it. If I don’t want to, I do this; it is no longer I who do this, but sin that lives in me (ή έν έυοί οίκούσα αμαρτία). I have acquired the law, I want to do good with me, as evil is due to me. I delight in the law of God according to the inner man; But I see another law in my hearts, warring against the law of my mind, and taking me captive with the law of sin which is in my hearts (Rom. 7:18-23). This active sinful principle, both in the first parents and in their descendants, permeated their entire nature. All the powers of the soul were damaged by sin: mind, will and heart. Damage to the mind was expressed in the fact that the mind became darkened and lost the clarity and insight that were characteristic of man before the Fall. This was revealed immediately after the Fall. When those who sinned heard the voice of God walking in paradise, they thought to hide from the face of the Lord in the middle of the tree of paradise (Gen. 3:8), forgetting that from the Omnipresent and Omniscient there is nothing hidden. In the direction of thinking the so-called in church language, carnal wisdom (Rom. 8:7), or simply sophistry. Adam laid the blame for his sin on the wife given to him by God and, in some way, on God Himself, and the wife similarly laid the blame on the serpent (Gen. 3:12-13). In the descendants of Adam, damage to the mind was revealed and is being revealed even more clearly (Wis 9:16), especially in relation to the knowledge of God and the spiritual world (paganism). The very truths of revelation are inconvenient and incomprehensible to the darkened mind. A spiritual man, says the apostle, does not accept even the Spirit of God: for he has foolishness, and cannot understand; he strives for spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). A mind damaged by sin is ready to justify evil and sin in all its manifestations. Sin also brought disorder to the area of ​​will, human moral freedom. Her natural desire for good, rightness and innocence, was replaced by opposite qualities: “her will bowed more to evil than to good” (Right. Spanish 23). Thus, immediately after the Fall, giving an account to God of their sin, instead of repentance, the first parents brought crafty self-justification and even revealed a certain hostile mood towards the Creator. This inclination of the will, more towards evil than towards good, also prevails in the descendants of Adam, so that man is unable to fight this innate sinfulness: it is not because I want good that I create; But if I don’t want evil, I do it. And this phenomenon has the character of a more or less constant norm: I acquire the law that I want to do good, as evil is due to me. Sin reigns over fallen man, subjugates his will to its power (Rom. 5:21; 6, 12), so that fallen man is a slave of sin (δούλος της αμαρτίας – 6, 17, 20). The damage to human nature due to sin was finally reflected in the hearts of both the first parents themselves and their descendants. Before the fall, the hearts of our forefathers were distinguished by purity and innocence, and did not know sinful desires. But as soon as they sinned, unclean desires and sinful attractions arose in their hearts. Immediately after they ate the forbidden fruit, the eyes of both were opened, and they understood, as if they were besha, and they made themselves an apron of leaves (Gen. 3:7). From a heart perverted by sin, according to the Savior, come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy (Matthew 15:19). Thus, sin brought deep damage to the entire spiritual being of man, all the powers of the spirit were damaged. As a result, complete harmony and expediency were violated in the administration of spiritual forces; a person's internal struggle with himself opened up. “The flesh lusts after the spirit,” says the apostle about the state of forces in natural man, “but the spirit against the flesh; But these things oppose one another, so that you do these things no matter what you will (Gal.5:17). The body itself has fallen out of perfect obedience to the soul, has acquired an unnatural predominance over the soul and constantly leads a person to sin. Briefly, the totality of changes in the spiritual nature of man caused by sin can be designated as damage to the image of God in man. But we must not allow the image of God to be destroyed or completely lost by man as a result of sin. After the fall, the human being did not turn everything into sin, into defilement, but retained its essence 40. Traces of the image of God, although eclipsed (“a certain, so to speak, erasure of the divine seal,” in the words of Metropolitan Philaret), were preserved in fallen man, as can be seen, for example, from the commandment of God prohibiting the shedding of human blood: shed the blood of man, in its place it will be shed, for in the image of God I created man (Gen. 9:6). The idea of ​​the remnants of goodness in the nature of fallen man is revealed in Scripture and in more detailed terms. So, the same app. Paul, pointing to the existence and action of a living sinful principle in fallen man, at the same time teaches that fallen man also enjoys the law of God, hates evil, wants good and loves good (Rom. 7:15, 22). He testifies about the pagans that they do not have a (revealed) law, but create the law by nature (Rom. 1:19), obeying the natural law and the inspiration of conscience. In particular, although the human mind suffered deep darkness. but the very desire for truth and the ability to know it have not disappeared in him, which is why the apostle calls the pagans unrequited, who have not known what can be known about God. Although the will of man became more accommodating to evil than to good, it was not destroyed, so that fallen man, to a certain extent, “can by nature choose and do good, flee and turn away from evil” (Episicle 14; fn. Right, 27). The existence in fallen man of not only the freedom to sin, but also the freedom to do good, is clearly affirmed by Scripture: if you want what is good, you must strive for me, teaches the apostle. Scripture would not offer convictions to do good, no commandments, no promises and no threats, if freedom were perverted to the point of inability to choose and do good. That Adam’s sin did not destroy freedom is also confirmed by each person’s own consciousness. The consciousness of freedom accompanies a person’s moral action from beginning to end. Repentance, which appears after committing a sinful deed, also testifies to free will - in the kingdom of necessity it is impossible. The heart of man in a fallen state did not completely pervert; the co-pleasure with the law of God, the highest, spiritual aspirations - towards God and unity with Him (hence the universality of religion), love for good and movements of conscience did not disappear in it, sometimes condemning a person for sin (Rom. 2:14-15), sometimes praising the law (7, 16). So, no matter how deeply sin has damaged human nature, “some remnants of good have been preserved in it. Therefore, in the sacrament of redemption, not a new human nature was created, but the same was renewed, reborn, restored. II. Due to the close connection of the soul with the body, sin also caused disorder in the bodily nature of man. He introduced into the human body the seeds of all kinds of diseases, fatigue in labor, relaxation and suffering (Last Eastern Patriarch Part 6). After the fall, God determined the following punishment for the wife, as the first culprit of sin: by multiplying I will multiply your sorrows and your sighs; in 6 illnesses you give birth to children (Gen. 3:16). In the person of Eve, punishment was pronounced for the entire human race. And indeed, childbearing is always and everywhere associated not only with severe suffering, but also with dangers for the life of the one giving birth, and is often accompanied by death itself. But not only childbearing, but diseases in general that affect the human race are determined to man as a punishment for sin. Behold, you are healthy: let no one sin, lest it be worse (John 5:14), - said I. Christ to the paralytic healed by Him, showing thereby the dependence of diseases on sin. The completion of all kinds of diseases to which the human body has become susceptible as a result of sin is physical death. The death of the body is the separation of the soul from the body: the body is destroyed, undergoes corruption, and the spirit ascends to a new realm of existence (Ecl. 12:7). Such separation of the soul from the body is not a law of nature, established initially by the will of the Creator. According to the original dispensation of God, the union of the soul with the body was supposed to be eternal, as is confirmed by the Christian teaching about the general resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:35–64). God did not create death (Wis 1:13), He created man into incorruption (3:23). As created for immortal life, man could remain immortal in body if he had not sinned. True, his body was created earthy, and, therefore, by nature corruptible or mortal (Gen. 3:23; 1 Cor. 15:48–49, 53–54), that is, with the possibility of death, but without the necessity of death. Not possessing immortality by its very nature or, as the blessed one taught to distinguish. Augustine, the impossibility of death (non posse mori), however, it possessed, with the possibility of death (posse mori), and the possibility of not dying (posse non mori), - conditional immortality. But this possibility of not dying, with the affirmation of his freedom in goodness (during its transition, as the same holy father taught, from the state of posse non peccare to the state of non posse peccare), would turn into the impossibility of death. For this purpose, the tree of life was planted in paradise, eating the fruits of which gave the human body, mortal by nature, the opportunity not to die. But after the fall of the first parents, God removed them from the tree of life, which served as an instrument and means of communicating grace, giving the body, which was mortal by nature, the power of eternal life. As a result, the possibility of death turned into the necessity of death. The death of the body, therefore, was also the punishment of sin. This origin of death is also evidenced by the divine warning: if you take away the day from it, you will die, and the sentence of God’s judgment: you are earth and you will go to earth. Death is the destiny of the entire human race. In the descendants of Adam, death is already a consequence of the sin of the ancestors and punishment for the sinfulness they inherited from Adam, multiplied by personal sins. Ap. Paul teaches: by one man sin (η αμαρτία) came into the world, and death came through sin, and so death came to all men, in whom thou hast sinned (Rom. 5:12). According to the apostle, at the beginning of human history there was no sin, and therefore there was no death. Sin entered the world as something new, something that did not yet exist, it entered through one person, i.e. through Adam (Rom. 5:14–19; 1 Cor. 15:22), and through sin (δια τής αμαρτίας) one entered the world and death, and so (όντως), i.e., in no other way, namely, that people received αμαρτία, death for all people (hence, not excluding infants) below, and in it all sinned (εφ ώ πάντες ‘ ήμαρτον), - because everyone sinned with Adam or in Adam, as a representative of the entire human race, and sinned precisely then when he sinned, and therefore everyone, not excluding infants, dies. This is the direct meaning of the apostle’s teaching about the origin of death, confirmed by his other sayings. Death is inextricably linked with sin: obrotsy (τα ό ψώνια – payment, retribution) of sin (της αμαρτίας) death (Rom. 6:23); death is universal because all sinned precisely in Adam: by the sin of one (τώ τού ‘ ενός παραπτώματι) many died (Rom. 5:15). And as if to warn against such a perversion of his teaching (among the Pelagians and some of the Protestant theologians), that everyone sins according to the example of Adam and therefore die as a result of their own sins, the apostle says: before the law there was no sin in the world: but sin not imputed to the law is not, that is, before the law there is no consciousness of sin. But there is royal death from Adam even to Moses and over those who have not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s crime (Rom. 5:13-14). Consequently, death could in this case be a punishment not for personal sins, but for the sin of Adam, in which all people unconsciously participated. This is how the teaching of revelation about the origin of death was understood by the Christian Church. In the 5th century, regarding the false teaching of the Pelagians, who claimed that people would have died if Adam had not sinned, at the local Council of Carthage (418), the rules of which were adopted by the Ecumenical Church, it was determined: “if anyone says that Adam, the first-created man, was created mortal, so that even if he sinned, even if he did not sin, he would die in body, that is, would leave the body, not as punishment for sin, but out of necessity of nature, let him be anathema” (123 pr.). The ancient Pelagian view of death, condemned by the church, in modern times has defenders among naturalists. According to many of them, death is a naturally necessary phenomenon, an initially established universal law of nature, to which man is subject for the same reasons as animals. But the painfulness of death and the insurmountable fear and horror that penetrates the entire human being as it approaches strongly testifies against such a view. When thinking about the naturalness of death for a person, it will forever remain an insoluble mystery: why, in this case, did the Creator establish a connection between the soul and the body for a short time, interrupted by death, despite the inherent thirst for life? III. The Fall had disastrous consequences for the external well-being of both the forefathers themselves and their descendants. Sin ruined their outward well-being. So, following the fall of the first parents, God expelled them from the paradise of sweets into a habitat common with all animals, so that man would cultivate the earth, settling them in the sight of paradise and assigning cherubim and flaming weapons to guard the path of the tree of life (Gen. 3:22–24). With the loss of paradise, they lost two main conditions for external well-being: abundance in everything that is needed for bodily life, and a protective remedy against all sorts of ailments, against old age and against bodily death itself. At the same time, man’s power over all of nature was greatly diminished and weakened, although not destroyed. The basis of man's royal power over nature was the image of God. With the darkening of the image of God in man by sin, the power over nature also had to be diminished. The elements and forces of nature, submissive to an innocent man and harmless to him, after his fall could not help but act more or less destructively on his body. That is why in paradise Adam and his wife did not need any clothing, but after the fall the Lord God made Adam and his wife garments of leather, and clothed them (Gen. 3:21). Thus, the beginning of painful and destructive influences on human life and well-being was revealed in nature. In the same way, animals that were previously submissive to man as to their king (just as, for example, wild animals were submissive to blessed hermits), at the sight of him, who had fallen into slavery to sin, no longer instinctively felt his superiority, strength and power, and when they were ready to kill them and steal from them their own - skin and wool for their clothing - they began to either run away from him as from a stronger one, or attack him as if he were relatively weak, and generally harm him. Moreover, God was pleased, in order to achieve His wise goals and to punish man for sin, to expand, through the special action of His omnipotence, the area of ​​phenomena that have a harmful, painful or destructive effect on living and sentient beings, or so-called phenomena. physical evil. After the Fall, God said to Adam: Cursed is the earth, in your deeds, bear it in sorrow all the days of your life: thorns and thistles will grow for you, and bear down grass. By the sweat of your brow you shall bear your bread until you return to the land from which you were taken (Gen. 3:17–19). As a result of the curse, the earth lost some of the benefits bestowed on it by the blessing of the Creator at its creation: God diminished the power of fertility in it and, to a certain extent known to Him, placed it in conditions less favorable for it than in which the blessed land was, as the words of the curse show. But the effect of the curse extends much further than just the fertility of the earth. The apostle testifies: the expectation of the creation (the creation awaits with hope) the revelation of the sons of God: for the creation obeys vanity, not by will, but for him who obeyed, in hope, as if the creation itself will be freed from the work of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that all creation (with us) sighs and mourns even to this day (Rom. 8:19-22). But slavery to decay is not limited to the growth of thorns and thistles. It is revealed especially in such phenomena as the destructive effects of the elements on living and sentient beings, pestilence, destructive earthquakes and floods, violent death - in general, all particular deviations from the laws and goals of the physical structure of the world. This slavery is so difficult and exhausting for creatures that at the end of the world, all creation appears to the prophetic contemplation dilapidated and disintegrating from wear and tear, like worn-out clothing: like a robe they promise, and like a garment they wear, they will be changed (Ps. 101:27; fn. Is. 51:6). A ap. Peter reveals that the present world will undergo transformation or purification through fire, and will appear in a renewed form: new in the heavens and new in the earth, and according to His promise through tea (2 Pet 3:10-13). Consequently, the curse has penetrated so strongly and far into the creature that it requires fiery purification, and so deeply hidden in the cursed creature is its primitive beauty and perfection, which it has lost, that, after the curse is lifted from it, it will appear as if completely different or new. But it is impossible to accurately determine the properties and degree of change in nature by the strength and effect of the curse, since they did not see the blessed land in its primeval glory and beauty. § 76. The transfer of sin to the entire human race. Original sin The Wrath of God. – Illnesses, sorrows, death, temporary and eternal. – Original sin as a sinful state that favors personal sin; its difference from personal sinful action. All people come from Adam, who sinned and was condemned. Therefore, as the forefathers became after their fall, so all their descendants are born into the world. Everyone is born not only alien to the primitive (paradise) state of innocence and bliss, but with sinful hereditary damage to their spiritual and bodily nature, and therefore - children of the wrath of God according to ecmecmвy (Eph. 2, 3), i.e. guilty before God for their innate sinfulness. This innate sinfulness, passing through birth from forebears to descendants (peccatum habituale), together with guilt (culpa reatus) or responsibility before the court of God's truth for this innate sinfulness of nature, is known under the name of original or innate sin (peccatum originale vel innatum). 3a this sin, all the descendants of Adam are under the influence of the wrath of God, condemned to illness, sorrow, temporary and eternal death. Original sin in the descendants of the original couple is obviously not identical with the sin of the ancestors themselves. Adam, having violated God's commandment, committed a personal sinful act, and plunged his God-created nature into a sinful state. But the descendants of Adam did not participate with their consciousness and freedom in the sinful action of Adam, and therefore the hereditary sin in the descendants of Adam should be placed not in the sinful action of Adam (peccatum actuale) and the imputation of this action to them, but in the sinful state of nature (peccatum habituale), with which and in which all people are born, or in the hereditary sinful corruption and corruption of nature in which sin dwells ( αμαρτία, vitiositas), as some living principle, with force attracting to the commission of personal sins, along with guilt (culpa reatus) or its condemnation in Adam. “Since all people were in a state of innocence in Adam, as soon as he sinned, everyone in him became in a sinful state, and therefore not only subject to sin, but also to punishment for sin” (Proverbs 24). The hereditary sinfulness of man and its imputation has long been a subject of controversy, and to some it even seemed an insoluble bewilderment. In ancient times, heretics, known as Pelagians, rebelled especially strongly against the innateness of sin. They argued that Adam, by his sin, corrupted and damaged only his own nature, but this damage did not in any way extend to his descendants. In modern times, the opinion about the state of natural perfection of human natural forces is affirmed by rationalists. But if indeed the state of human nature were a state of natural perfection (normal) and the condemnation of sin by the righteous judgment of God did not weigh upon humanity, then there would be no need for atonement - then Christianity would be destroyed at its very foundations. The reality of atonement presupposes the reality of original sin and its imputation to man. And the church has always recognized both the reality of original sin and its imputability to all the descendants of Adam. § 77. The reality of original sin, its universality and method of distribution Testimony of Revelation about the sinful corruption of mankind. – The connection of this sinful corruption with the crime of Adam. – The New Testament teaching that sin entered the world through the disobedience of one person and spread to the entire human race. – Confession by the ancient Church of the reality of original sin. – The doctrine of the heredity of sinful corruption and its consequences. I. In Holy Scripture there is no name for the sinful corruption of human nature inherited from the ancestors as original sin, but the very idea of ​​​​the universality of this corruption and its connection with the crime of Adam is affirmed in both the Old and New Testaments. Thus, Scripture testifies that sin has been the universal property of the human race since ancient times. About the moral state of antediluvian humanity, the writer of everyday life says: and the Lord saw that the corruption of men was great on earth, and that all the thoughts and thoughts of their hearts were evil at all times. The earth was corrupted before the face of God, and the earth was filled with atrocities: for all flesh had perverted its way on the earth (Gen. 6:5, 11-12). At the end of the flood, Jehovah said: I will no longer curse the earth for man, because the thoughts of man’s heart are evil from his youth (Gen. 8:21). The history of post-Flood humanity and in particular the chosen people of God, contained in the Bible, shows that the post-Flood human race, in its vices and iniquities, was in no way inferior to antediluvian humanity. The sacred writers testify to the universal sinfulness: if you have turned aside, you have become completely indecent: you have not done good, you have not done it until one (Ps. 53:4; sn. 13:3; 129:3; 142:2; Rom.3:10–12). According to Ap. Paul, but Jews and Greeks are all under sin... For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:9, 23; cf. Gal. 3:22). If we say that there is no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). The testimony of revelation about the sinfulness of the entire human race is confirmed by the general history of peoples and human societies. This story is nothing more than a description, on the one hand, of human vices in all kinds and types, and on the other, executions for this, countless upheavals and disasters. In all ancient religions, evil is considered a universal phenomenon, which is why sacrifices, as a means of mitigating the wrath of God for human sins, are a part of all religions. Equally, the pagan sages (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Cicero, etc.) complained about the general damage to human nature. Revelation directly and clearly connects universal sinfulness with Adam's crime. Thus, St. David says: Behold, in iniquity (from Heb. in iniquity) I was conceived, and in sin (in sin) my mother gave birth to me (Ps. 50:7). These words cannot be understood as if David were complaining about his illegitimate descent from his parents, because he was born from a legal marriage. It is equally impossible to understand here the personal sin of David, for it is said about the sin in which he was born. It remains to admit that David is talking about hereditary sin, which appears in a person from birth, even from conception - about uncleanness, which is characteristic not only of him, but of every person (Ps. 13: 1-3, 52, 3-4). In a similar way Job confesses: Who will be born clean from an unclean? None (14, 4; sn. 15, 14). I. Christ, in a conversation with Nicodemus, taught: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God: that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:5–6; cf. 1:12–13). The word flesh (σάρξ) in the language of the Holy Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments (when used in a moral sense) means the whole person, with his sensuality, with his mind, with all his sensual and spiritual aspirations, moods and actions contrary to the law of God - a special sinful state of spiritual-bodily nature (Gen. 6:3; Rom. 7 and 8 ch.3:3; 5, 19–21, etc.). A person cannot come out of such a state, even if he were born a second time, because what is born of the flesh is flesh, that is, a person born of a carnal, sinful man, by his nature remains the same carnal, sinful man as the one who gave birth. Sinful corruption is hereditarily transmitted through natural birth from generation to generation. But with particular detail and clarity the doctrine of the heredity of original sin is revealed by St. Paul (Rom. 5:12–21). The Apostle taught: one (δί "ενός) man sin (ή αμαρτία) into the world is out, and death is by sin, and so death is in all mankind, in which thou shalt sin... By sin alone (τω τού ενός παραπτώματι) having died many times... By one sin all men came to condemnation... By the disobedience of one man (δία τής παρακοής τονύ ενός άνθρώπου) sinners were many (Rom. 5:12, 15, 18, 19). In these few sayings of the apostle it is very precisely indicated: 1) that sin entered the world through one (δί ενός) man - Adam (14 v.), i.e. in him, as the ancestor, the cause. the inclination towards sin that prevails in all people, and not in themselves; 2) that the sin that entered into all the descendants of Adam is αμαρτία - a disposition to sin, or, according to other sayings of the apostle, some living sinful principle (ή όικουσα αμαρτία - 7, 20), which lives in the flesh (18). Art.), lives until death or the release of the soul from the body (Art. 24) and subordinates their personal will to his power (Art. 15–23). This sinfulness of nature is something different from Adam’s sinful act (the apostle denotes Adam’s personal sin with the words: παράπτωμα, also παρακοή and παράβασις Ἁδάμ – 5, 14). In the descendants of Adam, sinfulness (αμαρτία) is an inherited innate property of nature, predisposing and attracting to personal sins, and in Adam, on the contrary, the personal side of sin preceded and produced the sinfulness of nature; 3) that with the sinfulness of nature inherited by the descendants of Adam, condemnation (κατάκριμα) for sin passed from Adam to all his descendants, as well as the punishment for sin - death, for everyone sinned in him, that is, with Adam and in Adam, when he transgressed the divine commandment. II. From the very first centuries, the Church confessed the hereditary nature of sin. Evidence of this is the custom of baptizing infants that has existed in the church since the first centuries. The church has always performed baptism for the remission of sins (in remissionem peccatorum). This significance of infant baptism was testified not only by individual teachers of the ancient church, but also by an entire local council (of 66 bishops), which took place in 252 in Carthage under the chairmanship of St. Cyprian. At the council it was decided “not to forbid (baptism) for a baby who, having barely been born, has sinned in nothing, except that, having originated from the flesh of Adam, he received the infection of ancient death through birth itself, and who is all the more convenient (compared to adults) to accept the remission of sins, since he is absolved not his own, but those of others.” (Writing Cyprus. 59, to Fidus), and in one of the rules of the Council of Carthage against the Pelagians (418), an anathema is proclaimed against those who “reject the need for the baptism of small children and newborns from the mother’s womb,” or say that they “do not borrow anything from Adam’s ancestral sin that should be washed with the bath of regeneration” (124 rights). The belief expressed in these definitions in the transfer of hereditary sinful corruption from Adam to all people through their very birth was so deeply embedded in the consciousness of the church that the Pelagians, according to the testimony of the blessed. Jerome, had to fear that the crowd would stone them for rejecting the dogma of original sin if they publicly expressed this (Prot. Pelag. III, 17). III. The teaching of revelation and the church about the heredity of sinful corruption and its consequences - illnesses, disasters of life, death, does not contain anything inappropriate for sound thinking. The transmission from parents to children - and not only to children, but also to later generations (grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) of certain mental qualities, known vicious inclinations, as well as physical defects (for example, a predisposition to certain diseases) is a completely common phenomenon. It would be unnatural from a purely psychological point of view if the damage to the moral nature of the ancestors of the human race through sin remained only with them and passed without a trace for their offspring without affecting them. “Just as a contaminated stream naturally flows from a contaminated source,” teaches the Catechism, “so from an ancestor contaminated by sin and therefore mortal, offspring contaminated by sin and therefore mortal naturally flows” (about 3 parts). Equally, there is nothing inconvenient for reason in the fact that the descendants of Adam, as those born after the fall, do not enjoy the benefits of a paradisiacal, innocent state, are subject to illness and death, and experience various sorrows and disasters. Inheriting a nature infected with sin, they all increase hereditary sinfulness with personal sins, and therefore naturally suffer punishment for sin, condemned in Adam as the ancestor. This also happens in ordinary life, when, for example, children born to people demoted for some crime or deprived of certain rights acquired before the crime were committed do not enjoy the same rights that their parents enjoyed before the demotion, and this is not considered contrary to the requirements of justice. § 78. Imputation of original sin Man's guilt before God for his sinful state. – People are like children of God’s wrath by nature. – The teaching about this of the ancient Fathers of the Church. Original sin is imputed to man. All people are born not only with hereditary sinful damage to their nature, but also guilty before God for their sinful state. I. In revelation one can find clear indications of the imputation of hereditary sinfulness to man. According to the Savior, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God: that which is born of the flesh is flesh (John 3:5-6), and He. John teaches about God the Word that He gave the realm to be children of God to those who were not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of manly lust, but were born of God (John 1:12–13). These sayings convey the idea that hereditary corruption is punished by the righteousness of God, for it deprives a person of the blessings of the kingdom of God, due, of course, to the internal inability of people to use the gifts of God, otherwise, it dooms a person to spiritual death. But more directly expresses the idea of ​​the imputability of original sin. Paul. Thus, he claims that death passed from Adam to all people because you sinned in him (Rom. 5:12), - you sinned not by conscious and free participation in his sin, but by your nature. If every person by his nature participated with Adam and in Adam in his crime, then, of course, the wrath of God and condemnation brought on the nature of the first man extends to all the descendants of Adam. And the apostle directly teaches that through one sin all men were condemned, through the disobedience of one sin there were many - in fact, everything, i.e., through the action of Adam’s one transgression, condemnation spread to all, for all became sinners. According to the same apostle, all who believe in I. Christ, before their conversion to Christ, were by nature children of wrath (τέκνα φύσει οργής) of God, like others, that is, those who did not believe (Eph. 9:3), and not only due to the fact that everyone lived sometimes (once) in lusts of our flesh. And one more thing: all who have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), that is, all people, as sinners, remain without glorification by God and, therefore, are under the influence of condemnation or the wrath of God. Finally, according to the teachings of the Apostle, all the descendants of Adam are burdened with the punishments (and not just the consequences) of sin, such as the dominion of death and over those who have not sinned following the example of Adam, not excluding infants who do not have personal sins (Rom. 5:12–15), and in general various sufferings (Rom. 8:17–18). Even material nature sighs and sympathizes even to this day for the sin of man and, therefore, is under the wrath of God (Rom. 8v.). All this clearly presupposes the imputation of hereditary sinfulness to man. II. The imputation of original sin to the descendants of Adam, in which they did not participate not only in consciousness, but also in being, contains a lot of mysterious things hidden in the depths of God’s councils 41 . The complete and heart-pleasing resolution of this mystery is in the mystery of redemption. The imputation of the grace and merits of the Redeemer, the second Adam, corresponds to the imputation of the guilt of the first Adam (Rom. 5:18–19). And Scripture does not speak in clear words about the grounds for imputing Adam’s sin to his descendants. However, in Scripture, mainly in the teaching of St. Paul, some guidelines are given for understanding the grounds and essence of the imputation of original sin to the descendants of Adam. The Apostle testifies that all the descendants of Adam are children of the wrath of God by nature. By this, of course, he shows that a disorder has been created in the pure God-created human nature. Such a disorder in God’s creation cannot be an object of God’s favor, but must, according to the demands of God’s truth, be an object of God’s wrath, and since each of Adam’s descendants inherits from Adam a nature infected with sin, then the nature of each of them must also bear the condemnation or wrath of God. But, of course, before the manifestation of consciousness and freedom in man, this sinfulness remains only a property of nature and does not manifest itself in personal sins; therefore, God’s condemnation actually weighs on her; there is imputation to nature, but not to personality, for until this time there are no personal crimes: sin that is not imputed is not under the law (Rom. 5:13). This explains the dominion of death even over infants themselves, who are characterized only by the sinfulness of nature, although it remains unmanifested or hidden in them, but there is no personal sinfulness and guilt. According to another instruction of the apostle, in the nature of the fallen there dwells a certain living principle of sinful actions, a law that opposes the law of our mind; As soon as a person gets the opportunity to freely, one way or another, relate to the sin of nature, then the latter, enslaving the will of man, makes him his instrument - a captive of the sinful law (Rom. 7:15-23). However, this is not done without the conscious consent of the person himself to sin. It follows that each of Adam’s descendants, through the free action of his will, associates himself with his sin, and makes the sinfulness of nature his personal sin. If hereditary sinfulness prevails in the descendants of Adam not without dependence on their freedom, then, therefore, it can be imputed as sin in the proper sense. But this also leads to the conclusion that the degree of imputation and condemnation of hereditary sin is commensurate with the degree of participation of the personal consciousness and freedom of each person in the development of sin in his nature. Thus, the basis for the imputation of Adam’s sin to his descendants is, on the one hand, the boundless holiness and truth of God, which persecutes and condemns the disorder that has occurred in the pure and perfect God-created human nature, and on the other hand, the personal free consent to sin of each person, for there is no one righteous, not one (Rom. 3:10), all have sinned (v. 13). Imputation and condemnation itself have their own degrees. Among the ancient fathers, some confirmation of this understanding of the grounds for the imputation of hereditary sin can be seen in discussions about the fate of unbaptized dead infants (see Gregory B. Sl. 40, Gregory Nis. “About infants prematurely abducted by death”). § 79. Punishments of people after the fall, as acts of God’s providence Painful, but life-saving healing. – Death as an obstacle to strengthening in sin. I. The punishments that befell people after the fall of their ancestors are the various kinds of disasters experienced by a person in life, such as: the scarcity and poverty with which a person is surrounded, instead of the abundance of earthly fruits, exhausting labor to continue one’s existence, the destructive actions of the elements, and other disasters that bring people sorrow, illness and death. All of them together are the actions of God’s providence, serving not only as a manifestation of God’s truth, punishing the sinner, but also as a manifestation of God’s mercy and love for man. Their main goal is the healing of sin, the suppression of a person’s sinful ways and his correction (Prov. 23:14; 2 Cor. 4:16). The history of mankind, especially the history of the people of God, is filled with experiences of such painful, but life-saving healing and healing, and they all fit under the same gaze of the prophet: when I have killed, then I will seek Him, and I will turn and pay the morning to God: and I will remember that God is their helper, and God the Most High is their deliverer (Ps. 77:34-35). This is how the ancient church fathers taught us to look beyond the external disasters that befall people. Vasily V. writes: “When you hear that there is evil in the city, which the Lord did not command (Am. 3:6), understand the word “evil” in such a way that Scripture means by it disasters sent to sinners to correct their sins... Bodily suffering and external disasters are aimed at curbing sin... Destructions of cities, earthquakes, floods, destruction of armies, shipwrecks, every destruction of many people that occurs from earth and sea, or air, or fire, or for any reason whatsoever, happen in order to bring chastity to those who remain, because God chastises the prophets of all the people by means of public executions” (The demon is that God is not the author of evil). II. Filled with labor, sorrow and illness, a person’s life ends in death. Death, being the consequence and punishment of sin, is also a benefit to man, for it serves for his good. Death is a blessing to man, first of all, because it frees a person from earthly sorrows and illnesses generated by sin, and most importantly, it stops and ends the path of sin itself, for the dead are freed from sin (Rom. 6:7). Experience confirms that even the foreknowledge and fear of death, as well as the very sight of death, has a stopping and sobering effect on the sinner. Meanwhile, if each of the sinful people lived endlessly on earth, then this could lead humanity to incurable general moral corruption - to such a descent into the depths of evil to which the once bright spirit reached, who became Satan. This is how the ancient teachers of the church taught us to look at death. According to St. Gregory V., punishing a person with death is a manifestation of God’s “love for mankind,” for death serves to “suppress sin, so that evil does not become immortal” (Sl. 38 and 45). Further, death is also good in relation to the human body, for it serves as a means to destroy sinful corruption in his body, lust and corruption. Having paid the rent to sin in death, it becomes free from its power, cleansed of sinful corruption, and in resurrection it will rise impassive and incorruptible (Theoph. to Autol. II, 26). Finally, death is a blessing for a person in terms of its influence on the state of the soul in eternal life. The less the burden of sins a soul bears from this life, the easier and more joyful its state beyond the grave after its trial, the more possible and accessible it will be to ease its fate through the power of the prayers of the church, and most of all, through the almighty power of the intercession of the Son of God. § 80. Wrong opinions about the primitive state and original sin in the Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism Pelagianism and Augustinianism. – Roman Catholic teaching about primitive righteousness, as a gift of divine grace, and about the transition of humanity after the Fall into a state of pure naturalness. – Hereditary sin turns into one legal guilt and condemnation, as a consequence of a person’s connection with his ancestors. – Protestant teaching about the deepest perversion of man by primitive sin. - The extremes of this teaching. Western Christian confessions contain an understanding of the primitive state of man and original sin that differs from the teachings of the Orthodox Church. The Roman Church deviated in the view it adopted towards ancient Pelagianism, and Protestantism adopted the extremes of the teachings of the blessed. Augustine. 42. R.-Catholic teaching. – In the Roman Church, incorrect ideas about the primitive state and the fall of man, in a semi-Pelagian spirit, began to develop in the age of scholasticism. In this spirit the doctrine of the primitive state and original sin was expressed with distinctness by Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109) and I. D. Scott (d. 1308). Their theory was adopted in its main features by the decrees of the Council of Trent and thus acquired the meaning of church teaching 43 . The Roman Church teaches that the sinless and innocent state of the first parents, which it calls primitive righteousness (justitia originalis), was entirely a gift of divine grace (donum supernaturale), after the creation, sent down from above onto human nature to compensate for its natural deficiencies, an appendage to the natural powers of man (donum superadditum). The state of man's natural powers, regardless of the influence of the gifts of grace on him and before receiving them, was a state of pure naturalness (status purorum naturalium), that is, a state that did not differ significantly from the state in which every fallen man finds himself. Due to the two-part nature of human nature, in a state of pure naturalness, a “certain struggle” took place in man between spirit and body, spiritual (toward God) and sensual (toward the flesh and the world) attractions (as in fallen man - Gal. 5:17). To eliminate this struggle, to make up for the natural deficiency of the primordial nature, God then added to human nature the “wonderful gift of primeval righteousness.” This gift, like a “bridle” (according to Scott) or a “helmsman” (according to Anselm), restrained the disorderly natural movements of man’s spiritual-physical nature, protected him from temptations, kept him from the power of temptation, subordinated the body and rebellious sensual inclinations to the spirit, and the spirit to God, and generally directed him to good. “However, it was in the power of the spirit to resist God or not” (Bellarmine). Naturally, from such ideas a negative view of original sin developed in the Roman Church. According to her teaching, the essence of original sin consists solely and exclusively in the loss of primitive righteousness, but in its natural powers and abilities, human nature (or the image of God in man) did not suffer any change or damage. She passed only into the state of purorum naturalium (virium), which she received at creation itself. Through sin, man lost only that “bridle” or “helmsman”, with the help of which harmony existed in the primitive state between the spiritual and sensory sides of human nature, as a result of which, after the fall, he began to feel in himself the rebellion of the flesh against the spirit and the internal struggle between them; his will became unbridled. But this struggle has its basis not in the damage of nature, man, by sin, for it is primordial in his nature, but in its two-part nature. But since the grace of primitive righteousness was such a gift for man that he had to preserve (justitia debita), then for the loss of it man was subjected to the wrath of God. Thus, hereditary sin in the descendants of Adam consists only in the deprivation of primitive righteousness and the guilt and condemnation that follows this, but not in the sinful hereditary corruption of nature. Sin is inherited through the flesh or body, but the soul is each time created by God and poured (infunditur) or blown (inspiratur) by Him into the body formed in the womb; as the work of God’s hands, it is in itself pure and not involved in the sin of Adam and is defiled by it only through connection with the body, the bearer of sin. It is impossible to recognize the right of the Catholic teaching either about the primitive state of man or about original sin. In the doctrine of the primitive state, first of all, the incorrect idea is that the nature of man before the Fall, if mentally separated from primitive grace, was the same as what it became after the fall and the severance of its communion with God. The struggle between spirit and sensuality is a consequence of the fall of man, and cannot be a property of his God-created nature. To recognize it as the natural property of man and to see its source in sensuality or in the human body, does not it mean to recognize matter as the beginning of evil in the world, and God, as the Creator of matter, the Creator of this evil and the Author of sin in the human race? Another shortcoming of the Roman doctrine of the primitive state is the excessive separation between the gift of grace and human nature. Man appears as if he indifferently perceives the gift of grace and all his righteousness is only an external supernatural gift, and his own powers are condemned to inactivity. But if man, as created in the image of God, by his very nature is characterized by an attraction to a God-like life and communion with God, then it is obvious that the powers of the primordial, if they perceived grace, could not help but be revived, develop and grow in the direction that corresponded to their purpose, and from here it is clear that the innocent and blissful state of the first man cannot be represented only by a supernatural gift of grace in the Catholic sense. In the Roman Catholic view of original sin one cannot help but see the diminution and weakening of its essence and consequences, as in the ancient Pelagian teaching condemned by the church. Hereditary sin is transformed by the Roman Church into one legal guilt and condemnation that lies on all people as a result of the ancestral union with their ancestors. Revelation teaches not only about the loss of the gifts of the primitive state as a result of the Fall, but also about positive, deep damage to the spiritual-physical nature of man. To recognize, in particular, the body or flesh as the seat of sin would mean to weaken the power of sin and the guilt for it, to deprive it of the character of a moral phenomenon and to assimilate to it the meaning of physical evil, as a natural phenomenon, and at the same time necessary in the human race, and hence irresponsible. Protestant doctrine. – Protestantism, in its teaching about the primitive state and original sin, fell into the opposite extreme compared to Roman teaching. It recognizes the primitive holiness and righteousness of man as an unconditionally natural state; At creation, man received from God the entire totality of perfections (perfect spiritual and physical powers directed towards God), and by himself, by his nature, he could manifest them in the most perfect way, with his own strength to love God above all else, to believe in Him, to trust in Him and to keep His commandments. In short, his primitive righteousness was a natural state, created together with man (status naturalis primo homini concreatus), otherwise, not only the image of God, but also the likeness of God was given to man at creation, regardless of his freedom, given along with nature 44. It is clear that with such ideas about primitive righteousness, the state of man after the fall should have been the complete opposite - a state of the deepest perversion of man by original sin. This is what Protestantism teaches. On the negative side, it believes the essence of original sin (like the Roman Church) is the loss of primitive righteousness (defectus justitiae). But in primitive righteousness, man lost the natural ability he received at creation itself to desire and do good, to direct his forces towards good, that is, he lost not only the likeness, but also the image of God. The positive and main side of original sin, according to the teachings of Protestantism, consists in the appearance and dominance in the nature of fallen man of the evil principle, or pohomu (concupiscentia) 45. By lust we mean the damage that in human nature has replaced primitive righteousness. This damage to nature by sin was so deep that it did not leave anything healthy and undamaged either in the body or in the soul of man, and perverted both the lower and higher powers - the mind, heart and will. “The corruption of all nature and all its powers by sin was the deepest, most evil, terrible, immeasurable, incomprehensible, inexpressible” (Form. acc. II, 1). In the lower side of human nature, this corruption is expressed in the disorder of desires and movements, contrary to the law of God, in a persistent and constant inclination towards evil, in the highest - in the deviation of the mind, will and heart from God, in aversion from the divine and attraction to the carnal, even in contempt for God. Lust nests not in the body, but in the soul - and is not something indifferent in moral terms (as according to Roman teaching), but is a sin in its own sense, making a person worthy of eternal death and eternal condemnation; this sin is not destroyed even in baptism, in which only guilt and punishment for sin are removed, but the character of sin or lawlessness remains with lust even after baptism (Apol. 2 ch.). While affirming such an ineradicable and deep dominance of sinful lust for the nature of the fallen, symbolic Protestantism, however, recognizes that the essential powers of the spirit remain in the fallen man and can act in a certain area. This is the area of ​​civil righteousness (civilis justitia), or righteousness of works (justitia operum): fallen man “can, for example, talk about God, express a certain obedience to God in outward deeds, can obey authorities and parents in choosing an external matter, keep his hand from murder, adultery, theft, etc.” (Apol. 18 ch.). But the powers of fallen man cannot act at all in the field of spiritual righteousness (justitia spiritualis), or in spiritual and divine matters pertaining to the salvation of the soul. In this area, “Man (after the fall) is like a pillar of salt into which the wife of the patriarch has been turned. Lot, stump, stone and lifeless statue, which has neither sight, nor taste, nor other feelings, nor heart” (Form. acc. II part, 2 chapters 19–20). In short, human nature, corrupted by sin, has lost all capacity for good, for it does not have free will (liberum arbitrium) towards it; she only had such a will for evil. The Protestant idea of ​​the perfection of primordial people cannot be considered correct; the latter could not have complete perfection, in the sense of the final and complete disclosure of their powers and abilities, but had only the inclinations for it, which were to develop only later. And the angels were not created perfect in their spiritual and moral life, but only gradually, through development and prosperity, achieved the perfection possible for them. I. Christ himself, the second Adam, did not immediately become the most perfect man, but gradually increased in wisdom, and age, and in love with God and men (Luke 2:52). That is why, at first, primordial man was surrounded by constant extraordinary providential actions of God. While spiritual and moral perfection is assumed in the first man to essentially and necessarily belong to his God-created nature, his fall remains completely incomprehensible, unless we assume that it took place by direct determination and action of the will of God itself, and this, of course, is unacceptable. The idea of ​​sin damaging human nature in Protestantism is taken to the extreme. Scripture, although it affirms the deep damage to human nature, does not lead to complete powerlessness and inability of man to do spiritual good. And in fallen man there remained a desire for truth (Rom. 1:19-20), a desire for good (Rom. 7:18) and a natural attraction to it (Rom. 2:14), a conscience that approves for the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 7:16) and condemns for negligence about it (Rom. 2:15), - co-pleasure with the law of God (Rom. 7:22), the ability to excel in virtue, as the history of conversion shows centurion Cornelius (Acts ch. 10), and, therefore, the ability not only to perform works of civil righteousness, but also to fulfill duties towards God, which are in essence inseparable from duties towards others (1 John 4:20–21). The passages of Scripture cited by Protestants to justify their teaching, in which natural man is called a slave and captive of sin (John 8:34), dead trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14; John 15:4), conclude the idea that man is damaged not only by original sin, but also by personal sins. The very redemption and rebirth of man shows that the forces of the fallen are not so damaged that a person becomes completely dead for spiritual life, completely loses the ability to perceive and assimilate the redemptive gifts of grace. In this case, what would be required is not the correction and restoration of what was damaged, but a new creation of what was completely lost. Finally, the consistently pursued symbolic teaching of Protestantism about the consequences of the Fall leads to the idea of ​​the unconditional predestination of both the Fall itself and the salvation of man, to which the Reformation came. But a thought. about unconditional predestination is a completely non-Christian thought. Obviously, the Orthodox view of the primitive state and the fall of man is alien to the extremes of both heterodox teachings. In the teaching about the primitive state, there is neither that excessive division between grace and human nature, as in the teaching of the Roman Church, nor that complete fusion between them (to the point of deification of human nature), which is allowed by Protestantism, nor does it exaggerate or diminish the importance of God’s providential actions regarding the primitive man. In the doctrine of original sin, it is free both from the Pelagian-Roman thought about the integrity of human nature by sin, and from the Protestant thought about the loss of even the image of God by man as a result of the Fall. § 81. Review of false opinions about the origin of evil Sin is the product of an eternal evil being. – The origin of evil from random external causes. – Sin, as a consequence of the limitations of human nature. – Evil as a necessary step in the development of good. – Abuse of freedom in pre-modern life and punishment for this by being sent to bodies. The existence of evil (sin) in the world and its universal distribution from ancient times to the present time has caused and continues to cause attempts on the part of the natural mind to explain its origin and essence. But all experiments in explaining the mystery of the existence of evil in the world, indicating the root of evil not in the free will of man, as revelation teaches, but outside it, are unsatisfactory: with their explanations they either belittle or exaggerate the power and significance of evil, and thus rotate between two extremes - optimism and pessimism, with their opposites converging only in the recognition of evil as a naturally necessary phenomenon. Let us indicate the most important of these opinions. I. In the ancient world, a dualistic view of the origin of sin (of a pessimistic nature) was especially widespread. This teaching recognizes sin in the human race as the work of an eternal evil being, which introduced sin into human nature (the teaching of the ancient Persian religion and the Syrian Gnostics), or as occurring under the influence of matter, as an evil principle co-eternal with God, from which God formed the whole world, now lying in evil, and which is united with the soul, which represents the good principle. The source of sin in a person is his body (the teachings of Plato, the Alexandrian Gnostics and Manichaeans, also the Paulicians and Bogomils). The inconsistency of such a teaching is obvious from the fact that the existence of two eternal, independent and opposite principles, good and evil, is impossible. In particular, the imputation of sin to man testifies against the dualistic explanation of the origin of sin. Such imputation would be impossible if sin were the product of an eternal evil being located outside of man, or of matter united with the human spirit as an evil principle. II. In ancient times, another opinion appeared, explaining the origin of evil from external causes, but random causes. Thus, Pelagius and his followers believed that the cause of evil and sin in the human race was in perverse upbringing and the influence of bad examples on man. Adam, by his sin, allegedly corrupted and damaged only his own nature, but this damage does not extend at all to his descendants. Adam's influence on his descendants was limited to the influence of a bad example. Similar opinions have been repeated in modern times. Almost all English deists and French encyclopedists, rejecting the innate inclination towards sin in man, argued that moral evil is a consequence of improper upbringing and imitation of bad examples. the influence of false teachings prevailing in society, the spirit of the times, unsatisfactory public institutions and other similar reasons - an opinion that still has defenders at the present time (for example. Ritschl and his followers, according to whom the reason for the sinfulness of people is in imitation of a sinful environment and simple ignorance of the true good). This kind of optimistic statement is refuted by the evidence of experience. General experience confirms this. the deep truth of the apostolic observation: I find it a law that when I want to do good, evil is closest to me (Rom. 7:21). And this inclination towards sin more than towards good manifests itself before any upbringing, the influence of a sinful environment, bad examples, institutions, etc. It is characteristic of a person from birth. The purity and innocence with which people are supposedly born is an empty dream. Children, before any outside influence on them, very noticeably exhibit such inclinations (for example, whims and caprices, jealousy, envy of peers, hatred and rancor for offenders, a desire to go against prohibitions and orders, etc.), which even the partial love of a mother would not call good and pure. External conditions can excite and develop, or weaken and suppress what is given in embryo in nature itself, but they do not create new strengths and abilities. In particular, if all evil came from education, then good students would always come out of a good school, and bad ones from a bad school. But experience often shows the opposite. It is true that just as good education is very beneficial, so bad education is very harmful, but nevertheless, bad students come out of a good school, and good ones from a bad one. No rational education can completely free people from sin and make them morally good. The dominance of evil in the world is equally inexplicable from the influence of bad examples and a sinful environment. The influence of a bad example, of course, can be harmful, but in order to derive all the evil in the world from such an influence, it is necessary to assume in all people a tendency to imitate mostly bad examples. In the same way, it is unfounded to blame universal sinfulness in unsatisfactory social institutions and orders of public life. The best institutions turn out to be bad in the hands of bad and vicious people, just as, conversely, imperfect institutions in the hands of good and intelligent people turn out to be more satisfactory than improved ones. Moreover, these very institutions and orders of social life are the product of the lives of the people themselves. III. The impossibility of explaining the origin of evil from external causes indicates that the source of sin is not outside man, but in his very nature. But in explaining exactly which aspect of human nature should be the source of sin, different opinions were expressed. According to one of the opinions expressed in modern times (by Leibniz-Wolfians), the reason for the universal sinfulness of people lies in the imperfection and limitations of human nature. The imperfection of man, according to this view, lies in the limitations of both the mind and the will of man. Because of its limitations, the mind often falls into error. Therefore, the will, as a result of a false assessment of goods by reason, often chooses a lower good instead of a higher one, which is sin. But even when the mind has true ideas about the good, the will does not choose the highest good. The reason for this is limitedness and weakness of will. However, even this optimistic opinion cannot be considered valid. To derive evil from the inherent limitations or imperfections of creatures means to place all the blame for the existence of evil in the world on God, as the Creator of imperfect and limited creatures. The idea itself that sin arises from the limitations or imperfections of man is also unfounded. And good angels are limited, but they are sinless. Limitation is a definition of the essence of created nature; sinfulness refers to its state. Limitation or imperfection encourages improvement; sin, as an unnatural phenomenon, causes disgust and makes a sinner a subject of God’s wrath. There is also no complete correspondence between the degree of imperfection and sinfulness. Experience shows that for the most part, richly gifted people are also the perpetrators of the greatest crimes... Children are less sinful than spiritually developed ones. IV. In other recent views, sin is derived not from the limitations of human nature in general, but from certain particular and specific properties of this nature. Thus, some (from the school of rationalists, especially Schenkel and Schleiermacher) produce sin from the predominance of sensuality over spirit. The demands of the spirit, they reason, relate to the good, and the sensuality concerns the pleasant, the pleasure. The spirit develops later than sensuality; hence, due to his weakness, when the demands of the spirit collide with the demands of sensuality, he submits to the demands of the flesh, and through this sin occurs. But even if this opinion were true, it does not explain the matter. The question of the essence of evil remains unresolved. Where, one might ask, does this separation between sensuality and spirit come from? Where is its basis and what is the meaning? If we recognize such a phenomenon as a natural consequence of the original structure of the God-created nature of man, then sin will be a necessary phenomenon, God will be the culprit of sin, which, of course, is unacceptable. This explanation of the origin of sin also contradicts experience. There are many sins that develop completely independently of sensuality, such as, for example, pride, ambition, lust for power, envy, hatred, lies, etc. There are also sins that not only cannot be derived from sensuality, but go completely against its requirements, for example, stinginess, stubbornly renouncing not only pleasures, but also the sensual needs of life, pride, finding self-gratification in deprivation, etc. Finally, the evil principle is more developed in evil spirits than in people, but they are incorporeal beings. V. In modern times, the view of evil as a necessary step (moment) in the development of good has become especially widespread. This opinion assumes that evil is not only a natural, but also a necessary phenomenon, one without which living human activity cannot be imagined. In essence, it is not even anything real, real, but only a lack or deprivation of good, just as darkness is only a lack of light, or cold is a lack of warmth. It is a necessary transitional stage to good, a stimulant, an engine of good; without evil there would be no good in the world. But evil (sin) is not and can never be a necessary stage of human development. The ways of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:9). The Lord hates iniquity and unrighteousness (Is.33:15). Sin is a broad path, leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13); the end of this path is death (Rom.5:12). The difference between holiness and sinfulness is not quantitative, but qualitative: sin is not incomplete observance of the law, but complete lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Hatred and malice are not a certain degree of love, but a desire opposite to love. And according to the testimony of the moral consciousness of all people, evil or sin is not a necessary path to perfection, but on the contrary, evil is something that should not exist, therefore, an unnatural phenomenon. The evil done by a person evokes in him a bitter feeling of repentance. The moral feeling of all people has always rebelled and continues to rebel against evil; and what is necessary by nature could not provoke such a protest against itself. Equally, evil itself would not appear in monstrous atrocities (murder of those closest to them), in unnatural vices (for example. passion for pleasure and immoderation, suicide), unknown even in the animal world, if it constituted a necessary step in human development, indicated to him by the wise will of the Creator Himself. In reality, evil is not only not a necessary condition for the development of good, but, on the contrary, is an obstacle to the development of good, a force that does not create good, but destroys it. Finally, if evil is a necessary transitional moment in the moral development of rationally free beings, then shouldn’t people make it a rule of life: let us do evil so that good will come from it? VI. The unsatisfactoriness of explanations for the origin of sin and universal sinfulness in the human race in addition to human freedom and the imputability of sin to man indicate that sin is a matter of human freedom. But even in ancient times, the opinion was expressed that human souls abused their freedom in pre-modern life - before connecting with bodies, for which they were sent to bodies as punishment (opinion of Plato, Philo, especially Origen). A similar explanation of the origin of the universal sinfulness of people has been repeated in modern times (in philosophy - by Kant, Schelling, in Protestant theology - by Yul. Miller). But such explanations of the origin of innate sinfulness are completely arbitrary. Our consciousness says nothing either about the existence of the intelligible world (about the pre-existence of souls), or about their pre-temporal fall, of which there are no memories in the soul. Thus, all attempts to explain the origin and essence of evil that disagree with the teachings of revelation turn out to be insufficient. The revealed teaching is the only one free from one-sidedness. It recognizes the existence of evil in all its strength (contrary to the theories of optimism), such that the incarnation and death of the Son of God were necessary for redemption from evil, but it does not exaggerate its significance (as in the theories of pessimism), making it possible and obligatory for a person to fight against evil, and in faith in the Redeemer, indicating a real means for victory over evil. About God the Savior and His special relationship to the human race § 82. The need for special providence of God for the salvation of fallen man. Contents and division of the doctrine of God the Savior The actions of sin in the world and the inability of man to be saved from its consequences by his own efforts. - The economy of salvation. – The teaching about this and the division of this teaching. I. Numerous, varied and inscrutable are the ways of God’s natural providence for the human race. But the actions of God’s natural providence do not eradicate the power of sin, which has penetrated the entire being of man, and its consequences are not destroyed. If God had limited himself only to such actions of His providence, then evil, of course, could not have completely triumphed over good and crushed it on earth, but it itself could never, even with all the efforts of man himself, be eradicated. and without crushing the sinful power in man, sin would forever leave him under the weight of the judgment and wrath of God, at a distance from God and in the dark power of the devil. At the same time, external disasters (physical evil) and death would forever be the lot of humanity. To heal human nature, but without destroying human freedom, to eradicate the evil of its being, or, what is the same thing, to completely renew and recreate man, to reunite and reconcile him with God, to restore to him the immortality lost by sin, to destroy all the harmful consequences of sin in the external world - all this is possible and conceivable to accomplish only through special, extraordinary actions of God's providence for man. And the Lord did not want to leave fallen man to irrevocable destruction, a victim of eternal death and evil. He determined to save him from condemnation - to save him. The totality of the gracious actions of God, as the Savior of people from sin, curse and death, is called the divine economy (οικονομία, in the Holy Bible - looking, for example Eph 3, 2, 9; Col. 1:25) of human salvation. II. The essence of the great mystery of economy, as far as it is revealed to us, is as follows. From eternity God was pleased to choose an extraordinary means for the salvation of fallen man through His only begotten Son and the life-giving Holy Spirit. He deigned to give the promise of salvation to people immediately after the fall of their repentant ancestors, and over the course of centuries He prepared them for the acceptance of the Redeemer and the free assimilation of the fruits of redemption. When the end of summer came, the only begotten Son of God, according to the will of the Father, deigned for us and for our salvation to be incarnated by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, to become human and accomplish the work of redemption of the human race. The Holy Spirit, sent down from God the Father to those redeemed by the merits of the Son of God, by the power of His grace applies and assimilates to people the saving fruits of the redemption accomplished by the Son of God, and is their Sanctifier. Thus, the teaching about the special actions of God’s providence, aimed at the salvation of fallen man, is naturally divided into the teaching: I) about God as the Provider of human salvation; II) about God as Redeemer and III) about God as Sanctifier. I. About God as the Provider of human salvation § 83. Eternal advice of the Holy Trinity on the salvation of the human race. The reason for the delayed coming of the Savior of the world Participation of the Persons of the Holy Trinity in the salvation of the human race. – Revelation of the eternal council of the Most Holy Trinity. – Development of the sinful state of humanity until its actions are fully discovered. – Preparing the human race to receive the Redeemer. I. God, as omniscient, knew from eternity that man would not maintain a right and holy life, and by his fall he would expose himself and all his descendants to condemnation and disaster. But from eternity, knowing that the person who had fallen away from Him would turn to Him again, He, in the council of God, that is, in the council of three divine persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, determined to save him and chose the means for this (Acts 2:23; Eph 1:9-11, etc.). This eternal insight and predestination (Rom.8:29) of the will of God for the restoration of fallen humanity and the pre-selection of the means to that end until the time of the coming of Christ was not clearly and completely revealed to anyone; it was, as the apostles taught, the mystery of the will of God (Eph.1:9), a secret hidden from time immemorial and from generation to generation in God (Col.1:26; fn. Rom.14:24), hidden even from the principalities and powers of heaven (Eph. 3:9–10; 1 Pet 1:19–20). But after the completion of redemption by I. Christ and the descent of St. The apostles were called upon by the Spirit to enlighten everyone that there is an insight into the mysteries hidden for centuries in God (Eph. 3:9), and they proclaimed the mystery of man’s salvation as the eternal predestination of God: we say the wisdom of God, hidden in mystery, which God ordained before the world for our glory, which no one has understood from the princes of this age... But God has revealed it to us. by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:7–8, 10). The essence of God's council about salvation and the participation of each of the persons of the Holy Trinity in the work of salvation, determined in God's council, is depicted in Scripture as follows. God the Father is given a benevolent determination in God's counsel to save people through His only begotten Son. The Savior Himself spoke about this: God loved the world, for He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but through Him the world might be saved (John 3:16–17; cf. 17:4; Eph.2:4–7, etc.). The Son of God, according to the definition of the Father, is predetermined at a certain time by His incarnation, suffering and death on the cross to accomplish our salvation. He Himself, speaking about the economy of the salvation of the human race, which He took upon Himself, calls this work the commandment of the Heavenly Father, the will of the Father who sent Him. For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My soul, that I may receive it again... I received this commandment from My Father (John 10:17-18; cf. 14:3). My purpose is, that I may do the will of Him who sent Me, and complete His work (–4, 34; sn. 5, 36). The participation of the Holy Spirit in the economy of our salvation is to assimilate to redeemed sinners the merits of the Son of God and, with His assistance, to accomplish the work of salvation in human hearts. Such participation has also been assigned to the Holy Spirit from all eternity. Yes, app. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: God has chosen you from the beginning (απ αρχής - often in Scripture indicates a beginning without beginning, for example 1 John 2:13; John 1:1; Is. 43:13), for salvation, in the holiness of the Spirit and the faith of the truth (through the sanctification of the Spirit and faith in the truth - 2 Thessalonians 2:13). This is the means chosen in the eternal council of God for the restoration of fallen man - a means in which His mercy and truth were met, justice and peace were greeted (Ps. 84:11). In particular, in relation to people who have sinned, the mystery of salvation was especially revealed by the boundless love of God. It was not out of any necessity that God deigned to appear as our Savior (as the Trinitarian God is sometimes called in revelation, for example Jude 25; 1 Tim 1, 1; 2, 3-4; Titus 3:6), but precisely out of boundless love for people. II. Having determined in the eternal council of the Holy Trinity to send His only begotten Son into the world, God appointed the end of ages (Gal. 4:4), the end times (1 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 1:5, 20) as the time for the fulfillment of His council. Before the appearance of the Savior, for centuries and millennia people languished under slavery to sin, in alienation from God, remaining children of God’s wrath by nature. Why is this so? The reason for this phenomenon is not in God, but in man himself. God could not save man, created free, by the mere act of His omnipotence. A person forcibly drawn towards bliss would be both incapable of bliss and unworthy of it. A person could be saved if he himself voluntarily and lovingly turned to God. But the universal desire for salvation and a return to God could arise in fallen humanity only after a more or less long stay in a sinful state, when the terrible power of sin and its disastrous consequences were fully revealed and with their heaviness made a person feel the misery of his position at a distance from God, arouse in him an awareness of the depth of the fall, the powerlessness to get out of his state by his own means, and through this arouse in him a living desire to again unite with God and in Him alone to seek his salvation and bliss. Millennia had to pass before all the power of sin came out and its weight prompted man to intensely wait for his salvation from God. But, on the other hand, the spread and strengthening of sin in the human race, without the actions of God’s providence limiting evil, could make humanity incapable of turning to God and salvation in Christ, and without hope of deliverance from sin, lead to despair. Therefore, on the part of divine providence, such educational actions were necessary in relation to fallen humanity that would not allow a person to fall into a sinful state to the point of inability to turn to God and accept salvation through Jesus Christ, on the one hand, and on the other, giving hope for deliverance from evil, would direct their minds and hearts to the promised Redeemer and provide the opportunity to recognize Him when He comes. In short, it was necessary to prepare the human race to receive the Redeemer. The time from the fall of our first parents to the appearance of Christ the Savior was indeed the time of preparation of people to accept the Savior. § 84. Preparation of the human race for the reception of the Redeemer from Adam to Abraham The promise to Adam about the salvation of the human race. - Preservation of this promise by descendants. - The beneficial influence of God. - God's providence for humanity. - Victims. - World Flood. – The division of languages ​​and the isolation of true religion, its preservation from idolatry. The preparation of people to accept the Redeemer began after the fall of our ancestors with the revelation to them of the mystery of redemption. From that time until the calling of Abraham as the founder of the chosen people, all people were prepared in the same way, that is, by the same methods and means. After announcing the judgment of His righteousness over the sinned first parents, God gave the fallen hope of salvation through the comforting promise of the Seed of the woman, who once had to crush the head of the deceiving serpent. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman,” God said to the serpent in the presence of those deceived by him, “and between your seed and that seed.” He will watch over your head (according to the Russian translation from Hebrew - it will bruise your head), and you will watch (you will bite) his heel (Gen. 3:15). This sentence to the tempter contains a gracious promise of 1) the destruction of the union between the tempter and the tempted, which was formed by itself through man’s sin; 2) the continuation of the struggle against evil, as with the seed of the tempter (a race of evil people - the children of the devil), in the chosen offspring of the forefathers, as in the seed of the woman, and 3) finally, a decisive victory over the tempter, which will be won by the seed of the woman in the person of the extraordinary Descendant of the forefathers. Who exactly this victorious Seed of the woman will be, the first promise does not yet give a clear concept of this. But the extraordinary nature of the work that the Seed of the woman will accomplish makes it possible to see in this Seed something extraordinary - a most powerful Being, higher than the spirit of malice; calling Him the seed of the wife, and not the husband, as in the custom (i.e., attributing the seed or offspring to the husband) of the entire human race, secretly indicates “the offspring that is higher than nature, the miraculous birth of a son from a wife without a husband, the birth of Christ the God-Man from the Virgin” (Metropolitan Philaret). The first promise also makes it clear that the victory of the Seed of the woman over the devil will be combined with some sacrifice and suffering on the part of the Winner of the lower side of His being (and you will watch over his heel). Thus, the first promise of God contains the basic truths of the Gospel, which is why the church fathers rightly called it the first gospel. The giving of this promise was the restoration of God's covenant with man, destroyed by the Fall. This covenant is called gracious, since the gift of salvation is sent down to man, not only without any merit on his part, but also instead of eternal condemnation for his guilt, for every person, as a sinner, is subject to the wrath and judgment of God. By virtue of this covenant, those who lived before the appearance of the Redeemer were saved or hoped to receive salvation by faith in Him as the Coming One, just as we are saved by faith in Him as the coming Redeemer. With the granting of promises to people about the great Descendant-Deliverer, God's view of man, naturally, should have consisted of preserving and spreading among people the saving aspiration of the coming of the Redeemer and, in general, preserving faith and piety among people, if it was necessary for them to fight the devil and his seed. The means for this, in addition to the providential actions of God in the world and the punishments that befell the first parents and their descendants for sin, were: the appearances and revelations of God to people, some miraculous events, such as the miraculous migration of Enoch from earthly to heavenly life (Gen. 5:24), which gave for all generations the image of repentance and righteous life, together with the reward for this life (Sir. 44:15), the longevity of the antediluvians patriarchs (from 700 to 900 years and more), which contributed to the preservation and dissemination among people of promises about the Deliverer and legends about primitive blessed times, and others. Of particular importance among the preparatory means were: sacrifices, the flood and the confusion of languages ​​with the dispersion of tribes. The origin of sacrifices dates back to the earliest times of the human race. Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam, had already made sacrifices to God, and, moreover, Abel - from the firstborn of his flock (Gen. 4: 3-4). They guess that the leather garments in which God clothed Adam and his wife were made from the skin of an animal sacrificed. Abel’s sacrifice suggests that Abel learned to sacrifice the firstborn from Adam, Adam from God, and God revealed in them the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Sacrificial worship spread throughout the entire human race. The educational significance of sacrifices in preparing people for the Redeemer, especially in their pure form, was as follows. In his sacrifice, man saw that the rent of sin is death. The slaughter of a sacrificial animal represented his own guilt in death. Consequently, the sacrifice introduced him to the consciousness of his sins (Heb. 10:3), guilt before God, guilt of death. With such a consciousness, the need and desire for deliverance from sin and death arose, and this naturally turned a person with faith and hope to the Savior, typified by the sacrifice, who would one day sacrifice Himself for the salvation of people. The Flood was caused by the extraordinary development of evil and sin on earth, ready to infect all of humanity, which by that time had multiplied greatly. The evil seed in the person of the descendants of Cain was ready to suppress the good in the person of the blessed offspring of Seth. The whole earth became a disgrace of violence, crime, debauchery and wickedness (Gen. 6:11-12). When the flood waters washed the earth from sinful defilements, humanity, having received a blessing from God for reproduction in the person of Noah, could be born in a new form. But at the same time, God was pleased, not without wise goals, to shorten the life expectancy of post-Flood humanity. In post-Flood humanity, the evil seed, especially in the person of the descendants of Ham, came out again. The Hamites and other tribes with them had the arrogant undertaking to build a city and erect a tower to heaven, that is, to the heavenly clouds (Gen. 11). The concentration of humanity around one world center threatened with the danger of a new general corruption, as before the flood. Harmful moral influence of the so-called. world cities (in ancient Babylon, later Rome, etc.), where the moral infection accumulated and from where it spread throughout the world is beyond any doubt. As a result, the plans of divine providence decided to disperse tribes to different parts of the world and mix languages. When scattered across different countries, if wickedness had developed in any nation, then, given the disunity of life and the absence of a common language, it would not have infected other tribes. Even if everyone, with the exception of one tribe or family, had become corrupted and fallen away from God, then God through this tribe or family could have saved the entire human race. But in order for the dispersion of tribes to achieve its goal and to make global centralization forever impossible, a division of languages ​​was necessary. The difference of language at all times has served and continues to serve as the most effective means of dividing peoples, more effective than geographical spaces. The confusion of languages ​​and the dispersion of peoples ended the general history of primitive humanity and marked the beginning of the history of individual peoples. National isolation became the main characteristic feature of the entire history of the ancient world and its entire spiritual development. This division into separate tribes and nationalities did not prevent them from remaining faithful to the original true religion, recognizing the one true God and glorifying Him in all languages, remembering the promises of God about the Redeemer given to Adam and Eve, and in their moral life, creating the law by nature (Rom. 2:14). But the ancient world did not realize this possibility. Paganism appeared, which engulfed all the tribes of the earth, in combination with deep moral corruption. Then the Lord, not wanting to allow the second destruction of the human race, deigned to save people again from the sin that was destroying them through the creation of a new people for Himself in the midst of a world immersed in wickedness and idolatry, so that this people would serve the mystery of salvation and all mankind. From that time until the appearance of Christ the Savior, this chosen people of God was prepared differently (mainly by supernatural means), differently than all other peoples who deviated into paganism. § 85. Preparation of the Jewish people Preserving the promises and prophecies of the Savior. – Its prototypes, especially ritual ones. – Moral and civil law. - Miracles in the history of this people. The new people raised by God was the Jewish people. The ancestor of this people was Abraham, a man of pure and firm faith, the son of Terah, from the descendants of Shem. With the election of Abraham, God's preparatory actions for redemption were concentrated in the descendants of Abraham, who became God's inheritance from all the nations of the earth (Ex. 19:5; Deut. 9, 29). Scripture depicts God’s special care for this people very clearly when it compares the Jewish people with a vineyard that God Himself planted, and God’s providential actions for the internal well-being of this people and protecting them from harmful pagan influences are likened to the care of the vineyard of a winegrower, who surrounded it with a fence, cleared it of stones, planted selected vines in it, built a tower in the middle and dug in it. winepress (Isa.5:1–7; fn. Jer.2:21; Matt.21:33–45). The most important educational means for this people to fulfill their purpose were: I) the divine revelation given to this people in general and in particular the revelation of the mystery of salvation through the promises and prophecies about the Messiah; II) prototypes of Him, especially ritual ones; III) the law, moral and civil, and IV) the entire unprecedented history of this people, filled with miracles. I. God educated the Jewish people by general revelation. Among this people there were always men who were worthy and capable of being the organs of divine revelation for communicating it to all their people and all the pagans. And God spoke to Israel in many parts and in many ways (Heb. 1:1) to lead this people, and through them all humanity, to the Redeemer. But of particular importance were the promises and prophecies about the Messiah, in which the general revelation of this mystery given to the first parents was gradually revealed and clarified. We will indicate the most important of them. a) God was pleased to confirm the First Promise about the Seed of the Woman to the ancestors of the Jewish people - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Concluding a covenant with Abraham, God, with the blessing to multiply his seed like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea, said to him: all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you (Gen. 12:3), and subsequently, at the sacrifice of Isaac, he explained to him that this blessing is a blessing in his seed: and all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your seed (Gen. 22:18). This promise in its last form was repeated to Isaac (Gen. 26:4) and Jacob (Gen. 28:14). The meaning of the promise is that from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will come a Seed or such a great and extraordinary Descendant through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Obviously, this promise cannot apply to anyone other than the Messiah (Gal.3:16; Acts 3:25–26). Patr. Jacob, blessing his sons before his death, with the blessing of Judas, among other things, told him: the prince (scepter) from Judah and the leader (legislator) from his loins will not fail, until (i.e., until, and not after) the Hope of the tongues set aside for him and that one comes (translated from Hebrew: until the Reconciler comes - Heb. Schiloh, and to Him the submission of the nations), i.e., the scepter from Judah and the legislator (or the legislative power in general), as signs of royal dignity, will not be taken away from Judah until the Reconciler comes from his descendants, to whom all nations will submit (Gen. 49:10). Such a person could not be either David, or Solomon, or any other of the kings of the tribe of Judah, but the Messiah. Thus, according to the meaning of this prophecy: 1) The Messiah will come from the sovereign tribe of Judah; 2) will come when Judah ceases to have its own rulers and kings; 3) upon His coming, the kingdom of Judah will be replaced by a worldwide kingdom of nations submissive to the Redeemer. Through St. Moses, God gave the following prediction to Israel about the Messiah: I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brethren, just as you did, and I will put My word in His mouth, and He will speak to them as I commanded Him: and the man who does not listen to His word, if that Prophet speaks in My name, I will take vengeance on him (from him I will require - Deut.18:18–19). Moses repeated the same prophecy with instructions - Listen to this in his own name (Deut. 18:15). b) During the time of the royal prophet David, the image of the Messiah was marked with new and even more specific features. Through St. Nathan, God announced to David: I will raise up your seed after you, whoever is from your womb, and I will prepare (strengthen) His kingdom. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish (establish) His throne forever. I will be His father, and He will be My son... His kingdom is before Me forever: and His throne will be established forever (2 Kings 7:12-16; cf. Luke 1:32; Acts 2:30; Heb. 1:5). Having received from God a gratifying promise about his great Descendant, the royal prophet (who was also a personal prototype of the Messiah) sings in the psalms of the coming Savior, followed by other psalmists. But along with the glory of the Messiah, the psalmists, especially David himself, contain pre-depictions of the humiliation and suffering of the Messiah, and His high priestly ministry in general, that are striking in their clarity. The Promised Redeemer is called in the Psalter (in Ps. 2 it says: the princes gathered together to the Lord and to His Christ) directly as the Messiah-Christ (Hebrew Maschiach, Greek Χριστός, Russian Anointed), - Christ, not in the common sense as kings were called anointed in the Old Testament, high priests and prophets, and in the meaning of the Savior’s own name - the Messiah, who combines in Himself, as the one most worthy anointed one, the ministry of high priest, prophet and king: anointing You, O God (Elohim), Your God is more than a partaker of Your joy with the oil of joy (44:8). About the person of the Messiah in the Psalter it is foretold that He has divine dignity: The Lord spoke to Me, says the Messiah on His behalf: “Thou art My Son, I have today (now) begotten Thee (Ps. 2:7). David confesses the Messiah as Lord, having eternal existence from God: the speech of the Lord (Iehovah) of the Lord (Adonai, the name of God, corresponding to Κύριος, Lord, Lord): sit at My right hand, until I will make Your enemies Your footstool... From the womb before the star I gave birth to You (in Russian translation - from the womb before the morning star your birth was like dew; 109, 1, 3). As a man, He will be more kind and kind than the sons of men (44:3). The royal greatness and power of the Messiah is proclaimed in detail in the psalms and often in images taken from earthly kingdoms. The Messiah is about to appear as a mighty, glorious King over Zion. He Himself says about Himself: I am appointed King by Him over Zion, His holy mountain (2:6 et seq.). The purpose of the reign of the Messiah will be to spread truth, meekness and righteousness on earth: gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your beauty and Your goodness! and come, and prosper, and reign for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness, and Your right hand will guide You wonderfully (44, 4-5; fn. 7-8 vv.). The Kingdom of the Messiah will extend from sea to sea and from rivers (rivers, i.e. the Euphrates) to the end of the world (71:8 et seq.), and will appear as the holy mountain of the Lord (14:1; 42:3), the kingdom of the righteous (144:19-20; 35:11) and saints (109:4), i.e., worldwide spiritual kingdom. The image of the Messiah-Sufferer, the High Priest, who has Himself to offer as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world, is also outlined in detail in the psalms. The Lord swears and will not repent: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (109, 4; sn. in 39, 7-9: you did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you made the body for Me, etc.). The life of the Messiah is depicted in the psalms as the life of the Righteous Sufferer. He has more enemies than hairs on his head, they are innumerable (68:5); from them He will suffer contempt, humiliation, shame and likeness to a worm (21, 7; 68, 20). The circumstances of the suffering of I. Christ are depicted in the psalms (especially Ps. 21 and 68) with such amazing accuracy that some sayings were written by the royal prophet as if at the very foot of Calvary and the cross. The psalms also foretell the events that followed His death on the cross, namely: His descent into hell (15, 10; 29, 4; 67, 5; 87, 6, 16; 106, 16), resurrection (15, 8–10; 11, 6), ascension into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God, in order to subdue His enemies under His feet ( Ps.23:7; 109, 1). c) After the time of David, the prophetic word shone like a lamp among the people of Israel (2 Pet 1:19). The predictions of the prophets about the Messiah, about Christ's passion and about the glories to this day (1 Pet 1:10-11) are numerous and varied. About the face of the Messiah, the prophets, like the psalmists, proclaimed that He would be God and man. Thus, St. Isaiah gives the Messiah the name Immanuel (7, 14), which, according to the Evangelist, means God is with us (Matthew 1:23). He speaks about the Messiah: they call His great council Angel, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Sovereign, Prince of Peace, Father of the next age (Is. 9:6), God and Lord (40, 8, 10). Ave. Jeremiah testifies: this is the name of Him (the Messiah), by which they will call Him: the Lord (Jehovah) is our righteousness (the Lord is our justification; 23, 6; 33, 16; sn. Mal. 3: 1; Bar 3, 36-38). That the Messiah will also be a man is presupposed by the predictions of the prophets about the place and manner of the birth of the Messiah from the Virgin and about the various circumstances of His life. Particularly significant is St. Daniel's calling Him the Son of Man, which the appeared Messiah so often applied to Himself (Dan. 7:13–14). The prophets, according to earlier promises and prophecies, depict the ministry of the Messiah as threefold: prophetic, high priestly and royal, but in more detailed terms. The appearance of the Messiah, as a prophet and universal prophet, was predicted more clearly than others by the great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Ave. Isaiah testifies on behalf of the Messiah that His coming will be have the goal of evangelizing: the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for His sake (οί ένεκεν - can also be conveyed this way: for what, why) anointing (i.e., the Lord) Me, to bring good news to the poor of My ambassador, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, call the year of the Lord pleasant, and the day of recompense (on Russian Bible - the day of vengeance of our God), to comfort all those who mourn (61, 1-2; fn. Luke 4:13-22). The worldwide significance of the prophetic ministry of the Messiah is especially clearly revealed in Isaiah’s prophecy about the appearance and exaltation of the mountain of the Lord (2, 2–4; cf. Mic. 4: 1. 5). According to the prediction of St. Jeremiah, the Messiah-prophet will announce to the people a new law, different from that given through Moses, and will not renew only the ancient one of Moses: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that was commanded by their father, on the day that I eat them by the hand, to lead me out of the land Egyptian; Because they did not abide in My covenant and I neglected them, says the Lord (31, 31–35; sn. 32, 37–40; Heb. 8:6–13). About the high priestly service of the Messiah, the prophets predicted that the Messiah, as an extraordinary priest, not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchisidek, would offer an extraordinary sacrifice - himself, and not for personal sins, but for the sins of the whole world. The essence and circumstances of the ministry of the Messiah-High Priest were especially clearly and in detail depicted by St. Isaiah, an evangelist among the prophets, who wrote a prophecy about this as if at the cross of the divine Sufferer. The content of his prophecy is as follows: having indicated on behalf of Jehovah that the servant of Jehovah, i.e. the Messiah, will become very famous, but not suddenly, but having first gone through the sorrowful path of humiliation and great suffering (52, 13-15), the prophet depicts the very suffering and humiliation of the Messiah in this way: Lord, who believes our hearing (i.e. our preaching), and the arm of the Lord (i.e. the omnipotence of God) to whom has been revealed (i.e. became obvious)? He proclaimed that the Child was before Him, like a root in a thirsty land (an offspring from a dry land); there is no form of Him lower than glory (greatness): and we have seen Him, and there is no name of form or kindness. But His appearance is dishonorable, more debased than all the sons of men: a man in the ulcer, and knowing to endure illness, as if he turned away His face, he was dishonorable, and was not accounted for. This is our sins, and it hurts for us, and we are imputed to His being in labor, and in the ulcer from God and in embitterment, the same ulcer was for our sins, and was tormented for our iniquities, the punishment of our peace is on Him; by His striping we are healed. All, like sheep, have gone astray, man has gone astray from his path, and the Lord gave up His sin for our sakes. And He, too, became embittered (tortured) and does not open His mouth: like a sheep led to the slaughter, and like a lamb that is silent before His shearers, so He does not open His mouth. In his humility, His judgment is taken: who can confess His generation? as if His belly was lifted up from the earth, because of the iniquities of My people He was led to death (53:1-8). The prophet spoke about His burial almost as an eyewitness: they appointed a coffin with the villains, but He was buried with God because He committed no sin, and there was no lie in His mouth (verse 9). The prophets clearly depicted the image of the Messiah as a glorious and powerful King, Victor and Judge of the rebellious and hostile peoples of the earth. These days are coming, says the Lord, and I will raise up a righteous branch for David, and a King will reign, and he will be wise, and he will do justice and righteousness on the earth. In one of these days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in hope (they will live safely - Jer. 23:5-6; 33:14-17; Hos. 3:5; Mic. 5:2). The power of the King - Emmanuel, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, has no limit (9, 7; sn. Zech. 9:10). Kings and princes will worship Him (Is.49:7). To Him (the Son of Man) was given power and honor and a kingdom, and all people, nations and nations will work for Him; His power is everlasting power; it will never pass away, and His kingdom will not be scattered (Dan. 7:13–14; cf. 2, 44). In the images of the Messiah as a glorious King, the prophets, like the psalmists, often use images taken from earthly kingdoms. Their depictions of the kingdom of the Messiah in such images were allowed only for the purpose of making the predictions about the kingdom of the Messiah more understandable for such a crudely sensual people as the Jews. In fact, all the prophets predicted that the Messiah would be a King in the spiritual sense, the King of a kingdom not of this world (John 6:18; 18, 36). Thus, St. Isaiah calls Him the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6), also a Child on Whom is the Spirit of Jehovah, but Who will not break a bruised reed or quench smoking flax (42:1-3). The prophet depicts the peace that will be established in the kingdom of the Messiah in such striking images: the wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lynx (leopard) will graze with the evil one, and the calf and the youth (calf) and the lion will graze together, and the young man will know little (Is. 11: 5-8). Under the eternal power of the Messiah, according to St. Micah, they will cleave their swords on raals, and their faces (spears) on pruning hooks, and no one will take the tongue to the tongue of the sword and not learn how to fight (Mic. 4: 3; sn. 5, 3-5; Zech. 9, 9-10). The predictions of the prophets about the origin of the Messiah according to the flesh concern: the race from which He will come, the image and place of His birth, as well as the time of His appearance to the world. The Messiah came from the root of Jesse, from the line of David. And a rod (branch, shoot) will come forth, says St. Isaiah, from the root of Jesse (from the truncated tree, the trunk itself, a foreshadowing of the humiliated state in which the family of David was in the year of the birth of the Savior of the world), and the flower from its root will rise: and the Spirit of God will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of conscience and strength, the Spirit in it. devotion and piety: the Spirit of the fear of God will fill Him (11, 1, 3; sn. 10 v.). The birth of the Messiah was meant to be a miraculous, supernatural birth. Behold the Virgin (Heb. ha-almah, y LXX - ή παρθένος, in the Vulgate - virgo) will conceive in her womb, - said St. Isaiah to Ahaz and with him to all the Jewish people, - and she will give birth to a Son, and he will call (from Heb. - and they will call) His name Immanuel ( Isaiah 7:14). The Hebrew word almah - virgin means a virgin not only by age, but also by condition, an immaculate, pure virgin. LXX translated into Heb. almah with the word παρθένος (as is also given in Matthew 1:23; cf. Rev. 14:4), and thus they testified that by almah they should mean - the ancient Jews actually meant - a virgin in the proper sense, and not some young woman, as their later descendants want to mean. Moreover, the prophet’s words contain a foretelling of the birth of a son not by a generally virgin virgin, but by a specific and well-known virgin (the term ha before almah in the Hebrew text, as in the translation of LXX ή παρθένος), known, of course, not to the prophet’s contemporaries, but to the Spirit of God who spoke through the prophet. The place where the Messiah was to be born was foretold by St. Micah: and you, Bethlehem, the house of Euphrates, have you little food to be among the thousands of Judah? From you an Elder will come forth for Me to become a prince in Israel; proceed (origin) from the beginning from the days of the age (Mic. 5:2; fn. Matt. 2:4-6). The time of the coming of the Messiah was foretold with particular accuracy through St. Daniel in the prophecy of weeks (9: 24–27): seventy weeks have been shortened for your people (defined for your people) and for your holy city, - announced the Archangel Gabriel to St. Daniel, - for let not sin be promised (lose its force) and sin will end, sins and sins will be sealed (will be forgotten or forgiven), and iniquities will be blotted out, and iniquities will be cleansed, and eternal justice will be brought (will be established in the world), and the vision and the prophet will be sealed (the Old Testament revelations and prophecies will end, being fulfilled in the Messiah), and the Holy of Holies will be anointed. And thou shalt weigh and understand: from the exodus of the word, to speak (about the return of the people) and to rebuild Jerusalem (from Hebrew - know and understand: from the issuance of the commandment to restore Jerusalem), even to Christ the Elder (Ἡγουμένου - Leader; cf. Eze. 44:3) weeks of seven, and weeks sixty-two (i.e., a total of sixty-nine weeks will pass): and (the people) will return, and they will gather and gather together, and the years will be exhausted (streets and walls will be built, but in difficult times). And after the sixty-two weeks the anointing (χρίομα instead of Χρίστος, Heb. Messiah) will be required (he will be put to death), and the judgment will not be in Him (i.e., although there will be no guilt in Him; cf. Is. 53:8-9): the city and the holy (sanctuary, i.e. the church) will crumble with the Elder to come, and they will be consumed in the flood, and until the end of the army, reduced by rank, by destruction (i.e., then the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed by the people of the leader who will come, and will be destroyed as by a flood, and devastation is predetermined until the end of the war). And the covenant (i.e., new) will be established by the many earths of one week: at the half of the week the sacrifice and drink offering will be taken away (i.e., the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings will be abolished), and in the sanctuary (church) there will be an abomination of desolation, and even until the end of time the end will be given to desolation (i.e., near the wing or The abominations of the desolator will be placed on the roofs of the church, and even until the end of time the church will be handed over along with the hail of desolation). By weeks in prophecy we mean weeks of years, i.e. the circle of the Sabbath year - seven years (Gen. 29:27; Lev 25:3-5), therefore, seventy weeks make up a circle of time (70x7 years) of 490 years. The counting of weeks must begin from the time the command to restore Jerusalem was issued (v. 25). The prophets Haggai and Malachi proclaimed that the Desired or Expectation of all languages ​​will come to the second temple in Jerusalem, therefore the glory of this last church will be greater than the first (Hag.2:6-10; Mal.3:1). Finally, the prophets foretold with extreme detail many of the particular circumstances of the life of the Messiah and His ministry. Thus, they predicted that He would be preceded by the Forerunner preparing the way (His Angel, the Prophet Elijah - in Mal 3, 1; 4, 5; The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness - in Isaiah 40, 3-5), that He would work miracles (Is. 26:19; 35, 3-6), and would make a meek and humble entry into Jerusalem on the casting of lots ( Zech.9:9), will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zech.11:12-13), His disciples will be scattered like sheep without a shepherd (Zech. 13, 7), He will be punctured with nails and a spear (12, 10; 13, 6; Jer. 11:19), His death will be accompanied by great signs in nature - the sun will darken and the foundations of the earth will shake (Am.8:9; Hag.2:7; sn. Joel.2:10. 31; Zech.14:6-7), and after death He will rise on the third day (Hos.6:2; Zeph.3:7; Is.63:11) and will ascend to heaven (Zech.14:4), and the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be poured out on those who believe in Him (Joel.2:28-29; Is.44:3; 59, 21 ; Ezek.36:25–27 ). Thus, in the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament about the Messiah, the image of the Messiah and His great ministry are outlined in such detail that the resurrected Savior, talking with his disciples on the way to Emmaus, spoke to them with reproach: Oh, foolish and inert at heart, who believes in everything that the prophets said (Luke 24:25 et seq.)! II. Condescending to the sensual concepts of the Jewish people, God depicted before them the mystery of the future redemption of people through prototypes. Prefiguration (τϋπος) is the same as prophecy, foreshadowing or foreshadowing of the Messiah and His kingdom, only not conveyed in words, but contained in persons, events and sacred things and actions of the Old Testament. The types in the Old Testament are numerous. They are usually divided into historical and ritual. The former are represented in the history of Old Testament persons and events, the latter in the ritual law. The idea of ​​salvation was especially embodied in ritual prototypes. The ritual law, according to the word of the apostle, was a law shadowing the blessings to come, that is, in the rites and sacred rites of the church under the law, as in its shadow, the body of Christ was reflected (Col. 2:17), or the very image of things (Heb. 10: 1; 8, 5), - the Redeemer and the work of redemption completed by Him. Of the many ritual prototypes, circumcision and sacrifices were of especially important preparatory importance. Circumcision of all male children was established by God as a sign of the covenant between God and the founder of the Jewish people (Gen. 17:2). Through circumcision, the children of Abraham were made a chosen people; the seal of circumcision separated them from pagan nations, just as the sacrament of baptism makes a person a member of the New Testament Church and separates him from non-Christians. At the same time, circumcision, recalling the ancestral sin transmitted through natural birth, pointed to the need for this sinful uncleanness to be circumcised and cleansed in the same way as that which serves the uncleanness of sin is circumcised. Hence, the rite of circumcision was supposed to arouse faith in the appearance of the blessed Descendant, who was to come from the people of God and bestow on human nature a perfect, spiritual circumcision of hearts (Deut. 30:6), given in baptism (Col. 2:11). Sacrifices are older than circumcision in origin, but the full law of sacrifices came later than the commandment of circumcision. Sacrifice in the Old Testament was an action of repentance - confession of sinful impurity and guilt before God, an action of prayer - for cleansing and deliverance, and a testimony of faith in the Redeemer, typified by the sacrifice. With the faith of those making sacrifices in the promised Redeemer, the latter also had the power of propitiation before God, Az dah yu (the blood of an animal) for you to beg at the altar for your souls: for the blood will beg him instead of the soul (Lev 17:11). III. God prepared His people to receive the Redeemer both through the moral and civil law, which is why the Apostle calls the law a nurturer to Christ (Gal. 3:25). The moral law demanded from a person holiness both in soul and in body: you will be holy, as I am holy (Lev 19:2). The essence of the required holiness is briefly expressed in the Sinai decalogue (Lev 19, 18), and in numerous private prescriptions of the Law of Moses, the requirements of the decalogue are revealed in more detail, in relation to private, family, public life, and were explained by the prophets. The law did not require external, formal fulfillment of its commandments (Is. 1:11-18), but a complete moral disposition, a contrite heart (Ps. 50:19), and threatens with damnation anyone who does not constantly fulfill everything that is written in the book of the law (Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26). With such high and strict requirements, the fulfillment of which is beyond the power of fallen man, the law necessarily had to lead to the knowledge of sin: the knowledge of sin by law (Rom. 3:20; cf. 7, 7-8), and this necessarily aroused the desire for the promised Redeemer to come soon and deliver him from the burden of sin and curse. In civil law, the same religious and moral principles that are given in moral and ritual law are developed and applied to private, family and public life. At the same time, he cursed those who violated his instructions and threatened with death for breaking almost every moral commandment (Ex. 21:15–25; 22, 16–17; Deut. 13:5–10; 15, 16; 17, 2–5: 19, 16–21; 21, 18–21; 27, 16–27). Through this, the law put a limit on brute force, the development of godlessness, moral corruption and made it possible, in a world infected with sin and paganism, the existence of a society that could preserve the seeds of divine revelation entrusted to it for storage and transmission to other peoples. IV. Finally, the Jewish people were raised to accept the Redeemer through their external historical destinies. One of the significant features of the history of this people is the abundance of miracles and generally obvious actions of God’s providence, either saving the chosen people from dangers, or punishing them, or admonishing the pagan peoples through them. The significance of such providential actions in the religious and moral education of the people of God is clear. Similar is the meaning of the disasters suffered by the Jews. Although the descendants of Abraham were the chosen people, they either led a wandering life or were constantly enslaved by other nations. So, in Egypt they were poor, in Palestine they did not enjoy peace for long (only during the peaceful and happy reign of David and Solomon), they were poor in Babylon and after the captivity. Disasters served as a means to protect and cleanse them from pagan errors and vices, disposed them to a living consciousness of their sins, strengthened faith in God, and at the same time aroused and gradually strengthened the desire to see the promised Savior as soon as possible. Under the influence of the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent disasters, their study of the law and the prophets intensified. Synagogues were built everywhere for the reading of the law and the prophets. The civil condition of Judea turned the eyes of the Jews to prophecies. It was bleak. Judea was under the rule of pagan rulers. The Jews had only one future left, and in the distance of this future shone the bright image of the Messiah and His kingdom, outlined by the prophets. The hearts of the people, oppressed by the sorrow of the present and past, now turned to this future; the prayers, hopes, and desires of Israel rushed to it. The Messiah became the object of popular belief and desire for everyone, even the last Israeli. As soon as John the Baptist appeared in the Jordan with his sermon about repentance, the Sanhedrin sent priests and Levites to him to ask: is this not the Christ (John 1:19)? The appearance of the Magi set the whole of Jerusalem in motion, where there were especially many seeking deliverance (Matthew 2:3; Luke 2:28). The name of the Son of David was on everyone’s lips: the poor and the blind (John 7:42; 12, 34) and even the Canaanite wife (Matthew 15:22) knew about the Son of David. The Samaritans expected that the Messiah, the spoken Christ, would come, and when he came, he would tell them everything (John 4:25, fn. 39–42 vv.). These are the main ways and means of preparing God’s chosen people to receive the Redeemer. Under the wonderful guidance of the wisdom of God, the Jewish people fulfilled the ministry entrusted to them: to be the custodian of true worship and the promises of the Messiah. Among these people was found one blessed among women, worthy to be the Mother of the Lord. Finally, Israel served the mystery of the salvation of all mankind and the fact that the promise of the Redeemer from him became known in the pagan world (see below). The Jewish people themselves, a stiff-necked people, with a penchant for paganism and pagan vices, without the wonderful guidance of God, of course, could not fulfill the ministry entrusted to them. § 86. Preparation of the pagan world to receive the Redeemer Preservation of the vestiges of revelation and religion. – God’s special guidance in the spiritual life of pagan peoples. - Their intercourse with the Jews, the spread of revealed religion. – Political destinies of the ancient world. The election of the Jewish people was not the abandonment of other nations: or is God only the Jews, and not the languages? She, and tongues (Rom. 3:29). And the pagans were not deprived of God’s care, by which they were called and prepared for their participation in the grace of the redemption of man that was about to take place. As the most important ways and means by which God's providence prepared the pagan world for Christ, we can point to the following: I) to the remnants of primitive revelation and religion preserved among all pagan peoples; II) to the special, albeit hidden, guidance of God in the spiritual life of pagan peoples; III) on their relations with the Jews and the latter’s dissemination of the truths of the revealed religion among them and, finally, IV) on the political destinies of the ancient world. I. The truths of the primitive religion about God and especially the promise of the blessed Seed of the woman, preserved by tradition before the Flood, through Noah became the property of post-Flood humanity. True, these truths little by little lost their original purity in the pagan world, but they continued to be preserved, albeit in a distorted form, and, of course, could not help but influence the religious and moral life of the ancient world. These legends could support in the pagan world the desire to be reconciled with God, the expectation of the Deliverer and the hope through Him to regain the blissful primitive state lost through sin, and bloody sacrifices, the focus of the pagan religious cult, show that in the pagan world there was always a vivid consciousness of sinfulness and guilt before God and the need for reconciliation with Him. II. The pagan peoples were deprived of the direct revelation of God. They were left to walk their own paths in their spiritual life (Acts 14:16). However, God did not leave Himself unwitnessed (Acts 14:17) in natural revelation. In the hearts of the pagans, the lawful work always remained written, the conscience that obeyed them, proclaiming to them moral duties (Rom. 2:15). Following the suggestions of the innate idea of ​​God, especially with the guidance of the traditions of primitive religion, people could come to the true knowledge of God, which illuminated the path of life for them, and, according to the instructions of conscience, create by natural law. But they did not realize this opportunity. Paganism appeared in numerous and varied forms. At the same time, moral corruption intensified; pagan religions sanctified sin and vice. This corruption was especially evident before the appearance of the Savior in the Greco-Roman world. (Rom.1:24-32). All this was supposed to lead humanity to an experimental knowledge of the strength and depth of damage to human nature and the impossibility of uprising or revival using its own forces and means. And indeed, the pagan world finally reached through experience the consciousness of human weakness and powerlessness in the pursuit of truth and goodness, in the search for the divine. and such a consciousness can be called a precious fruit of the historical education of man, because it was capable of arousing in people a living feeling of the need for heavenly help and preparing them for the very acceptance of it. Socrates († 399 BC) and Plato († 348) already spoke about the need for a divine Mentor to enlighten humanity and direct it to the path of good (Razg. Alkiv.), and subsequently the feeling of such need should have been made and became even more vivid. And this is understandable. Philosophy, which was the leader of the pagans in spiritual life and generally tried to resolve the highest and most important questions of religion and morality, completely destroyed popular religious beliefs, declaring the gods fictions of the imagination, but in skepticism, which ended its development in the pre-Christian world, it itself had to admit its powerlessness by its own means to find the truth about God, the human soul, the purpose of human life, moral activity and afterlife. It is impossible to think that the pagan world came to the consciousness of its weakness in the search for truth and goodness and the thirst for heavenly help on its own, without the secret guidance of God. St. John the Theologian preaches the good news about God the Word: in Him is life, and life is light for man; and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend it (John 1:4–5). This gospel testifies that the Word, the Son of God, constantly leading the chosen people to the goal determined for them, was the light and leader of the mind even in the darkness of paganism, although His enlightening and guiding actions were not clearly recognized and felt. III. The providence of God led the pagan peoples to Christ both in external ways, and, above all, through constant relations and contact between pagans and Jews, as a result of which Jewish concepts, beliefs and expectations spread in the pagan world. Such relations began very early. Even the ancestor of the Jewish people, Abraham, was constantly forced by circumstances to move from place to place and get closer to different people and peoples; it was the same with Isaac and Jacob. Then the stay of the Jews in Egypt, the miracles of Moses, the wandering through the desert, marked by the actions of the omnipotence of God, the entry into the Promised Land - after that, during the time of the judges, repeated victories over the pagan peoples, as well as the enslavement of the Jews by the latter - all these events could not remain without influence on the pagans (examples of this: the entry of the Canaanite woman Raavi with her entire household into the society of Israel - Joshua 2:8–15; 6, 24; Hivites - Joshua 9; the story of the Moabite Ruth). In subsequent times, under the kings, relations between Jews and other peoples became even more constant, and especially close contact between Jews and pagans was established when the resettlement of Jews into pagan lands and their dispersion among pagan peoples began. After the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, most of the people were taken into Assyrian captivity. The captives did not return to their fatherland and remained forever in the country of captivity. Not all Jews returned from Babylonian captivity. Most of them remained in this eastern capital, and also scattered to other countries. The Jews of the Diaspora established synagogues everywhere and, like their Palestinian brothers, every Saturday they read and listened to the law of Moses and the prophets. Gentiles also flocked to the synagogues in large numbers (Acts 13:44). Before the time of the birth of Christ, Judaism even developed a special desire to spread its faith among the pagans. As a result of such zeal, the number of proselytes began to multiply (of whom those who accepted circumcision were called strangers of righteousness or the covenant, the rest - strangers of the gate) in all the pagan countries where the Jews lived. The Pharisees even undertook deliberate journeys to convert the pagans (Matthew 23:15). A special work of God's providence for the pagans was the translation of St. books of the Old Testament, from Hebrew into the then commonly used Greek language. This translation, known as the translation of the LXX interpreters (actually LXII), was made in the Ptolemaic era for the Alexandrian library (no earlier than the half of the 3rd century and no later than the half of the 2nd century BC). This event was important and salutary for the entire pagan world, to which St. the books were not available in the Hebrew original. The Holy Scriptures, translated into Greek, became accessible to all learned and inquisitive pagans (Acts 8:27–28), and, of course, greatly contributed to the spread of Jewish concepts and beliefs among the best of them. Since the time of its dispersion, Judaism exerted a religious influence on the pagan world and in general through literary means (through the so-called Sibylline books, historical and philosophical works of Jewish writers). IV. Finally, God's providence directed the pagan world to accept Christianity through its political destinies. Co outside the pagan world constantly strived to form the most extensive and powerful kingdoms in the world. The successive appearance of great monarchies in the ancient world served the great purpose of God's providence - to prepare the pagan world for Christianity. By the time of the appearance of the Savior, the entire ancient world was united under the supreme rule of Rome. The political unification of peoples in various respects could make them more receptive to Christianity and contribute to its spread. The unification, in particular, under the leadership of Rome, provided the possibility of a quick and convenient spread of Christianity in the world due to the cessation of wars and civil strife between different peoples, the spread of the Greek and Roman languages ​​and Greco-Roman culture with its fruits throughout the most remote countries of the world, improved routes of communication and generally methods of relations between peoples and similar reasons. So, the pagan world, apparently left to its own devices, was in fact just as led by God to accept and assimilate the gift of salvation, just like Israel. History confirms that by the time of the appearance of Christ the Savior, the pagan world had indeed come to a state of readiness and ability to enter the kingdom of the Messiah, especially in the main representatives of the educated pagan world - the Greeks and Romans. By that time, the pagan world had developed a living desire and expectation of higher heavenly help or a heavenly messenger to save perishing humanity - the hope of new times with a new order of things. Almost all ancient peoples had such expectations, and the peoples of the east, who were most in contact with the Jews, directly expected His coming from Judea. Under the influence of these intense expectations of “salvation from Judea,” the Eastern Magi headed their way to Jerusalem, when a special sign appeared in the sky to convince them that their cherished expectation would be fulfilled. The salvation of people, predetermined from all eternity, upon the fulfillment of the fullness of time, God deigned to accomplish through “His only begotten Son, for our sakes as men and for our salvation, who came down from heaven, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man,” that is, through our Lord I. Christ. The Lord I. Christ is the Redeemer-Messiah promised in Old Testament times and who was the hope of all peoples, for Whom humanity has been prepared for many centuries. Hence, when presenting the doctrine of God as the Accomplisher of our redemption, it is necessary to reveal the doctrine: I) about the person of I. Christ and II) about His accomplishment of the work of our redemption or salvation. I. About the face of the Lord I. Christ § 87. I. Christ is the God-man. The special importance and incomprehensibility of the dogma of the incarnation of the Son of God. A Brief History of Dogma Incarnation and becoming man of the Son of God. - The appearance of the Son of God in the flesh. – The mystery of the dogma of the incarnation of the Son of God. – A brief history of its understanding. I. The Promised Redeemer of the world, our Lord I. Christ, by His nature and dignity is the incarnate only begotten Son of God, that is, he is true God and true man, or the God-man (Θεάνθρωπος - the name of the Savior of the world, which came into use from the 4th century); in Him the Word became flesh (John 1:14), as the church teaches, the incarnation (σάρκωσίς, ένσάρκωσις, incarnatio) and incarnation (ενανθρώπησις, ενσωμάτωσις) true God. II. The dogma of the incarnation of the Son of God in the person of I. Christ for the redemption and salvation of man constitutes the basis, beginning and essence of Christianity - the stone that lies at the head of the corner (Matthew 21:42–44). The entire spiritual knowledge (or worldview) of a Christian and his entire spiritual life, all his aspirations and hopes, his very salvation, are based on faith in the Incarnation. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, except the name of the God-man (Acts 4:12). I am the way, the truth and the life. No one will come to the Father except Me (John 14:6). I. Christ is the God-man and Christianity are inseparable. At the same time, the dogma of the God-manhood of I. Christ is a most mysterious dogma. The great mystery of piety: God appeared in the flesh (1 Tim 3:14), so great and deep that it surpasses the understanding not only of man, but also of the seraphim’s minds (1 Pet 1:12). III. Due to the special importance and deep mystery of this dogma, the face of the God-man has served at all times and continues to serve as a sign of controversy (Luke 2:34), that is, the subject of wrangling, the struggle between faith and unbelief, true and false views on His face. From the very beginning, the Church had to combat false teaching regarding this dogma. In the first three centuries of Christianity, the doctrine of the deity and humanity of I. Christ was subject to distortion and denial, and from the end of the 4th century. False teachings also began to arise about the image of the union of natures in Jesus Christ. In the fight against these false teachings, the dogma about the person of Jesus Christ was revealed by the church in the definitions of faith compiled by it at the Ecumenical Councils with all the separateness and clarity possible for this mysterious dogma. The false teachings about the face of Jesus Christ that arose after the Ecumenical Councils and until now are a repetition, albeit in new forms, but in essence of ancient errors condemned by the church. 1. The doctrine of the incarnation of the Son of God for our salvation seemed a temptation to the Jews, and madness to the pagans (1 Cor 1:23). Both of them greeted the sermon about the God-Man with equal hostility. Initially, this enmity was expressed purely externally - in the persecution of Christians, and then, without stopping externally, it turned into an internal struggle - and was expressed in the form of the first distortions of Christianity, namely: the heresy of the Judaizers and Gnosticism. The Judaizing heretics taught about I. Christ that He was a simple man, born in the usual way from Joseph and Mary (the teaching of Cerinthos and the Elkesaists; only the Nazarenes recognized the miraculous birth of I. Christ). Because of His righteousness, the gifts of the Holy Spirit were poured out on Him only in greater abundance than on other people, which is why He became the Messiah and the Son of God. Hence, it was not the God-man who suffered and died for people, but a mere mortal, and His death has no special, redemptive meaning. The Gnostics, in accordance with their dualistic views, did not allow the possibility of incarnation. The highest divine principle that dwelt in I. Christ, in their general opinion, is an eon - an emanation, or outflow of the Highest Being, one of the closest and most perfect eons, which knows the unknown Father. Aeon united with I. Christ to inform people of the necessary knowledge (γνώσις) on how to free themselves from evil, and thus marked the beginning of a general restoration (the great αποκατάσταοις). Not recognizing I. Christ as a perfect God, the Gnostics did not recognize Him as a true man, for the incarnation of even and only an eon, especially the highest, is impossible, since matter is evil. The Aeon-Redeemer, they argued, appeared only in the likeness of flesh, seemed human in the person of Jesus, because otherwise he could not reveal himself to people, but in fact He was not born, did not suffer and did not die (the teachings of Saturninus), His body was heavenly, spiritual and only seemed material (the teachings of Bardesan), the human forms of His body, suffering, death are similarities to reality (the teachings of Marcion). Therefore, the Gnostic teaching about the face of Christ the Savior from ancient times received the name docetism (δοκέω - it seems). In the 3rd century. Monarchianism appeared in place of the fallen Ebionism and Gnosticism. The monarchians of the Ebionite trend (Theodotus the tanner, Theodotus the Younger, Artemon, especially Paul of Samosata) completely denied the incarnation of God in I. Christ. the work of redemption, they taught, was accomplished by the simple man Jesus of Nazareth, but only under the influence and assistance of the Divine. He was born in an extraordinary way from the Virgin and the Holy Spirit. A special divine power—Spirit, Sophia and Logos—inhabited Him and guided His entire life and activity. This power dwelling in Him imparted to Him the highest knowledge about everything that people needed to know for their salvation, which He communicated to people; with the same power He performed miracles, under its influence He achieved the highest holiness possible for man and became the Son of God, in an improper sense, however. An ordinary person suffered and died. Therefore, the suffering and death of I. Christ are not significant in the matter of salvation and redemption of people; this is the simple self-sacrifice of a great man for the sake of His great ideas and for the sake of the holy teaching He preaches. Representatives of monarchianism with a patripassian character (Praxeus, Noetus, also Beryllus and, partly, Sabellius) taught about the personal incarnation of the deity in I. Christ, but, denying the trinity of persons of the Divine and the hypostatic existence of God the Son, they said that Almighty God Himself was incarnated in Christ the Savior, that Christ the Savior by His divine nature is God the Father Himself. Hence, the sufferings of I. Christ were the sufferings of God the Father incarnate - not in the sense that the Father or the deity of the Father suffered in the proper sense, but in the sense of the compassion of the deity of the Father for the suffering of human nature in the person of I. Christ. Post tempus Pater natus, Pater passus est - this is the main position of these false teachers. With the advent of Arianism and in connection with the Arian movements, new false teachings arose about the person of Jesus Christ. The Arians taught that the Son of God is not the true and perfect God, but a created Son of God. From this it followed that in I. Christ, not God in the proper sense was incarnate, but only the created God. The incarnation of a perfect God, without humiliation of the deity, the Arians thought, is impossible, why the incarnation is proof of the non-divinity of the incarnate. In Holy Scripture, the Arians saw confirmation of their views in sayings that derogatorily speak about the Son of God. Arianism also expressed the perverted teaching about the humanity of I. Christ. Since two created and limited spiritual principles in one person are unthinkable, the Arians (especially Eunomius and his followers) argued that the Son of God, during His incarnation from human nature, took on only a body, without a rational soul, and that He Himself, having taken the place of the soul, suffered with His being and acted in this body. The evangelist's expression: The Arians understood the word flesh in a strictly literal sense. The fathers and teachers of the first four centuries in their works and at councils, denouncing and condemning the indicated errors about the person of I. Christ, revealed the provisions about the complete deity and complete humanity of Christ the Savior, explaining at the same time that for the redemption of humanity not a single deity in itself, not a single simple humanity, or some higher creation (such as the Arian Son of God) was enough; - that the only begotten Son of God, consubstantial with the Father (and not God the Father Himself) became man and in one person represented perfect God and perfect man. 2. The assertion that I. Christ is the true God and perfect man raised the question of the relationship between deity and humanity in the person of the God-man. The solution and disclosure of this difficult and mysterious question was undertaken in the 4th century. Apollinaris the Younger, bishop. Laodicean. His false teaching served as the beginning of movements in revealing the teaching about the image of the union of natures in Jesus Christ, which lasted for two and a half centuries, a transitional stage from disputes about the Holy Trinity to Christological ones. Touching upon the image of the union of natures in Christ, Apollinaris resolved this issue in accordance with his views on human nature in general and sin as its necessary accessory. He recognized man as consisting of spirit, soul and body (νους, ψυχή and σώμα). The soul and body constitute the lower, animal, sensual and passionate side of human nature, opposing the law of the mind and everything that is from God (the same as the inner life force that man has in common with animals). The highest and sovereign principle in man, governing the flesh, rational and free, distinguishing man from animals, is spirit. The true source of universal sinfulness is located in the spirit, and the body is only an accomplice, a mediator, an instrument of sin. From here Apollinaris made the following conclusions in relation to the person of the Redeemer of the world: the Son of God, the true God, entering into unity with human nature, took the place of the human mind or spirit, as a limited mind, changeable and accommodating to evil. The teaching of Apollinaris distorted the true concept of the incarnation of God and contradicted the entire faith of the church in Christ as a perfect God and a perfect man. However, despite its clearly anti-church character, it very soon acquired many followers. Therefore, as soon as it became generally known, almost simultaneously it was condemned first at local councils in Rome (under Pope Damasus, c. 378 and again in 382), Alexandria and Antioch (c. 379), and then anathematized at the Second Ecumenical Council (1st Ave.). After the conciliar condemnations, the Apollinarian society disintegrated and even completely disappeared. But excited by Apollinarianism and Arian explanations of derogatory remarks about I. Christ, the question of the union of two natures in I. Christ necessarily required a precise solution. Disputes arose until the Orthodox teaching about the face of Jesus Christ was finally approved at the VI Ecumenical Council, after the overthrow of the Nestorian, Monophysite and Monothelite heresies. Nestorianism, in order to prove the complete and perfect humanity of I. Christ, contrary to Apollinarism, with the duality of natures, also affirmed the duality of persons in I. Christ. The culprit of this false teaching was Nestorius, Archbishop. Constantinople. The essence of his teaching is this: divinity and humanity in I. Christ are not only two distinct, but also completely separate and independently existing natures. “Χωρίζω (terminating) τάς φύσεις,” said Nestorius. Between them there is no hypostatic union (‘ ενωσις καθ υπόστασιν) in one person (i.e., in one self-consciousness of the God-man), but there is only moral unity or, more precisely, just some kind of insignificant moral contact (σανάφεια, from συνάπτω - touching). I. Christ, therefore, is not the God-man, that is, a single person with duality of natures, but God and man, that is, in Him with duality of natures there are two persons. The name God-Bearer, and not God-Man, is more applicable to Him, for the Son of God only dwelt in Him, as in a church. Therefore, Nestorius denied the name Theotokos (Θεοτόκος), which the Church calls the Ever-Virgin. From Her was born not God Himself, but the clothing that was supposed to clothe the Son of God - the church in which He was to dwell. Nestorius gave the Mother of God the title of Christ Mother (Χριστοτόκος), since she gave birth to the man Christ. In Nestorianism, therefore, instead of the doctrine of incarnation (ένσάρκωσις), the doctrine of the dwelling (ένοίκησις) of the Son of God in the man Christ, that is, one person in another, appeared. Faith in the redemptive significance of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was destroyed at its very core by such teaching. If only man was humiliated and suffered, albeit of the highest righteousness, but without any participation of the deity in all this, then His humiliation and suffering cannot serve as satisfaction for the truth of God. St. spoke out in defense of Orthodoxy against Nestorianism. Cyril of Alexandria. Due to his influence, the false teaching of Nestorius was condemned at local councils (in 430) in Rome under Pope Celestine and in Alexandria under the chairmanship of Cyril himself. At the same time, he issued the message “Τού Σωτήρος” against the errors of Nestorianism, with the appendix of twelve anathematisms against Nestorius, in which he proved the true and actual union of natures in I. Christ into one living divine-human personality (ενωσις καθ ‘ υπόστασιν, μία ‘ υπόστασις). The teaching of St. Cyril about the person of I. Christ was fully accepted and approved at the Third Ecumenical Council (in 431 in Ephesus), while the false teaching of Nestorius was condemned as heretical, and he himself was deprived of the episcopal rank and excommunicated from church communion. Soon after the condemnation of Nestorianism, a new heresy appeared, opposite to Nestorianism - Monophysitism, which developed the doctrine of complete fusion (σύγχυσις) in I. Christ of divine and human nature with the absorption of the latter by the former, or otherwise - the doctrine of one divine nature (μόνη φύσις) in I. Christ. With the absorption of human nature by the deity, humanity in Christ, the Monophysites taught, lost everything characteristic of His human nature, except only the visible image, and therefore the Word itself appeared and lived in Him, under the guise of only flesh; the deity of the Word suffered, was buried and rose again. The very body of Christ was not consubstantial with us, although the Virgin Mother herself is consubstantial with us. The culprits of Monophysitism were: Eutyches, Archimandrite of Constantinople, and Dioscorus, bishop. Alexandrian. The Monophysite teaching, just like the Nestorian one, destroyed the dogma of atonement, for the Savior could only suffer for us with His humanity, and only His deity could convey the infinite price of His suffering. When united with the deity, humanity could not lose its limitations and receive divine properties, just as the transformation of divine nature into human is impossible. Therefore, the Monophysite teaching met with decisive condemnation from the Orthodox pastors of the church. For the final overthrow of Monophysitism, the V Ecumenical Council was assembled in 451. It contains the following definition of faith, explaining, as far as possible, the dogma about the person of the God-man and at the same time rejecting both the Eutychian fusion (σύγχυσις) of deity and humanity into one nature, and the Nestorian division (σχίσις) of them into two persons: “So, following St. Fathers, we all teach in agreement to confess one and the same Son, our Lord I. Christ, perfect in divinity, perfect in humanity, truly God, truly man, the same from the rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father in divinity and the same consubstantial with us in humanity, in everything like us, except for sin, born before the ages from the Father in divinity, and in the last days for our sake and for the sake of our salvation - from Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God ( της Θεοτόκου), according to humanity, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, in two natures, unfused, unchangeable, inseparably, inseparably knowable (εν δίο φύσεσιν άσυγχύτως, άτρέπτως, αδιαιρέτως, άχωρίστως γνωριζομενον), so that the connection does not in any way violate the difference between the two natures, the more the property of each nature is preserved and united into one person (είς ‘ εν πρόσωπον), into one hypostasis ( μίαν ‘ υπόστασιν), - not into two persons cut or divided, but one and the same Son, the Only Begotten, God the Word, Lord I. Christ, as in ancient times the prophets (taught) about Him and as the Lord I. Christ Himself taught us and how he conveyed to us the symbol of the fathers.” The Monophysite movements, however, did not end with the condemnation of heresy. From it monothelitism degenerated. The Monothelites argued that in Christ there is one will and one divine action; They did not recognize human will and human activity in the God-Man. As soon as the Monothelites came out openly with their false teaching, it was condemned as heretical at the local Roman Council (648), and then at the VI Ecumenical Council (680). Fathers of the VIth Ecumenical The Council determined that one must confess in Christ “two natural wills and actions (δύο φύσικαί θελήσεις και ενεργίαι), harmoniously combined with each other for the salvation of the human race.” They exist one in the other and one next to the other, without destroying each other and, however, without contradicting or disagreeing with each other, since “His human will yields, does not contradict or oppose, but submits to His divine and omnipotent will” - they exist “inseparably, unchangeably, inseparably, unmerged.” This ended the revelation and definition of the dogma about the face of Jesus Christ, which had been going on for so long in the church. A set of patristic explanations of this dogma, based on the creeds of the Universal Church, was presented by St. I. Damascene. in his “Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith” (III and IV books). 3. The appearance of false teachings about the person of Jesus Christ, however, did not stop even after the church revealed this dogma. Thus, in the Western Church (in Spain) at the end of the 8th century. A false doctrine arose known as Adoptianism. Its origin is explained as follows. In the Spanish liturgy, the adoption of human nature by the Son of God was called “adoption” (adoptio). From here they began to distinguish between the true and the adopted Son of God and came to the idea (Felix, Archbishop of Toledo, Bishop Elipandus) that Christ in humanity is only adopted (adoptivus), while in divinity he is the true Son of God. The false teaching contained hidden Nestorianism. Therefore, it was unanimously condemned at many local councils (in Gaul, Germany and Italy) and was short-lived. False teachings about the face of the God-man especially multiplied with the advent of Protestantism and modern philosophy. Protestantism (Lutheranism) itself admitted in its teaching about the face of the God-man the false (Monophysite) idea of ​​the omnipresence of the body of Christ. In the mystical sects that degenerated from Protestantism, false teachings about the flesh of Christ arose (for example, among the Quakers and Anabaptists), reminiscent of the opinions of the ancient heretics about the heavenly or spiritual body of Christ. Socinianism developed the doctrine of the face of the God-Man, which resembles heresies with an Ebionian character and direction. According to the teachings of the Socinians, I. Christ is a simple man, and not the God-man and not God in the proper sense. He can be called the Son of God and God in a figurative sense - by grace. Only a few properties and advantages that belong to Him alone elevate and distinguish Him from other people. Thus, He was born not the way other people are born, namely: God created matter that replaced the male seed, put it into the womb of the Virgin, and thus a man Jesus, similar to us in every way, was born. He is characterized by holiness and sinlessness, such as no one before or after Him had. Finally, because He humbled Himself, God endowed Him with power emanating from His very essence, extending to all created things. It was partly inherent to Him even during earthly life, but it was fully communicated after His resurrection from the dead and Ascension into heaven. Through this, God made Him a partaker of His essence, and Christ, as a result of this, is, as it were, the vicegerent of God, concentrating in his hands the entire government of the universe - he is, as it were, the true God (verus Deus), and He should be worshiped as God. Rationalism, which developed on the basis of modern philosophy, deviated even further from the truth in the doctrine of the person of the God-man. Thus, the students and followers of Hegel, who composed the so-called. The left side of the Hegelians, applying the philosophical principles of Hegel to historical Christianity, drew the image of Jesus from the point of view of idealism, or the latest docetism. The most famous and first experiment of this kind was presented by Dove. Fr. Strauss in his Life of Jesus (Das Leben Iesu, ed. 1885–1836). The entire gospel story, according to him, is a myth. The Gospels, according to Strauss, are not historical monuments, but collections of later myths and legends about Jesus Christ. Not only the miracles in them are unreliable - miracles are also impossible - but also all other content, not excluding the teaching. Evangelical I. Christ is not a real, historical Christ, but an ideal one, in which humanity’s consciousness of its identity with the Divine, or, more precisely, the world spirit at one of the stages of its development, was figuratively expressed. In the lofty image of Jesus, humanity has outlined its highest ideal for itself, and the fictional history of Christ is the ideal path of humanity itself. As for the historical Christ, little reliable can be said about Him - namely, that he was an ordinary Jew, a rabbi, who shared the beliefs and prejudices of his time and taught something, declared Himself the Messiah, brought upon Himself the hatred of the authorities and was crucified on the cross for this, but in no case was what His church represents, i.e. the incarnate Son of God. The extreme idealism of Hegelian philosophy was resolved by materialism in the person of Feuerbach (1804–1872) and his followers. The docetic views of Hegel's followers on the face of Jesus Christ were obviously untenable. It was necessary to give a new explanation, consistent from a materialistic point of view, of the person and work of Christ. In response to this demand of the time, Ern appeared. Renan with his “Life of Jesus” (Vie de Iesu, ed. 1863). For Renan I. Christ is not a semi-mythical, semi-historical person, but a definite, unique person in the whole world, before whom one cannot help but bow with reverence. But He is not a God-man, but simply a “religious genius”, similar to other religious reformers (Shak-Yamuni, Mohammed, Zoroaster, etc.), although standing above them all. Under the influence of the successes of His preaching, He imagined Himself as the Messiah and Son of God, and assured His “superstitious listeners” of this. He did not perform any miracles, although He was forced in various ways (even through “innocent” deception, as, for example, in the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus) to maintain faith in Himself as a miracle worker. He announced to people a new religion, without priesthood, without dogmas, without rituals. Its essence lies in one position: God is the Father of all people, and people are brothers among themselves. But His aspirations for the foundation of the spiritual kingdom met with opposition in the Jewish authorities, and He was crucified. In the recent history of the Western religious and intellectual movement, a new theological direction has appeared and established itself, called after its founder A. Ritschl (1822–1889) - Richlianism. The spirit and character of Richlianism’s views on the person of I. Christ can be seen in the following statements of one of the representatives of this trend (Prof. Harnack) about the personality of the Founder of Christianity: “there was a man named Jesus. Having not received any rabbinic school education, having not been influenced by either the Sadducean movement or Greek education, this man in His preaching about God revealed a power, depth and purity of spirit that was extraordinary even for a prophet. In the knowledge of God, having reached, in a mysterious, incomprehensible way for us, the consciousness of His special, personally belonging to Him alone, filial relationship to God, He began to recognize and call Himself “the Son of God.” From the consciousness of His special sonship to God, Jesus came, in a mysterious and for us again incomprehensible way, to the consciousness of His exclusive messengership to fulfill the work commanded to Him from the Father, to the consciousness of Himself as the Messiah. But even recognizing Himself as the Son of God and the Messiah, Jesus did not demand any worship for Himself. He demanded only the fulfillment of His commandments. His gospel speaks only of the Father and not of the Son.” Faith in Him as God incarnate, according to Richlianists, is a later phenomenon in the Christian church. In fact, incarnation is impossible. Before His appearance in the world, I. Christ, according to Ritschl, existed with God and in God only ideally, in His mind. The views of the newest rationalists on the face of Jesus Christ obviously align with either Ebionism or Gnosticism, although not in its pure form, but in a mixture. Strauss's mythical image of Jesus is close to the Ebionite one, and Renan's or Ritschl's Jesus also has mythical features. As for the universal faith in the Christian world in the divine humanity of the Redeemer of the world, it, according to rationalists, is not based on the true teaching of Christ the Savior; the church allegedly created, that is, invented Christ the God-Man, in other words, deified a simple, although perhaps exceptional, person in history. Erroneously, therefore, those who believe in Him recognize Him as the Founder of the Church of His name. The Church, contrary to the errors of ancient and modern times, taught and teaches that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, and that in Him two natures, divine and human, immutably united, constitute one person. § 88. Lord I. Christ is true God by nature, as the Son of God The teaching of divine Revelation about the deity of the Redeemer, the preservation of this teaching by the Church. The Lord I. Christ must be recognized and confessed as God in the proper and strictest sense, the only begotten Son of God, consubstantial with God the Father, and not adopted, like the sons of God by grace. I. The divine greatness and dignity of the Redeemer is quite clearly indicated in the Old Testament images and names of the Messiah (My Son, i.e. God, God - Elohim, Adonai, Jehovah, El gibbor, i.e. Mighty God), but is depicted in the clearest light in the New Testament, and above all in the teachings of I. Christ Himself. The assertion of rationalism is unfounded that I. Christ Himself did not teach about Himself as the Son of God by nature, equal to God the Father, did not demand divine veneration for Himself, and if He sometimes called Himself the Son of God, it was only in the sense of moral unity with the Father, and not in essence. True, when I. Christ spoke about His own person, he usually called Himself not God, but only the Son of the Father or the Son of God (for example, John 9:35; 10, 36; 11, 4; 3, 16). But in the mouth of I. Christ, applied to Himself, this name was equivalent to calling Himself the true God. This is clear from the fact that He often called Himself not just the Son of God, but the only begotten Son of God, and always distinguished Himself and others in their filial relationship to God: He never speaks of God “our Father” (with the exception of when teaching people prayer), but My Father and your Father. I. Christ directly taught that He is the Son of God in a special and exclusive sense. Yes, He spoke. that the Son has the same self-existent life as the Father: just as the Father has life in Himself, so the Son also has life in Himself (John 5:26). He is equal to God the Father: I and the Father are one (John 10:30) and He has seen Him in the form of the Father (John 14:9). He has the same power and authority as the Father: just as the Father raises the dead and lives, so the Son also lives what he wants (John 5:21). He alone knows the heavenly Father and can reveal His name to people: no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and whoever the Son wills to reveal (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22). Such words are impossible in the mouth of I. Christ, as a simple man, “Son of God” in the general sense: a simple person cannot say about himself that he knows God more than anyone else. His being with the Father and in the Father is eternal being, and not in the sense of pre-existence in the thought and foreknowledge of the Father, but personal, hypostatic being: Amen, amen, I say to you, before even Abraham was not (γενέσθαι - appeared), I am (John 8:58: sn. 1, 1-3). In prayer to the Father, He cried out: and now You, Father, glorify Me with Yourself with glory, since before You had no peace (17:5; sn. 17:21). There were cases when I. Christ testified especially decisively and clearly about His deity. This was the case, for example, near Caesarea Philippi, when St. Peter, on behalf of all the apostles, confessed Him as Christ, the Son of the living God (ό Yιός τού Θεού τού Ζώντος). Having accepted this confession, I. Christ testified that He is the true Son of God, equal to the Father. Proving His right to heal on the Sabbath (in a conversation about the healing of the paralytic - John 5), He said to the Jews: My Father works hitherto, and I work. With these words He assimilated to Himself both divine sonship and equality in power with the Father. This is how His words were understood by the Jews. Finally, Christ gave decisive testimony about Himself before His death. At the last trial, the high priest asked Him: I adjure You by the living God, that You may say to us that You are Xpucmoc, the Son of God (Matthew 26:63). Christ answered: you have confessed (verse 64), that is, your lips have confessed that I am the Son of God (I am - according to Mark 14:62). Affirming His equality with God the Father, I. Christ taught that equal worship with Him belongs to Him. Believe in God, and believe in Me (John 14:1), and faith is one of the types of worship of God (John 6:29). When I. Christ demanded faith, he demanded not just trust in His words, but namely the recognition or confession of Him as the only begotten Son of God and the true God, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish (John 3:16-18; 6, 28-29; 1 John 3:23; 4, 15), but everyone honors the Son as they honor the Father; and whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23). The apostles, teaching to confess the deity of the Son of God as the second person of the Holy Trinity (fn. § 30), testified about I. Christ that He is the true Son of God (John 20:31), God's own Son (ίδιον - Rom. 8:32), God. Yes, app. John teaches that God is the Word (Θεός ην ό Λόγος, where Θεός - without member - predicate), that the Word became flesh and is the only begotten Son of God (John 1:14). In his message, Ap. John says about I. Christ: we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us light and understanding, that we may know the true God, and that we may be in His true Son Jesus Christ. This (ούτος, i.e. Christ) is the true God and the eternal life (1 John 5:20). Ap. Paul teaches: the great mystery of godliness: God appeared in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16). One of the advantages of the Jews, according to the Apostle of the Gentiles, is that from them Christ according to the flesh, who is God above all, is blessed forever (Rom. 9:5). The apostle says about them: if they had understood, they had not crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). V I. In Christ lives (κατοικεί - constantly dwells) every fulfillment of the Divinity (πάρ τό πλήρωμα τής Θεότητος, - all the fullness of the divine nature, and not just divinity, or the divine principle) bodily ( σωματικώς - and in the body itself), that is, just as the soul dwells in our body, so the deity dwells in I. Christ, essentially uniting not only with the spiritual, but also with His bodily nature (Col. 2:9). The same apostle speaks of I. Christ: He who was in the image of God, not being equal to God by admiration, but diminished in Himself, took on the form of a servant (2:5-7). Finally, the apostles teach that I. Christ should be given divine worship. The duty of reverence to Him in their writings is depicted as generally known, and where it is directly stated in their epistles about the worship of Jesus Christ, there is a definition of God about the worship of angels to the Lord Jesus, for example, in the last. to the Jews: when he again introduces the First Begotten into the universe, he says: and let all the angels of God worship Him (Heb. 1:6), or it is indicated that it is fitting for Him to render divine worship not only because of His divine dignity, as the only begotten of the Father, but also because He humbled Himself, being obedient even to the point of death, the death of the cross, which is why His God exalt and give Him a name above every name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Phil. 2:8-11; cf. Heb. 2:9). And the apostles themselves called on the name of the Lord Jesus as the true God (Acts 1:24; 7, 59–60, 22, 16; Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 12:8, etc.). II. The Church has at all times confessed and continues to confess the Lord and Savior I. Christ as the only begotten Son of God and true God. The faith of the church in Christ God is briefly stated, preserved and offered to all its members in the symbol of Nicene-Constantinople. Such was the faith of the church in the deity of Jesus Christ even before the Council of Nicea. It is clearly expressed in short confessions of faith at baptism (symbols of local churches), short doxologies, which were in great use in the ancient church, in sacred rites (especially baptism and the Eucharist), in festivals and sacred times, in the denunciation and excommunication at councils of heretics who rejected the deity of the Redeemer - in general, in the entire life of the ancient church. The confession of this faith is inscribed on the tablets of history with the blood of countless martyrs for the name of Christ. The martyrs were inspired by the thought that they were suffering for God, who Himself suffered for them, suffering like God, who suffered for them and promised “victorious crowns” to His imitators. Even the enemies of Christianity, Jews and pagans, knew that Christians honor Christ “as God,” sing songs to Him “as God,” recognize Him as the “second God,” that is, they confess Him to be God incarnate. III. To the question of why it was the Son of God who was incarnated to accomplish the work of our salvation, and not the Father and not the Holy Spirit, revelation does not give a completely direct answer, but some guiding data for understanding this mystery of the Divine are found in it. It makes it clear that the Son of God has a mediating activity in the history of revelation: He is portrayed in Scripture as the Word of the Father, through whom all things came into being (John 1:3; cf. 10; Proverbs 8ff.). In the further history of the world, through Him the life emanating from the Father is poured into the world; He is the source of divine light for humanity, the source of true knowledge of God and communication with Him (John 1:4). The promises and types of the Old Testament, the law and the prophets - all these were acts of salvation, provided by the Son of God through the Prophetic Spirit. From Him emanated rays of light, shining even in the darkness of paganism (John 1:5). Passing in this way through the entire history of the world, this activity of the Son of God as the Savior should have ended upon the fulfillment of the fullness of time with such an action in which the idea of ​​salvation would find its full implementation, i.e., an action through which humanity would be elevated to its original state of complete communion with God. Such a final act was the incarnation of the Son of God so that He could complete the work of redemption. Of the ancient teachers of the church, the most detailed in this sense clarified the reasons for the incarnation of the Son of God, St. Afanasy V. in the word “On the incarnation of God the Word and His coming to us in the flesh.” The incarnation of God the Word is also in accordance with His hypostatic property as the Son: “The Father is the Father, and not the Son,” said I. Damascene. ; – The Son is the Son, not the Father; The Holy Spirit is Spirit, and not the Father, nor is it the Son. For the property is motionless... Therefore, the Son of God becomes the Son of man so that the property remains motionless. For, being the Son of God, He became the Son of man, having become incarnate from the Holy Virgin and not being deprived of the filial property” (Exact edition of the book IV, 4). § 89. I. Christ is a true man Divine Revelation about the human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. Preservation of this teaching by the Church. I. Being the true God, I. Christ is at the same time a perfect man, consubstantial and similar to us in everything, except for sin. The Creed teaches us to confess Jesus Christ as God incarnate (οαρκωκθέντα) and incarnate (ένανθρωπήσαντα), i.e., having accepted the integral human nature with all the fullness of its component parts and powers. Thus, that is, not only God, but also man, I. Christ is portrayed both in the Gospels and throughout the Scriptures of the New Testament. Thus, His birth followed after the usual time of pregnancy (Luke 2:6). After completing eight days from birth, He was circumcised (Luke 2:21), and after the days of purification of his mother’s body, he was brought to the church to be dedicated to the Lord (Luke 2:22). About His later life, the evangelist notes: as a child he grew stronger and stronger in spirit... and man abounded in wisdom and stature and grace with God (Luke 2:40, 52). In general, everyone saw in Him the Son of Man, similar to others, and He never encountered the need to certify anyone of the truth of His humanity. In particular, revelation assimilates to Him a human body - not angelic, not ghostly, not similar only to a human one, but entirely human in everything. Ev. John testifies of the Son of God: The Word became flesh and dwelt in us (1:14). He writes: every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God; and this one is the Antichrist (1 John 4:3; cf. 2 John 7). According to the ap. Paul: since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, and He has sincerely partaken of the same (σαρκός και αϊματος) He does not receive from an angel, but from the seed of Abraham he receives (Heb. 2:16; cf. 2 Cor. 4:11; Rom. 1:3; 9, 5). The body of I. Christ is presented in Holy Scripture as having its usual components: head (Matthew 27:29–30), arms and legs (John 12:3), fingers (8, 6), legs (19, 33), as well as its natural properties. Thus, it was subject to fatigue (John 4:6), required rest and sleep (Mark 4:38; Luke 8:23), had a need for food and drink (Matthew 4:2; Luke 4, etc.), was capable of pain and suffering (Luke 22:41–44; John 19:34–35, etc.), and upon death was buried ( Mark 15:46; Matthew 27:50–61, etc.). Thus, Scripture places above all doubt the reality of the incarnation (ένσάρκωσις) of the Son of God and shows that the incarnation of the Son of God cannot be understood in the same way as the epiphanies (theophany) in the Old Testament, or the appearance of angels in human form, are understood, for the visible form of these phenomena was illusory. The truly human soul (ψυχή and πνεύμα) is also assimilated to I. Christ. Thus, before the onset of the suffering of the cross, the Lord said to His disciples: My soul is sorrowful (ή ψυχή Μού) until death (Matthew 26:38), and at the moment of death he cried out to His Father: Father, in Your hands I commit My spirit (το πνεύμα Μού - Luke 23:46). The soul of I. Christ is presented with the powers belonging to the human soul and their characteristic manifestations. Thus, the evangelist’s remark that Jesus excelled in wisdom gives the idea that in Christ the human mind and in close union with the deity was gradually filled with wisdom and knowledge. In a similar way, the human will is assimilated to Christ. He Himself, in prayer to the Father, expressed the desire of human will: My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me: not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39; Luke 22; 42; cf. Heb. 5:7). We are talking about I. Christ that He was troubled in spirit (John 11:33; 12, 27; 13, 21), grieved and anguished at the thought of suffering and death (Matthew 26:37–38; Luke 22:42–45), grieved over the people who, listening to Him for several days, did not eat food (Mark 8:2), rejoiced when they saw the manifestation of the glory of God in men ( Luke 10:21; John 11:15), regretted Judas, the child of destruction (John 13:21), expressed special love for children and indignation at those who forbade them to approach Him (Mark 10:13–16), etc. II. The Church has invariably rejected and rejects teachings that recognize Jesus Christ as not being of the same essence with us in terms of humanity - in body or soul. The ancient church fathers, in their explanations of this dogma, showed that the very purpose of the incarnation of the Son of God required His acceptance of full and perfect humanity. They taught that He could fulfill His ministry as an Intercessor or Mediator (Μεσίτης - 1 Tim 2:5) between God and people, only by becoming a true man. “The mediator,” says Chrysostom, “must be related to both in order to be a mediator to him. If He has only an affinity with one and not with others, then He cannot be a mediator... Being only a man, He would not be a mediator; for the mediator must be in closest relation to God. Being only God, He would also not be a mediator; for those for whom He mediates could not approach Him.” (On 1 Tim. Bes. VII, 2). Based on this concept of Christ as the Mediator, who in His person was to restore and heal all human nature, the ancient teachers argued that He Himself had to perceive it in its entirety. “What is not received is not healed; but what is united with God is saved,” said Gregory V. in denouncing the false teachings of Apollinaris. “He (the Redeemer) needed both flesh for the sake of the condemned flesh and the soul for the sake of the soul, and the mind for the sake of the mind, which in Adam not only fell, but, as doctors say about diseases, was the first to be struck” (To Kledonius, 1 last). From this we can see why for a Christian the confession of the full and perfect humanity of Christ is just as necessary as the confession of His divinity. If His humanity is illusory, “then,” as I. Damascene said, “the sacrament of economy was a lie and deception”; if the Son of God “apparently only, and not in truth, became man, then we are saved in a ghostly way, and not in truth” (Accurate ex. pr. v. III, 6). Being a perfect man and of the same nature as us, I. Christ, however, differs in His humanity from all people in some significant advantages: 1) He was born not in the same way as all people are born, but in a supernatural way; 2) He is a sinless man. § 90. Supernatural birth of I. Christ Predictions about the extraordinary birth of the Savior. - The Gospel story about him. – Preservation by the Church of the dogma of the supernatural birth of Jesus Christ. The origin of the Redeemer of the world could not have been accomplished by the order of natural birth. Through the ordinary birth of a person, people infected with sin necessarily come from a person. But sin must be alien to the nature of the Redeemer from the very beginning. A Redeemer born from sinful lust is a contradictory concept in itself. Human nature, infected by sin, could not be accepted into hypostatic unity by God the Word. Therefore, His birth must have had a miraculous character, due to which the connection with sin, transmitted according to the law of natural birth, was severed. So it was in reality: He was born “of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.” I. Predictions of the extraordinary origin of the Messiah are found in the Old Testament. It was also said to the first parents: The seed of the woman (and not the husband) will crush the head of the serpent. Ave. Isaiah foretold: behold, the Virgin (ha-alma, ή παρθένος) will conceive in her womb and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel (7, 14). In the Gospel descriptions (in St. Luke and Matthew) of the circumstances of the birth of I. Christ, it is directly depicted that His birth was accomplished by the power and influx of the Holy Spirit onto the Blessed Virgin. Archangel Gabriel, preaching the good news of the birth of Jesus to the Virgin, betrothed to her husband (Luke 1:26–38), says to Her: for you have found grace with God. And behold, you conceived in your womb, and gave birth to a Son, and called His name Jesus (verses 30–31). Mary was troubled by his words, and she spoke to the angel: How will this happen if I don’t know my husband (‘ άνδρα ού γιγνώσκω)? Ού γιγνώσκω - I don’t know expresses a state not only in the present, but also in the past and future. I don’t know ‘ άνδρα (and not τόν άνδρα or τόν ‘ άνδρα μου), that is, I don’t know not only Joseph’s husband, but I don’t know any husband in general ( γιγνώσκω – in the meaning of Gen. 19:8; Judges 11, 3; Numbers 31 – I have not known my husband), I don’t know now, I will never recognize him (obviously, as tradition testifies, due to a vow of virginity). In response to this, the angel revealed to Her the greatest secret: the Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; In the same way, that which is to be holy will be called the Son of God (v. 35). The image of angelic speech has a close resemblance to the description of the action of the Spirit of God at the beginning of creation, when He hovered life-giving over the primordial substance of the world. This action, according to the archangel, will replace the participation of the husband at the birth of the Son of the Most High - Jesus; therefore, He is the Son who will be born of a woman without a husband, by the influx of the Holy Spirit, by the power of the Most High, which is why He will be the Son of the Most High (according to His humanity). The same mystery is affirmed in the gospel to Joseph about the birth of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 1:18–25). The Evangelist narrates: Mary Joseph, who was betrothed to His Mother, had never even dreamed of her before ( πρίν ή συνελθείν αυτούς - before they began to live together, that is, in the same house), having been found rich in the womb of the Holy Spirit (v. 18). “A storm of doubtful thoughts,” as the church song puts it, arose in the soul of the righteous elder Joseph, who did not know the secret, when he noticed the positive signs of pregnancy of the Virgin betrothed to him. And when he, not wanting to reprove Her, wanted to let Yu go, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Do not be afraid to receive Miriam your wife: what was born in Her (το έν Αύτη γεννηθέν - that is, that which received conception in Her - the fruit that is in Her) from the Spirit is Holy. She will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus: For He will save His people from their sins. In explanation of such an extraordinary birth, the evangelist notes: all this happened, that what was spoken from the Lord by the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: behold, a virgin shall receive with child... Joseph, obedient to the command of the angel, took his wife, and without knowing her, he gave birth to his firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. That Joseph did not take part in the birth of Jesus is shown by the evangelists in their genealogies of I. Christ. Yes, ev. Matthew expresses himself differently about the birth of I. Christ than about the birth of His ancestors according to humanity. He talks about the latter. Abraham gave birth to (έγέννησε) Isaac, Isaac gave birth to Jacob, Jacob gave birth to Judah, etc., but about the birth of I. Christ he does not say: “Jacob gave birth to Joseph, Joseph, the husband of Mary, gave birth to Jesus, the spoken Christ,” as one would expect from the previous one, but says: Jacob gave birth to Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her was born ( έγεννήθη) Jesus, the verb Christ (Matthew 1:16). By this change at the end of the genealogy of the usual method of listing the forebears of Jesus, the evangelist clearly shows that only Mary alone stands in direct relation to Christ, as His Mother, and that Joseph, Her husband, had no part in His birth. A similar feature is remarkable in the genealogy given in Ev. Luke: and (Jesus) was supposedly (ώς ενομίζετο - as they thought, believed) the son of Joseph, and the genealogy of Jesus ended with the words: Adam, God (τού Θεού). II. The supernatural nature of the birth of Jesus Christ is rejected by various kinds of rationalists and pantheists of both ancient and modern times. The common basis for such denial is for them the miraculousness of this event and its incomprehensibility for reason. The reason, of course, is not sufficient. For the human mind, the origin of every human life is a mystery. The laws of nature in general, and in particular the laws concerning the propagation of the human race through birth, are established by the living and personal God, and He has the power to change them according to the purposes of His gracious kingdom. To think otherwise would be to recognize the natural order as superior to God and to deny His omnipotence. Not wanting to see in I. Christ anything more than the son of Joseph, rationalists think of finding in Scripture itself evidence of the natural origin of I. Christ. It is pointed out that in the Gospels I. Christ appears everywhere as the son of Joseph and Mary: this is how His compatriots and the entire Jewish people knew Him (John 6:42; 7, 27; Matt. 12:17); His brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5), which would have been impossible if they had recognized His birth as miraculous. The Virgin herself calls Joseph His father (Luke 2:48). Neither I. Christ Himself, nor His Mother, nor the disciples ever made an attempt to prove His divinity by pointing to a supernatural birth and to refute the general opinion. The Virgin Mary herself kept silent to Joseph about His miraculous conception. But all these objections to the supernatural nature of the birth of Jesus Christ cannot be considered valid. Unbelieving contemporaries of I. Christ could and did call Him the son of Joseph because legally He really was the “son” of Joseph, just as Joseph himself could legally be called the “husband” of Mary (Matthew 1:16, 19). Joseph was betrothed to Mary, and betrothal, according to Jewish law (Deut. 22:23–24), was considered tantamount to marriage. Jesus lived in Joseph's house and enjoyed his fatherly care. Given the unknown mystery of His birth, they could not call Him anything other than the son of Joseph. Likewise, Mary herself, when she said: “Your father (Joseph) and I,” said so because this was the only possible way she could talk to her Son about Joseph in the presence of others and during the years of I. Christ’s adolescence. It was neither possible nor necessary for the Mother of Jesus, nor for Himself, nor for His disciples to divulge this event, for the Jews were not yet mature enough to understand this miracle, and unbelief could make the very secret of birth a subject of slander. Therefore, I. Christ, as well as His disciples, referred to the more obvious - to His miracles - as proof of the divinity of Christ. This same secrecy of events is the reason for the silence about the secret of conception on the part of Mary before Joseph (Zlat. on Matthew. Imp. IV, 4). For the same reason, His brothers (not the children of the Virgin Mary) might not have known about the secret of the birth of Jesus. In general, we must remember that ordinary methods of human understanding are not applicable to such extraordinary events as the miracle of the birth of the Savior described by the evangelists. Neither Scripture nor Tradition tells us enough data to lift the veil that hides this secret from us. § 91. Sinlessness of Jesus Christ Immaculate Conception of the Savior. - His personal sinlessness. – This is what distinguishes Him from all other people. Lord I. Christ is a sinless man. He is free from the hereditary and common sinful damage to all descendants of Adam in soul and body, although he received from the Virgin Mary our entire nature with all its infirmities. He did not commit any personal sin. Therefore, although He is “like us in everything,” “except for sin.” I. I. Christ borrowed His humanity, although from a human daughter, who, by natural descent from parents, participated in original sin, but was born from Her by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore was born pure and immaculate. The influx of the Holy Spirit prepurified and sanctified the bowels of the Blessed Virgin for the perception of God the Word; Without this grace-filled action, not only His sinless incarnation as man is unthinkable, but also that the Virgin would be worthy to receive the Son of God. As a result of this pre-purifying and sanctifying substance for the flesh and blood of the Son of God, the action of the Spirit of God and the fruit of the womb of the sanctified Mother was purest and most perfect: in the same way, the holy thing to be born (το γεννώμενον Ἁγιον - the Holy thing to be born) will be called the Son of God, i.e. e. He who is born holy, without blemish (John 1:13; 3, 6), by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will be called the Son of God. II. With freedom from original sin, revelation assimilates to Christ complete and complete personal sinlessness. Sinlessness of this kind should be understood not only in the sense of the moral superiority of I. Christ over all people who have ever lived (the extraordinary moral height of I. Christ is also recognized by rationalists, who however reject His sinlessness), but also in the fact that I. Christ in all of His life did not commit a sinful act, and is free from any hidden sinfulness, or internal (sensual and spiritual) sinful movement of His human nature. Evidence of the perfect sinlessness of I. Christ is the miraculous image of I. Christ drawn by the evangelists. But in the writings of self-witnesses and servants of the Word there is also a lot of evidence in which the perfect sinlessness of I. Christ is directly affirmed. Thus, I. Christ Himself, not fearing the reproof of even His bitter enemies, openly asked them: who of you will convict Me of sin (αμαρτίας - John 8:46). Before His suffering on the cross He said: the prince of this world is coming, and in Me he will have nothing (John 14:30). Commanding each of His followers to pray to the Father: forgive us our debts (i.e., sins) and calling everyone to repentance, He alone did not ask for the forgiveness of His sins, and yet it is in the holiest people of all times that the consciousness of sin manifests itself especially strongly (1 John 1:8, 10). All this shows that I. Christ recognized Himself as sinless. His testimony of His sinlessness is especially powerful both because the inner world of a person is known only to the person himself, and because it is impossible to admit either self-delusion or deception in His self-testimony. Those close to Him - John the Baptist and the apostles - testify to the sinlessness of I. Christ. John testified about Jesus: Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), meaning Isaiah’s prophecy about Him: Because you will not commit iniquity, flattery is found in His mouth; I was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities (Is. 53:9, 5). The conviction of the sinlessness of Jesus Christ was common to all the apostles. They recognized Him as such even during His earthly life. After a wonderful catch of fish, ap. Peter, on behalf of all of them, said: Depart from Me, for I am a sinner (Luke 5:8). But with particular clarity they testified to the sinlessness of Jesus Christ upon His ascension to heaven. Ap. Peter calls Him the spotless and most pure Lamb (1 Pet 1:19), and teaching us to imitate His example, testifies of Him: Christ did not commit sin, lest flattery be found in His mouth (1 Pet 2:12), that Christ alone suffered for our sins, the righteous for the unjust (1 Pet 3:18; cf. Acts 3:14). Ap. Paul teaches that His, i.e. I. Christ, who knew no sin, God made sin for us (a sacrifice for sin), that we might be the righteousness of God (righteous before God) in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Finally, His enemies themselves recognize Him as a sinless saint. Judas the traitor, tormented by reproaches of conscience, said: I sinned by passing on innocent blood (Matthew 27:4). Pilate confesses out loud to the whole people: I find no guilt in this man (Luke 23:4); I am innocent from the blood of this righteous man (Matthew 27:24); his wife trembles with terrible torment for the blood of the righteous (Matthew 27:19). The centurion, standing guard at the cross and amazed by the signs that accompanied the death of the Savior, confesses: truly this man was righteous (Luke 23:47). Even the Jews themselves, who watched Him in order to accuse Him of anything, not blinded by a sense of partiality, found no faults in Him, except pathetic accusations of non-observance of the tradition of the elders. At trial they resorted to perjury. Even the Pharisees expressed an involuntary recognition of His sinlessness when, tempting Jesus, they said to Him: We know that you are true, and have truly taught the way of God, and do not care about anyone, for you do not see the face of man (Matthew 22:16). And in general, the idea of ​​any moral impurity or vice is not reconciled with His name. Such perfect sinlessness of I. Christ, which is not at all characteristic of people in their present state (Rom. 5:12; 1 John 1:8), constitutes the greatest miracle in the moral order of the world. It is possible to partially comprehend this miracle only with faith in the mysteries of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ and the hypostatic union of humanity with divinity in Him. § 92. I. Christ the God-man is one person The One Person of our Lord Jesus Christ is the hypostasis of the Son of God. – Hypostasis of human nature into the divine Person of the Son of God. – Divine Revelation about the one Person of the Savior. – Preservation by the Church of the dogma of the one Person of the Savior. The Church teaches us to confess in Christ Jesus, with two natures, one person or hypostasis, namely the hypostasis of the Son of God, who assumed the human hypostasis into the unity of His divine hypostasis. “We believe,” say the Eastern Patriarchs, “that the Son of God, our Lord I. Christ,... took upon Himself in His own hypostasis human flesh, conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary from the Holy Spirit, and became man” (Post. Eastern Patriarch 7). This means that despite the actual difference between deity and humanity, with their corresponding properties and activities, in Christ Jesus there is a single person of God the Word (one Self), individually conscious of Himself in the duality of natures and governing all the phenomena and manifestations of the life of the God-man. Human nature did not receive an independent hypostasis, separate from the hypostasis of God the Word, but in it, that is, the divine hypostasis, having received the hypostasis, it became accepted into the hypostasis of God the Word. As a result of this, all actions and states of human nature in I. Christ are in the proper sense belonging to God the Word who received it. acting in it and through it, as through His own organ, and therefore imprinted with divine character. The teachings of I. Christ and the apostles provide solid grounds for such an idea of ​​the unity of natures in Christ Jesus. Of the many testimonies of the Savior, we will cite some to confirm and explain this. He departed from the Father and came into the world; And again I leave the world and go to the Father (John 16:28), - said I. Christ in a farewell conversation with his disciples. Of course, He spoke about Himself, not as a person. He, as a divine person, as the only begotten Son of God, calls His coming into the world His incarnation. And after the perception of human nature, He did not cease to be one and the same divine person, for, both living as the Son of man and leaving the world, He presents Himself as an eternal person, the eternal Son of God, as He previously confessed, saying: no one ascended into heaven, except the Son of man who came down from heaven, who is in heaven (John 3:13; fn. vv. 14-17). Approaching suffering, He prayed to the Father: and now You, Father, glorify Me with Yourself with glory, since before You there was no peace (John 17:5; fn. 6-8 vv.). The Eternal One said this, and the Eternal One, without a doubt, is the face of God and has eternal glory. If He prayed for glorification, it was not otherwise than according to the humanity He perceived. But this is also asked by the same person of the eternal Son of God and refers to the same person. The consequence is direct: human nature abides inseparably with the divine nature in the one person of Christ the God-man. The same conclusion follows from His testimony about Himself before the Jews; Before even Abraham did not exist, I am (John 8:58; fn. 12–59 vv.; 10, 11–18). With these words, I. Christ assimilates to Himself, as a single person, both eternal divine existence and human existence in the world. The apostles also clearly expressed the truth of the union of natures in the one person of the Son of God. The Apostle Peter, even during the earthly life of I. Christ, confessed Him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). The Apostle does not say: in You is the Son of the living God, but: You are the Son of the living God. This shows that with the God-enlightened eyes of faith he saw in Jesus Christ the divine face, the face of the Son of God made man, although with his bodily eyes at that time only the Son of Man was visible to him, talking with His disciples. Ap. Paul, pointing to the highest example of humility, which Christians should imitate, in the person of I. Christ, says about Him: He who was in the form of God, was not equal to God by admiration, but made Himself lesser, receiving the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of mankind, and being found in the likeness of man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross (Philip 2, 6–8). According to the clear thought of the apostle, the same one who is in the image of God, who did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, humiliated himself, taking on the form of a slave, becoming in appearance and in all his life like a man - the same one humbled himself, becoming obedient even to death; therefore, even by His acceptance of humanity and humiliation to the point of death on the cross, He did not cease to be the same divine person that He was before His self-humiliation. and from here it follows that in Christ there are not two persons, but one - the Son of God took on human nature into His single personality. II. Since ancient times, an objection has been raised against the teaching of the church about the union of divinity and humanity in the single hypostasis of the Son of God that this teaching affirms or presupposes the impersonality of the humanity of I. Christ, which is unacceptable, because the being or nature in actual existence is inseparable from the hypostasis or person; Where there is nature, there must be a face. In response to this objection, St. I. Damascene. gives the following explanation: “although there is no nature without hypostasis and there is no essence without persons, since essence and nature are mentally represented in hypostases and persons: however, there is no need for natures connected with each other hypostasis to each have their own hypostasis. For it is possible that natures united into one hypostasis are not without hypostasis and do not each have a special hypostasis, but one and the same hypostasis. One and the same hypostasis of the Word, having become a hypostasis of two natures, does not allow either of them to be hypostatic (άνυπόστατος), nor does it allow them to be different hypostases among themselves; and is not a hypostasis of one nature or another, but always remains a hypostasis of both natures, inseparably and inseparably” (Accurate ex. c. III, 9). Thus, church teaching does not at all presuppose the complete impersonality of the humanity of I. Christ, and hence the assertion that there is an incongruity in the church’s teaching about the hypostatic union of natures in the person of the God-man has no force. § 93. The image and consequences of the union of two natures in the single person of the God-man The lack of fusion of this connection. – Immutability of natures in this connection. - Their inseparability. - Their inseparability. – Duality of wills and duality of actions in Christ. – Communication of properties. - Deification of humanity. – The Lord Jesus Christ has one undivided worship. – A note on the Latin cult of the heart of Jesus. I. Divinity and humanity, and after their union in the one person of the incarnate God of the Word, however, do not cease to be two different natures. The Church teaches that the two natures in I. Christ are united, on the one hand, inseparably and unchangeably, and on the other, inseparably and inseparably. 1. The two natures in I. Christ are united unmerged (άσυγχύτως), or unmixed. This means that deity and humanity did not mix with each other in the single person of the God-man so that some new nature of half-God - half-man was formed from them, but remain intact - united invariably (άτρίπτως), or immutably, i.e. neither the divine nature changed into the human, nor the human was transformed into the divine, but both remain perfect: the deity remains in possession of divine properties without any transformation, or diminution, or weakening, and humanity immutably retains truly human properties (see Right Confession, answer to question 38). Miracles, omniscience and in general everything that is above human nature belong to His divine nature; to humanity - sorrow, suffering, and everything else that is unusual for the essence of God. 2. The two natures are united in I. Christ inseparably and inseparably. Indivisible (αδιαιρέτος) - this means that deity and humanity do not form two isolated from each other, placed next to only parts, or, what is the same, do not form two persons united only morally (as Nestorius taught), but constitute a single person, the person of God the Word, who hypostatically united human nature with Himself from the time of His conception in the flesh. Having become in the incarnation the Son of God's own, humanity, since the incarnation of God the Word, has no longer been separated and will never be separated from the deity of the Son of God: it is united with him inseparably (άχορίστως) for all eternity: their union is continuous. The union of divinity and humanity in I. Christ did not follow at any other time, but at the very moment of conception human nature was received into the personality of the Divine (Prov. Confession 38). St. Isaiah also predicted that the Virgin would conceive and give birth to a Son, Whose actual name is Immanuel - God with men, God in our human nature. She herself is called the Mother of the Lord (Luke 1:43). According to Ap. Paul, God sent His Son, born of a woman (Gal.4:4) 48. This union was not dissolved not only throughout his earthly life, but also in the very death of I. Christ (Rev. Spanish 46), which is why Scripture says that the Jews crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8), that the Lord God acquired the church with His blood (Acts 20:28), that we, once and for all, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (Rom. 5:10). According to St. Damascus, “although Christ died as a man, and His holy soul was separated from his most pure body, yet the deity remained inseparable from both, that is, from soul and body” (Ill. c. III, 27). Finally, this union will continue forever, and the second person of the Holy Trinity will be eternally united with the flesh. According to the testimony of revelation, He was resurrected by His flesh, in which He appeared to the disciples, in the flesh He ascended into heaven as the Son of man (John 6:62; Luke 24:50–55), He will appear in the flesh to judge the living and the dead: this Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him going into heaven (Acts 1:11), the angels said to His disciples when the ascension of the Savior; and He himself announced: when the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory (Matthew 25:31). Consequently, even now, sitting at the right hand of the Father, He abides with human nature. With this same nature He will remain forever. II. The most particular disclosure of the dogma about the union of natures in a single hypostasis of God the Word is given in the doctrine of the so-called. consequences of the hypostatic union of natures in Christ in relation to Himself. Some of them more specifically explain the concept of an unmerged and unchangeable union of natures, while others explain the concept of an inseparable and inseparable union. 1. The consequences of the unchanging presence in Christ of both divine and human nature are: duality of wills and duality of actions in Christ. Revelation directly testifies to two wills in Christ. So, before suffering, the Savior prayed: Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; Moreover, not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39); not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42). Another time He confessed: I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 6:38). Distinguishing in both of these cases His will from the will of the Father and subordinating the former to the latter, the Lord Jesus pointed, without a doubt, to His human will, because His will, as the Son of God, is not different from the will of the Father, but one and the same with it. The Church approved the dogma of two wills in Jesus Christ at the VIth Ecumenical Council against the Monothelites. It seemed to the Monothelites that if there is one person in I. Christ, then they must recognize in Him one will. The ancient teachers of the church, denouncing the false teaching of the Monothelites, explained that the will most closely belongs to nature, why in Christ there are two “natural wills,” but only one who desires and acts in both natures, as the bearer and possessor of both natures. “Since there are two natures in Christ,” says St. I. Damascene, then we affirm that in Him there are two natural wills and two natural actions. But since His two natures constitute one hypostasis, we say that one and the same desires and acts naturally.” And again: “since Christ is one and His hypostasis is one, then he who wills both divinely and humanly is one and the same” (Accurate ex. c. III, 14). The recognition of two natural wills presupposes the recognition in Jesus Christ of two natural actions (ενέργεια) with the unity (similar to the doctrine of the duality of wills) of the actor and the action itself. “We don’t say,” argues St. I. Damascene, - that in Christ the actions are separate, and the natures act separately from one another, but we affirm that each of them together with the other, with the participation of the other, produces what is characteristic of it. For I. Christ did not perform human deeds as if he were just a man, because he was not just a man; and divine deeds were not just God, because there was not just God, but God and man together.” This concept of the image of the manifestation in I. Christ of two natural actions in ancient times was sometimes designated by the expression - godly action. As a likeness that can somewhat clarify the mystery of this action, St. I. Damascene. indicates the mode of action of a red-hot sword, in which both iron retains the natural power to cut, and fire to burn, however, “due to the combination of iron and fire, neither burning can be without cutting, nor cutting without burning.” Likewise, “in Christ the actions of divinity and humanity are different, but in godly action they are inseparable from one another” (Exact. Ill. c. III, 15, 19). 2. The consequences that primarily explain the concept of the inseparability and inseparability of the union of natures in the person of the God-Man are: the communion of properties, the deification of human nature and the inseparable worship of I. Christ in divinity and humanity. The communion of properties (κοινωνία ιδιωμάτων, communicatio idiomatum) of divine and human in the person of the God-Man consists in the fact that I. Christ, due to the unity of hypostasis, as God, is assimilated names, properties and actions that belong to Him according to humanity, and vice versa - as a person, names, properties and actions belonging to Him by divinity. In Scripture, divine names and properties are often attributed to Him as a man, for example, it says: Christ, who came from the Jews in the flesh, is God above all (Rom. 5:5; cf. John 20:28; Matt. 16:16; 2 Tim. 2:8); no one ascended into heaven, except the Son of man who came down from heaven, who is in heaven (John 3:13; sn. 5, 18; 6, 62); the second person is the Lord from heaven (1 Cor. 15:47) and many others. etc.. and vice versa, what is often characteristic of man in Christ is attributed to Him as to God, for example: the Lord God acquired the church with His blood (Acts 20:28); the Jews killed the Author of life (3, 5), crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8); we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (Rom. 5:10; cn. 8, 32; Gal. 2:20), etc. The communication of properties, however, should not be understood in such a way that the properties of one nature become the properties of another. Natures are united inextricably and immutably, which is why each retains its properties: deity - infinity, humanity - limitation. The communication of properties takes place only in the case when the natures are considered as inseparably united in the single personality of I. Christ (in concreto), and not separately from one another, abstracted from the person of I. Christ (in abstracto). The deification of humanity in I. Christ consists not only in the fact that the human nature of I. Christ, from the union with the deity, has partaken of divine properties, has been enriched with all wisdom, grace, life-giving power - everything that is capable of receiving, but also in the fact that, as a result of his perception by the Son of God into an inseparable and inseparable personal unity with Himself, it has been elevated in the person of I. Christ to the height of divinity, and coexists with Him everywhere and forever and ever, accepted into the communion of eternal power and strength and became “one with God and God” (Damascene Exact. Ill. c. III, 17). Deification is, therefore, nothing other than the other, reverse side of incarnation. That God became man is expressed by the word “incarnation.” But “if God became man,” then “man,” in turn, “became one with God and God”—by hypostatic union; the latter is designated by the word “deification.” In relation to humanity, which belongs to I. Christ, this glorification and deification must be understood in an individual sense (in concreto), and in a generic sense (in abstracto) in I. Christ deified not only His humanity, but also ours, for Jesus Christ is a true and perfect man, consubstantial with us. I. Christ belongs to one indivisible worship according to divinity and humanity, as one person, God in the flesh. “One is Christ,” says Damascene, “a perfect God and a perfect man. We worship Him, as well as the Father and the Spirit, in one worship with His most pure flesh” (Accurate ex. c. III, 8). Latin cult of the heart of Jesus. – The Roman Church added to the general church teaching about the worship of Jesus Christ with one and only worship, as the Word incarnate, a private teaching about the worship of His humanity and even a part of His body, namely the heart, in abstraction from the person of the whole God-man. Serving the Heart of Jesus or the so-called. The “cult of the heart of Jesus” appeared in the Roman Church relatively recently. Its beginning dates back to the end of the 17th century. According to the explanation of the defenders of this cult, the heart of the Savior should be given the same service (latria) that should be given to the God-Man Himself. I. Christ, they argue, showed the greatest love for people in completing the work of redemption. His fiery love, with all the other perfections of His heart (in a figurative sense), requires reverence and gratitude on our part, and since the natural symbol of love - the heart in a figurative sense - is the physical heart of the Savior, we must honor the physical heart of the Redeemer and, in the strict sense of the word, worship it, since it belongs to the person of the Son of God. The establishment of the cult of the heart of Jesus by the Latin Church, however, cannot be justified by anything. The teaching of those who do not honor the divine person of I. Christ with a single worship was condemned by the ancient church. “If anyone speaks,” the fathers of the Vth Ecumenical determined. Council (9 p. prot. heret.), - that in Jesus Christ each of His natures should be worshiped, so that by this he introduces two worships, a special one for God the Word and a special one for man, ... and does not worship with one worship the Word incarnate and human nature, which became His own and his own, as the church has always believed and recognized this on the basis of continuous tradition, then let him be anathema" (fn. 8 anath. Kirill Al.). And in itself, the veneration of the bodily heart of Jesus, that is, part of the human nature of the Savior, is something strange. Such veneration would be understandable if I. Christ left us this part of His human being; then we would preserve and honor it as a priceless shrine. But Christ, with His glorified humanity, in all its entirety, ascended into heaven - therefore, the veneration of any of His bodily organs is a complete incongruity. If, however, the Roman Church established the veneration of the bodily heart of Jesus, then why not establish the veneration of other parts and organs of the body of Christ, for example, the sacred side, sacred eyes, ears, etc.? § 94. The dogma of the incarnation of the Son of God from the point of view of reason The mystery of the Incarnation and the possibility of comprehending it with the mind. The incarnation of the Son of God constitutes a mystery most incomprehensible to our minds in its essence. Opponents of Christian teaching conclude from this that it cannot be the subject of rational faith, and therefore must either be rejected or accepted blindly. However, such a conclusion cannot be considered valid. The incomprehensibility of this mystery would only give us reason to reject it as incomprehensible on reasonable grounds if God and man were completely understandable to us, and at the same time, God-manhood would represent something completely incomprehensible to our minds. But can anyone say; “I know God in His very being, and there is nothing in myself that is incomprehensible to me?” Therefore, no one has the right to reject the mystery of the Incarnation because of its incomprehensibility. Despite its incomprehensibility, the doctrine of the incarnation of God the Word, however, does not contain any contradictions or inconsistencies. Opponents of this dogma point out that the concept of “God-man” contains a contradiction in itself; whoever is God cannot be human: Divinity and humanity, finite and infinite, infinite and sensual, are mutually exclusive concepts. True, if the church taught that through the incarnation God, that is, the highest Spirit, turned into a body, an infinite Being became finite, then this would represent something incompatible with sound thinking. But the Church does not teach about this, but only about the mysterious union of two natures - divine and human in the person of the Son of God made man, without changing them from one to the other. and such a union of infinite nature with finite nature, without changing them one into the other, does not contain anything self-contradictory. We have the connection of the infinite with the finite in the world everywhere before our eyes, in the constant discoveries and revelations of the Divine in the world. The finite, the world created by God, exists only as a result of its constant connection with the infinite, or the constant action in the world of the providential power of God. It is also necessary to admit that such a connection can be very diverse: otherwise the Divine is united with the matter of the world, otherwise with the forces of nature, otherwise with lower irrational beings, otherwise with higher, intelligent spirits. If in this way there is a constant union of the infinite with the finite in general, and between God and man, as created in the image of God, a particularly close and internal affinity must be recognized as existing, then there is no reason to deny the possibility of a special union of the infinite with the finite human nature, personal or hypostatic, which is affirmed by the mystery of the incarnation of God the Word. We are not completely deprived of the opportunity to understand to some extent this mystery of faith. The marvelous union of soul and body into one human personality, into one sensory-intelligent being, gives us a striking analogy for our belief in the Incarnation. The union of the soul with the body, the spiritual with the material into one integral being is just as and even more incomprehensible as the union of the Divine Spirit with the human spirit. Between the spiritual and bodily nature there is not only a difference in degree, but also a qualitative opposition. On the contrary, there is no direct opposition between our spirit and the highest Spirit of God: man is akin to the Divine, as His image (Acts 17:29; cf. John 10:34); by its very nature there is a gravitation of our spirit towards the boundless divine Spirit. The ancient teachers of the church also cited other similarities (analogies) to show the possibility or conceivability of the incarnation of God the Word. St. Basil V. wrote: “How is God in the body? “Just like fire in iron.” Blessed. Augustine pointed out, as such an analogy, the embodiment of thought in words. To many, the incarnation seemed and still seems humiliating to God, incompatible with His greatness, but such an idea could and did grow on the soil of the pagan worldview. The ancient teachers of the church strongly and decisively refuted this objection to the incarnation. “There is no indecency at all,” argues St. Athanasius, “so that the Word would be in man,” because the Word “contains everything in totality (in the universe), and both in everything and in every part abides and invisibly reveals Himself”... “If there is no incongruity for the Word to be in creation, then there is no incongruity for Him to be in man” (Sk. about the Incarnation. 42). “Do not honor the preached economy,” says Blessed Theodoret about incarnation - humiliating for God, because nothing can defile the purest nature. For if the sun, ... passing where there are dead bodies, fetid mud and many other substances that emit a stench, cannot be desecrated, then how much more the Creator of the sun and the Creator of the universe ... cannot be desecrated by anything like that ... Nothing harms the purest" (On Providence, 10 ff.). It is remarkable that in all pagan religions there is a belief in the incarnation of gods. Such universality of this belief indicates that the idea of ​​the incarnation itself does not contain anything contrary to reason. On the contrary, this implies the high reasonableness of this idea, for its universality has its basis in accordance with the religious and moral needs of humanity, which, since the Fall itself, has not ceased to seek reunification with God. § 95. The Most Blessed Virgin is the Mother of our Lord I. Christ is the Ever-Virgin and Mother of God The Ever-Virginity of the Mother of God is the divine Revelation of this and the belief of the Church. – The Mother of God is the Mother of God, the meaning of this term and evidence of divine Revelation. Closely connected with the teaching about the face of I. Christ is the teaching about the face of the most blessed Virgin - His Mother. The chosen Virgin, from whom I. Christ, the Son of God, miraculously deigned to be born, is the Ever-Virgin and Mother of God. I. The Orthodox Church confesses that the Mother of our Lord I. Christ remained a Virgin before the Nativity, remained truly a Virgin at Nativity, remained a pure Virgin after the Nativity, and, therefore, She is an Ever-Virgin (A ειπαρθένος, from άεί - ever and παρθένος – pure virgin; About the virginity of the Mother of the Lord I. Christ before the Nativity, as well as in the conception and in His birth, clear and direct evidence is found in the prophetic words of Isaiah about the birth of Emmanuel from the Virgin, in the angelic news of the Virgin Mary herself about the conception and birth of the Son of the Most High by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the revelation to Joseph of the secret of the miraculous birth of I. Christ and in the narration of St. Matthew about the birth of I. Christ (1, 18, 25). The Church expressed its belief in the virgin birth and birth of Christ, such that the one who gave birth did not lose either her virginity or the title of Virgin, in her confession of the Son of God incarnate “by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.” It was included in the symbols of private churches, and was also included in the symbol of Niceno-Constantinograd. As it did not violate the seal of virginity, the birth of I. Christ was always recognized by the church as painless for His Virgin Mother, which is why in her liturgical hymns she pleases and confesses the Mother of the Lord as “who gave birth to God the Word without corruption”, that by the birth of the Virgin the “statutes of nature” were defeated. In one church song this is explained as follows: “virginity is foreign to mothers and childbearing is strange to virgins; on You, Mother of God, both have settled.” The Virgin Mother remained a pure Virgin even after the birth of the Savior; she did not know her husband all her life. Some, although not directly expressed, indications of the eternal virginity of the Mother of God are found in Scripture itself. Thus, St. Ezekiel, describing the mysterious vision of the church, says about the eastern gates of this church: this byahu is closed. And the Lord said to me: This gate will be closed, and will not be opened, and no one will pass through it: for the Lord God of Israel will enter through it, and it will be closed (44: 1-3). According to the explanation of the ancient fathers, under the closed gates, which have to open only for the entrance of the Lord, in a mysterious sense one should understand the Virgin Mother, through whom the Redeemer, the Son of God, entered the world, for She, both before conception, and at conception, and birth, and after the birth of the God-man, remained in pure and inviolable virginity. In the New Testament, evidence of the ever-virginity of the Mother of God can be found in Her words spoken to the evangelist: how will this be, even if I don’t know a husband? (Luke 1:34). These words can be correctly understood only if we recognize the authenticity of the testimony of tradition that She made a vow to keep her virginity all her life and that Joseph betrothed Her to himself under the name of her husband in order to be the guardian of Her virginity. And, of course, it is impossible to allow that, having been miraculously honored to be the Mother of the Lord, She violated the vow of virginity; preservation of virginity at birth further confirmed the holiness of the vow. It is impossible that Joseph, a righteous husband (Matthew 1:19), a God-fearer, who knew how wonderfully Mary remained a Virgin, should cease to be only a guardian and honorer of Her virginity. That is why the Savior, dying on the cross, entrusted His Mother to one of His disciples, saying to him: behold your mother, and to Her; Behold, Your son (John 19:26–27), which, of course, could not have happened if She had a husband or other natural children. It is especially impossible for the Son of God to choose for Himself as a mother one who, having ingeniously given birth to the Son of the Most High, then wanted to break her virginity. The Virgin Son could only be born from the union of virgins. The Church testified to its belief in the ever-virginity of the Mother of God by those names for Her that have long been in general use in the Church. Thus, from ancient times, the name of the Virgin became, as it were, the proper name of Mary. Since ancient times, the names have been adopted for Her: Ever-Virgin, Ever-Virgin (Ἁείπαις), Unmarried Bride (Ηύμφη άνύμφετος, i.e., never married, ever-virgin), and at local councils (Roman and Milan in 320) and Ecumenical (V Vs. Sob. 2 and 6 ad.; VI Vs. 3 ad.), with the confession of the ever-virginity of the Mother of God, excommunication was pronounced on those who reject this dogma, which excommunication is pronounced even now in the Orthodox Church on the week of Orthodoxy. Opponents of the dogma about the ever-virginity of the Mother of God claim that such a teaching does not agree with some of the evidence from Scripture itself about St. Virgo. They refer specifically to Matthew 1 and 25, which allegedly contains references to the marital cohabitation of Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus, called the firstborn in the gospel, and to references by the sacred writers of the New Testament about the brothers and sisters of Jesus, who were supposedly the children of Joseph and Mary, i.e., the fruit of their marriage. But from the words of the evangelist: before she had not even dreamed of her (Matthew 1:18), and without knowing her (Joseph), until she gave birth to her first-born Son (v. 25), it does not follow that the virgin birth of Jesus was followed by the marital cohabitation of Joseph and Mary. The expression: before even dreaming of Ima (πριν ή συνελθείν αυτούς) does not indicate married life, but family life, or better yet, life together under one hearth. Likewise, the words: not knowing Her, until... do not mean that after that Joseph ceased to be the custodian of Her virginity. The expression: dondezhe – ‘ έως ού – while, as before (‘ έως), according to its use in the Bible, often means an indefinite duration of time and state and is equivalent to the expression “never”, and does not necessarily indicate a redistribution, after which there will come something that did not exist before. It is often used in the meaning of “never”, for example: the crow did not return until the water dried up (Gen. 8:7), although he did not return afterwards; sit at My right hand, until ... (Ps. 109:3; 1 Cor. 15:25), although sitting at the right hand of the Father, that is, the equality of the Son with the Father, will not cease. and upon the opening of the eternal kingdom of glory; Behold, I am with you all the days to the end of the age (Matthew 28), although after the general resurrection we will always be with the Lord (1 Sol 4:17) 49. Even less can the name of I. Christ here (as well as in Luke 2:7) be the firstborn (πρωτότοτος - firstborn) speak against the ever-virginity of the Mother of God. The firstborn can be, and among the Jews should be, everyone who was born first is called (the first to reveal everything is false in all flesh - Deut. 18:15), even if after him there were no more children from his parents: the firstborn among the Jews were dedicated to God (Ex. 13:2; fn. Luke 2:23) and then they had great inheritance rights (Gen. 27 ch.). The angel struck all the firstborn of Egypt, although among them, undoubtedly, were the only children of their fathers (Ex. 12:29). As for, finally, the mentions in various places of the New Testament writings about the brothers and sisters of I. Christ, with the indication and very name of His brothers (in Matthew 13 and Mark 6 - James, Josiah, Simon and Judas), they are nowhere called the children of Joseph and Mary. The name “brother” (αδελφός) is often used in the Bible to designate close relatives, and not just half-brothers (for example, in Genesis 13:8 and 29, 15 Abraham and Lot are called brothers, although Lot was the son of Abraham’s brother, Arran, as indicated in Genesis 12:4–5; 14, 14–16). The name brothers of the Lord must be taken in the same sense, that is, in the meaning of close relatives, and not half-brothers. The Church recognized them at all times as simply close relatives, and not half-brothers and sisters of the Lord. According to some, these brothers and sisters are the children of Joseph from his first marriage (the opinion of St. Epiphanius and other fathers and writers of the Eastern Church), according to others, are cousins ​​of the Savior, children of Mary, aunt of the Lord, sister of the Mother of God, who was married to Cleopas (opinion of Blessed Jerome, Augustine and other Western writers). II. The Church calls and confesses the Most Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God (Θεοτόκος, Deipara). This name is given to Her not because the divinity of the Word received the beginning of being from Her, but because the perception by the Son of God of human nature into the unity of His divine hypostasis, as well as the deification of this nature, followed at the very moment of the conception of the Son in the womb of the Virgin, with the influx of the Holy Spirit upon Her. Therefore, the Holy Virgin, as having given birth not to the man Jesus, who became God, but to the true God, who received from Her flesh, consubstantial with us, and who was deified from the moment of conception, is the Mother of God in her own and true sense. The revelation gives obvious reasons for calling the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God in the proper sense. Ave. Isaiah about the birth of Emmanuel from the Virgin and the Evangelist, when describing the birth of I. Christ, say that the Virgin will receive in her womb and give birth to the Son, Whose name actually belongs to Emmanuel - God with us, God in our human nature, and this means the same thing that the Virgin will give birth to the incarnate God, and, consequently, She herself is the Mother of God. Righteous Elizabeth, when Mary visited her, was filled with the Holy Spirit - therefore, not out of mere reflection or a feeling of delight - directly confessed with a great voice to St. Virgin Mary: where do I get this from, that the Mother of the Lord (ή Μήτηρ τοί Κυρίου) come to me (Luke 1:41–43)? The name of the Mother of God, therefore, is a divinely inspired name. Ap. Paul teaches: God sent His only begotten Son, begotten of a woman (Gal.4:4). The only begotten Son of God, born of a woman, or, according to another saying of the apostle, God, who appeared in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16), is I. Christ. The wife from whom He was born is the Virgin Mary. It is clear that this Virgin Mother should be confessed and called the Mother of God, or Theotokos. The ancient church fathers expressed the belief that the Virgin Mary should be recognized as the Mother of God when they taught that God was born from Her, and directly called Her the Mother of God, as well as the Mother of God (Θεομήτωρ, Μητρόθεος), Mother of God ( Θεογεννήτρεια ). Calling Her the Mother of God in the 4th century. was already in common use. Therefore, in the 5th century, when Nestorius wanted to replace this name with another, and the people heard in a sermon the name “Christ Mother” instead of the Mother of God, this was accepted with general indignation, as an unusual innovation and contrary to the general and eternal custom, and on the 3rd Ecumenical. The Council approved and proclaimed: “Whoever does not confess Emmanuel as the true God, therefore St. The Virgin is the Mother of God, for She gave birth in the flesh to the Word, who is from God the Father and became flesh, let him be anathema” (I Anath. of St. Cyril). This definition of faith was confirmed at all subsequent Ecumenical Councils. § 96. Dogma of the Roman Church on the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God The teaching of this by the Roman Church, its foundation. – Lack of evidence from Holy Tradition. I. The Roman Catholic Church, to the general church teaching about the person of the most blessed Mother of Jesus Christ, as the Ever-Virgin and Mother of God, “to enhance the glory and exaltation” of Her, added the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God (de immaculata conceptione Beatae Mariae Virginis). Bull of Pope Pius IX (“Ineffabilis Deus”) 8 December. In 1854, this teaching was declared divinely revealed and generally binding for members of the Roman Church, that is, it was elevated to the level of dogma. He highly reveres and reveres St. The Orthodox Church is also a Virgin, “honoring Her above the cherubim and seraphim” (Cat. 3rd part). But while confessing the universality of original sin in all the descendants of Adam, as those descended from parents by natural birth, the Orthodox Church does not make an exception from the universal law of hereditary sinfulness for the Blessed Virgin (Post. Oriental Pat. 6). Only the one sinless I. Christ, as born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, is exempt from submission to this law. But the origin of St. The Virgin was accomplished in the order of life of fallen man, under condemnation: in illness to give birth to a child, and therefore She was born involved in original sin and its consequences and needed atonement for the complete correction of nature, the removal of condemnation and introduction into the kingdom of God. These are not the views of the Latin Church. “The most blessed Virgin Mary,” teaches the bull of Pope Pius IX, “at the first moment of her conception, by the special grace of almighty God and the special advantage, for the sake of the future merits of I. Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all taint of original guilt,” otherwise, constitutes an “exception” from the law of the universality of ancestral sin. More specifically, the essence of this teaching is as follows. Not only the birth of St. Virgin, but Her very conception was holy and immaculate. True, on the part of the parents, Her conception and birth were in the order of life of fallen humanity, but the fruit of the birth was protected from sinful defilement by the action of God’s grace. Such a strange contradiction is resolved this way. Marital cohabitation of the parents of St. The Virgin was related, they say, only to the formation of Her body and its readiness to receive a soul - in conception, called in Roman theology “active” or “active”; in this conception of St. The Virgin was defiled by sin, for it was the work of damaged human nature. But from this conception it is necessary to distinguish the “passive” or “passive” conception - this is the moment of union of the soul with the body, or, as they say, the moment of infusion (iniusionis) of the soul created by God into the body. At this point, parents are not involved; it is produced by God, and therefore the soul introduced into the body can be preserved by the grace of God from the sinful ancestral defilement that took place during the introduction of the soul of St. Virgins into Her body. The defilement of the soul by sin, or the transmission of original sin, occurs through its combination with a sinful body. But with the combination of the soul of St. For Mary, with a desecrated body, God did not allow her to become desecrated; He endowed her with the gift of primitive righteousness. And since original sin is only the loss of this gift, and not any damage to the very nature of man, why to restore the state of primitive righteousness is it enough only to return this gift of grace, then St. Virgin, I was born without original sin, in a state of original righteousness. Not only that, at conception She was freed not only from original sin, but also received such an abundance of grace that she was finally established in goodness and could not sin. Her sanctification at conception was complete and perfect. Therefore, throughout Her entire life, She not only remained pure from sin, but also had the gift of sinlessness, that is, the inability to sin. Such an abundance of grace was given to Her “in view of the future merits of Christ,” without the participation of Her consciousness and freedom, at Her very conception. The doctrine of the virgin birth of the Mother of God must be rejected as a false teaching, not given in revelation. It is based on a whole series of arbitrary statements and assumptions containing more or less gross inconsistencies. Thus, it has at its basis: an incorrect teaching about the essence of original sin, as soon as a lack of sanctifying grace (loss of the gift of primitive righteousness), a fictitious idea of some kind of “passive conception”, the assertion that the soul of every person is directly created by God and introduced into each generative body simultaneously with the human act of generation, the assumption that the soul of the Virgin Mary is sanctified by extraordinary gifts of grace upon its introduction into body. The main thing is that the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God is in clear contradiction with the basic dogmas of Christianity: 1) about the universality of original sin and its consequences in the human race; 2) about the unconditional necessity for all descendants of Adam, in order to be saved, to independently assimilate the fruits of redemption and 3) about the relationship of grace to freedom. If it is inconsistent in its inner essence, this teaching is exposed in its wrongness and by the history of its origin. This is a new dogma, which the ancient church did not know. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception received its origins and justification in the Middle Ages, and was raised to the level of dogma only in 1854. Even in the very west, as soon as the feast of the conception of St. began to spread. Virgin of the righteous Anna and at the same time the idea of ​​the immaculate conception began to come into force, as it met with the strongest denunciation in the person of the famous theologian and teacher of the Western Church Bernard of Clairvaux, a canonized saint of the Roman Church. “I am horrified,” he wrote to the canons of Lyons (in 1140), “that some of you wanted to change the state of important things by introducing a new festival, unknown to the church, not approved by reason, not justified by ancient tradition. Are we really more knowledgeable and more pious than our fathers?... But you say: we must glorify the Mother of the Lord as much as possible. This is true; but the glorification given to the Queen of Heaven requires discernment. This royal Virgin has no need for false glorification, possessing true crowns of glory and signs of dignity. Celebrate the purity of Her flesh and the holiness of Her life. Be amazed at the abundance of this Virgin’s gifts; worship Her divine Son; exalt the One who conceived without knowing lust and gave birth without knowing pain. What else needs to be added to these advantages? They say that we must honor the conception, which preceded the glorious birth: for, if the glory of the conception had not preceded it, then the birth would not have been glorified. But what to say if someone, for the same reason, demanded the same honoring of the father and mother of St. Mary? They can equally demand the same for Her grandfathers and great-grandfathers ad infinitum. Moreover, how could sin not be where there was lust?... How can one demand that this conception be holy when it was not the work of the Holy Spirit, not to mention that it came from lust? The Holy Virgin will, of course, reject that glory which, apparently, glorifies sin; It will in no way justify the novelty invented contrary to the teachings of the church - novelty, which is the mother of imprudence, the sister of superstition and the daughter of frivolity.” And in later times, many authoritative representatives of Western theology were opponents of this teaching (Albert V., P. Lombard, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas with the Dominicans, etc.). Only in the 17th century, with the Jesuits taking it under their protection, did it gradually begin to establish itself in the Roman Catholic world. Defenders of the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God present evidence from both Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition to substantiate it, but the evidence they present is of no importance. Thus, in Holy Scripture there is no direct evidence of the immaculate conception, and Latin writers also admit this. But they claim that it contains indirect evidence, from which the truth of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God is revealed through inferences. Such evidence of the bull “Ineffabilis Deus” includes: the first promise about the woman’s enmity with the serpent and the crushing of his head (Gen. 3:15) and the archangel’s greeting and the name of the Virgin of grace and blessing (Luke 1:28). In the words of the first promise: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and your seed and her seed; that (in the Vulgate - ipsa, “that” or “she”) will watch your head, and you will watch his heel, the defenders of the Immaculate Conception mean by the wife of St. The Virgin Mary, and the promise of crushing the head of the serpent, is attributed not specifically and solely to the Savior of the world, but also to His Mother, recognizing Her as the crusher of the head of the serpent. But if She is the crusher of the serpent, they argue further, then it means that She Herself could not be “under the power of the devil even for one moment” and, therefore, was free from the sin of Adam and Eve. But such an explanation of God’s first promise suffers from deliberate artificiality and arbitrariness. The true and direct meaning of the Lord’s words, in accordance with the ancient patristic explanations of the first promise, is different. By the wife they mean the fallen wife - Eve (Heb. haischah, in the LXX - τής γυναικός), and by the Seed of the woman, in the proper sense, the crusher of the head of the serpent (That - A ντος, - prono. male r. - your head will watch) - the Redeemer of the world (sn. § 84). The reference to the Virgin Mary in the first promise can only be seen as having served the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, and not as the crusher of the head of the serpent in the proper and strict sense. Assimilating to the Mother of the Lord the contrition of the head of the serpent, the defenders of the Immaculate Conception read and interpret the first promise according to the damaged text; she will erase your (i.e. the serpent’s) head (ipsa conteret caput tuum). Such a reading does not agree with either the original Hebrew text, or the LXX translation, or the ancient Latin translations of Italic and Jerome; they originally contained ipse conteret, not ipsa), in which the promise of breaking the head of the serpent is referred not to the woman, but to the Seed of the woman. Consequently, the opinion about St. The Virgin, as the crusher of the serpent’s head, is essentially wrong and rests on a false foundation. Words of the Archangel's greeting to St. Virgo: Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women, also do not contain thoughts about Her immaculate conception. According to the explanation of the defenders of the new Roman dogma, these words mean that Mary was conceived with grace, unlike the other children of Adam, who are all conceived in sin. But this explanation is arbitrary. From the Gospel story it is clear that grace-filled (κεχαριτωμένη - favored, made partaker of grace, gratia plena) and blessed among the wives of St. The Virgin is named because she participates in the grace of God much more than any other wife, since she was chosen to be the mother of the Savior, but it is not at all as if Her conception was not involved in original sin. Archangel St. To the Virgin, who was embarrassed when she was called grace-filled, he directly said: For you have found grace from God; and behold, you conceived in your womb and gave birth to a Son, and you called His name Jesus (verses 30–31) 50. To justify the invention of a new dogma, they also refer to the testimonies of the fathers and teachers of the church. All the fathers and teachers of the ancient church, says the bull “Ineffabilis Deus,” recognized and confessed the integrity, purity and holiness of the Mother of God; they all glorify Her greatness and dignity, calling Her the burning bush, the pure dove, the paradise of innocence, and so on. These praises and images supposedly contain nothing more than the doctrine of the immaculate conception of St. Virgos. But this is obviously an arbitrary and incorrect conclusion. If all the fathers had proclaimed the virgin birth, how could it have happened that the Roman Church itself rejected this teaching for many centuries? The church fathers, when they glorified the purity and purity of St. Virgins then understood purity in the sense of morally free faith and love acquired through inner feat, and not in the sense of natural purity and purity - by origin, by nature. In the monuments of Tradition of the Eastern and Western Churches during the first 12 centuries there is not a single evidence of the purity of Her conception. On the contrary, in the works of the church fathers one can indicate everything that is needed for a complete refutation of the Latin teaching about the Blessed Virgin 51. II. The accomplishment of the salvation of people through the threefold ministry of Jesus Christ, or the mystery of redemption § 97. The concept of the threefold ministry of Jesus Christ The great work for which the only begotten Son of God was incarnated is the work of salvation (σωτηρία) of fallen humanity, or redemption (άπολύτρωσις, redemptio) of people from sin and all its consequences. Hence the very name of the Accomplisher of our salvation - Jesus (Heb. Iehoschua - Jehovah saving, abbreviated - Ieschua, i.e. Savior, Σωτήρ): For He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11). It is impossible for limited human thought to comprehend the great work of the Redeemer of the world in all its completeness and comprehensiveness. Therefore, since ancient times, in order to bring this matter as close as possible to the assimilation of the believer’s consciousness, it has been customary to consider the redemptive ministry of the God-man from three sides, more or less fully embracing the essence of the work of Christ. Namely, in the great redemptive ministry of the Messiah-God-Man, ministries are distinguished: 1) prophetic, 2) high priestly and 3) royal. These concepts well express the completeness of the one great ministry of the Savior of the world. The concept of the three ministries of the Savior is contained in some way in His very name - Messiah or Christ, which means the Anointed One. In the Old Testament, through anointing, prophets, high priests and kings were consecrated to their service, and the Son of God, perceiving human nature, was anointed with the oil of joy - the oil of the All-Holy Spirit - more so a partaker of His own. Therefore, the God-man Jesus is primarily given the title of Christ or Anointed One, as invested with the dignity of a great prophet, high priest and king. I. THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST § 98. I. Christ as a prophet - enlightener of the world Teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. To restore fallen humanity and establish the kingdom of God on earth, it was necessary to teach people the true knowledge of God, in general, to show the path of salvation. Hence, one of the essential goals of the appearance of the God-Man into the world was to teach people divine truth. The coming Messiah is depicted as a great prophet (Deut. 18:15, 18), the Light of the world (Is. 2:5; 42, 6; 60, 19) in the Old Testament predictions about Him. And I. Christ Himself, at the very beginning of His ministry, said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the sake of the anointing of Me to preach good news to the poor, to send Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach remission to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away the brokenhearted into joy, to preach the pleasant year of the Lord (Luke 4:18–19; Isaiah 61:4). Before His death He testified: For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I may bear witness to the truth; and everyone who is of the truth will listen to My voice (John 18:37; cf. John 17:6–8). After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him during baptism in the Jordan, He continuously walked through cities and villages for the rest of his life, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:1). Teaching the truth was one of the purposes of His appearances to the apostles after His resurrection from the dead. Appearing over the course of forty days, He spoke to them, the future worldwide evangelists, about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). In the passage of I. Christ as a teacher of people and the revelation to him of the hidden will of God for their salvation lies the essence of His prophetic ministry, directly performed by Him. In this respect, His ministry is similar to the ministry of the Old Testament prophets, for the ministry of the prophets - “interpreters of the will of God” (this is the meaning of the Hebrew word navi - “prophet”) - consisted in the fact that, by the inspiration of God, they proclaimed the will of God to people and taught piety. But since, according to His deity, the original possession of the truth belongs, then, as the Messenger of our confession (Heb. 3:1), He is above all the messengers of God, not only earthly ones, such as Moses and the prophets, but also heavenly ones, such as the angels. He is a teacher - the only and universal prophet, incomparable to anyone - the true Light that enlightens every person coming into the world (John 1:9). That is why, when He taught the truth, He did not speak as, for example, the prophets spoke, when communicating the revelation of God to people, usually expressing themselves: “Thus saith the Lord,” or “This saith the Lord,” but as Himself the First Source and Lawgiver of the truth: “And I say unto you... Amen, amen, I say unto you... or: the words which I have spoken unto you, the spirit is the spirit, and the life is the life (John 6:63 ). Hence, His teaching, in its effect on those who listened to Him, was distinguished by such qualities that no human teaching had. The servants sent to seize Him returned and said, “No man has spoken like this, like this man” (John 7:46). He taught as if he had authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 7:29); with authority was His word (Luke 4:32). § 99. The Gospel law given by the Savior The law of faith and the law of activity. – An example of your own life and work. I. Christ, as the enlightener of the world, announced to people a new, most sublime and comforting teaching for the human heart, which He Himself and His apostles call the gospel (εναγγέλιον), that is, the joyful news of the kingdom of God. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is drawing near: repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15), - this is a brief expression of the essence of the new teaching announced by I. Christ. When closely examining the teachings of I. Christ, we usually distinguish in it the law of faith (Rom. 3:27; 1 Cor. 9:21) and the law of activity - the commandments, or the moral law of Christ (John 13:34; Gal. 6:2). The truths of faith and morality in the teachings of I. Christ are revealed in all possible completeness and clarity. I. Christ taught people the true knowledge of God, which not only the pagans, but also the Jews did not have in proper purity and completeness. The Son of God came and gave us light and understanding, that we might know the true God, and that we might be in His true Son Jesus Christ (John 5:20). Naturalism and polytheism dominated in pagan ideas about the Divine. Contrary to this, the Old Testament constantly reveals the idea of ​​the infinity of Jehovah: God is infinite, ever-living, holy and wise. But the idea of ​​the spirituality of the Divine, even in the Old Testament, is obscured by anthropomorphisms in images. This idea is presented in its purest form, freed from the anthropomorphic cover, in the saying of I. Christ: The Spirit is God, and those who bow to Him are worthy to bow in spirit and truth (John 4:24). To a certain extent, possible for human understanding, I. Christ revealed the secret of the inner, hidden life of the infinite Spirit, outside His relationship to the world - he revealed the glory of the Trinitarian God. In the Old Testament, only hidden indications were given of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Further, I. Christ announced a new, most perfect concept of the moral being of God. God is the highest love and an inexhaustible source of love (Luke 11:2; John 20:17; Matthew 7:11; 1 John 4:16). Externally, divine love manifested itself in the creation of the world and is constantly manifested in the industry about it, especially in relation to people. In relation to people, God, taught I. Christ, is a Father who gives them His blessings: “Do not call your father to earth,” He said, “for there is only one Father who is in heaven (Matthew 23:9; sn. 6, 9). He knows the needs of people before asking Him and gives them all kinds of good things (Matthew 6:8, 32), just as His sun shines on the evil and the good and rains on the righteous and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). He opens the arms of His love to every repentant sinner (Luke 13 - the parable of the prodigal son) and forgives his sins (Matthew 6:12, 14). In particular, the fullness and depth of God’s love for humanity was revealed in the incarnation of the Son of God, His offering of an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, intercession for believers before the eternal truth of God and the descent of the Holy Spirit for our justification and sanctification. These most gratifying truths form the basis of a new, higher religious relationship between man and God, which the pre-Christian world did not know. Old Testament man was unclean and guilty before Him, which is why, by his very nature, he could only arouse the wrath of God (Eph. 2:3), and therefore the best people among God’s chosen people were nothing more than servants of Jehovah (Ps. 77, etc.). As for the pagan world, in most ancient religions the Divinity appears to be a terrible destructive force, requiring bloody sacrifices for its propitiation, sometimes even human ones. Therefore, the state of the pagan, suppressed by the formidable power of his gods, was difficult and joyless. The Gospel proclaims that, through the power of the redemptive merits of Christ, man became the beloved son and heir of God, a partaker of the divine nature, a temple of the Holy Spirit - in a word, the closest and dearest being to God (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:7). Finally, I. Christ, with all possible completeness and clarity, announced the teaching about the final destinies of the world and man and human life - about the immortality of the soul, about the future resurrection of the dead and the end of the world, about His second coming, about the last judgment, about the eternal bliss of the righteous in the closest unity with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and the eternal torment of unrepentant sinners. Some of these truths were presented to the consciousness of ancient man, but they had little moral influence and brought little joy to people. The pagans lived without hope (Eph. 2:12), but the Jews also had rather dark concepts about the state of the afterlife and vague desires and aspirations for the complete immortality of the human person, taken in connection with soul and body, although the prophets of the Old Testament secretly expressed this truth. With the teaching of faith, I. Christ taught a new, most perfect law of activity. The main beginning of a person’s life should be the search for the kingdom of God and his righteousness: seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things, that is, various external blessings, will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). Whoever wants to enter this kingdom and be a worthy member of it - and all people are called to enter it (Mk. 16:15-16; Matt. 28:19) - must repent, that is, recognize his sinfulness and leave the path that leads to death, crucify his flesh with passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24): whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and He takes up his cross and comes after Me (Mark 8:34). Instead of self-love, the basis of the moral life of Christ's followers should be love for God above all else and for one's neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:37-39). Love for God must extend to the point of being ready to destroy your very soul for the sake of the name of God (Mark 8:35). Love for one's neighbor, like the love of the Heavenly Father, should embrace not only friends and fellow tribesmen, but also those who hate us or enemies (Matthew 5:44–47), and also extend to complete readiness to lay down one's very soul for one's friends (John 15:13). It is impossible to imagine a higher and more fruitful beginning for moral life than this. Only the Jewish people of all the peoples of antiquity knew this beginning of human morality, but even in this people it did not, and could not receive, the full and comprehensive development that was given to it in the Gospel teaching (see Matthew 5–7). As for the ancient pagan world, it lived primarily on the false and morally disastrous principles of sensuality and self-interest. Having proclaimed the most perfect law of morality, I. Christ revealed in Himself a model of moral perfection, and thus appeared as an enlightener of man not only through verbal teaching of good, but also as an example of his own life and activity. His holy, sinless life on earth serves as the most sublime ideal and a powerful motivator for all people to imitate Him. § 100. The gospel law replaced the law of Moses Completion (fulfillment) of the Law of Moses. – Preservation and fulfillment of the law of faith. – The ritual side of the law, its transience. – Civil law of the Old Law, its character. I. Christ is not only the interpreter of the law taught through Moses, which were the ordinary prophets, but the Founder of a new religion. He proclaimed a new law, higher and more perfect than the law of Moses, and therefore His law replaced the law of Moses. However, the abolition of the latter should not be understood in such a way that the gospel, taking the place of the law, destroys and destroys the entire law, just as, for example, how a new one is erected in the place of a destroyed building. Do not imagine that I came to destroy (καταλύσαι) the law or the prophets, - said I. Christ to calm the zeal of the Jews according to the law: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill (πληρώσαι). – Amen, for I say to you: Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, until they shall all be (Matthew 5:17–18). Πληρούν - fulfill - in application to the law means not only to fulfill the prescriptions of the law, to implement the law (Rom.13:8; Matt.3:15), but also to fill what is missing to the required measure (Mark 1:15; Luke 21:24; John 7:8), to perfect what is not entirely perfect (John 15:11; 16, 24; 1 John 1:4), to complete (Luke 7:1; Acts 13:25). In relation to the types and prophets, πληρούν means the fulfillment by action of what was predicted by the prophets in the word (Matthew 1:22; 2, 15; 17, 23, etc.). And I. Christ really fulfilled the law and the prophets and thus completed the building of the economy of human salvation, and thereby abolished the Old Testament, or made it unnecessary. The Gospel, therefore, had to take the place of the law, not by destroying it, but by fulfilling the law. That the Lord did not assimilate the enduring significance of the Mosaic Law, taken in its entirety, is evident from His further words: an jot or a single tittle will not pass from the law until they are complete, i.e., that the meaning and effect of the Old Testament law, taken in its entirety, extends only to a certain point in time - until everything is fulfilled: the law and the prophets until John, and from here on time the kingdom of God is preached (Luke 16:16; Matt. 11:13). At the same time, although I. Christ Himself strictly observed the law of Moses and was zealous for the holiness of the Jerusalem temple (John 2 et seq.), at the same time he wisely prepared for the decisive abolition of the law. Thus, He repeatedly called Himself Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; John 5:17), and predicted that His teaching would gradually bring about such a change that serving God would not necessarily be associated with Jerusalem (John 4:23). The apostles also taught about the transitory significance of the Law of Moses, although they acted with wise gradualness in abolishing it. Ap. spoke about this more often than others. Paul. Entire sections of his epistles to the Romans (2–11 ch.), Galatians (2, 15–5, 18) and the entire epistle to the Hebrews have, among other things, the goal of showing that the end (τέλος) of the law is Christ (Rom. 10:4), that only before the coming of faith under the law, the law was strict, but the faith that came was no longer under the guardianship of Esma ( Gal.3:23, 25); We are not under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:15; cf. 7, 6); We think of being justified by faith without the works of the law (3:28). The abolition of the Law of Moses was solemnly approved at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:28). But although the gospel took the place of the law of Moses, this does not mean that the law has lost its complete meaning for a Christian and has been abolished in its entirety. The Law of Moses is adapted primarily to the spiritual needs and living conditions of one people and was given during the period of preparation of the human race for spiritual rebirth and renewal through Jesus Christ. Hence, in general, there is much in the law that is temporary and transitory. All this temporary, which had a conditional meaning, was, of course, abolished by I. Christ. But the religious and moral side of the law in its entirety has eternal significance, although it needed to be replenished. Thus, the New Testament does not abolish not only the truths of faith, but also the moral law of the Old Testament. The commandment of love for God, like the commandments - do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, contained in the general commandment: thou shalt love what is sincere, are eternal commandments, and therefore cannot be abolished; they can only be elevated, deepened and replenished, which is what I. Christ did. Therefore, to the extent that the moral Mosaic Law contains the law of spirit and love, dispersed in numerous commandments and prohibitions, it has binding force. But if we consider the individual commandments separately and detached from the beginning of spirit and love, adapted to the temporary conditions of life of the Jewish people, then, of course, they are not obligatory, for example, decrees allowing to repay evil for evil, or decrees related to civil and ritual law, in general - to the theocratic structure of the Jewish people. The ritual side of the law had educational significance, and therefore, naturally, lost its significance with the death of the Savior on the cross; the shadow departed when the body itself appeared (Col. 2:17), and a new way of justification was given - through faith. If the law were true, then Christ would not die (Gal. 2:11). In addition, the ritual law was associated with the Jerusalem temple, and therefore could not remain mandatory in a religion intended to embrace all nations. But even in this law, for example, regulations on the place of worship, sacred Jewish times, sacrifices, etc., lost their meaning. The requirements of purity in serving God, the need for prayer, confession of sins, external worship of God, etc., which underlie the law, have eternal significance. And a Christian cannot and does not have the right to do without rituals - only his rituals are more spiritual. So, for example, the law on Old Testament sacrifices was abolished, but the sacrifice is still offered in the church: the Eucharist replaces the offering of the Old Testament lambs. Or: the law of circumcision has been abolished in its letter, but in its spirit it is fulfilled among us in the sacrament of baptism. Jewish holidays, new moons, and Saturdays were abolished, but in their place their own sacred times were established. Jewish priesthood laws were abolished, but a new hierarchy was established. The civil law of the Old Testament was tied to one specific place - Palestine, and applied to one nation of the Jews. Naturally, everything connected with the special purpose and position of this people among the pagan tribes lost its significance. But statehood was not lost among the Christian peoples, it only acquired a different form among them. Everything that is in the eternal law of the Old Testament, for example, the duty of obedience to authority, the prohibition of arbitrariness, of course, cannot lose its meaning. § 101. The gospel law is taught for all people and for all times I. Christ Jesus was sent, as He Himself said, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24: 10, 5–6). He also preached about the kingdom of God only through the cities and villages of Israel. But the teaching taught by Him was taught to all nations with the purpose of embracing the whole world, and He Himself is the enlightener of the whole world. Revelation depicts I. Christ as such a worldwide enlightener. In Scripture He is called the Light of tongues and the whole world, the Light in the revelation of tongues (Luke 2:32). And I. Christ Himself said about Himself that He is the Light of the world (John 12:46; sn. 1, 5). After His resurrection, He gave the apostles a commandment: go and teach all languages ​​(Matthew 28:18-19); Going into the whole world, preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), even to the last of the earth (Acts 1:8). And the apostles, endowed with power from on high on the day of Pentecost, went out preaching everywhere, hastening to the Lord and confirming the word with subsequent signs (Mark 16:20). The time will come when the gospel of the kingdom will actually be preached throughout the whole world, as a witness with every tongue, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). II. The teaching taught by I. Christ was taught for all times. The path to salvation indicated by the Savior will remain the only and immutable path to salvation until the end of the age, and the knowledge of God proclaimed by Him is the highest, most perfect and last for people in the conditions of earthly life, so that replacing the revelation given by Christ the Savior with any new revelation or teaching, similar, for example, to how the New Testament replaced the Old Testament, is impossible. He said about His teaching: everything that I heard from My Father I told you (John 15:15). The apostles called the teaching of Christ the gospel of salvation (Eph. 1:13), the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16), the law of the gospel - abiding, i.e. forever (2 Cor. 3:11), the covenant of I. Christ - an everlasting covenant (Heb. 13:20). No one can lay another foundation, they taught, than the one who lies down, who is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). If we, or an angel from heaven, preach the good news to you more than what we preach to you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8). These sayings decisively exclude any thought about the legality of any abolition in the teachings of Christ, and with them any thought about the perfection of the teachings of Christ must be rejected as anti-Christian and harmful to people. Many of the false progressives of modern times hold different views on the teachings of Christ. They think that in the future Christian teaching will be replaced by a new, more perfect teaching. But this opinion is completely false. After the Lord has told humanity everything that he heard from the Father, one cannot expect any new teaching from God. And this is understandable. If God, with His attitude towards the world and man, or the world and man changed in their nature and essence, then we could talk about a new teaching about these subjects. But neither one nor the other change is unthinkable. Moreover, it is impossible to replace Christian teaching with any human teaching. It would be strange to think that the work of a limited mind could ever be more perfect than the thought of an All-Perfect Being. Finally, the very concept of truth, which can be one about a certain subject and which is therefore unchangeable and eternal, testifies to the immutability and eternal significance of Christian teaching. II. THE HIGH PRIESTLY MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST § 102. The concept of the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ Restoring the union between God and man. As a prophet, I. Christ announced the words of eternal life (John 6:68), and not only announced, but by His sinless and holy life in the likeness of the flesh of sin, he showed people the path of righteous life, leading to salvation from death or destruction. However, the teaching of the truth and the example of a perfect life alone cannot save a person, just as, for example, a dying person does not recover because a person flourishing in health is brought to his sick bed and advised to imitate him. To save man, it was necessary not only to teach people the way to salvation, but also to restore the union or communication between God and man, destroyed by sin; for outside of God there is no salvation, and the restoration of such a union or the reconciliation of God and man required the destruction of the sinful barrier between God and man, i.e. that is, on the one hand, the reconciliation of the eternal truth of God with the sinful human race, or satisfaction with the truth of God for the sin of man, without which the condemnation for sin could not be removed, and on the other hand, the crushing of the sinful power in man himself, which separated him from God, the renewal or re-creation of man. The incarnate only begotten Son of God accomplished the great work of reconciling God with man and man with God through His service to the human race, typified in the Old Testament by the service of the high priest. The Old Testament high priest was a representative of the Jewish people and an intercessor for them before God. His primary duty was that he made sacrifices and prayers for himself and for people (Heb. 7:27) and once a year he entered the Holy of Holies with blood to sprinkle the purification, in order to thereby cleanse his own sins and the sins of the people (Heb. 9:7). I. Christ, as the High Priest, fulfilled this in the most perfect way. Being sinless Himself, He took upon Himself the sins of the whole world and offered Himself to the truth of God as a propitiatory and cleansing sacrifice for the sins He took upon Himself, and through this He became the source of our deliverance from sins, justification and sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:25–26), and thus not only restored the union between God and man, destroyed by sin, but also revealed all the treasures of God’s love for man. The high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ encompasses His entire earthly life from the incarnation to death on the cross. But primarily the death on the cross of Jesus Christ, that is, the suffering and death of the God-Man, constitutes the sacrifice of redemption and salvation of man. § 103. The significance of the incarnation of the Son of God in the work of redemption The Savior as a mediator between God and man. The Son of God began the work of reconciliation between God and man in His very incarnation. His incarnation was necessary for the accomplishment of redemption not only because without the incarnation there could be neither death on the cross nor earthly life of the God-man. It in itself has significance in the matter of redemption: the hypostatic union of divinity and humanity for eternal times in the person of Jesus Christ, who became the Mediator between God and man, is the beginning and basis for the restoration of such a close union of man with God as is possible. In His person, God and man met and were reconciled with each other and became one. God, incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, Himself condescended to people, approached them as much as possible; having accepted our nature except for its sinfulness, He lived with people and their lives as with brothers in flesh and spirit (Heb. 2:11-14). Through this, He brought people into the closest unity with God - not only in spirit, but also in body. Man became close and dear to God in His only begotten Son, who took on our nature into hypostatic unity with Himself. Humanity in His person was worthy of deification, elevated to the divine and heavenly heights at the right hand of God the Father. And since He is one with the Father, those who believe in Him, as they enter into communion with Him, in Him and through Him are brought into communion with God to such an extent that they all become one (John 17:20-23). The ancient teachers of the church also adopted this fundamental significance in the matter of redemption to the incarnation of the Son of God. God is the Word, teaches St. Irenaeus “according to His immeasurable goodness became what we are, in order to make us also what He is” (Prov. Heresy, V book. Preface). According to St. Athanasius the Great, “The Word became human so that we might become deified” (Sk. about the incarnation. 54). St. Gregory the Theologian confesses: “You (Christ) were God from all eternity, but you appeared to us as a man in the end, so that after You Yourself became a man, you could make me a god” (Article about yourself). “God became man and man became deified” (To Kledonius, 1 last). § 104. The earthly life of the Savior as a redemptive feat The Lord's perfect obedience to the will of God. - Suffering for people. The entire earthly life of the Savior, most holy and full of all truth and obedience to the Father, with all its sorrows, serves as a continuation of the work He took upon Himself to reconcile people with God, predetermined in the Incarnation. I. Christ with His life accomplished what the human race was supposed to accomplish. Man was guilty before the greatness of God by his falling away from God, disobeying His will, seeking independence from God, equality with Him (Gen. 3:29). Each of the subsequent sins was a new crime of the will of God, a new manifestation of enmity against God (Rom. 8:6). A necessary consequence of people’s falling away from the Source of life and the general criminality of people was the condemnation of sin by the righteous judgment of God, various disasters and suffering in people’s lives, the most severe of which was death, both temporary and eternal. God's actions for the salvation of man naturally had to be the opposite of what happened during the fall of man. The eradication of sin in people could be accomplished through the replacement by the Mediator, who took upon himself the sins of the world, of disobedience to God - by obedience to Him, positive resistance to His will - by perfect fulfillment of it, self-love - by pure and holy love for God, sinfulness - by righteousness. In the same way, the elimination of the consequences and punishments of sin - suffering and sorrow, as well as the destruction of the dominion of death and the granting of people the right to life, could occur through the voluntary transfer by the Mediator of all punishments imposed by the righteousness of God for sin, otherwise - through the atonement or atonement of sins with a sacrifice corresponding to the gravity of the sins of the entire human race and responsibility for them. The Only Begotten Son of God, deigning to appear as such a Mediator, took upon Himself the sins of all mankind and the punishment for them. Having accepted the form of a servant, He showed perfect obedience to the will of God instead of the daring disobedience of people to God, and endured all the sorrow, suffering and death awarded to man by the truth of God in order to satisfy the justice of God for all mankind. The Savior’s bearing of this double cross, the cross of self-sacrifice and obedience and the cross of suffering and sorrow, is called in Scripture the days of Christ’s flesh (Heb. 5:7) and His passion (1 Peter 1:11), and in theological language – the state of humiliation or exhaustion of our Savior (based on Phil. 2:7). It embraces His entire earthly life from birth and was especially expressed in His suffering on the cross and death. a) The Savior of the world, in order to justify the right of mankind to life by his very deed, with all His life and all His deeds showed the most perfect obedience to the will of the Father, with complete renunciation of His will. Entering the world, He said to His Father: You have perfected (prepared) the body..., here I go... to do Your will, O God (Heb. 10:5, 7; fn. Ps.39). Being the image of God, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, death on the cross (Philip 2:6-8). Indeed, His entire earthly life was a manifestation of the most perfect obedience to His Father. As a 12-year-old boy, in response to his Mother’s complaint that She and Joseph were looking for Him with sorrow, He said: Do you not know that I am worthy to be among those who are My Father (Luke 2:49). During His public ministry, He repeatedly testified that He came not to do His will, but the will of His Father: He came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 6:38). My purpose is that I may do the will of him who sent Me and complete His work (4:34; sn. 5:30; 14:31). This most perfect implementation of the will of God or obedience, which constitutes the content of the truth of Christ - δικαίωμα (Rom. 5:19), I. Christ, who imputed to Himself the disobedience and guilt of people before God, made amends for their disobedience to God, and thereby conquered sin, revealed man to be righteous and worthy of God’s love, and deserved the life of all humanity, guilty of death and the “curse” of the law for their sinfulness: just as the only sin brought condemnation upon all men, the apostle taught, so also the One through justification upon all men seems like an excuse for life. Just as the disobedience of one sinful person resulted in many, the result and obedience of the One righteous will be many (Rom. 5:18–19), of course, under the condition of free participation and assimilation by people of the truth of Christ. b) By taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world and the guilt for universal sinfulness, the Savior took upon Himself all the punishments of sin, became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13) and suffered for us all the executions assigned to us by the righteousness of God for our iniquities. This is our sins, and it hurts for us, and we impute His being in labor, and in an ulcer from God, and in embitterment. The same plague was for our sins and we were tormented for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace is upon Him; by His wound we are healed (Isa. 53:4–6). His entire earthly life is the cross of His free suffering, His unimaginable illnesses, torments and sorrows, which He, the sinless One, tasted for us sinners. But Christ’s sacrifice ended only in His suffering and death on the cross. Here He, as having taken upon Himself the sins of mankind and the punishments for them, drank the whole cup of the wrath of God (John 18:11) and suffered the very diseases of hell (Isaiah 53:12). He Himself revealed to His disciples: My soul is sorrowful even unto death (Matthew 26:38). He grieved and grieved so much under the weight of human sins and prayed with such tension for the cup to pass away from Him that bloody sweat dripped from Him. He cried out three times: My Father! Even if it is possible to eat, let this cup pass from Me; Moreover, not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39). He who bears all kinds of power through His power now needed strengthening from the angel (Luke 22:43). But the will of the Father, that He should drink the cup of suffering, remained unchanged even after praying three times. On the cross, to which He was betrayed like a lion, so that all His bones might be crushed (Is. 38:13), with the most severe, indescribable physical torment, spiritual sorrow and torment were combined. Abandoned by those close to him, enduring all kinds of ridicule and curses from those who rebelled against Him, He, in the last minutes of His suffering, experienced the most severe of the punishments of sin - the feeling of being abandoned by God (Matthew 27:46). The inexpressible suffering of the Lamb of God ended with the voluntary offering of His very life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. § 105. The teaching of revelation and the church about the suffering and death of the God-man as an atoning sacrifice The Savior's death on the cross as an expiatory and propitiatory sacrifice, bringing reconciliation between God and man. – Testimony of Revelation about the redemptive significance of the death of Christ. – The Church believes in this. The suffering of I. Christ, which ended with His death on the cross, is not the same as the suffering and death of ordinary people, but has a special and great providential significance. The disasters and sorrows of life, illness and suffering in general for the ordinary descendants of Adam are the fatal consequences of original sin and educational punishments for their personal sinfulness. But I. Christ, as sinless, is personally free from these disasters and sorrows of life. Likewise, His death is not the necessary completion of earthly life, which is what death is for all people. As pure and sinless, I. Christ could not die due to the common necessity of death for all people: death is a rent of sin. Just as His entire earthly life was a sacrifice for the redemption of man, so His death on the cross was especially such an atoning sacrifice. It constitutes the essence, the basis and at the same time the completion of the sacrifice of Christ. As a result of making such a sacrifice, the Lord I. Christ is called and is in the proper sense the Redeemer and Savior of the human race. I. The teaching that Christ’s death on the cross is an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world constitutes the fundamental truth of Christianity. In revelation this teaching is expressed clearly and decisively. The death of I. Christ, as the true Messiah, was depicted in the Old Testament as an atoning death for the sins of people. This meaning of it is symbolized in various images, especially by various types of sacrifices (bloody). The sacrifices were images of the future sacrifice of I. Christ. Therefore, He, as the prototype of all sacrifices, is called the Lamb in Scripture (Is. 53:7; in the New Testament the name of I. Christ the Lamb occurs 29 times). Sacrifices in the Old Testament, especially the so-called. expiatory and propitiatory (these are: sacrifices for sin and guilt offerings) were offered with the purpose of asking God for forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with Him and liberation from punishment for them; sins were transferred to an innocent animal, whose death or blood was a substitute for the death of the sinner, determined by the righteousness of God for sins (Lev 4:1-4), an expiatory punishment that frees a person from his guilt (poena vicaria). The sacrifice offered on the great day of atonement especially clarifies the true meaning and educational character of the Old Testament sacrifices (Lev. 16). Even more direct indications of the suffering and death of the Messiah, as an atoning sacrifice, are contained in the prophecies. Thus, St. Isaiah depicts the “Man of Sorrows,” the Messiah, suffering for our sins and obtaining salvation for us through His sufferings (53:4-6), and compares Him to a lamb led to the sacrificial slaughter (Art. 7): The Lord laid our sins on Him, and He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our illnesses. Ave. Daniel says that Christ the Lord had to suffer and die, so that the crime would be covered, sins would be sealed and iniquities would be blotted out, and so that eternal righteousness would be brought in (9:24). Based on such clear foreshadowings and prophecies, at the first appearance of the Messiah, His Forerunner testified about Him with the words of St. Isaiah: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). When the time of His suffering on the cross and death was already approaching, He Himself said to His disciples: The Son of man did not come and let them serve Him, but serve and give His soul redemption for many (λύτρον άντί πολλών - Matthew 20:28; fn. Mark 10:45). The word λύτρον, especially in connection with αντί, denotes a price or payment for which, for example, the firstborn who were dedicated to serving God were freed from it (Num. 18:15–16), prisoners of war and slaves received freedom (Lev. 19, 20; 25, 51; Isa. 45:13: cf. 1 Cor.6:20; 7, 23), criminals obliged by law to bear punishment and even sometimes death, were exempted from punishment (Ex.21:30; Num.35:31-32; Prov.6:35). I. Christ’s sacrifice of His life had the same meaning: we were obliged to bear death as punishment for our sins; but His death was a ransom payment, or a means for freeing us (άντί - instead) from this punishment, a replacement for our death ( αντάλλαγμα - exchange, replacement in Matthew 16 and Mark 8:36-37 - the same as λύτρον). In the parable of the good shepherd He said: I am the good Shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep... And I... lay down my life for the sheep... No one will take it from Me, but I set it for Myself (John 10:11. 17-18). Thus, the voluntary death of I. Christ is death for people, the price of our deliverance or redemption from death. In a conversation about animal bread, I. Christ taught: I am the animal bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats of this bread will live forever: and the bread that I will give, my flesh is, which I will give for the life of the world (John 6:51). These words show that I. Christ gave His flesh to give life to the world, that is, that His death is an atoning sacrifice. At the last supper, giving bread to the disciples, He said; This is My body, given for you (Luke 22:19), and, giving the cup of blessing, he said: For this is My blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28), or, as another evangelist says: This cup is the new covenant with My blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:20; fn. 1 Corinthians 11:23). In the words: this cup is the new covenant with My blood - the death on the cross of I. Christ is compared with the Old Testament sacrifice of the covenant, which Moses offered for the people during the conclusion of the alliance with God at Mount Sinai (Ex. 24: 3-8; cf. Heb. 9: 18-23), which shows that by His death I. Christ learned the meaning of the sacrifice. This is how the apostles taught about the meaning of the death of Christ. Ap. Peter instructs: live your life with fear, knowing that you have not been redeemed with silver or gold (with which prisoners of war and slaves are usually redeemed) (έλντρώθητε - redeemed; λντρόω - make a due ransom in a passive pledge - to be freed for a ransom) from your vain life, faithful fathers, but with honest blood, like the spotless and most pure lamb of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19), Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having been freed from sin, we may live in righteousness (2:24). And one more thing: Christ alone (άπαξ - once) suffered for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God (3:18). Ap. John teaches that the blood of I. Christ cleanses us from all sin (1:7). But the testimonies of the apostle are especially varied. Paul on the redemptive meaning of Christ's death. He calls the entire gospel sermon the sermon about Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23; cf. 2:2; Gal.3:1). For I delivered it to you from the beginning, even as I received it, for Christ died sin for our sakes according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3; cf. Gal. 1:4; 2, 20), for the wicked I died (Rom. 5:6, 8; cf. 4, 25 and many others). Christ redeemed us (εξηγόρασεν, from άγοράσω - I appear at άγορά - market, square, buy something there, generally buy) from the oath of the law (τής κατάρας του νόμου), there was an oath against us (κατάρα); for it is written: cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Gal. 3:13), that is, Christ, being Himself free from the curse of the law - from condemnation or punishment for failure to fulfill the law (κατάρα - curse, as can be seen from Art. 10, also means that condemnation for failure to fulfill the law - κατάκριμα in Rom. 8:1), endures the condemnation to which lawless people are subject, and thereby acquires redemption for them. According to the same apostle: about Him are the imams, deliverance through His blood (την άπολντρωσιν δια του αίματος Αύτού) and the remission of sins (Εφ 1, 7; Col. 1:14), i.e. e. His blood is the ransom price (άπολύτρωσις - redemption: άπο - from and λύτρον - ransom), freeing people from slavery to sin and its consequences - the wrath of God and death. Ap. Paul often and directly calls the death of I. Christ a sacrifice, for example: He gave Himself an offering and a sacrifice to God for us (προσφοράν και συσίαν τω Θεω), into the stench of fragrance (Eph 5:2). The apostle finds similarities between the sacrifice of Christ and certain types of Old Testament sacrifices. Thus, in the words he cites for establishing the sacrament of the Eucharist: this cup is the new covenant in My blood - one can see the rapprochement of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross with the sacrifice of the covenant (1 Cor. 11:23-25; cf. Heb. 9:15-21; cf. Ex. 24:3-8). In the words: our Easter for us Christ was devoured (1 Cor. 5:7), - the sacrifice of Christ is compared with the Easter sacrifice of the Old Testament. Most often, the apostle brings the death of the cross closer to the sacrifice for sin. So, he says: God, who knew no sin (I. Christ), made sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21), that is, God made Him sinless and all holy as a sacrifice for sin, so that we would be righteous in Him before God (see also Rom. 3:25; 8, 3; Gal. 1:4). Ap. reveals in particular detail. Paul's teaching about Christ's atoning sacrifice in his letter to the Hebrews. Here I. Christ is depicted as the High Priest, offering a sacrifice for the sins of people, and as the very sacrifice offered to God (5, 1-10; 7, 26-28; 9, 11-19; 10, 1-28). II. The Church has always believed that the death of Jesus Christ constitutes the sacrifice of atonement and salvation for man. She introduced the confession of this truth, as one of the fundamental truths of Christianity, into the Ecumenical Nicene-Constantinopolitan Symbol, where we confess the Lord Jesus “for us man and for our salvation, who came down from heaven... crucified for us, and suffered and was buried”... On this meaning of the death of Christ is based the constant offering in the church of the bloodless sacrifice of Christ, which is the focus and essence of all Christian worship. In the liturgy, thanks are given to God the Father, especially for the fact that we are saved by the suffering and death of His only begotten Son, I. Christ. The ancient custom of honoring the image of the cross and reverently using the sign of the cross is based on the truth that our salvation was accomplished especially by the death of Jesus Christ. § 106. Saving fruits of Christ’s sacrifice Satisfaction with God's justice. – The Son of God, who became man, made a sacrifice for us, endured suffering and death for us, endured it according to His good will. – The sacrifice made by the Lord was a sacrifice of God’s love for the world. – Salvation lies not only in ceasing to be a sinner, but also in the purification and sanctification of the soul. – Reconciliation of people with God. – Extermination of all consequences of sin. – The death of the Lord as a source of grace. I. Christ sacrificed Himself “for our sake and ours for the sake of salvation” not only as a man, although innocent and sinless, but also as the Son of God, the God-Man. Therefore, His sacrifice has an immensely great significance. It is impossible for a limited human mind to comprehend all its saving fruits. The most important of them are the following. I. The primary benefit of Christ’s sacrifice is that “His voluntary suffering and death on the cross for us, being of infinite value and dignity, like the death of the sinless and God-man, is perfect satisfaction to the justice of God, who condemned us to death for sin” (Katikh., about 4 parts). Such “Satisfaction” (satisfactio) was necessary for the liberation of humanity from the condemnation to death that weighed on it because this was required by the law of the eternal and most perfect truth of God. According to the law of truth, each and every moral being must receive reward according to their deserts and be punished for guilt. This law determines the existence of the moral kingdom. God, as righteous in all His ways (Ps. 145:17), could not break this law in favor of man: He Himself, forever and for the benefit of man himself, established an inextricable connection between sin and punishment. And man himself can never come to terms with the impunity of sin, demanding retribution for the crime. The removal of the condemnation of sin from the descendants of Adam, therefore, could not be accomplished otherwise than through the satisfaction or fulfillment of the law of righteousness. But none of the people could make such a sacrifice, for every single person is completely infected with sin and, therefore, they are all completely under the curse of God: a brother will not deliver, will a man deliver? He will not give God betrayal for himself, and the price of the deliverance of his soul (Ps. 49:8-9). The atoning sacrifice that satisfies the righteousness of God for the sins of the whole world and saves the whole world from punishment for sins could only be brought by God Himself, the Creator of the world, if He wanted to save His creation from destruction. Such a sacrifice of the saving love of God was indeed the sacrifice of the God-man, Whose God Himself proposed cleansing through faith in His blood, in the revelation of His righteousness, for the remission of former sins (Rom. 3:24-25). Having endured executions for all criminal people and taking upon Himself their necessary death, He forever satisfied the truth of God for all people, and revealed in His person humanity, free from punishment, as having already suffered punishment in His person. The truth of God could not but be satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice he made could and did have such significance before the court of God’s truth for the following reasons. a) It was not an ordinary man who made the sacrifice for us, but the Son of God made man. In Him, as a true man, the human race had its representative, and therefore His sacrifice was a sacrifice from man and for man. But since human nature in the person of the Redeemer was accepted into hypostatic unity by the Son of God, and divinity did not abandon humanity in Christ even during His very suffering, it was not only man, although sinless, who suffered and died for people, but the Son of God made man. and from here it is clear why the death or blood of I. Christ could and did replace the death of all people, or was a sacrifice that fully satisfied the holy truth of God. b) The Lord I. Christ suffered suffering and death for us in fulfillment of the holy will of His Father. God Himself offered (I. Christ) as a sacrifice of propitiation in His blood through faith (Rom. 3:25; cf. Col. 1:19–20); The Father Himself gave His only begotten Son to eat (έδωκε, i.e., He gave over to death, ordained to death, - John 3:16; cf. Rom. 8:32). c) The Lord I. Christ endured suffering and death for us, although in fulfillment of the will of His heavenly Father, but completely voluntarily, and not under any coercion. For this reason the Father loves Me,” He says, “for I lay down My soul, that I may receive it again.” No one will take it from Me, but I set it for Myself. The imam will lay down the region, and the imam will again accept the region (John 10:17-18). He could have stopped the soldiers who came to take Him with a single word (John 18:6), but He did not want to. Just as He voluntarily, even before the creation of the world, deigned to take upon Himself the future sin of the world (Heb. 10:5-10), so voluntarily He surrendered into the hands of sinners and voluntarily He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). d) Finally, the sacrifice made by I. Christ was a sacrifice of God’s love for the world as His creation. God the Father so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son to eat, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). And the Son spoke of Himself: “Greater love has no one to sow, but whoever lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13; cf. 13:1). The apostles say about Him: He loved to eat us and gave Himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2; cf. Rom. 5:6–8). In the suffering and death of the incarnate Son of God, the love of God the Father and God the Son thus harmoniously realized God's eternal truth. II. The salvation of a person lies not only in avoiding punishment for sin, but also in ceasing to be a sinner, for it is impossible for God to reconcile with a sinner and give him life. And I. Christ, having taken upon Himself the sins of the world and brought satisfaction for them to the truth of God, through this received the right to forgive the sins of all those who repent, to cleanse and sanctify their souls with His blood 52 . Therefore, every sinner who wants to replace his necessary death for sins with the innocent death of Christ, if he turns to Christ for help and places his only hope for salvation on Him, will receive salvation, for He only appeared in the world to save the lost: Christ the Savior will take upon Himself the sins and guilts that He acknowledges, cleanse him with His blood from all his sins, and at the same time all his guilt for these sins will be eliminated by itself. The truth about the cleansing of human sins through the redemptive power of Christ’s death on the cross is expressed in especially diverse ways by the apostle. Pavel. I. Christ, he teaches, is truth and sanctification and deliverance (δικαιοσύνη καί αγιασμός και άπολύτρωσις) ours (1 Cor. 1:30), that is, in His name and by His power is given remission of sins and inner cleansing and liberation from the bonds of sin and the flesh, the world and the devil. Justify the tuna by His grace, by the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus, which God hath ordained cleansing (ίλαστήριον) through faith in His blood, in the revelation of His righteousness, for the remission of former sins (Rom. 3:24–25). In other words, having suffered death on the cross for the sins of people, He appeared for those who believe in Him as a purification (ίλαστήριον) from sins, just as the board of the Ark of the Covenant with the sacrificial blood spilled on it was a means of cleansing the sins of the Jewish people. He teaches: Christ loved the church and gave it to Himself for its sake, that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it with the washing of water in the verb, that it might present to Himself a glorious church, not having any filthiness or defect, or any of these, but being holy and blameless (Eph. 5:25-27; fn. Col.1:22); The blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from dead works, while the sacrifices of the Old Testament sanctified those defiled only to the purity of the flesh (Heb. 9:13–14). The cleansing power of Christ's sacrifice has a comprehensive meaning. It extends to the entire human race, for all people, as descendants of the fallen Adam and children of the wrath of God by nature (Eph. 2:3), have a need for redemption. I. Christ taught that He was sent from God the Father for the salvation of the whole world (John 3:16) - that He gives His flesh for the life of the world (John 6:51). Ap. John writes: This cleansing is for our sins, not for ours specifically, but for the whole world (1 John 2:2). Ap. Paul teaches that the only mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, gave Himself redemption for all (1 Tim. 2:3–6), that Christ alone died for all (2 Cor. 5:14–15; Rom. 5:18). Further, the power of Christ’s sacrifice extends to all sins, both to the sin that all sinned in Adam, and to those that originated or can occur from him: the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (John 1:7; cf. 2:1-2); He gave Himself food for us, that He might deliver us from all iniquity (Tit.2:14; fn. Rom.5:16). Finally, the sacrifice He brought has intercessory power for all eternity - for people of all times and for sins from the beginning of the fall of mankind to the end of the world. Otherwise, it would be fitting for him to suffer many times (πολλάκις - more than once) from the creation of the world, that is, if His death did not have eternal power. But He appeared as one (άπαξ) at the end of the ages, to sweep away sin (εις ‘ αθέτησιν αμαρτίας) as His sacrifice (Heb. 9:26; sn. 1 Pet 3:18), and with one offering He made to eat forever those who are sanctified ( Heb. 10:14 ). His sacrifice obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). It extends to pre-Christian times. According to the apostle, it grants remission of previously former sins (Rom. 3:25), or crimes that were in the first (old) testament (Heb. 9:15). Its power extends to all times after the making of this sacrifice and will extend until His second coming. People continue to sin after the death of Christ, but the Redeemer was given the right to forgive the sins of those who repent, to cleanse and sanctify their souls with His blood. If anyone sins, the apostle writes, the imam will intercede with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And that cleansing is for our sins, not for ours specifically, but for the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, and may forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). III. I. Christ, having brought satisfaction to the truth of God with His atoning sacrifice and granted people justification and cleansing from sins, thereby reconciled people with God and God with people. He exists, he teaches. Paul, our peace (είρήνη ήμών), since he reconciled us to God (Eph. 2:14). Having been justified by faith, the world (είρήνην) and mothers to God by our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). The state of people under the wrath of God or their enmity towards God I. Christ killed, according to the figurative expression of the same apostle, with His flesh, reconciling (αποκαταλλάξή - from άπυκαταλλάσσειν - to put again into the same relationships, to restore the broken world; n. Col.1:20) both (Jews and Gentiles) in one body of God by the cross (Eph.2:16). He says: having defeated the former, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (Rom. 5:10; cf. 2 Cor. 5:19). Reconciliation (καταλλαγή), which the apostle speaks of and which is accomplished by the death of Jesus Christ, consists not only in the fact that God removes His wrath and condemnation from man, does not impute their sins to people, but in a change in the attitude towards God on the part of man as a result of the transformation of his moral state, his cleansing from sins. “For it is not God who is at enmity against us, but we are against Him,” says Chrysostom. “God never makes enmity” (2 Cor. 5:20). Reconciled with God through the power of the Savior's suffering on the cross, through Him everyone is brought (προσαγωγήν, - the word προσαγογείς was used in the eastern courts to bring enemies or foreigners to the king) in one Dus to the Father (Eph. 2:17-18; fn. 3, 12; Rom.5:2; Heb.2:10; 1Pet.3:18), and from enemies and aliens (Col.1:21), from strangers and strangers, we become fellow citizens (πολίται - fellow citizens) of the saints (οίκείοι - members of our household) with God (Eph.2:19). ), sons of God (1, 5; Rom. 8:14–15). Reconciling God with people and people with God means the same thing as restoring the union between God and man, destroyed by sin. And I. Christ really established a new covenant with His blood (1 Cor 11:25), reunited people with God in a union of the closest love. Just as in Him Himself, divinity and humanity were united so closely and inextricably that they formed one person, the God-man, so in the image and by virtue of this union, other people, as having the same nature as humanity of I. Christ, received the opportunity to be in close moral communion with God. May they all be one, Christ prayed to God the Father before His suffering on the cross, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us (John 17:21). IV. The atoning sacrifice of I. Christ has a comprehensive meaning in relation to everything that sin gave rise to. The saving effects of Christ’s sacrifice in relation to the consequences of the fall began to be revealed immediately after He brought the sacrifice, but the time will come when all the consequences of sin will be completely destroyed. Sin, which dissolved the union with God, inevitably dissolved the union of people with His holy angels. But with the sacrifice of the cross, people can again, as before sin, have communion with heaven and the inhabitants of heaven, and those who believe, according to the apostle, actually approach Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and the host of angels... the triumph and church of the firstborn in heaven, and God the Judge of all, and the righteous in spirit, and Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant ( Hebrews 12:22–24 ). In Him, I. Christ, God deigned to reconcile all things to Himself, pacifying them with the blood of His cross, through Him, whether I am on earth or in heaven (Col. 1:20; cf. Eph. 1:10, 21–22). After the Fall, people became slaves of sin, and through this, slaves of the devil. Having freed people from slavery to sin, that is, from subordination to it as an irresistible force, I. Christ thereby freed them from the dominion of the devil over them. True, even now people are subject to attacks and deceptions of this enemy, but they can, by the power of the cross, as a sign of Jesus crucified on it, make all the destructive plans of the devil harmless to themselves. I. By His death, Christ abolished the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14), that is, he deprived us of the power to subject us to eternal death or condemnation equal to his own - he delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into His kingdom (Col. 1:13; 2, 15). The descent of I. Christ into hell freed his captives who believed in Christ from the bonds of hell. In the same way, people who die with faith in the Redeemer are free from the dominion of the devil and will not be subjected to hellish torment. The death of sin was death - spiritual and physical. But the atoning death of I. Christ marked the beginning of the victory over death in both of its forms. I. Christ did not remain a prisoner of death, but rose from the dead. His resurrection is a victory over death, which enslaved the human race, and the basis and reason for the general resurrection of the dead in the body, only postponed by God's providence until a certain fullness of time (1 Cor. 15:20-26). For the spiritual revival of humanity, He founded the Church on earth, in order to bring everyone into the eternal and glorious kingdom of God (John 3:3.5; Rom.6:3-11). For man's sin, the earth and creation in general were cursed. But now, after the saving death of Christ and as a result of it, she expects with hope the renewal of humanity and the revelation of the glory of the sons of God, for then the creation itself will be freed from the work of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:19-21). V. Finally, the death of I. Christ in general is the source of God’s blessing and all the blessings necessary for the true bliss of man. From His fulfillment, says the evangelist, we all receive grace (John 1:16), that is, one good deed after another, one higher than the other, or, as the apostle says. Paul, abundance of grace (Rom 5:17). If He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him give us all things (Rom 8:32)? According to the same apostle, people, having received the Spirit of adoption, became sons of God; This very Spirit obeys (testifies) our spirit, for we are children of God. Children and heirs, heirs with God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:14–17). As heirs of God and as children of God, we can share in all that belongs to God: holiness, immortality and eternal life, glory and blessedness. As joint heirs with Christ, people have acquired the opportunity to achieve that glorification that is bestowed on the Redeemer by His humanity. “Father, you have given them to Me,” the Savior prayed for those who believe in Him, “I will, that even where I am, they also may be with Me, that they may see My glory, which you have given to Me (John 17:24), and indeed, the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:43). § 107. A brief overview of the false and one-sided views of the atonement. Answer to the main perplexities and objections regarding the atoning sacrifice of Christ Rationalistic theories of the atonement. – Legal theory of atonement. - Confusion regarding the atoning sacrifice of Christ. I. The doctrine that the Lord I. Christ sacrificed Himself for us and that such a sacrifice consists primarily of His suffering and death, has had and still has many opponents from the beginning of Christianity. Among the ancient heretics, the idea had already appeared (among the Docetes, Ebionites and Ebionite monarchians) that in the redemptive ministry of I. Christ, essential significance belongs only to His teaching service, and His suffering and death have only moral or approximately edifying significance. In the 5th century, Pelagianism held the same view. The Pelagians, arguing that death would have reigned in the human race if Adam had not sinned, did not recognize the need for a Redeemer. According to their concepts, I. Christ is nothing more than the Teacher of the world, who helped people with His teaching, holiness of life, and showed a high example of self-sacrifice. In modern times, Socinianism, and then Protestant rationalistic theology, have come up with similar views on the atonement. For the Socinians, as for the rationalists, the death of I. Christ is simply a great and edifying feat of martyrdom, which ends the lives of all great people (heroes) who fought for truth and righteousness, a feat worthy of imitation. He died, according to their understanding, simply as a result of the Pharisaic and high priestly malice and popular fanaticism against Him, but His death is not at all any kind of atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. To save humanity, it was enough to teach people the truth, to impart to them the correct concepts about God and goodness, which is what I. Christ did, as the founder of the religion of love, reason and freedom. As an example of rationalistic theories about atonement, in various shades, one can point to the theory of A. Ritschl. God, according to Richl, is unconditionally and exclusively love; He loves both the righteous and the sinful, and therefore the introduction into the being of God of wrath, punishing sinners for their iniquities, is the destruction of the true concept of God. If there is no wrath of God against sinners, then it is a mistake to think that there is a need for atonement from sins. Being only love, God demands only love from people. If, as a result of violating God’s commandments, people experience a feeling of guilt before God and imagine God as a just punisher of iniquities, then this is a subjective feeling that only indicates a lack of religious communication with God. The perfect revelation of God's love was given to us by I. Christ; He dispelled misconceptions about the wrath of God and His justice. To be saved, a person only needs to believe in the eternally unchanging love of the Divine for him and draw closer to God. No satisfaction with the truth of God is required for this. Hence, the death of I. Christ is nothing more than martyrdom for His teaching - out of love for people; it can only have a moral and edifying meaning. This kind of teaching obviously has a false Christian character. They define redemption as the reconciliation of man with God, and reject the other side of atonement (objective) - the reconciliation of God with man. The reasons for such one-sidedness of these teachings lie, first of all, in the denial of the mystery of the Incarnation, and then in general in incorrect religious and moral concepts, especially in the concept of God and sin. These teachings present God only as a God of love, devoid of justice, and sin is understood only as a person’s spiritual powerlessness to communicate with God, to eliminate which it is enough just to inform a person of the correct concepts about God and goodness. But if God, as revelation teaches, is not only love, but also an all-righteous Being, and sin is also not only a disease or natural infirmity of a person, although requiring healing, but also guilt before God, for which a person is responsible, then the just love of God could accomplish the redemption of humanity from the evils that oppress it (curse and death) only under the condition of satisfying the law of divine truth. Of course, the example of the highly selfless life and death of I. Christ has fruitful significance for people, but this example alone cannot save them. Rejecting rationalistic theories of atonement as clearly one-sided, all Christian denominations teach that the death of Christ is an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, satisfaction with the righteousness of God. However, in the very understanding and disclosure of the doctrine of the redemptive meaning of the death of Christ, Western Christian confessions (Roman Catholic and Protestant) are not free from some shortcomings. Thus, according to Roman Catholic views, the sin of the first people consisted not so much in sinful damage to nature, but rather constituted a crime before God, an insult to the infinitely holy and infinitely just God. For this, a person became worthy of infinitely great executions, for the higher the offended person, the heavier the guilt and responsibility for the insult, he became an unpaid debtor to God. It was possible to save a person from eternal punishment for a crime only by corresponding satisfaction to divine justice, that is, by infinite satisfaction. The innocent and voluntary death of the God-man was such a satisfaction to the feeling of the offended dignity of God, payment for the death deserved by sinners. Not only this, I. Christ with His suffering and death not only paid only our debt to God, bought with His blood the forgiveness of people’s sins, but also brought for our debt to the truth of God a payment that was exceedingly abundant (satisfactio superabundans), - exceedingly abundant because even one drop of Christ’s blood was enough to fully satisfy the truth of God for the sins of the whole world, and in payment of our debt it was not just a drop of His blood that was poured out, but He gave Him life itself, full of sorrows and suffering. By the power of this satisfaction, God’s favor is returned to people, God’s grace, deserved by Christ, is given - forgiving, sanctifying, adoptive grace, liberating from sin, death and the devil, and in general from eternal condemnation. The doctrine of atonement in the Roman Church received this formulation in the age of scholasticism, from Anselm (in the work “Cur Deus Homo?”) and Thomas Aquinas, and gradually acquired the meaning of dogma. Without significant changes, the Roman Catholic doctrine of atonement was retained by the Reformation, with only the denial of the doctrine of the pre-abundant significance of Christ's merits in the Roman Catholic sense 53 . This view of atonement is obviously insufficient and does not fully express the teaching about God’s economy regarding the salvation of man. Thus, he views the voluntary death of the Savior primarily as a victim of God’s punitive justice, but according to the teachings of revelation in this case, the love for the world of God the Father and God the Son realized God’s eternal truth through the miracle of the consenting self-sacrifice of divine persons. Consequently, the innocent death of the Redeemer is as much a sacrifice of God’s saving love as of justice. The idea of ​​God taking revenge on a person out of a sense of offended pride and demanding a material ransom from a person for crimes is inconsistent with the true concept of God in general, and of God’s truth in particular. Further, although I. Christ and His apostles called the sacrifice He brought as a price, a ransom (λύτρον, άντίλυτρον, άπολύτρωσις), however, I. Christ did not teach that His blood only buys forgiveness of sins and His innocent death only pays for deserved death for sinners. He taught that salvation lies not only in the sinner avoiding God’s punishment for sin, but also in the fact that he ceases to be a sinner, which is why he took upon himself the sins of the whole world and death on the cross for their destruction, in order to open people to the opportunity to be cleansed of sins (and not just be forgiven). Therefore, although the death on the cross of I. Christ is an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, it does not atone for sins for the sole reason that it is completely sufficient satisfaction for the justice of God. In fact, for atonement or cleansing from sins and in general for salvation, regardless of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, it is also necessary on the part of the sinner to recognize his sins and guilt before God and the desire to be cleansed from them - repentance and living faith in the Redeemer. But in the Catholic-Protestant understanding of the dogma of atonement, atonement is something completely external, extraneous to man: it leaves no room for the thought of living faith in the Redeemer and the righteous life of people, and can even directly lead to the conclusion: whether a person believes or does not believe in Christ and whether he lives on earth righteously or unrighteously, for his future salvation in this case it is completely indifferent, for Christ has paid for all his debts - present, past and future, suffered punishment for all human guilt. Of course, Western confessions do not draw such conclusions from their teaching, recognizing that repentance and faith are necessary for assimilating the fruits of redemption, but this is an inconsistency that testifies to the shortcomings of the very teaching of the atonement of these confessions. Finally, in Anselm’s theory of atonement, the incarnation of God the Word, as the revelation of the Divine in the world and the beginning of the reunification of humanity with God, is deprived of its independent significance in the matter of salvation. It retains significance only to the extent that it relates to the sacrifice of the God-man on the cross. II. The mystery of the salvation of the world through the sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross has raised and continues to raise many puzzling questions, and from non-believers (in general rationalists, especially Socinus and Ritschl with their followers) and objections directed against the church teaching about it. Let us give an answer to these perplexities and objections - within the limits, of course, of the possible understanding of this mystery. So, the question has long been raised; Why was such a great sacrifice for sin necessary, such as the incarnation and death of the Son of God? Couldn't God have given salvation to people by other means that would reveal His goodness, such as simply forgiveness of sin, enlightenment of conscience, or something similar? There is no doubt that the inexhaustible wisdom of God could have devised other methods of salvation unknown to us. But “righteously,” says St. Leo V., - the mercy of the Lord: for while He had ineffably many means for the redemption of the human race, He chose primarily this means,” that is, the incarnation and death of the Son of God (De nativ. Sermo II, p. 2). This is how other church fathers thought about God’s chosen means of redemption: they recognized the need for the incarnation and suffering of the Son for the salvation of fallen humanity, not unconditional, but conditional, economically. “For what reason,” asks St. Gregory the Theologian, “is the blood of the Only Begotten pleasing to the Father, who did not accept Isaac offered by his father, but replaced the sacrifice by giving a ram instead of a verbal sacrifice?” - and answers: “The Father accepts (the bloody sacrifice of the Son) not because he demanded or had a need, but according to the economy, and because man needed to be sanctified by the humanity of God, so that He Himself would deliver us, overcoming the tormentor by force, and raise us to Himself through the Son who mediates and arranges all things in honor of the Father, to whom He appears to be submissive in everything” 54. How, they ask further, can the love of God be reconciled with His righteousness in redemption? God is love, but the God of love does not tend to punish and punish. But if He demanded bloody satisfaction for His justice, then how does He remain good? Those who reason in this way find the doctrine of atonement harsh, suffering from a lack of love. But such reasoning comes from the false idea of ​​the incompatibility of love and truth in God, from the denial of truth in Him and the assertion that God is only love. Meanwhile, in God one cannot separate truth from love. The truth of God is the same love, but only in a special manifestation - its “clothing”, “action” or “expression”, having the same goal as love, that is, good, in this case - the salvation of the sinner. God, out of His love, does not desire the death of the sinner, but his conversion and salvation. But His love does not achieve this goal in such a way that it rejects the reward for sin. Leaving sin without punishment would mean in God the same thing as showing favor towards sin, rewarding with eternal bliss not only the unworthy, but also those incapable of bliss in communion with God. According to His boundless truth, He revealed this displeasure towards sin to the whole world, for the teaching, correction and salvation of people, in the suffering and death of His Son, who He voluntarily took up for sinners. But at the same time, this was an expression of His boundless love for the human race, for the goal was the salvation of people. Here, miraculously, mercy and truth were met, justice and peace were greeted (Ps. 84:11). 55 They further object: the concepts of “satisfaction” and “forgiveness of sins” are incompatible concepts: whoever demands satisfaction for himself and accepts it (for example, a monetary debt) does not forgive, and vice versa. This objection falls completely short of a correct understanding of the mystery of the atonement. God did not demand or desire the blood of Christ, that is, in the sense of personal satisfaction for the insult received from a person, but He accepts it according to economy, that is, as the most wise way to defeat and destroy the sin that reigns in the world and to sanctify sinful humanity through the sharing of the holy human nature of Christ with it. That's why St. the fathers, saying that the sacrifice was brought to God the Father, at the same time had no doubt in asserting that I. Christ in His Calvary sacrifice offered the sacrifice to Himself, and is not only “the one who offers and the one who is offered,” but also “the one who accepts the sacrifice.” It follows that although redemption is depicted under the guise of paying a debt, this payment should be understood differently than the usual payment of a monetary debt is understood: this payment is the restoration of the rights of the moral law of God, the holiness and greatness of which was trampled upon in the world by the sin of mankind, wonderfully united with the salvation of mankind from destruction. The entire essence of redemption lies in the restoration of fallen humanity, combined with the restoration of divine truth, desecrated by human sin. And the doctrine of satisfaction itself is in deep correspondence with the needs of our own moral nature. The law of truth, living in the soul of every person, requires that each and every moral being receive reward for merit and be punished for guilt. Finally, against this objection we speak of the universality of the idea of ​​atonement. Humanity at all times was aware of its deep guilt before God and sought reconciliation with God through atonement. They see the dogma of atonement as a contradiction to God's justice. It is inconsistent, they say, with the truth of God to accuse and punish the innocent and most holy Son instead of guilty people, in order to grant forgiveness to the latter; people themselves must suffer for their sins; It is equally unfair to transfer justification from Christ to sinful humanity, without their participation in His merits. But as for the transfer of guilt and punishment from sinful humanity to the innocent Redeemer, He was not accused by the Father in heaven; He did not Himself personally become damned, but He took upon Himself instead of us, as the head for the members, the curse of the law, so that in the position of an atoning sacrifice to free us from the curse, He accepted it in accordance with the will of the Heavenly Father and not out of necessity or compulsion, but completely voluntarily, out of love for the lost people. They say that the injustice of this method of atonement is not made less by the fact that the innocent suffers voluntarily for the guilty. From the point of view of the concepts of justice that dominate in the field of civil relations, this is so. But such substitution, not permitted by law, is usually permitted by love, in the area of ​​moral relations. Love encourages some to suffer for others. So I. Christ voluntarily took upon Himself the punishment imposed by the judgment of God's truth, out of love putting Himself in the place of condemned humanity. In this case, obviously, no justice is suffered. It would be unfair to punish a mother for her criminal son, who wanted to save him from punishment with her suffering, and then let him go. But if she wants to share the fate of her son and goes into exile with him, who can forbid her this, as an unjust or bad thing? Of course, the feat of a compassionate mother will not change the fate of her son and the decision of the human court. But the feat of I. Christ, on the contrary, changes the situation of man. And the truth here is different, and the Intercessor is not a person. There is no violation of justice in the fact that by the power of the atoning sacrifice of the God-Man, people are granted forgiveness of sins and exemption from punishment for them. The law of truth would be violated if the merits of Christ were imputed to people without their consciousness and will, in an external way; but in fact, only “those of us who, for our part, voluntarily take part in His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Katikh. 4 ch.) enjoy the fruits of Christ’s redemptive merits. Finally, God’s justice rewarded with favor the Righteous One, who accomplished the feat of the highest, purest love: after death on the cross, God exalted Him and gave Him a name above every other name (Philip 2:7-11; cf. Heb. 2:9). It is impossible, they say, to allow the atoning sufferings of I. Christ to extend to all people and to deliver them from eternal punishment and eternal death, because the sufferings of Christ were the sufferings of One for all, He suffered for several hours, suffered temporary and not eternal death, etc. The basis of this objection is the view of I. Christ as only a person, albeit a high one in moral terms. But when we think that our Redeemer is the only begotten Son of God, the God-man, it will be clear that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is not only the most complete and perfect satisfaction of God’s justice for all human sins, not only is it equivalent to the value of all human souls, but has infinite value, in accordance with the infinite dignity of His face. “And the moment of death of the God-man, by the co-presence of the eternal Divinity, is equal to eternity,” says the Russian saint Metropolitan. Filaret, and therefore the sacrifice of the God-man is sufficient to atone for the sins of all mankind. According to St. Chrysostom “Christ paid much more than he owed; Its payment in comparison with a debt is the same as an immense sea in comparison with a small drop” (On Rom. Bes. X, 2). Secondly, the significance of any sacrifice cannot be measured quantitatively, from a formal legal point of view (the Roman doctrine of the supererogatory merits of I. Christ is a direct consequence of this view of Christ’s sacrifices), but it is determined by the power of love and selflessness. The stronger and more selfless the love, the more valuable and higher the sacrifice it makes. But love and selflessness cannot be measured quantitatively. This especially needs to be said about the holiest and purest love of I. Christ, manifested in His death on the cross. They also ask: how can one assert that the sacrifice of the cross grants both cleansing from sins and liberation from punishment for sins, when not only humanity in general, but even believers and the sanctified sin, suffer various disasters and suffering, and death reigns in full force? True, by the power of atonement, believers in I. Christ are cleansed from sins and freed from eternal punishment for sins, and are made heirs of eternal life. But rebirth and, in general, the blessing of man takes place without any constraint on human freedom, which is why the cleansing of sins by the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ does not free man from the possibility of sinning (1 John 1:8). If even one reborn by the grace of God cannot refrain from sin, the life of the Old Man is not immediately destroyed in him, then it is clear that illnesses, deprivations and physical evil in general, as consequences of sin, are not destroyed. Suffering is also necessary after redemption, in the gracious kingdom of love and God’s bounties: they serve as a means of moral purification and correction of sinners, and in general, they contribute to people’s assimilation of the fruits of redemption. Moreover, they are still necessary because in the present world, along with those who believe in Christ and are cleansed by Him from sins, there are also people who do not seek justification in Christ and have not even heard the sermon about salvation in Christ. Therefore, if the existing conditions of human life with the inevitable suffering in the present world suddenly changed along with the renewal of the inner man in the person of the first Christian, then this would be the destruction of the entire saving work of Christ: then, that means, the first Christian would be both the first and the last of those saved, and the rest of the people would perish. That is why, until the time the gospel is proclaimed to all nations, the world remains inviolable, sorrow remains, and death remains. However, even now, even death itself, which ends earthly sorrows and suffering, does not have such a terrible meaning for Christians as it had before Christ’s victory over it, for they undoubtedly know that those who die do not perish, but are alive and through the resurrection will become incorruptible. III. THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST § 108. Jesus Christ is king. The concept of His spiritual kingdom. Actions in which the royal ministry of I. Christ was expressed Testimonies of Revelation about the kingly ministry of the Lord and about the nature of this reign. The Lord I. Christ, as true God, by His divine nature is the king of the whole world, of all creatures, visible and invisible, that were created by Him. In this universal sense, the kingdom belongs to Him, as one of the persons of the Holy Trinity and together with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. But He is also a king as the Redeemer of fallen man. By His very humanity, He received from God royal power over everything, for the accomplishment of our salvation, acquired for us by His suffering and death, and for victory over the enemies of our salvation. This sublime ministry of the Redeemer was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, where the Messiah is portrayed as the king of Zion, who will receive the nations as an inheritance and who will rule them with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:6-8), the glorious descendant of David, who will sit on his throne, and His kingdom will continue forever (2 Sam. 7, 12-19; fn. Dan. 2:44; 7, 13–14; Micah 5:2, 6, etc.). In accordance with these predictions, the angel, announcing to the Virgin Mary about the conception of Jesus, says: and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father: and he will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:32–33). And I. Christ Himself adopted the name of king when, for example, he accepted and approved the confession of Nathanael: rabbi. You are the Son of God, You are the king of Israel (John 1:49), and the people’s exclamations at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel (Matt. 21:9; John 12:13)! To Pilate's question; Are you a king? - He answered in the affirmative: you say that I am the king (18, 37). The kingdom of I. Christ is not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one. “My kingdom is not of this world,” He said to Pilate. The Jews contemporary to the Savior imagined the kingdom of the Messiah in the sense of an external, political kingdom, and there were even cases when the people intended to proclaim Him king in this sense (John 6:15). And so, when the Pharisees, who understood the kingdom of the Messiah in this way, one day asked the Savior: when will the kingdom of God come? - He answered: the kingdom of God will not come with observance, that is, in a noticeable way, under the guise of an external, worldly kingdom, with external splendor and glory - below they say: here, or about here; Behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20–21), that is, in the human soul, in such dispositions that show that it is imbued with a desire for God, in pleasing Him and submitting to His will, it finds peace and joy. The Kingdom of God, therefore, consists, according to the word of the Apostle, in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). The basic law of life and activity of the members of the kingdom is the commandment: Worship the Lord Thy God and serve Him alone (Matthew 4:10) as your King. More often, the distinctive moral qualities of the members of the kingdom of God are indicated by the Savior in the Discourse on the Mount, especially in the sayings about the beatitudes (Matthew 5–7 ch.). To enter this kingdom, moral conditions are required - repentance and faith; repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). As a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom of truth, truth and love, the kingdom of God is not associated with a specific place, or with a specific nationality, or with a specific form of state and social structure. All people, without distinction in these respects, can be and are called to be members of this kingdom. In the kingdom of God there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian and Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:11). It embraces heaven and earth (Eph. 1:10), that is, the totality of all rationally free beings who recognize God as their supreme King and Master and serve and please Him as their King. The actions or manifestations of the royal power of I. Christ are consistent with the nature of the kingdom of God. All of them are aimed at bringing redeemed humanity through moral rebirth and sanctification into the kingdom of God, towards the expansion and establishment of this kingdom and victory over enemies - sin, the devil and death. I. Christ revealed His royal power to achieve these goals during the days of His earthly life, but it was mainly revealed in the state of glorification of I. Christ, after His death on the cross. In earthly life, His royal greatness and ministry were revealed mainly in miraculous actions; after death on the cross, it was manifested in victory over hell and death - through the descent into hell and resurrection from the dead, and in the perception of power over the entire world of heaven and earth - through ascension into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God the Father. The most perfect and complete revelation of the royal greatness and power of the God-man will follow when the development of the kingdom of God on earth ends - the gospel of the kingdom of God will be preached throughout the entire universe (Matthew 24:14), and all the enemies of the kingdom will be defeated - with the second coming of Christ. Then the kingdom of God will open in full power and glory. § 109. Manifestations by I. Christ of His royal power in the days of humiliation. His miracles The purposes of the royal ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Divine mission and the dignity of Jesus Christ. – Miracles are a property of His nature. – They serve to explain and justify His teaching, are omens of the future state of the world and the human race, a guarantee that the Savior will renew all nature, resurrect all the dead and defeat all His enemies. I. Christ demonstrated His royal power in order to plant and establish His kingdom in the souls of people even in the days of His humiliation. Thus, He already proclaimed His very teaching as the king of truth: with authority was His word. But in particular, His royal power was revealed during His earthly life in miracles, in which He revealed Himself as Lord over the forces of visible nature, over the forces of hell and over death itself with its forerunners - diseases. More specifically, the significance of miracles in the general work of redemption and for the establishment of the kingdom of God among people is in general terms as follows. Miracles most convincingly testified to the divine messenger and dignity of I. Christ. The greatness of the miracles of I. Christ (for example, the resurrection of the dead, the multiplication of loaves, the healing of the blind), their multiplicity, their performance with a single word, often with one movement of His will, without any word, in every place - far and near, always and at all times, openly and publicly, without any preparation, clearly showed that working miracles is a property of His nature. Such a conviction involuntarily had to take possession of eyewitnesses and witnesses of His miracles, and this, in turn, would lead them to believe in Him as the true Messiah. One of the purposes of His performing miracles was precisely to reveal to the world that He is the God-sent Messiah, the Redeemer of the world, the God-man. If I do not do the works of My Father,” He said, “they have no faith; Even if I do this, even if you do not believe Me, believe My works (John 10:37–38). The works that I do testify of Me, as the Father has sent Me (5:26; sn. 14:11). Miracles served as the clearest explanation and justification of His teachings. He called Himself the Son of God and equal to God, and therefore He always did things in His own name: My Father works hitherto, and I do them. He is the Light of the world, and therefore He restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf; He is the Physician of the world, and therefore He healed the sick and gave use to the paralytic; He is the Resurrection and the Life, and therefore He restored life to the dead; He is the Lord of the universe and a sinless man, and therefore the forces of nature obey His will and she gives Him her riches; He is the Savior of the world, and therefore all His actions in the world save from sin and the curse for sin, from the power of the tempter to sin. The miracles of I. Christ, finally, are omens or predictions of the future state of the world and the human race that will follow the end of this world. After the end of this world life and after the judgment of all people, a new heaven and a new earth will appear (2 Pet 3:13), in which there will be no more sickness, no sorrow, no sighing. The miracles of Christ are, although still private, scattered, but nevertheless true beginnings and signs of the destruction in the future of all disasters and evils, under the yoke of which man suffers in the present world. At the same time, they serve as a confirmation or guarantee that the Performer of these miracles, by the power of His omnipotence, is able to perform future great miracles - the renewal of all nature, the resurrection of all the dead, defeat all the enemies of His kingdom and destroy all kinds of disasters, illnesses and misfortunes in the future life of righteous people. § 110. The descent of I. Christ into hell and victory over hell Testimony of Revelation about the descent into hell. – Sermon in hell and the fruits of this sermon. - Victory over hell. The first revelation of the royal power of I. Christ after suffering on the cross and death was the abolition of the power of the devil over those who had died from eternity in his kingdom itself - in hell, where the Lord descended after death with His soul. The healings of the possessed were only the beginnings of this victory of the Redeemer over the devil and the destruction of his power over people. Through such a victory, He included the entire pre-Christian afterlife in redemption - He opened the path to heaven for everyone, the entrance to His own all-encompassing kingdom. The teaching that I. Christ actually descended into hell after His death on the cross is most fully expressed in the following words of the apostle. Peter: Christ alone suffered our sins, the righteous for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, and came down to preach to those who were in spiritual prison, who sometimes resisted, while they waited for God’s patience, in the days of Noah, the ark that was being made, in which there were few, that is, eight souls having been saved from the water (1 Peter 3:18–20; cf. the testimony of the same apostle about this event in 4:6 and Acts 2:27–30). Of the other apostles, only the apostle speaks about this event. Paul. Having quoted the words of the psalmist: having ascended on high, you took captivity captivity and gave the gift of man, the apostle explains them this way: and even then, what is it, just like the dream and de (i.e. Christ) before in the deepest countries of the earth? He who descended, He who also ascended above all the heavens, may He fulfill all things (Eph.4:8-10; Ps.67:19). In the given words of the apostle. Peter clearly indicates that I. Christ descended into hell not in His spiritualized and glorified body, but only in His human soul - then when He was dead in the flesh, but alive in spirit or soul, that is, when His body rested in the tomb. That it was then with His human soul that He descended into the prison of spirits, this is confirmed by the words of St. Peter in the speech he said on the day of Pentecost, that St. David said not about himself, but about Christ: do not leave (Thou, i.e. Jehovah) my soul in hell, let Thy venerable one see corruption (Acts 2:27, 31). The Church immortalized this teaching in the well-known church song: “in the grave carnally, in hell with the soul”... Having deigned to descend into hell with His human soul, as all the Old Testament people went there, and by descending in the form of a slave to voluntarily humble Himself to the very last degree, I. Christ descended to the spirits imprisoned in prison - sermon - εκήρυξε Κηρίσσειν in the New Testament is used in the meaning: to proclaim, preach, preach the gospel, the kingdom of God or Christ (for example, Matthew 2:1; Mark 1:38, etc.). He defines Christ in hell as follows: to the dead also the gospel should be preached (νεκροίς ευαγγελίσθη), so that they may receive judgment ("ίνα κριθώσι μεν - although they were condemned) according to man in the flesh, but they will live according to God in the spirit (4, 6).The fathers and teachers of the Eastern Church, starting with the most ancient ones, say directly that He preached the gospel, that is, proclaimed the gospel in hell (for example, Irin. Prov. heresy. IV, 27; Damascene Exact. v. III, 29). preaching the gospel, and His preaching was the same as on earth, that is, it had the goal of conversion and salvation, although, of course, we do not know the method of communication or the language of souls. In the liturgical books of the Orthodox Church, we encounter the idea that the souls of the dead were prepared to receive His preaching by the preaching of those who had descended into hell before the Redeemer, who, while still living on earth, believed in His future coming, for example, the prophets, or have already seen His coming, such as, for example, John the Baptist. In the troparion to John the Baptist, the Church confesses that he not only testified about Christ on earth, but “told the good news to those in hell of God, revealed in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and giving us great mercy.” The sermon of I. Christ in hell was converted, according to the apostle. Peter, even to Noah’s contemporaries who were once stubborn in unbelief and wickedness. Consequently, I. Christ went to the darkest places of hell, where the most wicked of people were, in order to preach the gospel to them, so that they too would repent, convert and be saved. and from this it is permissible to think that the word about salvation was offered to the souls of all the dead people who were in hell, that is, not only to Noah’s contemporaries, but to all sinners in general, not excluding the pagans. But first of all, of course, the Savior announced salvation to the pious sons of Israel who were in hell, and they, before others, recognized Christ the Savior who had reappeared in hell. What were the fruits of preaching in hell and, in general, of the descent of I. Christ into hell? Based on the testimony of Ap. Paul, that He who descended into further lands of the earth brought captivity into captivity, and other similar testimonies (for example, Is. 45: 2; Matt. 12: 29; Col. 2: 3, 5), which say that the Lord, by His cross, took away the power of the principalities and powers, powerfully subjected them to shame, bound the strong man and plundered the vessels of his house - the ancient teachers expressed the conviction that Christ who descended into hell destroyed the kingdom the devil and freed the prisoners of hell from the bonds. Yes, St. Chrysostom (in the words for St. Easter) says: “hell was captured by the Lord who descended into it, abolished, desecrated, killed, deposed, bound,” and in the words of the Easter song, “having descended into the underworld of the earth, He crushed the eternal faiths containing the bound.” The destruction of hell was expressed in the liberation of captives from the bonds of hell, in their elevation to heaven. But did the Lord deliver all the captives from hell? There is no direct answer to this question in Scripture. From ancient times, the Church recognized that all the pious Old Testament captives of hell were freed and taken from there to the holy abodes of the Heavenly Father, or, as the Catechism teaches (about 5 parts), “the souls who with faith awaited His coming” were delivered. With a host of freed prisoners of hell, the Lord, according to the ancient belief of the church, ascended to heaven, and they were the first to form the heavenly body of the church, under the head of Christ. But some of the ancient teachers directly expressed the idea that the Savior brought out of hell not only the Old Testament righteous, but also many others, or even all those who only believed His preaching, each and everyone who wished to follow Him as a Liberator (for example, Clement Alex., Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, I. Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, Blessed Jerome and etc.). The Easter song says that as soon as the Light shone in the dark area of ​​hell, “those held in the bonds of hell flowed towards the Light with joyful feet” and, of course, if they believed, they were freed from the bonds of hell. § 111. The Resurrection of I. Christ and the significance of this event in the work of redemption The reality of the resurrection of Christ. – The significance of the resurrection of Christ in the work of redemption. - The guarantee of the resurrection of all people. After the destruction of hell by I. Christ, His resurrection from the dead followed - the reunification of His human soul with the most pure body, which lay in the tomb, but rose glorified, luminous and immortal. The Resurrection of I. Christ is the truth on which, as the deepest foundation, all our Christian beliefs and hopes are based. If Christ does not rise, our preaching is in vain, but your faith is in vain, says the apostle (1 Cor. 15:14). In the event of the bodily resurrection of I. Christ, firm confirmation is given, first of all, that I. Christ is truly the promised Messiah, the God-man. Christ Himself also pointed out this significance of His resurrection when, for example, He said to the Jews who did not believe in Him: Destroy this church, meaning His body, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:18–19), that is, I will rise on the third day: no sign will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39). This significance of the resurrection of I. Christ is explained by the greatness and extraordinary nature of this event, for it is an unparalleled miracle, going beyond all other miracles that the world has ever seen and heard. Of course, the miracles performed by I. Christ in His earthly life are great, but all these miracles, even the most wondrous of them - the resurrection of the dead (to temporary life), were also performed by the prophets (Elijah, Elisha, some of the apostles), although not with such authority as He. But it has never been and is impossible to imagine that anyone would resurrect himself. To be resurrected by oneself, by one’s own power, as Christ was resurrected (due to the inseparable union of divinity and humanity in Him) - not into temporary life, but eternal life - this is possible only for Him Who, being a man, is at the same time God, the Lord of life and death. Through the resurrection from the dead He was revealed to be the Son of God (Rom. 1:4), says the apostle. At the same time, the resurrection of I. Christ serves as the strongest proof of the reality of the work of redemption He accomplished. If Christ had remained in the tomb, then the death of Christ could have appeared in human consciousness as a lofty, even unparalleled martyrdom for an idea, could have aroused tears of compassion - and only that, but not as an atoning sacrifice: if Christ does not rise, your faith is in vain; in your sins,” says the apostle. Paul (1 Cor. 15:17). Then the cross in our eyes would only be an instrument of shameful execution and death. But when God raised Him from the dead, He testified that He accepted His death as an acceptable sacrifice for the salvation of the world, that, consequently, sin and the condemnation to death associated with it lost their power over man, that there is not a single condemnation for those who are now in Christ Jesus, who walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:1). But just as the Lord Christ did not suffer and die for Himself, so He also rose from the dead not for Himself, but for our justification (Rom. 4:25), and He has both the dead and the living (Rom. 14:9). His victory over death in relation to His humanity is rising from the dead, He Himself no longer dies; death for those who do not possess Him (Rom. 6:9), that is, they can no longer die again, is the beginning of victory over death for all humanity redeemed by Him. Christ is raised from the dead, the firstfruits (άπαρχή) of those who died, says the apostle (1 Cor. 15:20). “Like in the Old Testament,” explains Rev. Ep. Theophan (on 1 Cor. 15 ch.) - when they brought the firstfruits to the church of God, for example, the first sheaves from the harvest, thereby consecrating all the sheaves and the entire harvest: so Christ the Lord, having risen, sanctified, blessed and confirmed the resurrection of all who would rise from the earth, like ears of grain from seeds.” The Apostle also points out why the risen Christ is such a firstfruits of the dead, in which the foundation of the resurrection of all is laid: since death was man,” he says, “and the resurrection of the dead was man: just as in Adam all die, so in Christ will all live (1 Cor 15:21-22), i.e., just as the damage by sin to the nature of the first Adam was damage by sin to the common nature of people ( Rom.5:12-14), so the restoration by Christ of the dignity of human nature was the restoration of the dignity of the common nature of people, and just as through the damaged common nature of people in Adam, the guarantee of death reigned, so through the dignity of the common nature of people restored in Christ and the resurrection of this nature, the law of general resurrection entered, and His very resurrection is the image of our future resurrection (1 Cor. 15:47-49; Philip 3, 21). By God's providence the general resurrection of people was postponed until the end of the world. But the resurrection of I. Christ serves as a guarantee and confirmation that it will be accomplished. If after death He could fulfill the promise of His resurrection, then now, being alive (Rev. 1:18) and when all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, He can and will undoubtedly fulfill the promise of the general resurrection. He Himself said: I live, and you will live (John 14:19). § 112. The Ascension of I. Christ into heaven and the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all who believe in Him The reality of Christ's ascension. - Glorifying Him. – Opening for believers of the kingdom of heaven. The resurrection of I. Christ was followed by a new and highest manifestation of His royal glory and power - the ascension into heaven with a glorified body. The Rapture was a visible event (Luke 24:50–51; Acts 1:9–11). The appearance of the event, no doubt, was intended to convince the disciples that they were seeing not a ghost, not a spirit, but rather their Teacher and Lord risen from the dead, ascending with glorified flesh to His Father. I. Christ, as God, had no need for a glorious ascension: living on earth in the form of a servant, He was not separated from the bosom of the Fatherland, He was on the throne with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The glory of Christ’s ascension is the glory of the human nature He assumed; human flesh, glorified and deified, ascended into heaven and became a participant in the eternal glory, majesty and power of the Son of God. Such an end to the visible sojourn of the Lord Jesus on earth is understandable and naturally necessary when believing in Jesus Christ as the God-man and Redeemer of the world. After completing the redemptive work on earth in the form of a servant, it was natural for Him who descended from heaven to return again there, where he had been before (John 6:62; sn. 3, 13), - to the Father (14, 28; 16, 5, 16; 20, 17) and return in the flesh assumed for eternal times. Our unglorified earth, subject to sin and death, could not be the corresponding place of residence of the God-man with glorified human nature. On the other hand, only with such an end to the earthly life of I. Christ can our moral sense be reconciled. All earthly life I. Christ, all His works were the glorification of His Father (John 14:17; 15, 8). He who glorified His God with his life and activity, especially in death on the cross, himself deserved to be glorified by God the Father, since this glory again led to the glorification of God. The Ascension of the Savior into heaven with the flesh was a continuation of the glorification of humanity deserved by the Savior, which began in the resurrection. This truth is especially clearly expressed by the ap. Paul. I. Christ, being God, he teaches, humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant, and therefore God exalted Him, and gave Him a name above any other name, that is, for the humility and obedience with which He came and fulfilled the ministry entrusted to Him (Philip 2:6-10). We see Jesus for accepting death with glory and honor, crowned with Anna (Heb. 2:9). The Ascension of I. Christ into heaven, being the glorification of Himself according to humanity, is at the same time the opening for all those who believe in Him of a free path to heaven, just as His resurrection is a victory over death for all humanity. Before the Lord’s ascension into heaven, heaven—this abode of bliss—was not yet open to the sinful descendants of Adam; The very righteous of the Old Testament, after death, descended with their souls to Sheol. But I. Christ, having reconciled people with God, heaven with earth, removed the barrier to people’s ascent to heaven. “I am going to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, you too will be,” He said to His disciples (John 14:2–3). And He ascended into heaven as our firstborn, who must take precedence in everything (Col. 1:18), appeared into heaven as our forerunner (Heb. 6:20), and, presenting in His person the firstfruits of human nature redeemed and restored by Him, by His ascension He opened the entrance into the kingdom of heaven, hitherto closed to people. Even if I am lifted up from the earth, He said, I will draw all things to Himself (John 12:32); where I am, I am mine and my servant will be (12, 26). § 113. The eternal reign of I. Christ after his ascension to heaven The meaning of the expression “to sit at the right hand of God.” – Restoration and establishment of the kingdom of God. – Intercession for redeemed humanity. - The sending of the Holy Spirit. – Participation in the dominion and government of the Father. Ascended in glory to heaven, I. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 16:19) according to His very humanity, hypostatically united with divinity. “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God,” says the first martyr Stephen (Acts 7:55–56). What does it mean to “sit at the right hand of God”? Sitting at the right hand of the king, in the language of Scripture, means not only participation in royal honors (1 Kings 2:19, 22), but also participation in royal dignity, power and administration of the kingdom (1 Kings 3:6; Deut. 17:18; Mark 10:37; Matt. 20:21). Accordingly, the “sitting” of the ascended Son of man “at the right hand of God” indicates His receipt of glory, dignity and power over the world He redeemed from sea to sea and from end to end of the universe. He Himself testified to the perception of such power when He said: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me (Matthew 28:18). The apostles also confirmed this. God, teaches the apostle. Paul, raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens, above all principality and power and strength and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come (Eph. 1:20-21; cf. 1 Pet 3:22; Philip 2:8-10). This sitting, being the glorification of the Son of Man, is also a continuation of His service to the cause of the salvation of the world, to the cause of the restoration and establishment of the kingdom of God. In revelation this invisible ministry of the Redeemer, invested with royal power, is depicted in these terms. 1. Upon his ascension to heaven, the Redeemer intercedes with God for humanity redeemed by Him; he is a mediator and intercessor of people before God. Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 9:15; 12, 24), - the apostle teaches, - not in the holy (sanctuary) made with hands..., but in heaven itself, now let the face of God appear for us (9, 24; cf. Rom. 8:34: 1 John 2: 1-2). In His person we have a great bishop who has passed through heaven, a merciful bishop, not a bishop who cannot suffer with our weaknesses, but who has been tempted in every way, perhaps in the likeness of sin, who can therefore help those who are tempted (Heb. 4:14-16). He is able to save to the end those who come to God through Him, He who is always alive, by interceding for them (7:25). And He Himself, in a farewell conversation with His disciples, commanded that they pray for intercession to Him after His glorification: whatever you ask of the Father in My name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Until now, do not ask for anything in My name; ask and you will receive (John 14:13; 16, 24). This intercession of I. Christ consists in His intercession before God the Father by the power of His redemptive merits. 2. He promised to ask the Father and send down the Holy Spirit to people: you have no food, but I am coming. If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; If I go, I will send Him to you (John 16:7; 14:16). According to His promise, having sat at the right hand of the Father, He actually sent down the Holy Spirit on the apostles who remained on earth, so that He would remain with them and with all those who believe in Christ forever (John 14:16), teaching them into all truth (John 16:13), distributing various gifts for their benefit (1 Cor. 12:7 and 11) and appropriating to people the saving fruits of redemption. In general, from the Redeemer Father who sits at the right hand, all divine powers are sent down to us, even for life and piety (2 Pet 1:3). With the sending of the Holy Spirit, the Lord I. Christ Himself ascended to the right hand of the Father never interrupted, does not interrupt and will not interrupt the most internal, and at the same time the most life-giving relationship with those who believe in Him. He always was, is and will remain the invisible head of the church He created on earth (Eph. 5:23–27). I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:28). 3. Finally, having, as the God-man, taken part in the dominion and government of His Father, He has in His divine power all the means to direct all the events of the world, all the forces of life, in order to protect and increase His kingdom, so that for all who obey Him, He may be the author of eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9), help believers in the fight against the enemies of their salvation, promote the success of the gospel with all the powers of heaven and earth. And His royal power must one day overcome all the enemies of His kingdom. It is fitting for Him to reign until He places all enemies under His feet. He will finally abolish all authority, and all authority and power, that is, the kingdom of Satan. The last enemy is destroyed and death is achieved. Then will follow the renewal of heaven and earth into the freedom of the glory of the children of God, and when everything is subjugated to Him, then His judgment on the world will follow; after that, the Son Himself will submit to Him who submitted all things to Him, and will transfer the kingdom to God and the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28). New Testament canonical books: laws - the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; historical - book. Acts of the Apostle: teaching: seven conciliar epistles and fourteen epistles of the apostle. Paul; prophetic - Apocalypse. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception and the personal sinlessness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the basis for the creation by the Roman Catholic Church of another new dogma related to the glorification of the Mother of the Lord. This is the doctrine of the bodily ascension of the Mother of God into heaven (assumptio beatae Mariae Virginis). It developed together with and in connection with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and is currently pious p. Catholic society is already sufficiently prepared for this teaching to be elevated to the level of dogma. As a feature of the Roman Catholic glorification of the Mother of God, one should also point out the establishment by the Roman Church of the veneration of the “immaculately” conceived heart of the Blessed Virgin. This cult is now the custom in the Roman Church. Honoring Her heart is the same as honoring the heart of Jesus and is inextricably linked with this latter. In 3 books. Ezra (4, 36) also mentions Jeremiel - the high of God, or the height of God. Of the ancient church fathers, they left explanations of the biblical account of the six-day creation: in conversations on the Six Days - Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose Mediol. , and in interpretations in the book. Genesis - I. Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, bl. Theodoret and bl. Augustine. With this understanding of the biblical history of the universe, the objection that it contains the inconsistency that one day was used to create the sun and the entire stellar world, while five days was used to create and form the earth. From the fourth day, the sun, moon and stars became only luminaries, or visible from the earth, and regardless of their structure, type and purpose, or simply as celestial bodies, they were formed before, together with the formation of the earth. This also resolves the objection that comes from the idea that the earth cannot appear before its central body, the sun. The legend of Moses, on the contrary, remarkably prevented the assertion of the newest scientific hypotheses about the origin of the world (for example, Fay), that the earth is older than the sun, that the sun is an image of what the earth was before geological times. With the word bara, indicating the creative actions of God in the proper sense, Moses designates only the creation of the primary substance of the visible world (Art. 1), the creation of the first animal creatures (Art. 21) and the creation of man (Art. 27). All other actions of God seem to be creative, dispensational, and are denoted by the verb asah - made, formed. The meaning of these verbs is retained in the Latin Bible - creavit and fecit, and in the Russian - “created” and “created”. In the Greek text, both verbs are translated into one word - έποίησε, and therefore in Slavic it is “create” everywhere. Since the Greeks did not have the idea of ​​creation, one might think that their language did not have a word to express this idea and the difference between the concepts denoted by the Hebrew bara and asah. If God, as the wisest of Job’s friends (Elihu) confesses, turned His heart to Himself, and took to Himself its spirit and its breath (the universe), suddenly all flesh would perish and man would return to dust (Job.34:14-15; fn. Wis. 11, 25-27) According to the blessed one. Augustine, “the power of the Creator and the power of the Almighty and Almighty serve as the reason for the existence of all creation: if this power ever ceased to govern, at the same time its species would cease to exist, and all nature would perish. When an architect, having completed a building, leaves it, the building he has made continues to exist without Him; not so with the world: it could not have stayed even for the blink of an eye if God had deprived it of His providence” (On the book of Genesis IV, 12). Just as “as some virtuoso, tuning the lyre and skillfully combining high, middle and low sounds, produces one harmonious song,” argues St. Athanasius, - so God, containing the universe with His wisdom, like a lyre, and coupling the airy with the earthly, the heavenly with the airy, and governing everything by His will and wave, wonderfully and beautifully maintains one world and one order” (Sk. in pagan. 38; sn. 36-37). For an explanation of the doctrine of providence with many other examples, see Blessed. Theodoret in his work: “Ten words about the providence of God” (V part of his work in Russian translation). In the Greek religion, the world-ruling power was not recognized as an all-perfect Being, but as a blind and unconscious force - an inexorable fate, fate (ανάγκη, fatum), to which all world life, all people and even the gods themselves are subordinated. In other pagan religions, the gods were revered not by universal providences, but only by the patrons of individual nations. Of the ancient pagan philosophers, some completely rejected the existence of providence, like, for example, the Epicureans, who thought that it was painful for God to take care of the world; others limited the actions of providence only to great objects and kinds of creatures (“magna dii curant, parva negligunt,” Cicero repeated more than once; see De nat. deor. II, 36 etc.); others assumed eternal matter, which is not completely subordinate to God, or two supreme principles - good and evil, and below. Clarification of bewilderment: how to reconcile God’s providence for individuals with the phenomenon that often the relatively least guilty and even the righteous suffer grievously, while apparently the criminals prosper? See above, page 98. Athenagoras, for example, wrote: “we recognize the multitude of angels and servants, whom the Creator and Founder of the world God, through His Word, appointed and distributed to rule the elements, and the heavens, and the world, and everything that is in it, and their improvement” (Past. about Christ. 10). According to Gregory B., “these minds each accepted one part of the universe, or were assigned to one thing in the world, as the One who Arranged and Distributed knew all this” (Sl. 28). Following the ancient paternal teaching, St. Demetrius notes about the angels of the first rank of the lowest degree: “the administration of the universe has been entrusted to them” (Thu.-Min. Nov. 8). The Old Testament belief in the existence of angels as guardians of the people was especially clearly expressed in the LXX translation, namely in Greek. reading the words of Moses: when you divided the languages ​​above, as if you had scattered the sons of Adam, you set the boundaries of the languages ​​according to the number of the angels of God (Deut. 32:8), where the words according to the number of the angels of God are replaced by the words of the Hebrew text: according to the number of the sons of Israel. This passage was also cited by the ancient teachers of the church in confirmation of the idea that entire nations were entrusted to some of the angels. St. Gregory the Theologian says: “the very first light-bearer, having exalted himself highly, when, distinguished by superior glory, he dreamed of the royal honor of the great God, destroyed his luminosity, fell here with dishonor, and, wanting to be a god, all became darkness” (Canticles of the Mysteries, verse 6). The name of the prince of demons “Beelzebub” is given different meanings: “chief of evil spirits”, “lord, master of the house”, “lord of dung, uncleanness”. They see the affinity and correlation of this name with Baal-Zebub, as the Philistine “bad god in Ekron” was called (2 Kings 1). In the revelation of St. John this event is depicted as follows: there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but did not resist, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole universe, cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (12:7-9) That this event refers to the past is clear from a comparison of this description with the words of the Savior (Luke 10:18) and the indication of the apostle. Jude (verse 6). Accordingly, in the description of the temptations of I. Christ from the devil, it is said that the devil, having shown I. Christ all the kingdoms of the world at one time, said: to you I will give all this power and the glory of them: as I have been given this, and if I want, I will give it (Luke 4: 5-6). Rev. m. Filaret allowed a more literal understanding of the properties of this tree. “There was such a power hidden in the tree of life,” he says, “that the correct use of its fruits constituted a preventative medicine against old age and death and was no less necessary, but incomparably more reliable aid for the immortality of the body than ordinary food simply for life.” The fruit of this tree, “bringing man’s powers into the same balance at all times, retained in him the ability to live forever and mature to a painless transformation from the mental to the spiritual body” (Biblical history 10) The Son of Sirach in such expressive terms depicts God's care for the first-created man: God filled them with insight of reason and showed them good and evil. He set His eye on their hearts to show them the greatness of His deeds, so that they glorify His holy name and proclaim the greatness of His deeds. He imparted knowledge to them and gave them the law of life as an inheritance; He made an everlasting covenant with them and showed them His judgments. Their eyes saw the greatness of the glory, and their ears heard the glory of His voice (17:6-11). “We believe,” the Eastern patriarchs teach, “that a person who fell through a crime became like dumb beasts, that is, he became darkened and lost perfection and dispassion, but did not lose the nature and power that he received from the all-good God. For otherwise he would become unreasonable, and therefore not a man: but he has the nature with which he was created, and natural strength, free, living, active, so that by nature he can choose and do good, flee and turn away from evil” (Episicle 14). Blazh. Augustine, especially bearing in mind this side of the dogma of original sin, noted: “there is nothing more famous than the teaching of the church about original sin, but at the same time there is nothing more mysterious and inaccessible to ordinary human understanding than this teaching” (De morib eccles XXII cap). The Pelagians rejected the heredity of Adam's sin, as well as the corruption of man's moral nature resulting from sin, and in general the difference between the primitive and fallen states of man. The R. Catholic teaching is similar to this. Blazh. Augustine contrasted the Pelagian teaching with the doctrine of the positive damage to human nature by the sin of Adam. He taught that sin caused disorder and corruption of all the forces of human nature and upset the balance between soul and body in man. Movements of members appeared in the flesh, disobedient to the desires of the soul; Instead of the law of obedience to the soul, the law of sensual lust (concapiscentia, libido) has reigned, which opposes the law of our mind, attracts a person to sin and kindles sin in him, is “the daughter and mother of sin.” From the sinful nature of Adam came the sinful offspring: all people are born from lust and with lust. Even parents, washed from original sin by the water of baptism, pass on lust along with their being to their children, just as a good olive tree gives birth to a wild olive tree. In the unregenerate, this lust acts with irresistible force, making them completely its slaves, that is, slaves of sin, and robbing them of any desire to do good and the possibility of virtue. The teaching of Protestants is close to this. See Canones et dert. conc. tridentini. Sessio V. Decr. de peccato originali. The same doctrine is expressed more clearly and definitely in the Catech roman. Pars I, cap. II, 18; c. III. qu. 2; p. III, c. X, qu. 6 et 9. In “Apology of Augsb. confession." in member “De peccato originali” (2 parts) says: “primitive righteousness should have had not only a balance of the natural properties of the body, but also the following gifts (dona): right knowledge of God, fear of God, faith in God, or, better said, the ability and power to do this. Scripture testifies to this when it says that man was created in the image and likeness of God. The image and likeness of God in man means nothing more than the divine wisdom and righteousness created in man, that is, man from the beginning, when he was created, was given these gifts: clear knowledge of God, fear of God, true hope, etc.” Also: “to be able, through one’s own strength, to love God above all else, to keep His commandments, means to have primitive righteousness.” Here the perfection of the first people is recognized as such, above which man could no longer rise; his righteousness is called “perfect righteousness,” not allowing for further improvement, “divine righteousness.” After the fall of Adam, it is said in Augsb. confession (Part 2), all people born by nature are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God (that is, with a lack of primitive righteousness), and with lust." The Apology proves that after the fall, instead of righteousness and the image of God, evil lust is innate to us, that "after the fall, we, as born of a sinful race, do not fear God, We don’t love Him, we don’t trust Him, we don’t show Him anything other than the arrogant use of our own strengths, contempt for God and slavish fear of Him” (Part 2). There is a difference between promise and prophecy, although both equally constitute the word of God. A promise is a word directly spoken by God Himself, and a prophecy is a word first received by a prophet and then reproduced by the latter in one form or another. Hence the number of promises is significantly less than the number of prophecies. The promises were spoken by God during His appearances to people, but the prophecies were revealed in a variety of ways and were not combined with theophany. The greatness of the face of the Messiah, His kingdom and glory are depicted mainly in Psalms 2, 44, 71 and 109, His state of humiliation and suffering - in Psalms 21, 39 and 68. This is how the ancient teachers of the church taught us to imagine the time of the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ. “God’s Word,” says St. I. Damascene, - united not with such flesh, which previously already existed on its own, but, having moved into the womb of the Holy Virgin, without limiting its own hypostasis, from the pure blood of the Ever-Virgin it formed flesh, animated by a verbal and rational soul... so that it became both flesh and the flesh of God the Word" (Accurate ex. c. III, 2). And in our language such expressions are not uncommon; they say, for example: “until death he remained childless,” or “until death in enmity,” “until death he did not repent,” and, of course, they do not assume that after death he was reconciled, or after death he had children, etc. Roman theology adds to the evidence of Scripture about the Immaculate Conception indicated in the bull of Pope Pius IX: the saying of Prince. Song of Songs: You are all good, my neighbor, and there is no vice in you (4, 7), words of St. Paul about I. Christ, that He is separated from sinners (Heb. 7:26) and the apocalyptic image of a woman clothed with the sun (chap. 12). But only through artificial, purely arbitrary conclusions can one reach the idea that they contain an indication of the virgin birth of the Mother of God. For their analysis, see Pr. Dogma. God. III volume § 84. Vincent Bandelli, a Latin writer of the 15th century, in his work on the question of the Immaculate Conception, points out more than four thousand texts borrowed from fathers, popes, teachers and theologians who enjoy authority in the Western Church - and all speak against the Immaculate Conception. But he does not yet provide all the ancient evidence against the dogma. See Goethe: Heresy of the Papacy. Kharkov. 1895 109 pp. “The sacrifice of Christ,” says the Catechism (4 parts), “being of immeasurable value and dignity, is an immeasurable merit that has acquired Him (i.e., Christ) the right, without offending justice, to give us sinners forgiveness of sins and grace for victory over sin and death.” The ancient church fathers also spoke about the superabundant significance of the Savior’s merits, and the Orthodox Church also professes this, but only in the sense that, according to the power of Christ’s merits, people are given more benefits than how much they lost in Adam, but not in the Catholic sense, where this teaching served as support for the dogma about the treasury of supererogatory deeds and about indulgences. Sn. Right Dogma. God. III volume § 96. Gregory the Theologian Sl. 45, on St. Easter. Sn. Damascene. Accur. izl. Ave. in III, 18. At St. Afanasy in “Sl. on the Incarnation” one can find a detailed discussion of the question why God was not pleased to accomplish salvation in any other way. Sn. Right Dogma. God. III volume § 97. Such an attitude of truth and love of God in the work of redemption is expressively revealed by the Russian saint, Metropolitan. Philaret, in his word on Great Friday (1816). You might be interested in: