Учение о предопределении в трудах святителя Феофана Затворника

A.I. Solodkov, teacher at Perervinskaya Orthodox Theological Seminary, teacher of Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Evangelist, University of St. John the Evangelist For whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29) 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great teacher of the Russian Church 638, a remarkable ascetic, one of the most brilliant and influential spiritual writers of the 19th century, St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. In the review of the Theological Commission of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (December 20, 1889), the contribution of St. Theophan to Orthodox theology was highly appreciated and it was noted that he “rendered significant services to Orthodox dogmatics..., here some points of dogmatic teaching found not only a complete and thorough disclosure, but also such precise formulas that Russian Orthodox dogmatics had never had before” 639 . It should be noted that the saint was not a theologian in the narrow sense of the word, limiting the purpose of his works exclusively to specialists, a theoretician who confined himself to armchair scholarship, but a theologian in a higher sense, speaking in an open, accessible language for everyone, without in the least reducing the dogmatic accuracy and truth of the teachings presented. In his works, the saint left such a rich spiritual heritage that, as researchers note, “his learned works will constitute an era in the development of Orthodox theological thought” 640. “There is a stone with which gold is tested; the test stone for the Orthodox is the holy teaching, preached in the Church from ancient times” 641. Works of St. Feofana are filled with deep faith, spiritual strength and boundless love for the truth. “The special merit of the Right Reverend Theophan is that with his multi-volume works he persistently pointed out ... the inexhaustible treasury of church and patristic teachings, in which alone the light of the truth of Christ is inviolably and invariably kept, as it was kindled by the Savior Himself and His holy Apostles” 642. The main direction in the works of the saint is soteriology, “in his writings, the Right Reverend Theophan most of all pursues the thought of salvation” 643. Moreover, in the works of the ascetic, the dogmatic teaching is revealed with utmost clarity in the most difficult theological questions, which gave the basis to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky), in his speech at the Moscow Theological Academy, to call St. Theophan providentially sent by God of the Russian Church and representing teachers of the faith, “whom our Church hardly knew equals even in the times of its greatest piety” 644. The saint’s works acquire particular significance in the 21st century, during the period of the revival of the Russian Church, Orthodox culture and Christian life in Russia. In his works, Saint Theophan covers many important topics of theological content, including touching upon issues that we have to face today when catechesising people with already established religious views under the influence of para-church or non-Orthodox teachings. One of the difficult topics is the question of God’s predestination 645, which “is a combination together of Divine grace and human will, the grace of God that calls, and the human will that follows the calling” 646, extended to all humanity, “the existence of which is testified by the Holy Scriptures, the incorrect understanding of which carries many into the disastrous abyss of error” 647. Today, people who were previously fond of Protestant doctrine are turning to Orthodoxy, while “for many, the concept of “Calvinist” is almost identical to the definition of “a person who pays great attention to the doctrine of predestination.”648 Having not correctly resolved for themselves the question of the relationship between grace and freedom, such people (unexpectedly for many) express extremely incorrect thoughts about predestination 649. That is why, when catechesising this topic, it is necessary At the same time, it is important to understand the reasons and essence of the error being overcome, pointing out the importance of preparedness and competence to refute false knowledge, writes: “My predecessors, and much better than me, could not satisfactorily refute the followers of Valentinus, because they did not know their teaching” 650 At the same time, in the process of catechesis it is important to consistently and correctly reveal the positive teaching of faith in. in accordance with the reason of the Holy Orthodox Church. Therefore, overcoming the erroneous views of people who deviate from the truth, according to Saint Theophan, consists “in an objective, impartial study of their errors and, most importantly, in a firm knowledge of the Orthodox faith” 651. Let us consider the reasons and essence of the mentioned misconception. Indeed, the Swiss theologian of the late Reformation period, John Calvin, who acquired such significant authority in Europe that he became known as the “Pope of Geneva,” characterizes predestination as “the eternal command of God, by which He determines what He wants to do to each person. For He does not create everyone in the same conditions, but prescribes eternal life for some, and eternal damnation for others” 652 (the founder of the Reformation, Martin Luther 653, and another figure of the Swiss Reformation, Ulrich Zwingli 654, also taught about the unconditional pre-established determination of life and, therefore, the salvation or destruction of a person. Moreover, within the framework of Calvinism, a person could indirectly judge his predestination to salvation by worldly prosperity: the Lord blesses those chosen for heavenly salvation with prosperity in their earthly life 655, and the achievement of material well-being began to be considered a very important sign of a person’s proximity to salvation 656. In developing his doctrine of predestination 657, Calvin, considering Biblical history, argues that even the fall of Adam occurred not as a result of God’s permission, but according to His absolute predestination, and since then a huge number of people, including children, have been sent by God to hell 658. Calvin himself called this point of his teaching a “terrifying institution,” insisting that God not only allows, but desires and commands that all the wicked who are not predestined to salvation perish. In his compendium of faith, Instructions for the Christian Life, the Genevan Reformer states: “Some speak here of the difference between “will” and “permission,” maintaining that the wicked will perish because God allows it, but not because He wills it. But why does He allow it, if not because He wishes? The assertion that God only allowed, but did not command, that man should perish is in itself implausible: as if He did not determine in what state He would like to see His highest and noblest creation... The first man fell because God decreed it necessary” 659; “When they ask why God did this, they must answer: because He wanted it” 660. Obviously, according to this point of view on predestination 661, “man himself ... remains only a passive spectator of his own salvation or condemnation” 662, his spiritual and moral responsibility for his actions disappears, since the most important attribute of responsibility is human freedom. “If all human actions are necessary and inevitable as predetermined by God himself,” Prof. rightly notes. T. Butkevich, - then how can you put responsibility for them on people. If all actions, both good and evil, are necessary; if some people are predestined by God to salvation, and others to eternal damnation, then it is obvious that the culprit of the evil that dominates the world is God alone” 663. If God Himself predetermined the fall of man by virtue of His desire, why does He sacrifice His Only Begotten Son as a propitiation sacrifice? The famous Orthodox exegete prof. N. Glubokovsky, explaining this issue, emphasizes: “The evangelist does not at all attribute the fate of the perishing to Divine predestination and rather emphasizes their personal guilt” 664. In fact, freedom is a property of man’s Godlikeness and “the question of the relationship of grace to human nature and freedom is a question of the very essence of the church” 665. It is interesting to note that the theological views of Calvin 666 by students of the history of the Reformation are traced back to St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. Thus, H. Henry Meeter, professor of biblical studies at Calvin College, in his work “Basic Ideas of Calvinism” notes: “The theological views of Calvin and other figures of the Reformation are considered as a revival of Augustinianism ... But it was Calvin in modern times who systematized such views and substantiated their practical application” 667. John Calvin himself, discussing predestination, directly writes in his confession: “Without any doubt, I am with St. Augustine I confess that the will of God is necessary for all things and that everything that God has decreed and willed inevitably comes to pass” 668. In this regard, it is necessary to touch upon some provisions of the teachings of the blessed one. Augustine, to whom the Genevan reformer refers and who, of course, had a great influence on the development of theological thought in the West. In his work “Historical Teaching about the Fathers of the Church” St. Filaret of Chernigov, considering the teaching of Blessed. Augustine notes: “relying on his own experience of difficult rebirth by grace, breathing a feeling of reverence for grace, he was carried away by a feeling beyond what was proper. Thus, as the accuser of Pelagius, Augustine is, without a doubt, a great teacher of the Church, but, while defending the Truth, he himself was not entirely and not always faithful to the Truth” 669. In his statement of doctrine, the Bishop of Ipponia proceeds from the fact that humanity is called to replenish the angels who have fallen away from God (perhaps even in greater numbers): “It was the will of the Creator and Provider of the universe that the lost part of the angels (since not all of their multitude perished, leaving God) would remain in eternal destruction, while those who at that very time were invariably with God would rejoice in their most certain, always known bliss. Another rational creation, humanity, perishing in sins and disasters, both hereditary and personal, had to, as it was restored to its previous state, make up for the loss in the host of angels that had formed since the time of the devil’s destruction. For the resurrected saints are promised that they will be equal to the angels of God (Luke 20:36). Thus, the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother, the city of God, will not lose a single one of its many citizens, or, perhaps, will own even more” 670. However, according to the views of Blessed. Augustine, after the Fall, man is not able to free himself from the shackles of evil, sin and vice and does not even have the free will to love God. So, in one of his letters, blessed. Augustine points out: “Through the severity of the first sin we lost our free will to love God” 671. Original sin is the cause of man's complete inability to do good. The direct desire for good in a person is possible only through the omnipotent action of God’s grace, “grace is a consequence of predestination itself” 672, which directs the will of man by virtue of its superiority over it: “When God wants something to happen that cannot happen otherwise except by human desire, then the hearts of people are inclined to desire it (1 Samuel 10:26; 1Chronicles 12:18). Moreover, He inclines them, who miraculously produces both desire and accomplishment” 673. A strict ascetic and zealous Christian, blessed. Augustine, after an era of stormy youth 674, having experienced the full brunt of the struggle with mastering passions 675, was convinced from the experience of his life that “neither pagan philosophy, nor even Christian teaching, without the special internally active power of God, can lead him to salvation” 676. In developing these thoughts, he comes to the conclusion that human free will does not play any significant role in the matter of salvation, while the Latin thinker projects his personal experience onto all of humanity. The most important thing in the teaching of Blessed. Augustine is the position that with the general damage to human nature 677 salvation is achieved by the only irresistible action of God's grace 678. Considering the apostolic words about God, “Who wants all people to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4), Blessed. Augustine rejects their literal understanding, arguing that God wants to save only the predestined, for if he wanted to save everyone, then everyone would find salvation. He writes: “The Apostle very rightly remarked about God: “Who wants all people to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4). But since a much larger proportion of people are not saved, it seems that God’s desire is not fulfilled and that it is the human will that limits the will of God. After all, when they ask why not everyone is saved, they usually answer: “Because they themselves do not want it.” Of course, this cannot be said about children; it is not their nature to desire or not to desire. For, although at baptism they sometimes resist, we say that they are saved even without wanting to. But in the Gospel, the Lord, denouncing the wicked city, speaks more clearly: “How often have I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings, and you did not want to!” (Matt. 13:37), as if the will of God was exceeded by the will of man and, due to the resistance of the weakest, the Strongest was unable to do what he wanted. And where is that omnipotence with which He did everything in heaven and on earth that He wanted, if He wanted to gather the children of Jerusalem, and did not? Don’t you believe that Jerusalem did not want its children to be gathered by Him, but even with its reluctance, He gathered those of its children whom He wanted, because “in heaven and on earth” He not only wanted and did one thing, but wanted and did not do another, but “does whatever He wants” (Ps. 113:11)” 679. Thus, blessed. Augustine elevates the salvation of people to the desire and determination of God Himself regarding the elect, completely denying the desire of the Creator to save all people. “Worse than that,” notes Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), “the logical consistency in his thoughts brings bliss. Augustine goes so far that he even teaches (albeit in a few places) about “negative” predestination - predestination to eternal damnation, which is completely alien to Scripture. He clearly speaks of "a class of men who are predestined to destruction"" 680, thus professing the extreme doctrine of double predestination. According to this, God created those whose destruction He foresaw then "to show His wrath and reveal His power. Human history serves as the arena for this, in which "two communities of people" are predestined: one to reign forever with God, and the other - to undergo eternal suffering with the devil.But double predestination applies not only to the city of God and the city of the earth, but also to individual people. Some are predestined to eternal life, others to eternal death; and among the latter are infants who died without Baptism. Therefore, “the doctrine of double predestination to heaven and hell has ... the last word in Augustine’s theology.” This is an inevitable consequence of his view of God the Creator as the autocratic God of grace” 681. At the same time, paradoxically, God does not determine the commission of evil, He does not want the angels to sin or the first people in Paradise to break the commandment given to them, but, in accordance with the teachings of the blessed one. Augustine, they themselves wished this: “when the angels and people sinned, that is, they did not do what He wanted, but what they themselves wanted” 682. Man was originally created by God able not to sin and not to die, although not incapable of sinning and dying. Adam “lived in Paradise as he wanted as long as he wanted what God commanded. He lived without any lack, having in his power to live like this always” 683, and, says the blessed one. Augustine, “sin does not belong to God, but judgment” 684. From the writings of the Latin theologian it is clear that “he created a theory of how Divine action achieves its goal without the consent of man ... that is, the theory of autocratic grace” 685, and bases predestination not on the foreknowledge of God, but, according to the remark of St. Philaret of Chernigov, “in order to be true to his thoughts about human nature, he had to allow unconditional predestination” 686. Thus, predestination in the teaching of blessed. Augustine has an unconditional character, i.e. does not rely on God’s foreknowledge of future destinies, as he himself explains: “Foreknowledge without predestination can exist. After all, God, by predestination, foreknows what He Himself is going to do. Therefore it is said: “He who created the future” (Is. 45, according to Sept.). However, He can also foreknow what He Himself does not do, such as, for example, any sins... Therefore, the predestination of God, relating to good, is, as I said, the preparation of grace: grace is a consequence of predestination itself... He does not say: predict; does not say: to foreknow - for He can also predict and foreknow the deeds of others - but said: “he is able to do it” - that means not the deeds of others, but His own.” 687 According to the views of the largest representative of Western patristics, the predestined, due to the omnipotent Divine desire, can no longer lose salvation: “in the system of blessedness. Augustine... those predestined for salvation may go astray and lead a bad life, but grace can always guide them to the path of salvation. They cannot perish; sooner or later, grace will lead them to salvation" 688. Many outstanding thinkers of Christian times devoted their works to the topic of God's predestination; Saint Theophan (Gorov) also touches on this topic, setting out the essence of the subject according to the teachings of the Eastern Church. The reason for the fall of angels and primordial people was not the pre-eternal predestination that deprived them of freedom, but the abuse of the will with which these creatures were endowed. Nevertheless, both angels and people after the fall are left in existence and are not removed from the chain of creation according to the action of grace determined from eternity, explains the Vyshensky hermit: “This grace entered into the plans of the world. The angels fell and were left in their fall due to their extreme stubbornness in evil and resistance to God. If they all fell, this link would fall out of the chain of creation and the system of the world would be upset. But since not all fell, but a part, a link of them remained and the harmony of the world remained indestructible. Man was created alone with his wife in order to give birth to the entire number of persons who could form a human link in the system of the world. When he fell, this link fell out, and the world lost its order. As this link is necessary in the order of the world, it was necessary, either by putting to death, as defined, the fallen, to create new ancestors, or thereby provide a reliable way of restoration to the first rank. since the fall did not occur due to, let’s say, the failure of the first creation, but because created freedom, especially the freedom of the spirit physically united with the body, combined within itself the possibility of a fall, then, having begun to repeat the creation, it would perhaps be necessary to repeat it endlessly. Therefore, the wisdom of God, guided by boundless goodness, decided to arrange a different way for the fallen to rebel” 689. Revealing the Orthodox doctrine, Saint Theophan pays special attention to the truth that God does not want the fall and destruction of anyone, and for humanity who has fallen away from the truth, he has established a single path to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, thus desiring and giving salvation to everyone. “God is our “Savior” not only because he desires salvation, but because he created the image of salvation and saves all those who are saved in this way, actively helping them to use it. Desiring salvation for everyone, God wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth about salvation, namely, that it is only in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an urgent condition for salvation" 690. In Vyshensky’s explanation of the Holy Scriptures, “where necessary, interpretation is carried out together with an apology against the understanding of them by heterodox faiths” 691. In a commentary on the well-known words of the Apostolic Epistle, he repeats that God desires salvation for those who are not chosen only and determined by this chosenness, which is why the Apostle calls him the Savior of all. Having opened for everyone the blessed path to achieving salvation and providing the necessary grace-filled means to follow this path, the Lord calls on everyone to take advantage of this priceless gift: “God is the Savior of all men,” because “He wants to be saved by all people and to come into the understanding of truth” (1 Tim. 2:4) - and not only wants to be saved by everyone, but also created a wondrous image of salvation, open to everyone and always powerful to save anyone who wants to take advantage of it” 692 . Revealing the essence of Orthodox teaching, Saint Theophan explains that, desiring and giving salvation to everyone, God leaves everyone the freedom to voluntarily choose the good part, without forcefully acting against the desire of the person himself: “God the Savior wants everyone to be saved. Why is it that not everyone is saved and not everyone is being saved? “Because God, who wants everyone to be saved, does not bring about their salvation by His omnipotent power, but, having arranged and offered everyone a wondrous and unique way of salvation, wants everyone to be saved, willingly approaching this way of salvation and using it wisely” 693; “This whole path is the path of free, rational will, which is accompanied by grace, confirming its movements” 694. The Lord calls everyone, but not everyone responds to this call, as the Savior Himself says about this: “many are called, but few are chosen” (Luke 14:24). The all-merciful God does not want to deprive anyone of salvation, but those who perish, rejecting grace, doom themselves to spiritual death. The kingdom is acquired by the faithful, who have accepted the grace-given means given from God and who live by the law of spirit and faith. “Not everyone is saved, because not everyone heeds the word of truth, not everyone is inclined to it, not everyone follows it - in a word, not everyone wants to” 695 ; “God’s saving will, God’s saving power and God’s saving dispensation (the economy of salvation) extend to everyone and are sufficient for the salvation of everyone; but in fact, only the faithful are saved, or become partakers of these salvations, that is, only those who believe in the gospel and, after receiving grace, live in the spirit of faith. So that God, who is always willing and always strong to save everyone, is in reality the Savior only of the faithful” 696. According to Orthodox soteriology, God saves a person, but not without the person himself, for he does not violate the will of people. However, if in the matter of salvation everything depended solely on God, explains St. Theophan, then, of course, there would be no perishing and everyone would find salvation: “God does not force anyone to be saved, but offers a choice and saves only the one who chooses salvation. If our will were not required, God would have made everyone saved in an instant, for He wants everyone to be saved. Yes, then there would be no people dying at all” 697; “If everything depended on God, then in an instant everyone would become holy. One moment of God - and everyone would change. But such is the law that a person must desire and seek it himself - and then grace will not abandon him, as long as he remains faithful to it” 698. The gospel has been revealed to the whole world, but not all people follow God’s calling, and even those who followed, i.e. those who are called, notes Saint Theophan, do not all make good use of freedom on the “narrow path” to salvation, not all remain faithful, while the chosen remain faithful to the end: “Everyone is called; but of those who are called, not all follow the calling; not all become called. The one who has already accepted the Gospel and believed should be called called. But even in this number not all are chosen, not all are predestined to conform with the Son in right and glory. For many do not remain faithful to their calling and either sin in faith, or in life “they are both blasphemers” (1 Kings 18:21). But those who are chosen and ordained remain faithful to the end” 699. Not everyone, having heard the gracious call, enters the path of salvation, and not everyone who comes here to the Church of God achieves the blessed goal, but, according to the Word of God, only the faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10); despite the fact that the Lord is called the Savior of all, for he calls everyone to salvation, only a few gain the Kingdom - this chosenness is determined not by grace only, but also by the desire of the person himself: “Some of them are predestined to salvation and glory, while others are not predestined. And if this needs to be distinguished, it is necessary to make a distinction between vocation and vocation. Those chosen and appointed in a special way undergo the act of calling, although the word of calling announces the same to everyone. Having begun here, this distinction of the chosen ones continues later and in all subsequent acts on the path of salvation, or approach to God, and brings them to the blessed end. What exactly this difference is cannot be determined; but not in the grace alone that accompanies the word of calling, but also in the mood and acceptability of those called, which is a matter of their will” 700. Of course, the economy of our salvation is a great mystery, but this salvation is directly related to our desire and decision, and is not accomplished mechanically, against the will of people: “Nothing happens mechanically, but everything is accomplished with the participation of the morally free decisions of the person himself” 701 ; “In a gracious excitement it is given to him (the sinner. - Author) to taste the sweetness of good, then it begins to attract him to itself, as something already known, known and felt. The scales are equal, in the hands of a person there is complete freedom of action” 702. In the Orthodox teaching on salvation, therefore, special attention is paid to the need for intentional volitional effort on the part of the believer: “The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force,” says the Savior, “and those who use force delight it” (Matthew 11:12) - in this work, the highest effort of strength is required from the person being saved. It is impossible to acquire the Kingdom without the complete conscious aspiration of man himself, since, according to the patristic word, where there is no will, there is no virtue 703. “In freedom, a certain independence is given to a person,” explains the Vyshensky Recluse, “but not so that he will be self-willed, but so that he freely submits himself to the will of God. Voluntary submission of freedom to the will of God is the only true and only blessed use of freedom” 704. Success on the path to salvation is the fruit of free effort throughout the life of a Christian who has entered this field. Revealing in detail the essence of the beginning of spiritual life, Saint Theophan points out what is expected of each person for his grace-filled rebirth: “What exactly is expected of us. We are expected to 1) recognize the presence of the gift of grace within ourselves; 2) we understood its preciousness for us, so great that it is more precious than life, so that without it life is not life; 3) they desired with all their desire to assimilate this grace to themselves, and themselves to it, or, what is the same, to be imbued with it in their entire nature, to be enlightened and sanctified; 4) they decided to achieve this by deed and then 5) they brought this determination into fulfillment, abandoning everything, or detaching their heart from everything and betraying it all to the all-effects of God’s grace. When these five acts are completed in us, then the beginning of our internal rebirth begins, after which, if we relentlessly continue to act in the same spirit, internal rebirth and insight will increase - quickly or slowly, judging by our work, and most importantly - by self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice" 705. The teaching of the Eastern Church affirms the need for collaboration (synergy) of Divine grace and human freedom, because Only in the unity of human consent with the will of God and voluntary following the path of salvation is the acquisition of the Kingdom achieved by those who “seek grace and freely submit to it” 706. A person is not able to achieve perfection and salvation independently, because... does not have the necessary strength for this, and only with the assistance of God does this become possible and feasible. The actual renewal of man, thus, takes place in inextricable interaction with the grace of God. At the same time, the enlightening and saving action of grace does not deprive the meaning of human freedom and the need for self-determination: “The truly Christian life is arranged mutually - by grace and by one’s desire and freedom, so that grace, without the free inclination of the will, will not do anything with us, nor can one’s desire, without strengthening it by grace, have success in anything. Both of them agree on one matter of organizing Christian life; and what in every deed belongs to grace and what to one’s own desire is difficult to distinguish with subtlety, and there is no need. Know that grace never forces free will and never leaves it alone, without its help, when it is worthy of it, has a need and asks for it” 707. The building of spiritual life is created on the basis of the regenerating action of grace and the active determination of the believer, “the tension of a person’s strength is a condition for their grace-filled strengthening of the joint action of grace with him, but the condition is again only, so to speak, logical, and not temporarily preceding. This can be seen from the words of Bishop Theophan, which categorically affirm the joint and inseparable nature of the action of freedom and grace” 708. The relationship of predestination to Divine foreknowledge is indicated in the apostolic letter with the following words: “those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son... And whom He predestined, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29–30). Commenting on this letter of the Apostle Paul, the incorrect understanding of which was the basis for the false doctrine of predestination, St. Theophan explains 709 that the Orthodox understanding of the omniscience of God, including His foreknowledge of the destinies of people 710, never rejects the free will of man and his conscious participation in his salvation. Predestination is the incomprehensible action of the beginningless God, and it is determined by the harmony of the eternal Divine properties and perfections 711. The omniscient God foreknows and predetermines accordingly. At the same time, God's knowledge is infinitely deeper than the self-knowledge of man himself. Possessing knowledge of all things, God knows the past, present, and future as a single whole, and as He knows, He determines how it will be. Because of this, the cause of predestination is the free actions of man, not limited by the foreknowledge of God, because The person himself realizes his personal choice. God, foreseeing the result of this choice and subsequent actions, determines according to this, i.e. predestination itself is a logical consequence of man’s free acts, and not vice versa: “He (God. - Auth.) knows the beginning, and the continuation, and the end of everything that exists and happens, - he also knows his final definition of the fate of everyone, as well as the entire human race, - he knows who His last will touch: “come,” and who will touch: “go away.” And as he knows, so he determines it to be. But just as, knowing in advance, He foretells, so, determining in advance, He predetermines. And since the knowledge or foreknowledge of God is by no means true and true, His definition is unchangeable. But, touching free creatures, it does not restrict their freedom and does not make them involuntary executors of its definitions. God foresees free actions as free, sees the entire course of a free person and the general result of all his actions. And, seeing it, he determines as if it had already happened. For he does not simply predetermine, but predetermines by foreknowing. We determine whether a person is good or bad by seeing the deeds he has done before us. And God predetermines according to deeds, but to deeds foreseen, as if they had already been done. It is not the actions of free persons that are the consequence of predestination, but predestination itself is the consequence of free deeds” 712. God, explains Saint Theophan, by virtue of this foreknowledge, predetermines the chosen ones to be such and, accordingly, to receive a part in eternity. “God’s predestination embraces both the temporal and the eternal. The Apostle points out what those who were foreordained were predestined to do, namely, that they should “be conformed to the image of His Son”” 713. These two converging actions - foreknowledge and predestination - exhaust the eternal destiny of God about the people being saved. Everything said above applies to everyone. Salvation, according to Orthodox teaching, notes Saint Theophan, is a free moral action, although it is possible only with the help of God’s grace. Everyone is called by God, and everyone who wishes can be among the predestined: “God foresaw what we would desire and what we would strive for, and accordingly he made a decree about us. Therefore, it's all about our mood. Maintain a good mood, and you will find yourself among the chosen ones... Put in effort and jealousy, and you will win your election. However, this means that you are one of the chosen ones, for the non-elected one will not be jealous” 714. Thus, for rebirth, a person himself must relentlessly strive for the Source of salvation, and in case of a fall, he must hasten to rise through repentance, so as not to lose his calling, for grace is not a self-acting force that alienatedly forces people to virtue. “Be faithful and bless God, who called you to be conformed to His Son apart from you. If you remain like this until the end, then have no doubt that God’s boundless mercy will meet you there too. If you fall, do not fall into despair, but hasten through repentance to return to the rank from which you fell, like Peter. Even if you fall many times, get up, believing that, having stood up, you will again enter the host of those called according to providence. Only unrepentant sinners and hardened unbelievers can be excluded from this host; but even then not decisively. The thief, already on the cross, in the last minutes of his life, was captured and taken by the Son of God to paradise” 715. According to the summing up and precise statement of Archimandrite Sergius (Stragorodsky), later Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus': “it is very instructive, we say, to get acquainted with the disclosure of this side in the writings of ... Rev. Theophan, so deeply imbued with the teachings of his fathers... According to the presentation of the Reverend. Theophan, the inner essence of the mysterious renewal of man is his voluntary and final determination of himself to please God. “This decision,” says Saint Theophan, “is the main point in the matter of conversion.” As we see, Saint Theophan, in this description of the true content of dogmatic concepts concerning the question of salvation, absolutely correctly expresses the teaching of St. Fathers of the Church" 716 - in contrast to heterodox scholasticism, which teaches about "self-motivated righteousness, which takes root in a person and begins to act in him apart from and even almost contrary to his consciousness and will" 717. It is also important to note, according to the Vyshensky Recluse: external success and wealth, of course, do not indicate a person’s predestination to salvation, just as sorrows do not indicate the opposite determination 718: “Everything that happens to them (with the faithful. - Author), even the most regrettable (God. - Author) turns them into good - writes St. Feofan, - ... patience already requires support, because it does not quickly turn out what you want - the most luminous and blessed; but the need for such support is greatly increased by the fact that the external situation of those waiting is extremely deplorable. God, seeing how they completely surrender themselves to Him and thereby testify to their great love for Him, arranges their lives in such a way that everything that happens to them turns into their good, spiritual good, that is, into the purification of the heart, into the strengthening of good character, in the event of self-sacrifice for the Lord’s sake, highly valued by the truth of God and preparing an invaluable reward. How natural the conclusion is: therefore, do not be embarrassed when you encounter sorrow, and do not weaken your hopeful mood! 719. At the same time, Vyshinsky the Recluse points out that the success and comforts of this world can lead away from God even more than sorrow and oppression: “Aren’t the charms of the world strong? Don’t they even take away more from God and fidelity to Him?” 720. This is the doctrine of God’s predestination, the deep knowledge of which, in full agreement with the teachings of the Orthodox Church, was shown in his works by Saint Theophan the Recluse, which became a stumbling block for supporters of the false idea of ​​predestination as an unconditional predestination in the life of every person. The Great Teacher of the Russian Church - this is how St. Theophan is called by researchers of the life and works of the Vyshensky Recluse. See: Korsunsky I.N. His Eminence Bishop Feofan (Govorov), former Vladimir and Suzdal. M., 1895. P. 200; Georgy (Tertyshnikov), archimandrite. Life for God and for people (Life of St. Theophan the Recluse). Kyiv: Publishing house named after. St. Leo, Pope of Rome, 2002. P. 3. Case “On the elevation of the Right Reverend Theophan, former Bishop of Vladimir, to the degree of Doctor of Theology” // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 171. Units hr. 311. L. 2. Life of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky / Publisher Vorobiev A.V. Orel, 2000. P. 34. Theophan the Recluse, St. Farewell to the Vladimir flock (What will happen ahead, who will determine? Save yourself in the Lord!) // Collection of words for various occasions. M.: Rule of Faith, 2008; first published: Vladimir Diocesan Gazette. Neof. 1866. August No. 16. P. 845. Speech by the Right Reverend Nikanor, Bishop of Vilna, delivered at a solemn meeting of members of the “Society for the Propagation of Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church” in memory of the Right Reverend. Bishop Theophan // Addition to the Church Gazette. St. Petersburg, 1894. February. No. 8. P. 253, 254. Korsunsky I.N. His Eminence Bishop Feofan (Govorov), former Vladimir and Suzdal. M., 1895. P. 254. Speech of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Rus' at the Filaret evening at the Moscow Theological Academy // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 1959. January. P. 12. Predestination of God is the will of God about the destiny of man to eternal bliss (see: Long Christian Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church. M.: Publishing House "Siberian Blagozvonnitsa", 2005. P. 35). Elijah Minyatiy, St. Sermons. M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2000. Ignatius Brianchaninov, St. Ascetic experiences. M.: Rule of Faith, 1993. T. II. P. 85. McGrath, Alistair. Theological thought of the Reformation. Odessa: OSH “Bogomyslie”, 1994 / McGrath, Alister E. Reformation thought an introduction / trans. V.V. Petlyuchenko. OCR Palek, 1998. P. 152. ""I am predestined! I have no opportunity to resist predestination, to change or destroy God's predestination..." Such a judgment is proclaimed as ignorance of the sacraments of Christianity! It is proclaimed by falsely named reason and carnal wisdom. It utters terrible blasphemy that they do not understand!" // Ignatius Brianchaninov, St. Ascetic experiences. M.: Rule of Faith, 1993. T. II. pp. 85, 86. Irenaeus of Lyon, svmch. Against heresies (IV.0.2). St. Petersburg : Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2008. P. 321. Horse R.M. Sect studies in the works of St. Theophan the Recluse (study of the anti-sectarian works of St. Theophan in academic literature) // Russian patrolology: materials of the academic. conf. Sergiev Posad: Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy, 2009. P. 308. Calvin J. Instruction in the Christian faith (III.21.5): in 3 volumes (IV books) / trans. from French and English, preface. HELL. Bakulova, G.V. Vdovina. M.: Publishing house of the Russian State University for the Humanities, 1998. Despite the fact that “later Lutheranism abandoned Luther’s views on divine predestination, which he outlined in 1525, and preferred to develop within the framework of free human response to God,” Luther explicitly taught absolute predestination (“On the Bondage of the Will”), responding to the work of Erasmus of Rotterdam (“Diatribe, or Discourses on the Free Will”). McGrath, Alistair. Right there. P. 165. Ulrich Zwingli, together with Martin Luther and John Calvin, is considered the third leader, or father of the Reformation (see: R.M. Horse. Sectology. Sergiev Posad, 2006. P. 12). On the question of predestination, “the idea of ​​the absolute sovereignty of God is developed by Zwingli in his doctrine of Providence and especially in his sermon “De providentia” (“On Providence”). McGrath, Alistair. Right there. P. 153. Vasechko V.N. Comparative theology. M.: PSTBI, 2000. P. 51. Kozlov M., priest. Calvinism. URL: http://pravbeseda.ru/library/ ?page=book&id=428 Predestination (lat. praedestinatio, from prae - before, before, and destinare - to determine, appoint) - predestination. Calvin J. Ibid. P. 409. Not a single branch of modern Calvinism has officially rejected this teaching (see: Vasechko V.N. Comparative Theology. M.: PSTBI, 2000. P. 50). Hilarion (Alfeev), bishop. Orthodoxy. M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2008. T. I. P. 535. Butkevich T., prot. Evil, its essence and origin: in 4 volumes. Kyiv: Prologue, 2007. Vol. II. P. 49. Glubokovsky N.N. The teaching of the Holy Apostle Paul on predestination in comparison with the views of the book of the Wisdom of Solomon // Christian Reading. St. Petersburg, 1904. No. 7. P. 30. Trubetskoy E.N. The religious and social ideal of Western Christianity in the 5th century. Part I. Worldview of St. Augustine. M.: Printing house of E. Lissner and Y. Roman, 1892. P. 162. Within the Calvinists, a division soon occurred into infralapsarians and supralapsarians, the first of whom assumed that God decided to select the worthy only from the time of the Fall that he foresaw; supralapsarians considered the Fall to be a predetermined act of God. “Supralapsarians and infralapsarians are two directions in Calvinism that differ in their interpretation of the doctrine of predestination. According to the infralapsarians, God made the decision to save one part of humanity without any merit on the part of these people and to condemn the other without any guilt only after the fall of Adam (infra lapsum). The supralapsarians believed that the divine decision to condemn some and save others existed from eternity, so that God foresaw (supra lapsum) and predetermined the very fall of Adam.” Leibniz G.V. Works: in 4 volumes / ed. and comp., author. will enter. article and note V.V. Sokolov; lane Ya.M. Borovsky [and others]. M.: Mysl, 1982. T. 1. P. 504. H. Henry Meeter, Prof. Basic ideas of Calvinism. St. Petersburg : Christian Bridge; CRC World Literature Ministries, 1995, p. 258. Calvin J. Ibid. P. 410. Filaret of Chernigov, archbishop. Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church: in 3 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1882. Vol. III. P. 34. Augustine, blessed About true religion. Theological treatise. Minsk: Harvest, 1999. pp. 825–826. Quote by: Davydenkov O., priest. Dogmatic theology. Course of Lectures. Part III. M.: PSTBI, 1997. P. 198. Augustine, blessed About the predestination of the saints. First book to Prosper and Hilary / trans. I. Mamsurova. M.: Put, 2000. P. 19. Description and deep analysis of your life and conversion of the blessed one. Augustine gives in the first nine chapters of the Confessions (397–398). “Augustine is imbued with the conviction that from the first days of infancy until the moment when grace touched him, all his actions were an expression of his sinfulness... Thus, Augustine’s entire past life seems to be one continuous insult to God, a time of darkness, sin, ignorance and lust, when the very attempts to resist sin were in vain and did not lead to anything, because, trying to get up, he invariably fell and sank deeper into the sucking mud vice." See: Popov I.V. Works on patrolology. T. II. The personality and teaching of St. Augustine. Sergiev Posad: Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra; Moscow Theological Academy, 2005. P. 183, 184. Sergius (Stragorodsky), archimandrite. The teaching of St. Augustine on predestination in connection with the circumstances of his life and work // Readings in the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment. 1887. No. 2. Part 1. P. 447. “But although human nature is distorted and corrupted, it is not completely damaged. God, says the blessed one. Augustine did not completely withdraw His graces, otherwise we would simply cease to exist” // Armstrong Arthur H. Origins of Christian Theology: An Introduction to Ancient Philosophy. St. Petersburg : Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2006. P. 236. The formation of the doctrine of the relationship between grace and freedom, up to the approval of the theory of the autocratic action of grace, occurs in the views of the blessed. Augustine step by step. See: Fokin A.R. A brief outline of the teachings of Blessed Augustine on the relationship between free human action and Divine grace in salvation (based on the works of 386–397) // Augustine, Blessed. Treatises on various issues. M.: Imperium Press, 2005. pp. 8–40. Augustine, blessed Creations: in 4 volumes. St. Petersburg. : Aletheia; Kyiv: UCIMM-Press, 2000. T. II: Theological treatises. P. 58. Seraphim Rose, hierom. The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church, Platina, CA: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1983. P. 18. Pelican Ya. Christian tradition. History of the development of religious doctrine. M.: Cultural center “Spiritual Library”, 2007. T. 1: The emergence of the Catholic tradition. P. 284. Augustine, blessed Creations: in 4 volumes. St. Petersburg. : Aletheia; Kyiv: UCIMM-Press, 2000. T. II: Theological treatises. P. 61. Augustine, blessed About the City of God: in 22 books: in 4 vols. M., Publishing House of the Transfiguration of the Valaam Monastery, 1994. T. III. Book 14–17. pp. 58, 59. Fokin A.R. A brief outline of the teachings of Blessed Augustine on the relationship between free human action and Divine grace in salvation (based on the works of 386–397) // Blessed Augustine. Treatises on various issues. M.: Imperium Press, 2005. S. 18, 19. Filaret of Chernigov, archbishop. Right there. P. 33. Augustine, blessed On the Predestination of the Saints, First Book to Prosper and Hilary / trans. I. Mamsurova. M.: Put, 2000. S. 19, 20. Hilarion (Troitsky), archbishop. Essays on the history of the dogma of the Church. M.: Pilgrim, 1997. P. 515. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Second Epistle to the Corinthians. M.: Moscow Sretensky Monastery; Pilgrim; Rule of Faith, 1998. pp. 190, 191. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Pastoral Epistles. M.: Moscow Sretensky Monastery; Pilgrim; Rule of Faith, 1995. P. 242. Smirnov P.A. Life and teaching of Rev. Feofan Vyshensky the Recluse. M., 1915. P. 352. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Pastoral Epistles. M.: Moscow Sretensky Monastery; Pilgrim; Rule of Faith, 1995. P. 347. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. M.: Rule of Faith, 1999. P. 100. Quote by: Georgy (Tertyshnikov), archimandrite. Divine grace and human freedom. (Based on the works of St. Theophan the Recluse) // Theological works. M., 1996. No. 32. P. 20. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Epistle to the Romans. M.: Moscow Sretensky Monastery; Pilgrim; Rule of Faith, 1996. P. 535. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. P. 536. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the first eight chapters of the Epistle of St. ap. Paul to the Romans. Quote By: ZhMP. 1980. No. 3. P. 67. Theophan the Recluse, St. The path to salvation. Quote by: Pavel Khondzinsky, prot. The teaching of St. Theophan about grace and “pure love” in the context of the ideas of Blessed Augustine // Bulletin of PSTGU. Theology. Philosophy, 2012. Vol. 6 (44). P. 26. “God does not force us, He gave us the power to choose good and bad, so that we could be good freely. The soul, like a queen over itself, and free in its actions, does not always submit to God, and He does not want to forcefully and against the will to make the soul virtuous and holy. For where there is no will, there is no virtue. It is necessary to convince the soul so that it will become good of its own free will.” St. John Chrysostom. Conversation on the words: and we saw His glory... (John 1:14) // Christian reading. St. Petersburg, 1835. Part II. P. 33. Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. M.: Lepta, 2002. P. 52. Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. M.: Rule of Faith, 1999. P. 125. Message of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on the Orthodox faith // Dogmatic messages of Orthodox hierarchs of the 17th-19th centuries on the Orthodox faith. M.: Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1995. P. 149. Theophan, St. Letters on the Christian Life. M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 190, 191. Zarin S.M. Asceticism according to Orthodox Christian teaching. T. I. St. Petersburg, 1907. P. 12. “Avoiding any polemics with Western interpretations of the negative direction, the saint offers only a complete doctrine of faith and moral teaching in the Epistle of the Apostle Paul. On the positive side, he explains the text according to the wisdom of the Holy Orthodox Church, pays great attention to the edification of readers” // Krutikov I.A. Saint Theophan, Recluse and Ascetic of the Vyshensk Hermitage. M., 1905. P. 145. Rev. John of Damascus in his “Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith” writes: “God foresees everything, but does not predetermine everything. Thus, He foresees what is in our power, but does not predetermine it; for He does not want vice to appear, but He does not force virtue to appear” (TIPV. 2, 30). St. Gregory Palamas about the predestination of God: “predestination and Divine will, and foreknowledge coexist from eternity with the essence of God, and are without beginning and uncreated. But none of this is the essence of God, as stated above. And all this is so far from being the essence of God for him that the great Basil in the Antirritiki calls God's foreknowledge of something to have no beginning, but [to have] an end when what is foreknown reaches [its fulfillment]. (Against Eunomius, 4, PG 29, 680B).” Gregory Palamas, St. Treatises (Patristics: texts and studies). Krasnodar: Text, 2007. P. 47. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Epistle to the Romans. M.: Moscow Sretensky Monastery; Pilgrim; Rule of Faith, 1996. pp. 531, 532. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. pp. 537, 538. Sergius (Stragorodsky), archbishop. Orthodox teaching on salvation. M.: Publishing department of the Moscow Patriarchate; Joseph-Volotsky Monastery; Publishing house "Enlightener", 1991. P. 184. In the “Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs on the Orthodox Faith” from 1723, against the false understanding of predestination, it is said: “We believe that the All-Good God predestined to glory those whom He chose from eternity, and whom He rejected, He condemned, not, however, because He did not want to justify some in this way, and leave others and condemn without reason, for this is not characteristic of God, the common one of all. impartial Father, “Who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), but since He foresaw that some would use their free will well, and others badly, therefore He predestined some to glory, and condemned others... But what do the blasphemous heretics say, that God predestines or condemns, without regard in the least to the deeds of those who are predestined or condemned, this we consider it madness and wickedness... We never dare to believe, teach and think in this way... and we anathematize those who say and think like this forever and recognize them as the worst of all infidels.” Message of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on the Orthodox faith // Dogmatic messages of Orthodox hierarchs of the 17th-19th centuries on the Orthodox faith. M.: Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1995. pp. 148–151. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the messages of St. Apostle Paul. Epistle to the Romans. M.: Moscow Sretensky Monastery; Pilgrim; Rule of Faith, 1996. pp. 526, 527.