Священник Д. Рождественский Элемент современности в Словах и Беседах Василия Великого, Григория Богослова и Иоанна Златоуста 947

The subject of Christian preaching is the eternal and unchangeable gospel teaching about salvation, taught to believers in accordance with Church Tradition through pastors or through persons who have special authority from the Church to serve the word 948. The only purpose of church preaching is to assist believers in achieving eternal salvation through the organization of earthly life in accordance with the teaching of the Gospel 949. With particular consistency and persistence, the idea of ​​​​the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ as the only subject of Christian preaching was carried out by Professor M. M. Tareev in the second chapter of his critical essays “On Issues of Homiletics.” And one of the newest foreign homiletists (Goering), having defined the sermon as a living testimony of Christ and the work of salvation accomplished by Him, finds it possible to call the sermon itself a gospel, since, in accordance with its purpose, it portrays Christ Jesus to the believers, “Who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30) 950. This concept of the subject and purpose of preaching is entirely based on Holy Scripture. According to Professor Barsov, “the question of what preaching is... by its very essence or nature... is resolved in the Holy Scripture (and precisely in the indicated sense) so clearly and categorically that there is not the slightest possibility, from the church point of view, for any other solution” 951. From this it is clear that not everything that is said from the church pulpit by persons dedicated or authorized by the Church is a sermon in the true meaning of the word. According to the same professor, “a sermon loses its nature, ceases to be a sermon, not only when it stops talking about Christ and His teaching, but also when, in the very teaching about Christ, it renounces the symbolic teaching of the Church and indulges in speculative research about faith” 952. The teaching about Christ the Savior, about the Kingdom of God and eternal salvation lies in the Holy Scriptures, which (for us Orthodox) should be understood and interpreted in accordance with the teachings of the Church; but if, at the command of the Savior, there are shepherds-teachers, then, obviously, not for the literal transmission of the Revealed teaching with its interpretations accepted by the Church, which could be replaced by reading. “The Christian preacher is not a simple reader of the Divine word; his speech must flow from the depths of his soul, from the depths of his believing, sincerely convinced heart” 953. The preacher must, therefore, bring something of himself. The American preacher Brooks gives the following definition of preaching: “Preaching is the transmission of truth through the medium of a person” 954. But every personality, developing, constantly changes, and at the same time the requirements and demands of entire human societies change; Therefore, the task of the preacher is not only to be faithful to the unchangeable truth of the Gospel, but also to apply the unchangeable doctrine of salvation to the constantly changing conditions of the time and the condition of the hearers. Thus, in preaching it is necessary to distinguish between two elements: the unchanging, borrowed from the word of God, and the constantly changing, introduced by the personality of the preacher and determined by the needs and requests of those to whom the teaching word is taught 955. According to Professor Tareev, life also raises questions “to which there is no literal answer in the word of God, but to the solution of which the word of God must still be applied” 956. This is the responsibility of the pastor-preacher. I. Zarnitsky, having defined a sermon as “a presentation and explanation of eternal truths, invariably proclaimed in the Church, in relation to those constantly changing circumstances of time and place in which the preacher finds his listeners,” makes the following conclusion: “This definition contains both the reason why the constant preparation of new sermons is necessary, and one of the essential conditions for their effectiveness - the requirement of modernity 957. The second, changing element of preaching is called in homiletics the modernity of preaching 958. The Savior Himself left the imprint of modernity on His Gospel, and we see the same in the preaching of the apostles, their disciples and successors, and all the pastor-preachers who stood at the height of their calling. It is clear that the modernity of the sermon is important for its effectiveness. Without satisfying this condition, sermons would be incomprehensible, uninteresting, and, consequently, fruitless for listeners who cannot renounce the urgent needs and interests of the time they are living through. The lack of success and unfruitfulness of preaching activity depends to a very significant extent on the lack of this very element. For the sake of the fruitfulness of church teaching, the preacher, therefore, should not be indifferent to the demands of his time, to everything that at a given moment excites and confuses, pleases or saddens his listeners. According to Chrysostom, “the priest must... to know everything of everyday life no less than those who convert in the world and to be free from everything more than the monks living in the mountains." 960. Felix Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, addresses the pastor-preachers with the following instruction: "We must go and make sure of the real, oppressive and urgent needs of the listeners and take them into account. Only in this case will we become fishers of men." 961. To clarify the importance and significance of the element of modernity in preaching, let us dwell on the preaching works of the three greatest fathers and teachers of the Church of the golden age of Christian literature - on the Words and Conversations of Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. The high dignity and vital significance of their teaching word have been recognized by Christian scientists of various confessions and trends for fifteen centuries. We, in particular, as those who have received the treasure of the faith of Christ from the East, in these troubled and anxious times, when the need for a living and effective pastoral word is so palpable and at the same time when the concepts of pastoral preaching activity are so confused and unstable, we must remember that the light is from the East, and, turning our gaze there, transport our thoughts to that time, which is recognized as the time of the full flowering of Christian preaching. The pastoral and preaching activity of the three great saints dates back to the century in which the testimony of the Gospel truth by word finally took the place of the martyrdom of the previous time 962. Until the famous edict of Constantine the Great was issued in 313, it was mainly the blood of the martyrs that was the seed of Christianity; from that time, Christian shepherds were able to work unhindered in the field of spreading and strengthening the faith of Christ, “giving birth to new children for the Church through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15) and through preaching, establishing the rules of faith and piety for those who believed. The named saints had enormous success as preachers, and this can largely be explained by the fact that they always presented to their listeners the Divine teaching in relation to the needs and demands of the time. This can be seen from just one consideration of the topics that the universal teachers chose for their Words and Conversations. We see that in sermons with dogmatic content they set forth primarily and even exclusively those points of Christian doctrine that at that time required comprehensive clarification, since they served as the subject of endless discussions and disputes in homes and on the streets, between men and women, between the educated and the illiterate, since because of them, unrest and discord easily arose in the Church of Christ. According to Professor Govorov, “dogmas at that time became, in the full sense of the word, public issues” 963. The great saints denounce with force and constancy the heretics of their time, and refute those errors of Judaism, paganism and scientific free-thinking, which in their age were opposed to the revealed religion. In their Words and Conversations they touch upon the prejudices that prevailed among the believers of that time; arm themselves against the moral shortcomings that characterized that era in particular. They do not ignore and, when ascending to the church pulpit, do not pass over in silence the disorders of their contemporary social system. During public disasters and outstanding accidents with individuals, the saints are the consolers and intercessors of the offended and needy and the strict denouncers of the hard-hearted and devoted to luxury. Without a doubt, first of all, the holy fathers tried to be leaders of their flock on the path to eternal salvation; the events and circumstances of earthly life were significant in their eyes only to the extent that one or another attitude of believers towards them could favor or hinder the achievement of this main goal. Their first and only concern was that the oppressive needs and urgent demands of the time should not serve as an obstacle to the achievement of moral perfection and salvation by believers, for which it is necessary to illuminate life phenomena from the point of view of the Gospel teaching. "The holy fathers, who left us an eminent example in their preaching activities, showed particular sensitivity to the needs of the time. Considering their main duty to be the exposition of the word of God, they interrupted the ordinary explanation of its text when circumstances brought before them the glaring needs of the time, and devoted their words to the explanation of issues that worried the generation of their day" 964. To these words of Professor Pevnitsky it can be added that the holy fathers, even in the ordinary exposition of Scripture, did not forget about their contemporary reality with its doubts and anxieties, needs and disasters, sorrows and joys. St. Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who generally received the nickname of the Great for his valiant pastoral activity, in particular, deserves it as a church speaker 965. A distinctive feature of his homiletical works that have come down to us 966 is their vitality and practical applicability and their correspondence to the needs of the time to such an extent that his homilies are of very valuable importance for the history of the morals of his century 967 . St. Basil, in his Conversations to the people, as well as in his writings and letters, touched on those points of Christian doctrine that were rejected or distorted by contemporary heretics 968 and were of the deepest interest in general for all the contemporaries of the holy father. These are his Conversations “On Faith”; “On the words: In the beginning was the Word” and “Against the Sabellians, Arius and Anomeans” 969; in these, as well as in some Conversations of a moral and practical nature and in the laudable 970 St. Vasily develops and proves the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and the divinity of the Holy Spirit 971 in accordance with the urgent demands of his time and the requests of his listeners. In Discourse 15 “On Faith,” the preacher declares: “Nowadays every ear is open to hearing theology, and the Church cannot be satisfied with such hearing” 972; and from Discourse 24 (“Against the Sabellians, Arius and Anomeans”) it is clearly seen that in the dogmatic field, the greatest interest for the listeners was the clarification of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. “I have long noticed,” St. Basil addresses the listeners during the Conversation, “that you are dissatisfied with the word, and it seems that I can almost hear the reproach, why, dwelling on what everyone confesses, I do not touch upon questions that arouse many rumors; because now everyone’s ears are directed towards hearing the teaching about the Holy Spirit” 973. Discourse 9, “On the fact that God is not the author of evil,” also belongs to the dogmatic Conversations. During the time of St. Basil, among believers who resolutely rejected the dualistic worldview, the question was often heard: where does evil come from in the world, if everything was created by God; and many came to the conclusion that God is the culprit of evil in the world, because, they said, “Who else, besides God, do we recognize as responsible for what is happening?” 974 Philosophical and natural science cosmological theories of St. Basil contrasted the biblical teaching about the creation of the world, the omnipotence and wisdom of God, set out in nine exegetical and apologetic Conversations; these Conversations, called “Conversations on the Sixth Day,” fully met the needs of that time and enjoyed particular success 975. The theoretical misconceptions of believers also provided material for the teaching activities of the holy father. This is, for example, Conversation 13 - “Incentives to accept Holy Baptism”; from it it is clear that those who postponed accepting the sacrament for a long time reasoned as follows: before baptism it is more or less permissible to indulge in earthly pleasures, to live like a pagan, and only then (if possible, in old age), having been cleansed in baptism from all sins committed, it is necessary to lead a life corresponding to the title of Christian 976. In view of the possibility of an incorrect assessment of the meaning of pagan writings, both in a positive and negative sense, the holy father in Conversation 22 teaches young men “how to benefit from pagan writings.” “Don’t be surprised,” he says, turning to the student youth, “if you, who go to teachers every day and talk with respected men of antiquity through the works they left behind, I will say that I myself found something more useful. It is about this very thing that I want to give you advice, namely, that you should not, having once forever handed over the helm of the ship to these men, follow them wherever they lead you, but, having borrowed from them everything that is useful, you must be able to do otherwise and discard it. But what is it and how to distinguish it, this is what I will teach, starting like this...” 977 We have seventeen 978 conversations of a moral, practical and accusatory nature from Saint Basil - relatively very few; but all those that have survived to our time are reflected in the characteristic features of that century: they are all highly imbued with the spirit of modernity. These are the 979 Discourses placed in the 4th part of the saint’s works (in Russian translation): 6th – “On the words from the Gospel of Luke: “I will destroy my barns and build great ones” (Luke 12:18); and about covetousness”; 7th – “To those who get rich”; 10th – “On the angry”; 11th – “On envy”; 14th – “On the Drinking Ones” and others. In Caesarea, as the main city of the region, there were many rich people who indulged in luxury and sensual pleasures without any measure and at the same time were completely indifferent to those of their fellow citizens who suffered terrible poverty. St. Basil considered it his duty to denounce from the church pulpit the luxury and hard-heartedness of the rich. Always taking a close part in all the distressed and needy and disposing of those who enjoy prosperity and prosperity to compassion, the famous shepherd-preacher especially raised his voice during public disasters. Thus, he showed great benefit to the Cappadocia region with his word, while still in the rank of presbyter, when the disaster of famine befell this region (in 368). Discourse 8, “delivered during famine and drought,” as well as Discourses 6 and 7, mentioned above 980, date back to this time. It was these Conversations, inspired by love for the needy members of the flock, together, perhaps, with others that have not reached us, that forced the rich to come to the aid of those who were in danger of starvation. "The cold indifference of the rich to the poor extended to the point that when there was a famine in Caesarea, the rich closed their granaries and began to sell bread at a price unaffordable for the poor. St. Basil, by the power of his word, forced the rich to open granaries for the poor for free. St. Gregory the Theologian rightly noted that “the power of the word of our preacher in this case created a miracle." 981. From acquaintance with these It is easy to see from the conversations that they could only have no effect on the completely insensitive. In Conversation 7 - “Towards those who get rich” - the extraordinary luxury of the rich, their tendency to accumulate endlessly, beyond all need, and at the same time their extreme callousness towards those in need of necessities, is vividly depicted. "The rich covet the superfluous and useless as something necessary, and all they have is not enough for the expenses they come up with. They divide their wealth into present needs and future needs, they set aside some for themselves and some for their children... this will be used for household expenses, and this will be used to show off to people. “I can only marvel at such an invention of excess,” says the holy father. They have thousands of chariots. They have many horses, and they, like people, trace their genealogies according to the birthplace of their fathers. Bridles, girths, collars - all silver, all sprinkled with gold; scarlet blankets adorn the horses as grooms. They have countless servants. The houses shine with marbles of all kinds. And when, after being divided into countless expenses, wealth still remains in abundance, it is put in the ground, stored in secret places, because the future is unknown, lest some unexpected needs befall us. For sure, it is not known whether you will have a need for buried gold, but the punishment for inhuman morals is not unknown," 982 notes the saint, moving on to denouncing the hard-heartedness of the rich towards the poor. "What will you answer to the Judge - you, who clothe walls with fabrics, but do not clothe a person; you remove horses, but look indifferently at your brother, dressed vilely; you let the wheat rot, and do you not feed the hungry?“ - asks the preacher 983. In the same Conversation, having analyzed and refuted the excuses of the rich, with which they want to justify their attitude towards the needy, St. Vasily dwells on the following reasoning of the childless rich man: “Having enjoyed wealth throughout my entire life, after death I will make the poor heirs of my estate, declaring them in writing and in wills the owners of everything mine,” and objects to this like this: “Great gratitude to you for your generosity, that, lying in the tomb and having settled into the ground, you became generous in expenses and magnanimous!.. No one trades when bargaining. ended; no one is crowned if he comes at the end of the struggle; no one shows his courage after the battle. Gratitude is given to death, and not to you: if you were immortal, you would not remember the commandments: bring a living sacrifice." The great preacher painted a picture of appalling poverty in Conversation 6. Here, in the most touching terms, the position of a poor man is depicted, driven by poverty to the need to sell one of his sons. After much hesitation, the unhappy father finally makes up his mind. But now a question arises before him, the resolution of which again gives him indescribable moral torment. “What else is this father thinking about? - “Which one should I sell first? Which of them should I attack? Which beast should I borrow the soul from?” “However, the specter of imminent starvation for the entire family brings him out of his state of indecision, “and after countless tears he goes to sell his dear son.” The saint, in this Conversation, mercilessly castigates in the person of the evangelical rich man an insane addiction to wealth and earthly pleasures, which forces him to turn a blind eye to the deprivations of his neighbors. "You speak to yourself in secret, but your words are evaluated in heaven. Therefore, answers come to you from there. What does the rich man say? “You have many good things to eat, drink, and be merry” daily (Luke 12:19). What madness! If you had the soul of a pig, what else would you please it with besides this?" You are so bestial, so ignorant of the blessings of the soul, that you offer the soul fleshly food!” 985 From Discourse 21 “On what should not be attached to the things of life, and on the fire that took place outside the church,” we see that St. Vasily was already ready to finish his speech due to the fatigue of the listeners, but he cannot ignore the fire that happened the day before in the neighborhood of the church: he considers it his duty to mention the plight of the fire victims in order to awaken a sense of compassion in those who were not affected by the disaster 986. Touching upon the moral ailments of his listeners in his sermon, St. Vasily, in particular, denounced with particular force those who indulged in excess and drunkenness. From Discourse 14 “On the Drunk” it is clear that among the rich Caesareas, drunkenness was elevated to a cult, surrounded by various ceremonies; During feasts, a special order was observed, which rather led to complete disorder and a complete loss of all decency 987. Here an explanation is given for the fact that the preachers of the 4th century armed themselves against drunkenness mainly around the time of Easter: Christians who spent Lent abstinently 988 obviously rewarded themselves during the Feast of Feasts for long-term abstinence 989 . Thus, this sermon, directed against a vice widespread in all times, marks a characteristic feature of modern morals for the preacher. In addition, from the Discourse “On the Second Fast” we learn that the Caesareans, fearing to dishonor the very time of fasting by intemperance, indulged in drunkenness even before its onset. “Many observe fasting both out of habit and out of shame in front of each other,” St. Basil testifies here, further expressing his fears that the eve of fasting will not be spent without excesses and intemperance: “I am afraid of drunkenness, which wine hunters cherish as a kind of paternal heritage, because other madmen, as if preparing for a long journey, are loading themselves with wine today for five days of fasting.” 990. It was noted above that St. Vasily, in Conversations of a practical nature, touched on the most important theoretical issues of that time; and vice versa: striving to “turn everything into the edification of the Church,” he teaches moral and practical lessons, for example in “Conversations on the Sixth Day,” speaking about the truly Christian attitude of spouses, in view of the freedom of sexual relations that prevailed at that time, against vindictiveness, etc. 991 According to Archbishop Anthony, “the moral and edifying element prevails in almost all sermons” of St. Vasily 992. Thus, recognized as one of the best moral and accusatory sermons of the holy father, it stands among the exegetical conversations: this is the “Conversation on the end of the fourteenth psalm and on moneylenders.” Finishing the interpretation begun the day before (which has not been preserved), the preacher applies the fifth verse of this psalm, “You will not give your money with interest” (Ps. 14:5) to contemporary morals and denounces usury, which constituted a terrible ulcer in public life at that time, when absolutely no restrictions were placed by law on the exactingness and cruelty of creditors towards their debtors: dealing with a usurer then meant putting at great risk not only the integrity of one’s property, but also one’s freedom and even life itself. The Holy Father in his Conversation very vividly depicts the methods by which the usurer seduces his victim and puts him in a completely hopeless situation, and denounces the usurers with all severity, calling their attitude towards their debtors “the height of misanthropy.” “You make profit from other people’s misfortunes, you collect money from tears, you strangle the naked, you beat the hungry; and do you call the profits thus obtained philanthropic? "Woe to those who say bitter is sweet, and sweet is bitter" (Is. 5:20) and who call inhumanity love of mankind." 993. The preacher does not approve of those who bring themselves to the point of having to deal with creditors. "Borrowing is the beginning of a lie, an opportunity for ingratitude, treachery, perjury. If the one who lends to you is a friend, do not take it. chance of losing his friendship. If he is an enemy, do not subject yourself to an enemy. Now you are poor, but you are free. And if you take a loan, you will not become rich, and you will lose your freedom." However, for those who cannot get by with their own funds and are forced to resort to loans, St. Vasily treats them rather with sympathy and regret, as victims not only of his own thoughtlessness and frivolity, but also of real need. The Reverend Anthony concludes his analysis of the content of this word on moneylenders with the following words: “The pictures presented in the word bear the imprint of temporary and local relationships; visibility, picturesqueness and artistry, modernity and nationality are the distinctive preaching qualities of St. Basil the Great as a preacher-accusator, which were expressed in all their fullness in his Words on various occasions." 995. The words and Conversations of the holy father, as having high merits and fully corresponding to the needs of the time, gave him the consolation of seeing the good fruits of his moral and accusatory sermons; the words of the wise Solomon were fulfilled on him: "reprove the wise, and he will love you" ( Proverbs 9:8), as he himself testifies to this at the beginning of the 21st Discourse 996. Let's move on to Gregory the Theologian. Dedicated at birth to God by his pious mother Nonna and receiving home education in accordance with her vow, 997 St. Gregory developed and perfected his natural oratorical talent in the best schools of the time and thus, in the words of Nebe, became “the most eloquent proclaimer of the Gospel in Greek” 998. In total, forty-five Words have been preserved from Gregory the Theologian, but two of this number (the 4th and 5th are incriminating against Tsar Julian) are actually polemical works in the form of words 999. “Remembering God is more necessary than breathing,” said St. Gregory 1000, and many of his Words are entirely devoted to the revelation of the dogma of the Holy Trinity, in refutation of the heretics who were armed at that time against the right teaching about God: Arians, Eunomians, Doukhobors, etc. The dogma of the Trinity God is the essence of his preaching activity 1001. The following Homilies are dedicated to him: the 20th, “On the installation of bishops and the dogma of the Holy Trinity,” five Homilies on theology (from 27 to 31), the 33rd, “Against the Arians and about oneself,” and the 35th, “In memory of the martyrs and against the Arians.” The correspondence of these words of dogmatic content to the demands of that time is beyond any doubt, since the discussion of theological issues and endless debates on abstract dogmatic topics turned into passion, and St. Gregory was forced to denounce the timelessness and inappropriateness of theology and non-compliance with measures in this regard 1002. In Homily 39, “at the holy lights of the appearances of the Lord,” the holy father arms himself against pagan holidays and sacraments, “deceptive and unseemly,” which could attract the attention of believers and act on them in a corrupting way 1003. In Homily 40, “At Holy Baptism,” they are denounced, as in St. Basil the Great, who postponed the sacrament of baptism until old age. There are 32 St. in the Word. Gregory gives instructions “on maintaining good order in interviews and on the fact that not every person and not at all times can talk about God.” The contemporaries of the holy father, who, as can be seen from this Word, had an irresistible inclination towards teaching and religious disputes, a desire to penetrate into the incomprehensible secrets of divine knowledge, undoubtedly needed instructions of this kind. At St. Gregory, as a person more inclined to abstract theological and philosophical thinking, we find few teachings of a moral and practical nature in the strict sense; however, he does not leave without exposing the outstanding shortcomings and vices of his time, even in his Words of dogmatic-polemical content, without losing sight of the vital and practical goal of the sermon 1004. In particular, the holy father is interested and worried about the discord in the church clergy. In his Words he touches on the irregularities in the very election and consecration of bishops, and denounces them for disputes about primacy. This is how he describes the unworthy servants of the Church, whose activities could only bring harm: “Yesterday they were blasphemers, and now they are priests, yesterday they did not dare to approach the holy thing, and now they are secret leaders, obsolete in vices and new in piety... they need to make sacrifices for themselves rather than about “human ignorance” (Heb. 9:7)” 1005. Exposing the shortcomings of the clergy, the holy father does not spare the spiritual dignitaries and even arms himself against them with special force; he courageously opposes the unworthy servants of the altar, who are not prepared for great service and who through machinations have achieved a high position in the Church; he is a merciless exposer of the insane luxury and debauchery of the morals of the higher clergy. In Homily 42, “farewell spoken during the arrival of one hundred and fifty bishops in Constantinople,” St. Gregory contrasts himself with those leaders of the churches who were excessively devoted to luxury: "Perhaps they will blame me for this (for they have already blamed me), that I have neither a rich table, nor clothes appropriate to my rank, nor ceremonial entrances, nor majesty in my manner. I did not know that I should enter into competition with the consuls. who do not know where to waste their wealth. I didn’t know that I, too, needed to ride on excellent horses, rise brilliantly in a chariot, that I, too, should have meetings, receptions with servility, that everyone should give way to me and make way for me, as before a wild beast, as soon as even from afar they see the one coming.” 1006 Only one who was aware of his rightness, his freedom from the lures of sensuality and vanity, who was zealous for the glory of God and He considered taking care of the eternal salvation of his flock his sacred duty. In case of public disasters and disturbances, St. Gregory appeared to the believers with words of consolation for some and reproof for others. This is Word 15, “spoken in the presence of the father, who was silent from grief, after the hail had devastated the fields.” Having described the sad sight of the devastated fields at a time when the harvest was already close, the preacher reminds the listeners that the treasuries of God’s wrath also contain even more severe trials and disasters; It is therefore necessary to resort “to the mercy of God, to win over with tears the One who “desires mercy” (Matt. 9:13; Hos. 6:6).” Then he asks the question: “Why is all this and what is the cause of the disaster?” From the list of offenses that incurred the wrath of God, it is clear in what manner the appeal to God of punished sinners should be manifested: “One of us oppressed the poor... the other desecrated the earth with covetousness and greed, gathering where he did not sow, and reaping where he did not squander... did not show mercy to the widow and the orphan, did not give bread and little food to those who asked” 1007, etc. Differences in the situation of the poor and rich St. Gregory touches on many of his Words, disposing those of means to treat those in need in a Christian manner (see, for example, Words 43 and 44). In Homily 14, entitled “On Love for the Poor,” the preacher, having begun by elucidating the idea that love for the poor constitutes the most excellent part of the most important Christian commandment of love, further depicts the unusually plight of the lepers and disposes the listeners to treat these unfortunates with compassion 1008 . Two Words were spoken by St. Gregory to prevent a violation of public peace: these are Words 17 and 23. In the first of them, “spoken to the alarmed inhabitants of Nazianz and the angry mayor,” he makes a corresponding suggestion to both the people and the authorities, boldly declaring to the latter that the law of Christ and them subordinates him to his pastoral authority 1009. The reason for the second Word was discord among the people caused by disagreement between some bishops. In Words 34 and 35, the great shepherd shares joy with his flock: in the first, on the occasion of the arrival from Egypt of grain supplies, which the inhabitants of Constantinople needed and had long awaited 1010; in the second - on the occasion that, by order of Emperor Theodosius, the church, which the Arians had taken possession of, was returned to the Orthodox 1011. Quite a significant number of Words were spoken by St. Gregory to explain his own actions and to prevent misunderstandings that might arise between him and his flock. These are, in addition to the above mentioned Word 42 - farewell, Words 1, 2, 3, 26, 33 and 36. The beginning of Word 36 testifies to the attention with which the inhabitants of Constantinople 1012 treated Gregory the Theologian as a church leader: “I marvel! - he says. - What makes you so attracted to my words? Why does my speech, the speech of a stranger, which may be weak and lacking any attractiveness, have such power over you? It even seems that you have the same attraction to me as iron has to a magnet. Truly this is a wonderful chain, and the Holy Spirit weaves it together, binding it with inextricable ties!” 1013 We read the same thing in the Farewell Word: “Forgive, lovers of my words, forgive these folk... gatherings, and these canes, writing openly and secretly, and this lattice, which can barely withstand those crowding to listen!” 1014 Not only those Words in which the preacher lived one life with his listeners, where he denounces their moral illnesses and offers means to heal them, shares joy and sorrow with them, is a peacemaker, where he tries to clarify his attitude towards the flock and prevent possible misunderstandings, attracted the attention of the listeners and forced them to crowd around the pulpit of St. Gregory, but also his abstract dogmatic Words about the mystery of the Holy Trinity, in accordance with the demands of that time, were of the deepest interest to them and, in view of the passion for dogmatic disputes that had intensified to incredible proportions, which absorbed all the attention of believers and distracted them from moral and practical issues, were an absolute necessity, and were completely consistent with the demands of our time. “With everyone’s attention to the great dogma,” writes the Right Reverend Philaret of Chernigov, “the words of St. Gregory about it could be accessible to everyone, or, at least, they were necessary for everyone, especially in the form in which they spoke about dogma. The immoderate fervour with which people who were called to the wrong thing at that time entered into disputes about the sacraments of faith, people who humiliated the truth by arguing about it, was unreasonable. And it was this heat that Gregory cooled, he brought it within his boundaries, instead of it he aroused the life-giving warmth of active love” 1015. St. John, Archbishop of Constantinople, who received the title of Chrysostom 1016 for his eloquence, in his Words and Conversations left the most perfect role models for preachers of all times. Chrysostom's preaching works satisfy the requirements of modernity to such an extent that in this respect he certainly surpasses all preachers of both ancient and modern times. According to Professor Barsov, in Chrysostom “a critical analysis of contemporary theoretical sentiments of thought and practical aspirations reaches its apogee, to the point that the sermons of this universal teacher serve as the best source for the cultural and everyday history of his time” 1017. His Words and Conversations present such a holistic and detailed picture of the morals of his time that Professor A. S. Puech was able to successfully complete the task proposed by the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences: “To present from the works of St. John Chrysostom (and the most significant part of them are Words and Conversations), what were the morals of his time" 1018. From St. St. John Chrysostom has preserved more literary works in general and preaching works in particular than from any other father of the Church; but much is either lost or has not yet been discovered to this day 1019. The best of Chrysostom's homilies refer to the years of his service in Antioch as a presbyter (387–397) 1020. The position of the archbishop of the capital city was less favorable for preaching work due to the complexity of archpastoral duties and concerns, as well as the circumstances of the personal life of the holy father. Preaching ministry in the 4th century, and moreover in such cities as Antioch and Constantinople, naturally placed on the preacher the duty to combat the influence of pagan and Jewish concepts and customs on Christians, as well as numerous heresies and false teachings. In the Christian society of that time, all kinds of superstitions and prejudices dominated, which had their source either in paganism and Judaism, or developed on Christian soil 1021, and Chrysostom in his Words and Conversations often turns to denouncing superstitions and prejudices, proving their absurdity and incompatibility with the title of a Christian, enlightened by the light of the Gospel truth. As an example, let us cite Chrysostom’s denunciations against superstitious customs observed by Christians in those forms in order to protect a newborn baby from bad influences and ensure his longevity and prosperity in life: “If a child is born, again we see... many symbolic actions worthy of laughter. When you need to name a baby, then, without yet calling him by the name of a saint... but having lit the lamps and given them various names, they call the baby the name of the one who will burn out the longest, assuming that the child will therefore live longer... Should we talk about bandages, about rattles hung on the hand, about red yarn and much more, proving great madness, while one should not place anything other than a saving cross on the baby?.. Nurses and maids take dirt in the bathhouse and, having dipped their finger in it, they anoint the baby’s forehead; if someone asks: “What does this dirt, this clay mean?” - they say: “It protects from the evil eye, from envy and hatred.” Aren't you ashamed, tell me? If this is done among the pagans, then it is not at all surprising; and when those who worship the cross, partake of the unspeakable mysteries, and who have attained wisdom, adhere to such shameful customs, this is worthy of many tears. If this seems unimportant to anyone, let him know that it leads to great evil and that Paul did not consider such matters unimportant and did not ignore them." 1022 Among Christians, contemporaries of the holy father, there were many who visited Jewish synagogues, took part in Jewish festivals, observed their fasts and some rituals 1023. In denunciation of these Christians who practiced Judaism, Chrysostom composed eight Words against the Jews 1024. But compared with paganism and Judaism, heresy, in the opinion of the holy father, was the most dangerous for Christians; he treated him with greater severity and more often returned in his Conversations to his denunciation 1025. Both in Antioch and in Constantinople, Chrysostom, like St. Basil and Gregory, with unflagging energy he armed himself against the widespread errors of the Arians, Macedonians, Apollinarians, Marcionites, Manichaeans, Novatians and other heresies of teachers in his time, especially those who at that time found shelter in Constantinople 1026. The false teaching of the Anomeans, who represented, in the words of Puech, the “extreme left” [side] of Arianism 1027 , who rejected not only the consubstantial, but also the likeness of the Son of God to God the Father, as having even greater force in the days of Chrysostom 1028 , was refuted by him in twelve Words against the Anomeans, in which thoughts mainly develop about the incomprehensibility of the being God and the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father. It is necessary, however, to note that St. John Chrysostom, by the very nature of his mind, in contrast to Gregory the Theologian, had little interest in theoretical issues, and paid primary attention to the moral state of his flock 1029. That is why, in the words of the Right Reverend Philaret, his dogmatic writings “breathe with concern for the moral state of the soul” 1030. That is why his exegetical Conversations contain not only an explanation of the sacred text, but also moral instructions in relation to the needs of the listeners; therefore, “each of his interpretative Conversations usually consists of two parts: in one, he deals with the actual explanation of the texts of the word of God, in the other, with the moral state of his listeners” 1031. His Grace Anthony (now Archbishop of Volyn), noting that in general “the patristic sermon was exegetical more in form than in content,” asks: “By what rules of exegesis of St. Does John Chrysostom find in his interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew a place for describing contemporary events and for the instructions that follow from there?” And the dogmatic-polemical nature of the patristic sermons, according to the same Reverend Anthony, “was mainly determined by the vital need to combat the most popular attacks of heretics on the faith” 1032. At that time, sermons on abstract dogmatic topics were demanded from the church speaker by the listeners themselves, as we see from the 88th Discourse of Chrysostom on the Gospel of Matthew 1033. Chrysostom's moral and accusatory sermons were directed directly against the vices that prevailed in his time. It should be noted that the external triumph of Christianity significantly lowered the moral level of the members of the Church of Christ: from that time on, the vices to which the pagan world was devoted increasingly began to penetrate into the environment of Christian society, 1034 which was growing in numbers with great rapidity. The preacher rebels against the extreme luxury to which both women and men were devoted 1035; in particular, he denounces those dandies who extended their concern for the grace and cleanliness of shoes to the point that it seemed as if “the center of human dignity had been moved from head to feet” 1036. “Hinging down to the ground, a young man walks, who should philosophize about heavenly things; he is proud of his boots more than of any important merit: he barely steps on the market place... fearing that in bad weather he might get his boots dirty with mud, and in summer they might get dusty... Boots are made to trample on dirt, manure and any uncleanness on the floor. If this is unbearable for you, hang them around your neck or put them on your head” 1037. With extraordinary decisiveness, the saint arms himself against the Christians' addiction to pagan spectacles, and especially against visiting the theater on Great Friday 1038. He proves without any hesitation, without making any concessions or concessions, that pagan spectacles are unsafe for the morality of a Christian and that visiting the theater during the days of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ is in no way permissible for a Christian and sinful 1039. Against drunkenness Chrysostom, like St. Basil the Great, finds it necessary to warn his flock especially on the week of Easter 1040. The use of an oath was such an ingrained vice that Chrysostom was very often forced to resort to its denunciation; Thus, of the twenty-one “Discourses on Statues,” the majority ends with an admonition not to swear 1041. In Constantinople the main concern of St. John was to correct the morals of the clergy, devoted to luxury, greed and other gross vices; with particular force he rebelled against the established custom of cohabitation between celibate clergy and virgins (δυνειδαχτοι); This custom was established due to the fact that there were very few well-maintained convents at that time and students of clergy, often celibate, who took a vow of virginity, continued to live with their teachers after reaching adulthood. The zealous shepherd considered it his duty to fight against this custom, which gave reasonable grounds for criticism of the entire clergy in general, despite the discontent and protests of those denounced. The fruit of this zeal for the purity of the morals of the clergy are two Words: “A Word to those who lived with virgins” and “A Word to virgins who lived with men” 1042. With his denunciations, St. Chrysostom addressed not only the common people and the subordinate clergy, but also the powerful of this world, not excluding either the court nobles or the empress herself 1043. Those dissatisfied with the denunciations of the holy man tried by all means to harm him, and when he aroused the Empress Eudoxia against himself with his accusatory words, he was deprived of the throne and sent into exile; he died from the difficulties of the journey and the cruel treatment of the soldiers escorting him, while moving from one place of exile to another - from Kukuza to Pitiunt, thus joining the host of “those who were killed for the word of God and for the testimony that they had” (Rev. 6:9). Chrysostom’s relationship with the temporary worker Eutropius is remarkable. Thanks to the influence of this latter on Emperor Arcadius, the Antiochian presbyter John, who intended to carry out his pastoral and preaching ministry in his native city until the end of his days, was elevated to the see of Archbishop of Constantinople. Subsequently, Eutropius, limiting the rights and benefits of the Church, tried, among other things, to achieve the abolition of the right of refuge, which the Church used as a means against arbitrariness and violence, and thereby alienated the archbishop, who denounced and warned the nobleman, intoxicated with his power. Soon Eutropius had to experience all the vicissitudes of human happiness. For insulting the empress, deprived of his high rank and power and sentenced to death, Eutropius was forced to resort to the protection of the Church, which he himself deprived of the right of refuge, thereby depriving himself of the only means of salvation not only from the wrath of the emperor, but also from an angry crowd of people who longed for the death of the temporary worker. But this time the unfortunate man was saved thanks to the intercession of Chrysostom, for whom, as Hagenbach put it, an excellent opportunity presented itself here not only to humble his enemy, but also to “heap burning coals on his head” (Rom. 12:20), since the archpastor, who was not vindictive, appeared as an intercessor for him before the emperor 1044. This highly edifying incident served as the occasion for the delivery of two Discourses “on Eutropius, eunuch, patrician and consul” 1045. The high dignity of these Conversations fully corresponds to the extraordinary instructiveness of the fact. The question of social inequality, of freedom and slavery, of wealth and poverty was often touched upon by Chrysostom in his Words and Conversations. And in his time, as always, there were, along with the owners of untold wealth, such poor people who did not have any means to satisfy their immediate needs. As always, among the rich people, Chrysostom’s contemporaries, there were few who were sympathetic to the extreme need of their neighbors; and the holy father in his sermons is therefore “an implacable opponent of the rich and a tireless defender of the poor” 1046. “I will not stop repeating,” he says, “give to the poor, and I will tirelessly accuse those who do not give” 1047. That he was not an indifferent spectator of the outstanding facts of social life is evidenced with sufficient clarity by his Conversations “about statues, spoken to the people of Antioch” 1048. With them he rendered a great service to the inhabitants of Antioch, who inflicted a grave insult on the person of the emperor and other members of the imperial family and, during the period of languid anticipation of the denouement, which could be fatal for them, was ready to fall into despair. “Thanks to these Conversations,” says Professor Pevnitsky, “the city took on a calm, normal appearance; moral seriousness replaced the disorderly excitement of passions, and this, by the way, was the reason for the condescension with which the emperor treated the indignant city” 1049. Chrysostom was distinguished by his extraordinary zeal and diligence in preaching; both in Antioch and in Constantinople, he preached very often, almost daily, devoting a significant part of his time to the careful preliminary preparation of his Conversations 1050. Vilmen depicts the high dignity of Chrysostom’s sermons in the following words: “His sermon, learned, but publicly accessible (populaire), almost always captivates listeners with pictures of present reality that are connected with the circumstances of their lives. Attentive to everything that may excite or captivate Antioch, he is the general adviser of the people in this city, at the same time being the leader and comforter of every believing soul" 1051. Chrysostom never lost sight of the practical purpose of his sermon. “When he could not bring any benefit with his words, he considered all his work lost, the approval of his listeners worthless, and their tears useless. To achieve the practical goal of the sermon, it is necessary to select such subjects and engage in discussion of such points that either especially contribute to the correction of the listeners, or hinder it. Chrysostom prefers the second path, working tirelessly to depict the entire life of his time in its most varied deviations from the norm” 1052. If we add to this that Chrysostom’s life was in close connection and in complete harmony with his preaching activities, then we will understand the attention that listeners paid to the Words and Conversations of the famous church oratory, the passion for his eloquence, which sometimes crossed the proper boundaries 1053. From a brief review of the teaching activities of the three ecumenical saints, we see that in their sermons they touched on all those issues that were of vital interest to their listeners, on the explanation and illumination of which, from a Christian point of view, depended both the right faith and good morality, as well as, to some extent, peace and well-being in public life. Moreover, the ardent inspiration, genuine sincerity and depth of feeling that captured their Words and Conversations leave no room for doubt that they really took the needs of their flock to heart and placed concern for their moral improvement and salvation above all else. “The Lord Jesus Christ sent twelve disciples to preach out of the same feeling of pity for the people, for which He fed the hungry with bread and healed the sick,” we read from Professor Tareev 1054. Thus, the work of preaching ministry in its essence should be a work of compassion and love for others, just like feeding the hungry, helping the poor and sick, visiting prisoners, with the difference that it has the goal of satisfying hunger and healing spiritual illnesses: it is a work of spiritual mercy. It is not enough for a pastor-preacher to know and love the gospel truth 1055, but he must be imbued with love for his flock, who listen to his teaching word. The pastoral and preaching zeal of Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, as we can see from the history of their lives and activities, reached the point of oblivion of personal interests, self-sacrifice, and martyrdom. Further: “The most perfect way of teaching, according to St. John Chrysostom, the one who, by both deeds and words, leads those taught to that blessed life that Christ prescribed" 1056. A sermon that stands in a living relationship to reality must naturally find confirmation in the life of the preacher. The life of the three ecumenical saints was in everything consistent with the teaching that they offered to their listeners, and therefore they could boldly and persistently call on them to correct their lives and, in necessary cases, turn to them with a word of reproof. While denouncing luxury and vanity, immoderation and gluttony, they themselves were models of modesty and restraint. Disposing the rich to acts of mercy, they were the first to set an example of charity, establishing hospitals and hospices, donating all their wealth to the poor. It is not surprising that the teachings of the named saints, as preachers highly gifted by nature, famous for their piety and virtuous life, distinguished by their extraordinary zeal for their pastoral and preaching service and attentiveness to the needs of their contemporary society, attracted a large number of listeners and contributed greatly to the eradication of the errors and vices that prevailed at that time and to the elevation of the moral level of believers. The tireless and selfless teaching activity of the three great saints was accompanied by good consequences not only for a few chosen persons, their disciples and imitators, but also for all their flock and for their contemporaries in general 1057; and not only for them, but also for the Christians of all the subsequent fifteen centuries, drawing lessons of faith and piety from those Words and Conversations of the universal teachers, which were written down and thus preserved to our time. In the hands of our shepherds is a means of religious and moral education of the Russian people: through church preaching they could have a powerful and beneficial influence both on the masses of the essentially religious, but not properly instructed in the truths of the faith, of the common people, as well as on the “God-seeking” and on the intelligentsia infected with religious indifference. “In our fatherland,” writes the Right Reverend Ambrose, “there are more than thirty thousand churches as ready-made public schools, and even more so teachers, vested with the authority of preachers of Christ’s truth and the trust of the people; they have at their disposal the days and hours of public assemblies” 1058. But it is church preaching that is currently in an extremely unsatisfactory state in our country. There are complaints about the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of church preaching from the laity who are not indifferent to issues of religion and the Church; many of our pastors and archpastors recognize the sad state of preaching; our rationalist sectarians boldly and decisively accuse the Orthodox clergy of inertia and neglect of the duty of teaching. In general, our pastors rarely teach the people from the church pulpit, but this is not enough: what is offered to the people for teaching does not arouse interest, does not attract the attention of church visitors, and does not have the proper influence on the moral state of believers; Not everyone wants to listen to sermons, especially educated people 1059. Consequently, it is not the fault of our pastors alone that they are little involved in the work of church teaching, but also that their teaching word does not correspond to the needs of their listeners, that it suffers from a lack of modernity; The point is that our pastors often deliberately avoid the burning issues of our time, believing that for the church department it is more convenient and safer to deal with abstract dogmatic, church-historical and ritual issues. “The most important thing,” says V. A. Ternavtsev, “preachers of the Russian Church in Christianity see and understand only the afterlife ideal, leaving the earthly side of life, the entire circle of social relations empty, without the embodiment of truth. This one-sidedness prevents them from becoming “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) of our day” 1060. It should also be noted that, not satisfying the demands of modern times, not taking into account the urgent needs of the listeners, our preachers often lose sight of the main goal of the preaching ministry and forget that the subject of Christian preaching is the disclosure of the Gospel teaching about salvation. These omissions of our pastors in the matter of church teaching have very disastrous consequences. In the just past War of 1061, our army did not turn out to be “victorious”: a great disaster for the fatherland, a sensitive blow to national pride! But the shepherds of the Church in particular should also grieve over the fact that our soldiers, called Christ-loving, while living among the pagans, behaved inconsistently with the title of Christian, did not win over those who did not know Christ in favor of Christianity, but turned them away from it 1062. This is based on feedback not only from our enemies, but also from our compatriots, and in particular from Orthodox missionaries working in the Far East. Whose fault was it that Orthodox Russian people found themselves familiar only with church rituals and not at all familiar with the spirit of Christ’s teaching? Not so long ago, during the cholera epidemic, when doctors believed that in order to stop the infection it was necessary to kill the cholera bacillus, our dark village people decided that for the same purpose it was necessary to beat doctors, and in places they carried out this decision 1063. On whose conscience are the murders committed and from whom will the shed blood be exacted, if in many villages the church is the only school for the people, and the priest is the only teacher? In our memory, famine has repeatedly visited either some few Russian provinces or most of them. Contrary to the well-known saying, which has now become an anachronism, in Holy Rus' people died of hunger, and crimes were also committed from hunger. On whose conscience are cases of starvation and crimes committed due to hopeless need? Who will be responsible for the spiritual death of those whose “god is their belly” (Phil. 3:19), although they call themselves Christians? Who is to blame for the fact that the country is suffering from disasters and from the “famine of hearing the word of the Lord” ( Am. 8:11 )? Our preachers most often introduce listeners to the history of Christian holidays, explain the meaning of rituals, pronounce funeral words and eulogies to high-ranking persons, read proclamations from the church pulpit before gatherings as prescribed by the authorities, and limit themselves to this. Rarely turning to the revelation of the essence of Christ's teaching, they most often choose abstract topics for their teachings that have little application to life. When they touch on modern reality with its needs and demands, then this kind of sermon is most often modern only in title and external form, and not in essence: they do not show the preacher’s living attitude to those issues that currently interest and concern his listeners and the Christian illumination of which is needed by a society that calls itself Christian. Our preachers most often forget that modernity is a necessary requirement for any sermon: “If a sermon could be unmodern and unpopular,” says Professor Tareev, “then it would be unnecessary, superfluous, preachers could limit themselves to reading the word of God” 1064. Patristic sermon, as we have seen, always concerns contemporary issues; There is this element both in conversations on the texts of Scripture, and in teachings on dogmatic topics, moreover, dogmatic questions themselves were of the deepest interest at that time for all believers. Orthodox preachers of our time sincerely consider themselves followers and imitators of representatives of patristic preaching, but for the most part their imitation of great models does not go beyond the external form. The patristic sermon, meeting the needs of its age, was completely modern, attracted many listeners and had a powerful moral influence on them. The sermons of our time, corresponding not to the spirit, but only to the form of the patristic sermon, turn out to not satisfy the requirements of modernity, lifeless and fruitless. We are now experiencing a time when every pastor-teacher especially needs to remember the words of the Apostle: “Woe is me if I do not preach the good news” (1 Cor. 9:16), when it is timely to remember St. Tikhon’s warning to priests: “Be extremely careful not to remain silent” 1065. The shepherd must not remain silent until the stones cry out. The very course of things is causing increased preaching activity; there has been an urgent need for live preaching that meets the needs of the time. The believing sons of the Church need it; it is demanded by people who are essentially indifferent to religion and the Church. Until very recently, external incentives for changing the character of our preaching were obviously not entirely sufficient, and the conditions for the revival and revitalization of preaching were, without a doubt, very unfavorable. Preachers who during the course of a year preached several sermons of their own composition or from printed collections, on topics more or less detached from life, had the right to consider themselves to have fulfilled their duty as a church teacher, while the vast majority of pastors remained silent for whole years. But now the need for intensified preaching activity has become obvious to everyone; Now quite definite and persistent demands for preaching that meet the needs of our time have begun to be heard, and preaching of the established type does not satisfy anyone. Nowadays, pastors are presented with questions from all sides, for the solution of which it is not enough to assimilate the essence of the Gospel teaching and be imbued with the spirit of the patristic creations, but it is necessary, in addition, for the sake of the good and salvation of believers, to try to “learn all the things of life no less than those who convert in the world.” Pastors are asked how a Christian should think about freedom of religion, which was recently announced in our country; how to treat theater in our time; is the death penalty acceptable in a Christian state; how to resolve a work issue harmlessly, in accordance with the Gospel teaching; is the currently practiced method of using the land fair, etc. The needs and requirements of the spirit have the same connection and relationship with bodily needs as the soul does with the body. Therefore, the preacher cannot completely ignore the issues that interest him in contemporary society, not only concerning the intellectual, but also the socio-economic and political. In particular, the pastor-preacher should not be silent during periods of social unrest. And these days, in addition to other private issues, the clergy is asked to clarify their attitude to the liberation movement. But our pastors were so unaccustomed to responding to the demands of modern times, they stood so far from the life of society that at first they found themselves completely confused; and then, when the attitude of individual clergy towards issues of political and social life gradually began to become clear, the result was a discordant and seductive discord. To the same questions, for which decisions are required from all shepherds in the spirit of the same Gospel, answers began to be varied and contradictory. Some, for example, firmly and resolutely stood only for the defense of the legal rights of the wealthy classes, others are ready to teach the poor and disadvantaged “to gain their right through struggle.” Some openly rejected the reservations of catechetical teaching that killing in war and taking the lives of criminals is not a violation of the sixth commandment; others (from persons of “holy rank and even monastic rank”) preach principles of life “that are more consistent with the intolerance and fanaticism of the Koran than with the meekness and love bequeathed by the Gospel” 1066; these latter are inclined not only to maintain the death penalty, but also to give its implementation the character of a religious ceremony. Some of the pastors received the titles of “advanced”, champions of freedom and progress (on the left), others - fighters for the fundamental foundations of Russian life (on the right); both of them were at the same time branded with reproachful names from representatives of hostile camps. Instead of being leaders of society, pastors are forced to listen to the voice of secular people and follow them, as if they did not have and do not have the most reliable leadership. Leaving aside the question of the extent to which our pastors do not want and to what extent they cannot stand as church preachers and leaders of society in matters of faith and morality at the height of their calling, let us turn to clarifying the meaning of the requirements for church preaching today. They require a living word that corresponds to the demands of the time, but what, exactly, is meant by such a word? To what extent are the demands of a living word imbued with the spirit of modernity subject to satisfaction? Archpriest A. Klyucharyov (later Archbishop Ambrose), calling the concepts of the modernity of church preaching confusing and vague, expressed the following opinion regarding the requirements for preaching on the part of the intelligentsia: “The majority of our enlightened people are inclined to the idea that church preaching should not guide people of a certain time, but follow the times, and not only apply to it in external techniques, but also agree with it in the very solution of modern issues life" 1067. From another author we read: “They demand from a sermon that it be an exact echo of the spirit of the times, an accomplice of literature in introducing to the people humane, scientific, practical, economic and other concepts developed to improve the socio-economic life of the people” 1068. In our time, a priest is obviously expected to preach only on topical topics; they are looking for confirmation of the correctness of various socio-political parties from the heights of the church pulpit. But the pastor-teacher must remember that church preaching should not have any affinity with journalism, even church journalism. The term used by homiletists, especially since the sixties of the 19th century, for a sermon concerning contemporary issues, journalistic, Professor Pevnitsky recognizes as inaccurate 1069. But this name should be recognized as not at all suitable for any of the types of church teaching. Political and socio-economic issues in themselves cannot in any case form the subject of church preaching, despite their importance and significance in the life of societies and peoples. As Dickmann puts it, “The Gospel recognizes only one policy—the Kingdom of God” 1070. But this does not at all exclude the desirability, even the necessity, of the pastor’s intervention in matters of politics and public life when believers, carried away by the party struggle, are ready to deviate from the foundations of the Gospel teaching. “The shepherd of the Church will not fulfill his task and will not choose the best part when, at the height of passions, he will be a completely cold and indifferent spectator of the struggle and enmity that captivates his flock.” In such cases, it is necessary to imitate the example of famous pastors and teachers of the Universal Church, in particular our Russian 1071. But, of course, the pastor is interested here not in the triumph of this or that political doctrine, but in the fidelity of his flock to the covenants of Christ. A preacher, even as a patriot, should not, with the authority of religion, justify and support national passions and prejudices and illegal claims in relation to other peoples. His word may be imbued with love for the fatherland, but this feeling should not contradict the basic principle of Christian morality; a patriot must always remain a Christian. The social element is introduced into preaching not by the preacher's direct intervention in the interests of public life, but in such a way that when, in fulfilling his main duty, he lays the foundation for the Kingdom of God in the hearts of the believers, he at the same time contributes to the improvement of the social order 1072. Chrysostom was an opponent of slavery, but he did not rebel against this institution directly and openly - because, as Puech says, he “did not hold the opinion that Christianity should ever become revolutionary in the modern sense of the word, that is, in relation to the civil order” 1073. Improving the material well-being of the flock in itself also does not constitute the direct task of the shepherd. This is the task of secular public figures: pastors can sympathize with their activities and even assist, as far as this is compatible with the essential duty of a shepherd, but “let them do their job,” says Professor Pevnitsky, “and the more successful their work is, the better; but at the same time, let them not put their own work on the shoulders of the representatives of the Church” 1074. In any case, it is not permissible for a shepherd to “leaving the word of God, caring only about the tables” (Acts 6:2) 1075. The tasks of a political economist and a Christian pastor-preacher are different in essence, even if both were occupied with the same phenomena of social life: the first seeks to change and improve the very orders, and the second - to instill a proper attitude towards them that does not contradict the principles of Christian morality; the first draws attention only to the external results of the vices dominant in society, and the second is most occupied with the thought of eradicating the vices themselves. From what has been said it is self-evident that a pastor-preacher cannot take part in the party struggle; he must be outside and above the parties, since no party can be right in all respects 1076. In addition, it must be borne in mind that active participation in the party struggle inevitably leads to the adoption into leadership of the principle “the end justifies the means,” which is alien to Orthodoxy. It seems to many that the role of guardian of the established order of state and public life is most appropriate for a priest; but if the priest began to defend the existing system unconditionally, in all respects recognizing it as the best, despite those shortcomings that he in good conscience cannot deny, then he would declare himself a supporter of the conservative party and, therefore, would choose a position no higher than party membership: a pastor should not be fundamentally conservative in any case 1077. “The idea of ​​reconciling Christianity with modernity is one of the tempting ideas that can captivate ardent minds following the course of events of time,” 1078 writes Professor Pevnitsky. But the pastor must beware of making concessions to the dominant trends of the century 1079. There is a limit to the preacher's concessions to the spirit of the times. “The task of the preacher is not to lower the high requirements of the Divine law to the level of a lowered life” 1080. The pastor-preacher, discussing the essence of the demands placed on him, must determine exactly what concessions he can make and what he has no right to make 1081. He is obliged, for example, to resolutely rebel against the materialistic and utilitarian direction of his age, as contrary to the spirit of the Gospel teaching; if necessary, he must fearlessly oppose the voice of the people to the voice of God 1082. Never losing sight of the only high goal of church teaching, the preacher even today must show the believers the path of salvation in the presence of existing external conditions, without ignoring the pressing needs of social life, but also without pandering to the spirit of the times, 1083, without forgetting the instructions of the Apostle: “Do not be conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2). Not everything that is demanded of a pastor-preacher must be satisfied; even more: if he set out to satisfy all the demands placed on him, and he succeeded, and everyone would “speak well” of him (Luke 6:26), he would have done, in essence, too little. “The saddest moments in the life of a preacher,” as Brooks rightly observes, “are those when, leaving the pulpit, he feels that he has given his listeners not what he had better, but only what they demanded of him. He satisfied them, but he is very dissatisfied with himself” 1084. Set. Basil the Great. Creations Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Creations: In 2 volumes. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2008–2009. (Complete collection of the works of the holy fathers of the Church and church writers in Russian translation; vol. 3, 4). PSTSO - Complete collection of the works of the holy fathers of the Church and church writers in Russian translation. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2007-.T. 1–4. PG – Patrologiae cursus completus // Accurante J.-P. Migne. Series graeca. Paris, 1857–1866. Reprinted by: Christian. 1907. No. 6. P. 3–46. See: Tareev M. M., prof. On questions of homiletics: Critical essays. St. Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1903. P. 27, note. (hereinafter referred to as Tareev. On issues of homiletics). See: Boris, Archimandrite. In what respects is it especially important for the pastor of the Church to have scientific knowledge of theology? St. Petersburg, 1903. P. 6; Barsov N.I., prof. Several historical studies and reflections on contemporary issues. St. Petersburg, 1899. P. 277 (hereinafter referred to as Barsov. Several studies...). See: Hering Herm. D. Die Lehre von der Predigt. Berlin, 1905. S. 282 und 281 (hereinafter – Hering. Die Lehre...). Wed: Guide for rural pastors. Kiev, 1893. T. 1. P. 398. Barsov. Several studies... P. 5; For New Testament texts, see, in addition, on p. 279–280. Barsov. Several studies... P. 11. Yuryevsky A., priest. Homiletics, or the science of pastoral preaching of the Word of God. Kiev, 1903. P. 179 (hereinafter referred to as Yuryevsky. Homiletics). La predication c’est la transmission de la verite par le moyen de la personnalite (Brooks Ph. Conferences sur la predication // Trad, par E. Nyegaard. Paris, 1884. P. 6; hereinafter referred to as Brooks. Conferences...). See: ProbstFerd., Dr. Katechese und Predigt vom Anfang des IV bis zum Ende des VI Jahr. Breslau, 1884. S. 134, § 29 (hereinafter referred to as Probst. Katechese...). Tareev. On questions of homiletics. P. 69. See: The meaning of exemplary, mainly patristic, Words for the modern preacher // Addition to the “Church Gazette”. 1890. No. 1. P. 11. It must be remembered that the subject of the sermon is always the same; modernity concerns only the way of revealing this subject. The boundaries of the application of modernity are indicated by Professor Tareev in the following words: “The verbal discovery of modernity in a sermon is allowed only to the extent that it does not become the content of the sermon” (On issues of homiletics. P. 116). For the early Christian community, small in number of members, undividedly devoted to the new teaching, persecuted and despised by the world and, in turn, despising the temptations of a sinful world, not only expecting, but also wanting the days of this world to be shortened, the word of God was of self-sufficient interest, and therefore the usual form of preaching was almost exclusively the reading of Scripture, with explanation verse by verse. See: Pevnitsky V.F., prof. St. Gregory the Dvoeslov - his sermons and homiletical rules Doctoral dissertation. Kyiv, 1871. P. 130 (hereinafter referred to as Pevnitsky. St. Gregory Dvoeslov); Bittkau G. Pfarramtskunde. Lpz., 1897. S. 22 (hereinafter – Bittkau. Pfarramtskunde). Such preaching can have meaning and significance either in exceptional times or for exceptional individuals. The works of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation: In 12 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1895–1906. T. 1, book. 2. P. 472 (On the priesthood, word 6th). (Next - St. John Chrysostom. Creations.) Conversations about preaching as a pastoral service // Wanderer. St. Petersburg, 1899. P. 43. See: Probst. Katechese... S. 135. Greek. μαρτυς in the New Testament and among Christian writers has two meanings: “witness” (the messenger of the truth in general) and “martyr” (who sealed his testimony to the Christian truth with blood). See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 4 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 80, note. 1. Let us not judge sermons of an abstract dogmatic nature based on our times. For the most part, dogmatic sermons bore modern listeners and present no interest to them, but for the contemporaries of the ecumenical teachers, dogmatic topics were the most desirable. See the speech of Professor Govorov: Govorov A., prof. The basic principle of church preaching and the subject and tasks of church eloquence arising from it // Orthodox interlocutor. 1895. No. 3. P. 380–381 (hereinafter referred to as Govorov. The basic principle of church preaching). Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1904. April. P. 582. See: Realencyklopädie für protest. Theologie und Kirche Begr. von J. J. Herzog. 3. Bd. 15. S. 633. It must be borne in mind that a small part of the teaching works of the holy father has reached us. See: Anthony, Archbishop. Finnish. From the history of Christian preaching. St. Petersburg, 1895. pp. 75–76 (hereinafter – Anthony, Archbishop of Finland. From the history of Christian preaching). For the number of Conversations and Words that have survived and are recognized as authentic, see p. 58 and 96, as well as: Bardenhewer Otto. Patrologie. Freiburg im Bresgau, 1894. S. 255–257 (hereinafter – Bardenchewer. Patrologie.) See: Herzogs RE 2 II, 120. RE 3 XV, 633; Anthony, Archbishop Finnish. From the history of Christian preaching. pp. 130–134. About the spread of heresies and the power of heretics, led by the Emperor Valens himself, St. Basil testifies in his letter to Bishop Asholius. See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 164 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 680. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversations 15, 16 and 24 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1008–1012, 1012–1017 and 1074–1083. For example, in the Conversation “On the Day of the Holy Martyr Mamant” (St. Basil the Great. Conversation 23 // Ibid. Vol. 1. pp. 1069–1074), after glorifying the memory of the saint, the preacher turns to refuting the false teaching of Arius; in one of his letters to St. Basil testifies that in his time “the heresy, long ago sown by the enemy of truth, Arius, now arose again with shamelessness” (St. Basil the Great. Letter 70 // Ibid. Vol. 2. P. 564). It is worthy of attention that St. Basil, who openly proved in his five books against Eunomius (see: St. Basil the Great. Creations. Vol. 1. pp. 93–318) the divinity of the Holy Spirit and the consubstantiality of His Father and Son, in his Conversations to the people insisted only that the Holy Spirit is not a creature, avoiding calling Him God and attributing a predicate to Him ομοουδιος. See: Hezogs RE 2 II, 119; Close. Basilius der Grosse nach seinem Leben und seiner Lehre. Stralsund, 1835. S. 29, anm. 8; S. 38, anm. 25. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 15 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 1008. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 24 // Ibid. P. 1078. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 9 // Ibid. P. 944. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 319–429. See: Hering. Die Lehre... S. 16 (cf. S. 14); Herzogs RE 2 II, 120. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 13 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 994–996. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 22 // Ibid. P. 1055. See: Anthony, Archbishop. Finnish. From the history of Christian preaching. P. 110. In volume one of the Works of St. Basil the Great (Complete collection of the works of the holy fathers of the Church and church writers in Russian translation, vol. 3). – Ed. See: Herzogs RE 2 II, 118; Hering. Die Lehre… S. 16, anm. 1; Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1904. April. P. 583. Anthony, Archbishop Finnish. From the history of Christian preaching. P. 51 and 126. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 529. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 922–923. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 930. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 6 // Ibid. P. 917. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 21 // Ibid. P. 1051. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 14 // Ibid. P. 1005. “Oh, how many nights have you spent in vain in vigil! How many days did you gather here in vain? - says the preacher at the beginning of Conversation 14. See: Hering. Die Lehre… S. 16, anm. 1; Wed S. 12. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 2 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 880. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversations on the Sixth Day // Ibid. pp. 405–406, etc. Compare: Hering. Die Lehre… S. 12. Anthony, Archbishop Finnish. From the history of Christian preaching. P. 64. St. Basil the Great. Discourse on the end of the fourteenth psalm and on moneylenders // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 496. Anthony, Archbishop Finnish. From the history of Christian preaching. P. 94. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 21 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 1043. See: Probst. Katechese... S. 251. Nebe A. Zur Geschichte der Predigt. Wiesbaden, 1879. Bd. 1. S. 82 (hereinafter – Nebe. Zur Geschichte...). See: Ibid. S. 66. Compare: Bardenhewer. Patrologie. S. 266. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 27 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 328. See: Herzogs RE 2 XV, 634. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 27 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 328. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 39 // Ibid. pp. 451 ff; Hering. Die Eehre… S. 18. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 21 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 263. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 42 // Ibid. P. 507. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 15 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 206. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 14 // Ibid. pp. 177–179 ff. For the inaccuracy of the word title, see: Hering. Die Eehre… S. 18, anm. 6. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 17 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 220–221. See: Afeie. Zur Geschichte…S. 72. See: Probst. Katechese... S. 205, anm. 1. See: Archbishop Filaret (Gumilevsky). Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church: In 3 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1859. T. 2. P. 165, note. 38 (hereinafter referred to as Filaret, Archbishop. Historical teaching...). St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 36 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 425. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 42 // Ibid. P. 508. Filaret, Archbishop. Historical teaching... P. 171. St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 1, book. 1. P. 28, note. See: Herzogs RE 2 II, 696. After Svida (10th century) in the literature concerning the life and work of the holy father, the name John gradually gives way to the nickname Chrysostom, which began to come into use in the 5th century. See: Bardenhewer. Patrologie. S. 321. Barsov. Several studies... P. 334. Puech aimé. S-t Jean Chrysostome et les moeurs de son temps. Paris, 1891. P. VII (hereinafter – Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome). See: Filaret, Archbishop. Historical teaching... P. 305–307, note. 200 and 201. See: Bardenhewer. Patrologie. S. 307. See: Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 157–159, 166, 182–183, 195. St. John Chrysostom. Discourse 12 on 1 Corinthians // St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 10, book. 1. pp. 120–121. See: St. John Chrysostom. Against the Jews // St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 1, book. 2. P. 645; Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 186–187. See: St. John Chrysostom. Against the Jews // St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 1, book. 2. pp. 645–759. See: Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 203–206. See: Index to the complete collection of Chrysostom’s works in three books // St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 12; Filaret, Archbishop. Historical teaching... P. 334–335; Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 158–159. See: Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 159. “Many of those infected with this disease listen to us with pleasure,” says Chrysostom in Homily 1 against the Anomeans (St. John Chrysostom. Creations. Vol. 1, book 2. p. 500). See: Hering. Die Lehre… S. 21. Filaret, Archbishop. Historical teaching... T. 2. P. 333. Anthony, Rev. Complete set of works. T. 2. Kazan, 1900. P. 369. St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 7, book. 2. P. 872. See: Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 316. See: St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 10, book. 1. pp. 411–412; T. 3, book. 1. Govorov. The basic principle of church preaching. P. 379. St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 7, book. 2. P. 515. See: St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 1, book. 2. P. 867; T. 2, book. 1. pp. 351–352; T. 6, book. 2. pp. 561–567; T. 7, book. 1 (6th and 7th Discourses on the Gospel of Matthew). Wed: “We still argue about the theater. Some speak out strongly for the theater, while others are against it... What, finally, is the theater - good or evil? (Evdokim (Meshchersky), bishop. Shepherd-teacher. Trinity Lavra, 1903. See: St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 2, book. 1. P. 474. See: St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 1, book. 1. pp. 58, 247 and 272. See: Hering. Die Lechre... S. 21. See: Herzogs RE 2 II, 697. See: St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 3, book. 2. pp. 403–430. Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 315. St. John Chrysostom. Conversation 43, 2 // St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 1, book. 1. P. 45. St. John Chrysostom. Creations. T. 2, book. 1. P. 5 ff. A Guide for Rural Pastors. Kyiv, 1888. T. 3. pp. 45–46. See also: Lutzlos. Chrysostomus und die übrigen berühmtesten kirchlichen Redner alter und neuer Zeit. Tübingen, 1859. S. 9 (hereinafter – Lutz. Chrysostomus). See: Lutz. Chrysostomus. S. 398. Villemain M. Tableau de Peloquence chretienne au IV siecle. Paris, 1870. P. 175. Lutz. Chrysostomus. S. 259. Tareev. On questions of homiletics. P. 108. “There are people,” says Brooks, “who, by their very temperament, perceive truth in its abstract form: they explore its depths, but never think of spreading it... On the contrary, there are characters of a completely different kind... with them the love of truth does not exist without love for your neighbor... According to whether you have this or that character, you can or cannot be a preacher.” Brooks calls this quality intellectual or spiritual unselfishness: it depends on natural inclinations, but can be developed and improved (see: Brooks. Conferences... P. 49, cf. p. 280). Great church luminaries of the 4th century. possessed this quality to the highest degree, as can be seen from their preaching works that have survived to our time. See: St. John Chrysostom. About the priesthood. Word 4 // Creations. T. 1, book. 2. P. 460; Tareev. On questions of homiletics. pp. 50–51. For those, no doubt, who not only had ears to listen, but were also not forgetful listeners, but doers of the work (James 1:25). In general, one should beware of an exaggerated assessment of the fruitfulness of patristic preaching. Professor Puech, speaking about Chrysostom’s struggle with the immorality of his age, notes that “moral shortcomings characteristic of a certain historical era and caused by transitory reasons disappear over time; but time is powerfully assisted in this by such chosen ones as the great Greek and Roman saints. Vices, the source of which is in human nature itself, remain ineradicable, even if their forms change.” The struggle against this kind of vices even among the named great shepherds and teachers could not be unconditionally successful. There are difficult things and there are impossible things for people of outstanding talent and indestructible energy. One should, in addition, keep in mind the fluidity of character and impressionability of the inhabitants of the East, notes the same Puech. The results of Chrysostom’s eloquence were amazing, but for a very short time: the moral lessons, which apparently made an irresistible impression, were soon forgotten, and the listeners again fell into the same errors and vices (see: Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 319–320). Ambrose, Rev. Living word. Kharkov, 1892. P. 27. Ternavtsev V. A. The Russian Church faces a great task. Report // New path. 1903. January. P. 8 author, accounts. This refers to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. – Ed. Compare: Spurgeon. Neutestamentliche Bilder. T. 2 Aufl. Hamburg-Borgfelde, 1897, pp. 397–398. We are perhaps talking about the so-called cholera riots - spontaneous uprisings of townspeople, peasants, and soldiers in Russia during the cholera epidemic in 1830–1831. – Ed. Tareev. On questions of homiletics. pp. 106–107. See: Yuryevsky A.I. Homiletics. Kiev, 1903. P. 213. Church newsletter. 1907. No. 8. P. 251. Ambrose, Archbishop Kharkovsky. About the church sermon required by our time // Ambrose, Archbishop. Kharkovsky. Complete collection of sermons. T. 1. Kharkov, 1902. P. 83 (hereinafter – Ambrose, Archbishop of Kharkov. About church sermon). A Guide for Rural Pastors. T. 3. 1888. P. 254. Compare: Yuryevsky. Homiletics. P. 251. See: Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1904. April. P. 584. Bittkau. Pfarramtskunde. S. 264. See also: Ibid. S. 266–267 (“Decree of the Supreme Evangelical Council of December 26, 1895 regarding the participation of clergy in socio-political movements”). See: A Guide for Rural Pastors. T. 3. 1888. P. 5, 42 et seq. See: Hering. Die Lehre... S. 366 and 363. Puech. S-t Jean Chrysostome. P. 316. Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1904. April. P. 595. But the other extreme is equally undesirable, when pastors “instead of preferring the needs of the body to the needs of the soul, completely despise them.” According to St. Gregory Dvoeslov, the shepherd’s concern for the external well-being of the flock can serve to some extent as a means for prosperity and internal piety. It attracts the flock to the shepherd and gives his words greater authority. See: Pevnitsky. Saint Gregory Dvoeslov. pp. 323–324. See: A Guide for Rural Pastors. T. 3. 1888. P. 5, 71–73; Bittkau. Pfarramtskunde. S. 262–264. See: Bittkau. Pfarramtskunde. S. 267. Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1904. April. P. 589. See: Brooks. Conferences... P. 38. Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1904. April. P. 589. Compare: Yuryevsky. Homiletics. P. 218. See: Ambrose, Archbishop. Kharkovsky. About church sermon. pp. 89 and 92. See: Hering. Die Lehre... S. 364. See: Lutz. Chrysostomus. S. 396–397. Brooks. Conferences... P. 39.