Учение святителя Феофана Затворника о душе мира как традиция библейско-святоотеческого богословия

Peter (Aleksenko), hierodeacon, candidate of theology, monk of Klimovsky Pokrovsky men's monastery of the Klintsov and Trubchev diocese The immediate reason for writing this article was the fact that in the research literature about St. Theophan the Recluse (1815–1894) experienced some bewilderment and awkwardness when assessing his teaching about the so-called soul of the world. In the presentation of this teaching by researchers, some uncertainty about its traditionality for Orthodox theology is obvious. Thus, Archbishop of Saratov and Volsk Pimen (Khmelevskoy), on the basis of terminological similarity, sees the origins of Theophan the Recluse’s teaching about the soul of the world in the pagan philosophy of the ancients, in particular Plato: “The opinion of Bishop Theophan about the soul of the world is in many ways reminiscent of the teaching of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato about the existence of the world soul, which is the main driving force of the world. Bishop Theophan not only does not deny the borrowing of some provisions of his theory from the teachings of ancient philosophers, but he himself refers to the names of famous thinkers of antiquity,” 464 by which Bishop Pimen means those mentioned by Saint G.G. Schubert (1780–1860) and G.W. Leibniz (1646–1716). Indeed, when presenting his ideas about the soul of the world, St. Theophanes makes the following references: “Immaterial forces of a spiritual nature, with the instinct to produce this and that, according to the norm placed in them by God, accompanied by a certain dark instinct. These are Leibniz’s monads” 465: “I remember that Avsenev taught us lessons on this at the academy - first Pyotr Semenovich, and then Archimandrite. Feofan. Died in Rome. I remember that Schubert’s geschichte des seele – the history of the soul – reveals these points in detail” 466. Likewise, etc. G. Florovsky accepted the mentions of these thinkers by St. Feofan for pointing out the primary sources of the teachings presented, therefore the patrolologist derives it from the philosophy of the era of romanticism: “Theophan combines fatherly asceticism with romantic psychology and natural philosophy. At one time, during his student years at the Kyiv Academy, he was a student of Feofan Avsenev and did not forget his lectures on psychology (according to Schubert, “History of the Soul”) in his “solitude.” In one of his letters, and with direct reference to Avsenev and Schubert, Feofan develops very interesting thoughts about the universal animation of the world, about the “ladder of immaterial forces” in nature” 467. So, the teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse about the soul of the world is marginalized, receiving the wrong philosophical origin and not being understood in its own sense. However, in our opinion, the mention of the holy Recluse P.S. Avseneva, G.G. Schubert and G.V. Leibniz can be fully explained by the factor of the addressee - the broad scientific and philosophical education of the saint's correspondent - Leon Nikolaevich Shishkov (1830–1909) 468, who, being a world-famous chemist, naturally knew and recognized the authority of these philosophers, who actually developed similar views. Also, terminological similarity with Plato does not mean similarity in content 469. The true origin of the teachings of St. Theophan the Recluse about the soul of the world is a biblical revelation and its exegesis by the holy fathers of the Church. The first attempt to show this traditionality of the teaching about the world soul of St. Theophan the Recluse for the biblical-patristic tradition belongs to I.A. Kokinu 470. For this purpose, the author compares the main provisions of St. Theophan with the views of St. Anthony the Great, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nyssa, St. John of Damascus, St. Seraphim of Sarov and St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky). However, with such a large-scale formulation of the problem, the research of I.A. Kokin lacks the depth of theological analysis, which mainly comes down to a selection of quotes. In this study, we will try to fill this deficiency as best we can, focusing on the theological and pathological analysis of the main provisions of the teachings of St. Theophan the Recluse about the soul of the world. The ascetic Vyshensky most fully expressed his views on the soul of the world in letters to the outstanding Russian chemist L.N. Shishkov (letters No. 264 and No. 266, undated) 471, however, echoes of this teaching are also heard in other works of the saint: for example, in the essay “Soul and Angel” (1867), in interpretations of the epistles of St. Apostle Paul - on 1 Thess. 5, 23 (1873), 1 Cor. 15, 42–44 (1876), Rome. 8, 22 (1879). Under the soul of peace St. Theophan the Recluse understands the totality of created forces of a speculative, invisible, formless nature, endowed with an instinctive sense, understanding, willing, directing the material elements for the production of creatures according to the will of God. Due to this nature, the saint defines these forces as forces of “spiritual properties”: “I think so about the world. The basis of the material world is atoms. But atoms are not all the same - they are different, like different elements. However, they themselves have neither movement nor mutual connection. Everything produces forces acting in them. What are these forces? I admit a ladder of immaterial forces of a spiritual nature. Mutual attraction, chemical affinity, crystallization, plants, animals are produced by corresponding immaterial forces that rise gradually. The substrate of all these forces is the soul of the world” 472. At the same time, the soul is not an abstraction of our mind, but a real force: “it seems that the soul becomes some kind of distraction when it is recognized as spiritual. No, recognizing it as spiritual, we in no way think that it is any idea, but is a real force that really exists” 473. It is important to note that in the list of “immaterial forces of a spiritual nature” St. The recluse places the forces of three classes of nature: dead inorganic and living organic - plants and animals. However, the human soul is not included in the list of powers of the soul of the world listed by the saint. In other words, the soul of a person is removed by him from the soul of the “world”. Developing his thought further, Saint Theophan explains why: “When it was necessary to create man, it was not on the earth (that is, not on the soul of the world. - hierodeac. P.) the command is given: let him bring forth, and in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity it is pronounced: “Let us create”... The body is especially created from dust. It was not a dead body, but a living one with an animal soul. A spirit will be breathed into this soul - God's spirit, destined to know God, to honor God, to seek and eat God, and to have all one's contentment in Him, and in nothing but Him. This spirit, uniting with the soul of an animal, raised it above the soul of animals by a whole stage, and we see in man that, to a certain extent, everything goes on with him, as with animals, up to intelligence, and then a series of forces begins, although of a spiritual nature, but above the soul (animal - hierodiac. P.), reason, will, taste. Even further: fear of God, conscience, dissatisfaction with created things, desire for God. These are spiritual manifestations completely detached from the soul. You can also place soul-spirituality between soul and spirit: an idealizing mind, a will that rebuilds everything anew, and creativity (in the arts). This is genius, from the mental, practical and artistic side. Spirit in the soul, or soul in the spirit. These are all natural manifestations. They do not appear in their present form in experience, due to the breakdown of strength in the fall. Graceful actions reveal spirit and spirituality in their present form” 474. So, the spirit blown by God into a “living body with an animal soul” raised this animal soul “by a whole stage,” that is, the human soul is not equal to the soul of an animal. Man is not only in spirit, but also in his soul, above the world, therefore the human soul is not included in the list of forces that make up the soul of the world. On this basis, Saint Theophan concludes: “Souls lower than spirit and man are immersed in the soul of the world. But a person’s soul cannot plunge there, but the spirit is carried away by grief - this is after death” 475. Hence it is impossible to agree with the statement of Archimandrite. Pimen (Khmelevsky), that “according to the teachings of Bishop Theophan, just as the human body is part of the universal cosmic world of matter, so the human soul is, as it were, a part of the universal cosmic soul” 476. The Russian saint, having removed the soul of man from the soul of the world, leaves one body to be “part of the universal cosmic world of matter,” and relates the soul and spirit to the image of God in man, which transcends the world. Thus, St. The recluse in his trichotomy draws a division not between the spirit - and the soul-body as the forces of the world, but between the spirit-soul as the image of God - and the body, that is, between the immaterial and the material. In other words, St. Theophan’s trichotomy is placed within a dichotomy that is basic to biblical theology. As we see, the concept of the soul of the world grows in St. Theophan the Recluse from the interpretation of the biblical account of creation and relies on the doctrine of the “ladder of powers”. In letter No. 140 to St. The recluse describes this “ladder of powers” ​​in more detail: “God’s creations are so arranged that every higher class combines in itself the powers of the lower classes, and besides them, it has its own powers, assigned to its class and characterizing it. In the world, or its composition, it is necessary to distinguish, in addition to the elements, a system of forces arranged in a ladder - from lower to higher, going from lower to higher. - The lower force is the one that acts in dead nature, and whose higher products are phenomena of chemical combinations and crystallization - (for example, snowflakes - streaks on windows in winter, etc.). Above this stands the power of vegetation, which holds in its power both the crystallizing power and the power of chemical combinations. Above the plant force stands the animal, which in its power holds both the plant force and the crystallizing force and the force of chemical combinations. “Higher than animal-spiritual power - the power of human nature, which contains all the forces lower than it in its power, and acts by them” 477. Ladder of the forces of human nature by St. Theophan describes in his commentary on 1 Thess. 5, 23: “Spirit and soul and body are a divinely revealed indication of the composition of human nature. As a small world, man combines within himself all types of life that appeared in his predecessors along the ladder of creation. In him there is plant-animal life, and animal-soul life together with soul-human life, and spiritual life, which exclusively belongs to him and characterizes him. These are what the words mean: body, soul and spirit. The body is our animal and plant organism, with all its functions and needs; the soul is the beginning of those conscious phenomena within us that begin with sensory perceptions, drives and sensations and end with scientific constructions, vast undertakings and enterprises, works of taste; spirit is an organ of communication with God, a God-conscious, God-seeking and God-living force. Its essential features are consciousness and freedom, its driving principles are: faith in God, a feeling of complete dependence on Him and confidence in Him. The manifestations of his life are: the fear of God, the actions of conscience and the thirst for communion with God, expressed (from the outside) by dissatisfaction with anything created. This is the breath of God-like life that God breathed into the primordial during creation. Combining in man with the animal soul, it transformed it into the human soul, which therefore in its actions shows a thorough affinity with both animals and spirit. As the spirit is a distinctive feature of man, this spirit is given a predominant position in man over soul and body, under the condition of his complete submission to God. The normal structure of man is this: the spirit is in God, under his control is the soul, and under both is the body” 478. Thus, under the “ladder” of St. Theophan the Recluse implies a hierarchically organized set of speculative forces of various modes of action - forces acting in dead nature, forces of vegetation, animal forces and forces of human nature. This teaching about the “ladder” of immaterial forces does not belong to St. A recluse, but is traditional for patristic theology. It is known that St. Theophan made virtually no references to the holy fathers in his works. Already a pre-revolutionary researcher of the works of Bishop. Feofana A.I. Sokolsky noted that “the saint presented his views without any – with a few exceptions – argumentation” 479. However, for the doctrine of the nature of the soul there is an enviable exception. For the purpose of polemics with St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, who argued, according to St. Theophan, the materiality of the soul of man and an angel, the ascetic Vyshensky wrote the essay “The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit” (1867), in which he refuted his opponent on the basis of biblical, patristic evidence, as well as scientific considerations of the mind. Here St. The recluse, who ignored references to sources in his works, cites them and calls St. the authors of the doctrine of the “ladder of powers.” Gregory of Nyssa (331 - after 394) and St. Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). So, to prove the immateriality of the human soul in the essay “The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit” by St. Theophanes turns to the doctrine of the “ladder of forces” and points to its patristic origin: “Let us first note that an independent, independent region of chemical processes is of inorganic nature. There are chemical products in plants, but chemical processes here depend on another principle, which chemistry does not understand, as the new teaching itself says. While this beginning is in action, chemistry has no entry into its laboratory. But when it departs, and only the body produced by it remains, then chemistry takes its products, decomposes and determines: which element went into which part, to what extent, but does not know the production of the matter itself. After examining everything, she can only say: you see what this beginning - life - has done - but how, who knows! In an animal we see the most vegetative principle in subordination to another principle, from which feeling, movement, intelligence are imparted. And in man we see an even higher principle, dominating over all this and higher than all that. Such is the ladder of strength! I cite the teaching of St. Gregory of Nyssa about this subject" 480. And then St. Theophan quotes the following fragment from the 8th chapter of the treatise of St. Gregory of Nyssa “On the structure of man”: “We have almost forgotten the order in creation, according to which the vegetation of plants from the earth precedes, and this will be followed by dumb animals, and then, after their structure, man. It seems to me that Moses expounds in this some kind of secret teaching, and mysteriously communicates wisdom about the soul, which external learning dreamed of, but did not understand it clearly. For the word teaches us that in three differences vital and spiritual strength is discerned. There is a certain plant power that is only nutritious, suitable for increasing the food that is fed, it is called natural, and is seen in plants; because even in what grows one can notice a certain vital force, devoid of feeling. But besides this, there is another type of life, to which the first belongs, and to it is attached the ability to control oneself by feeling: such is the life in the nature of the dumb: they do not only feed and grow, but have sensory activity and sensory understanding. Perfect life in the body is seen in verbal nature, I mean human nature, nourished, feeling, having the gift of speech and controlled by reason. Therefore, the legislator says that after inanimate matter, as if into a certain foundation of animate beings, this natural life, realized in the vegetation of plants, is first formed, then it introduces into existence creatures governed by feeling. Man was constructed last after plants and animals, so that nature somehow consistently ascended to perfection. For all types of souls are dissolved in this verbal animal - man. He is nourished according to the natural form of the soul, and the sensitive force is united with the plant force. Then, with that which is subtle and luminous in the sentient nature, a certain assimilation and dissolution of the intelligible essence takes place, so that man is made up of these three natures” 481. Thus, we can say that Saint Theophan only brings the interpretation of St. to its logical conclusion. Gregory's revelation of Moses about the types of vital forces by collecting them into a single substrate - the soul of the world. Therefore, the Saint of Nyssa, who taught about three “types of soul” or “life,” can be called one of the first authors of the teaching about the “soul of the world,” except for the prophet Moses himself, who, according to Divine revelation, “mysteriously communicates wisdom about the soul.” Let us also note that St. Gregory mentions in this fragment about “external learning”, “dreaming about this wisdom, but not understanding it clearly.” By this, the Archpastor of Nyssa testifies to the presence of such a teaching in the pagan philosophy of the ancients, 482 but indicates the weakness of its understanding and development outside the biblical revelation about the creation of the world. After a fragment from St. Gregory of Nyssa St. The recluse also refers to St. Anthony the Great: “Such is the complete image of the forces operating in creatures! A similar teaching can be seen in paragraph 166 of St. Anthony the Great, in the Philokalia" 483. Let us turn to the indicated point of the instructions of the Monk Anthony: “Against those who dare to say that plants and herbs have a soul, I wrote this chapter for information for the simplest. Plants have physical life, but do not have souls. Man is called a rational animal because he has intelligence and is capable of acquiring knowledge. Other animals - earthly and airy, which have a voice, have breath and soul. Everything that grows and decreases can be called alive because it lives and grows, but it cannot be said that everything like that has a soul. There are four different types of living beings: some of them are immortal and inspired, like the Angels; others have mind, soul and breath, like people; others have breath and soul, such as animals; and others have only life, such as plants. Life in plants persists without soul, and without breath, and without mind and immortality; but everything else cannot exist without life. Every human soul is ever-moving” 484. Main thought of St. Antonia is an affirmation of the vitality of all beings, but the animation of not all. Likewise St. Gregory of Nyssa in chapter 15. treatise “On the Structure of Man” specifies that “a soul in the proper sense is and is called a rational soul; others are called so by likeness,” being “not a real soul, but a certain vital activity, the name of an equated soul” 485. In other words, the synonymy of the concepts of life and soul is present in both ancient fathers. Therefore, in the teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse should not be embarrassed by the similarity of the human soul to the soul of the world, which must be correctly understood and interpreted as an indication of the immateriality of the forces of nature, and not suspect the universal rationality and sensuality of creation, which was condemned at the Fifth Ecumenical Council 486. Finally, St. Theophan concludes: “The teaching of St. is mentioned in passing. Fathers about the ladder of forces so that the incorrectness of the new teaching, which has pushed the human soul into a series of chemical elements, could be more clearly visible" 487 . In other words, the teaching of the holy fathers about the “ladder of powers” ​​or “types of the soul”, given by St. Feofan, is intended to testify to the immateriality of the human soul. Since the forces of the world are also immaterial, they are also called spiritual by the saint. Thus, the traditional patristic teaching about the “ladder of powers” ​​488 is transformed by St. Theophan the Recluse into the doctrine of the soul of the world. This transformation, firstly, consists in the fact that St. Theophan, like many other Church Fathers, complements the teaching of St. Gregory of Nyssa about the three “types of soul” - natural (nutritive) or plant, sensual or animal, rational-verbal or human - the fourth force, namely “the lower force that acts in dead nature.” Secondly, St. Theophanes groups the first three types of life into a single substrate of the soul of the world, and places the fourth type - the human soul - outside it. Moreover, from the teachings of St. Anthony follows that there is a fifth type of soul - the angelic soul. St. Although Theophanes does not mention it when expounding the doctrine of the soul of the world, since the angel, like man, exceeds the world, however, in his other writings he teaches about the similarity of the angel to the spirit of man: “And I say that within us the soul constitutes the lower side of the inner life there, and the highest is the spirit, which is from God, a god-like, equal-angelic force, which constitutes the characteristic feature of man. Therefore, there is nothing to be embarrassed about, for fear of relegating man to the ranks of animals. Usually we say: soul-soul. But in essence, one should say soul-spirit, or spirit-soul. Taking the word soul - like a spirit-soul, I will not say in any way that it is of the same origin as the soul of animals: for the spirit is from God, but taking it separately from the spirit, I say this. When God created man, he first formed a body from dust. What was this body? Clay grouse, or living body? - It was a living body - it was an animal in the form of a man, with an animal soul. Then God breathed His spirit into him, and from an animal he became a man - an angel in the form of a man. As it was then, so people are now. Souls are reflected from their parents, or are implanted through natural birth, and the spirit is inhaled by God, Who is everywhere” 489. And it is even clearer about the relationship between man and angel: “The human soul makes us less than animals, and the spirit makes us less than the angels (see: Heb 2:7)” 490. The very name of St.’s creation testifies to this similarity between the angel and the spirit-soul of man. Theophan the Recluse - “The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit” 491. Thus, systematizing, clarifying and developing the theological tradition of the holy fathers in the teaching about the soul of the world, St. Theophan also makes his own patristic contribution to it. In addition to external references, the internal semantic unity of the teachings of St. is also obvious. Theophan the Recluse on the soul of the world with the Holy Scriptures and its holy exegetes. In revealing this unity, we should first of all point to the fact that many ancient interpreters of the book of Genesis distinguished two stages of creation - general and particular, potentially and actually, immediate and subsequent. On the first day, God created the basic principles of the world, and in subsequent days he produced individual beings from them. Having studied this topic for many years, Fr. Seraphim (Rose) with reference to St. Ephraim the Syrian summarizes the exegetical tradition of the holy fathers as follows: “there is something truly “fundamental” about the first day of creation: it includes the beginnings of everything that came after. One can speculate as to where the matter for living beings, celestial bodies and other creations of the next five days came from: was it newly created out of nothing or was it really only transformed from already existing matter? But this would be a useless exercise, and in no way contradicts the truth that the basic structure and matter of creation was created on the first day; the work of the next five days is less “radical” than the first - it is rather a “formation” than a “creation” in the strict sense” 492. So, speaking in terms of St. Theophanes, the soul of the world was created from nothing, and the subsequent creation arose from the soul of the world. Moreover, to determine exactly whether the subsequent creation arose from the soul of the world as from something or from nothing “would be a useless exercise.” Most successfully, in our opinion, this aporia of Orthodox theology was resolved by Bishop. Mikhail (Gribanovsky): “natural conditions do not separate new facts from themselves, do not transform into them, they only enable them to arise from nothing according to the creative will of God” 493. That is, creatures arise from the soul of the world as “out of nothing,” and the soul of the world, representing their “natural conditions,” only “gives the opportunity” for them to arise out of nothing. Thus, the teaching of the Holy Fathers about the two stages of creation does not contradict the dogma of creation from nothing. In patristic theology, the most famous doctrine is about the two stages of the creation of St. Gregory of Nyssa. According to his interpretation on the Sixth Day, the word of Scripture “instead of saying: God created all beings together (ἀθρόως) said: in the title or in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. For these two words have one meaning: in the beginning and in the title; both equally express the totality (τὸ ἀθρόον) 494 . In a word: the title shows that everything is brought into existence together, and in the word: in the beginning, instantaneity and continuity are expressed. The word: beginning is alien to the concept of any continuation. Just as a point is the beginning of a line, and an atom is the beginning of a bodily volume, so an instant is the beginning of time extension. Therefore, the total position of the foundation of beings (῾Η ἀθρόα τῶν ὄντων ... καταβολὴ) by the ineffable power of God is called by Moses the beginning or title, in which everything is said to have taken place. So, in words: the beginning of the world’s existence presupposes such an understanding that God suddenly and in an instant laid the foundation for the reasons, reasons, and forces of all beings. When power and wisdom laid the foundation for the accomplishment of each of the parts of the world, a necessary series followed in a certain order. But just as the necessary order of nature requires consistency in what is brought into being, so Moses, in the form of a narrative, expounding the wise teaching about the nature of things, speaks about the creation of each being, adding certain creative God’s verbs by which each of the beings is brought into being.”495 So, before the successive production of the creatures themselves, God instantly laid “a foundation for the motives, causes, and powers” ​​of all of them. This is the “foundation” of St. Gregory of Nyssa likens it to “the force that inseminates the existence of the universe”: “<...> everything was already possible (τῇ μὲν δυνάμει) at the first aspiration of God towards creation, as if from the investment of some force that inseminates (σπερματικῆς τινος δυνάμεως) the existence of the universe, but in reality (ἐνεργείᾳ δὲ) there was not yet each individual thing” 496. How does it arise, St. Gregory shows the example of the earth: “For it is said: the earth is invisible and not built; and this also means as if to say: the earth both was and was not; because the qualities have not yet converged on her (Οὐ γάρ που συνδεδραμήκεισαν περὶ αὐτὴν αἱ ποιότητες). The proof of this thought is that, according to Scripture, it was invisible. For the invisible is not color; and color is produced as if by some kind of outflow of an image onto the surface, but an image is not possible without a body. Therefore, if the earth was invisible, then, of course, it was colorless, and colorlessness implies the absence of an image, and with this the absence of a body. Consequently, at the initial foundation of the world (ἐν τῷ ἀθρόῳ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου καταβολῆς), the earth, like everything else, was among the creatures (ἦν μὲν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν), but expected what is given by the structure of qualities, which means coming into being. Scripture, having said that the earth was invisible, shows by this that no other quality was yet visible with it; and by calling it unsettled, it makes it clear that it has not yet been brought into thickening by bodily properties ἰδιότησιν)" 497 . So, the earth “was among the creatures,” but “expected to come into being as a structure of qualities.” Researcher of the dogmatic system of St. Grigory Nissky V.I. Nesmelov summarizes his views on the two stages of the creation of the world: “In the first creation, world forces were instantly brought from non-existence into existence; in the second, the combination of these forces in a sequential order constituted this entire sensory world” 498. Thus, God first laid the foundation of all beings in potential, and then brought these beings into being in reality 499. The same idea about two stages of creation is also contained in the teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse about the soul of the world: “The substrate of all these forces (i.e., inorganic, plant and animal. - Hierodiac P.) is the soul of the world. God, having created this immaterial soul, put into it the ideas of all creatures, and it instinctively, as they say, produces them, at the beck and excitement of God. The soul was created together with the word: let there be light! This light is ether, it is the shell of the soul. In the words: let it be - something new was happening. On the second day - the firmament. When God said: let the earth destroy...then the soul of the world listened to Him and did what was commanded. She separated from herself all kinds of plant souls, which gave rise to diverse plants and then began to reproduce them according to their kind. The same, according to the word of God: let the earth bring out every living soul, the soul separated the souls of animals, which produced different kinds of animals” 500. So, according to St. Theophan, on the first day God created the soul of the world (“something new was created”), and in the following days he did not create “something new,” but commanded the soul of the world to produce creatures according to their “ideas” put into it. Confirming for the soul of the world the power to create creatures, St. Theophan the Recluse especially shows its non-originality and its complete dependence on the will of God. A thing is created by God Himself, and although it is “held and formed” by the force entering the soul of the world, it is again in the way that God “ordained” this force and this thing: “Just as every man has his own soul, so every thing has its own immaterial force, which forms and holds it, as it was ordained by God when it was created. - That in every thing - in a plant, an animal, there is such an immaterial force that controls natural forces and elements, and through them builds things, and holds them to their due date, this is tangibly visible! There are many of these forces. As they are not original, they need stands - a substrate on which to rest. A general guide is also needed. Both can be attributed to God like this: these powers are held by the will of God; God wants and they exist and act according to the norm embedded in them” 501. The soul of the world depends on the will of God, both in its very being and in its specific actions, on the “norm” that God has set for its nature. In addition, her powers “are directed by the same will; for having the ability of instinctual instinct, they can perceive the beckons of the all-ruling will of God and fulfill it” 502. That is, the soul of the world is also not independent in the direction of its actions. Being created, the soul of the world is capable of “perceiving” the uncreated will of God because it has a spiritual nature, that is, it is endowed with will, intelligence 503, “instinctive instinct” 504 and the power of action. And although the soul of the world produces creatures according to its natural “norm,” “God also comes here directly, when according to His plans this is necessary. And lo and behold, a miracle! The world cannot stand without a miracle. This is also the law of industry. Everything goes as planned and under the influence of forces created by God. But God the Almighty holds everything, and enters everywhere when necessary through His actions and direction of forces” 505. Thus, God is the only principle in relation to the world and the soul of the world does not limit His omnipotence. Through his teaching about the soul of the world, St. Theophan solves the question of the relationship between the natural course of world events and the Providence of God. St. Gregory of Nyssa also speaks of natural law embedded in the foundations of the world. In the presentation of the thoughts of St. V.I. Nesmelov, “God called the world’s foundations from non-existence into existence (in the terms of St. Theophan, the soul of the world. - Hierodiac P.) and put into their nature the law of their activity; but initially this law was only embedded in the chaotic mass, and was not yet in effect; there has not yet been a private creation. When God gave the command that the universe be composed, the world's elements immediately began to move and began to implement the law of their existence. But since this law is the artistic wisdom itself, which premeditated the structure of our world, the elements, being organized according to the law of their own activity, at the same time necessarily carry out the outlines of the wisdom of God, and therefore act as the will of God determined for them to act” 506. So, and St. Gregory, and St. Theophanes agrees with teaching about the omnipotence of God, in accordance with Whose will the created immaterial forces, according to the norm of their own nature, produce creatures 507. Hence, as St. V.I. continues to expound this aspect of the teachings of Nyssa. Nesmelov, it is clear why private creation was not instantaneous, like general creation, but required six days. It was not the will of God that needed days, but the nature of the created world: “But if the world needed time for its structure, then it means that it did not carry out the direct word of God, because then it would have been formed instantly, but the law of its own existence embedded in its nature” 508. Therefore, the remark of I.A. is fair. Kokin, that thanks to the teaching of St. Theophan about the soul of the world and the “norm” of its nature, the question of the duration of creation is resolved, “however, here the saint only develops the teaching of St. Gregory” 509. The divinely inspired Fathers Gregory and Theophan agree with each other and help interpret each other. Actually, the “norm” embedded in each of the “small” forces of the soul of the world, St. Theophan the Recluse interprets as instinctively sensed and understood by this force “the image of what needs to be made from the elements”: “So this is where the source of your chemistry is. In some kind of chemical soul. In this soul there is an instinctively felt image of what needs to be made from the elements. She takes them and builds her own. The plant also has a chemical soul. But she is in the service of the plant soul. In an animal they both exist, but they serve in the service of the animal’s soul. Or this: the soul of animals, being able to act like an animal, is also able to produce that which is characteristic of the plant and chemical soul. The equally vegetative soul, knowing how to do its own thing, also knows how to do chemical things. “There is unity of nature here” 510. That is, the chemical soul takes the elements and builds a dead thing, the plant force, taking the same elements, builds a plant, and the animal force will build an animal from them: “The chemical process itself is the same everywhere. How does it happen that in one case a dead thing comes out of it, in another a plant thing, in a third an animal? Chemistry suggests that the chemical process consists of an external, higher power, which commands it, and it does so. In the formation of things of dead nature, the chemical process is under one power, in the plant kingdom under another, in the animal kingdom under a third. Who are these authorities? Immaterial forces of a spiritual nature, with an instinct to produce this and that, according to the norm placed in them by God, accompanied by a certain dark instinct. These are Leibnizian monads 511. Subject to any such force are light, heaviness, warmth, electricity, magnetism and your chemistry, through which it brings the elements into motion as it pleases and builds a thing that carries the norm within itself. Look here. On one inch of soil: grass, lily of the valley, some kind of bottle. Air, earth with elements and so on are all the same. How does it happen that from identical plants, using the same chemical process, different plants are produced, and then the boogers are also different? – Don’t explain this, without allowing the forces of a spiritual nature indicated by him” 512. Thus, the norm of the immaterial force entering the soul of the world is to set the elements in motion “pleasing to it.” The “norm” of a force is its “instinct, accompanied by some dark instinct” to produce either a dead thing, a plant, or an animal. The soul of the world “carries within itself the norms,” or “ideas,” of all things: the norm of all minerals is carried in itself by the mineral soul, the norm of all plants is carried by the plant soul, the norm of all animals is carried by the animal soul (“cleverness” and “good understanding of the matter” in the work of creatures). Thus, St. makes us recognize the existence of the soul of the world. Theophan the Recluse observed experimentally not only the hierarchical, but also the typological unity of creatures. With this typological perspective on the soul of the world, St. Theophan the Recluse also explains the fact that in his teaching about it he does not touch upon the patristic theology of the logoi of God, “embedded” in the nature of creation 513. Logos, in the understanding of the Holy Fathers, is the uncreated action, will, thought of God, creating creation and providing for it. In the mature tradition of Orthodox theology, represented by St. Maximus the Confessor, we find the following definition of logoi: “The logoi of beings (Οἱ τῶν ὄντων λόγοι), prepared before the ages in God, as [only] He Himself knows, are usually called by divine men also good wills (ἀγαθὰ θελήματα) of God 514; and they, although invisible (ἀόρατοι ὄντες), are mentally contemplated [by us through viewing] creations (ἀπὸ τῶν ποιημάτων νοούμενοι καθορῶνται). For all the creations of God, which we speculatively contemplate with due skill in accordance with nature, secretly proclaim to us those logoi in accordance with which they received being (Πάντα γὰρ τὰ ποιήματα τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ φύσιν μετὰ τῆς δεούσης ἐπιστήμης γνωστικῶς ὑφ' ἡμῶν θεωρούμενα τοὺς καθ' οὓς γεγένηνται λόγους κρυφίως ἡμῖν ἀπαγγέλλουσι), and together with themselves they discover in every creation the purpose of Divine [Providence] (καὶ τὸ ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ ποιήματι θεῖον σκοπὸν ἑαυτοῖς συνεκφαίνουσιν). Therefore, the heavens will tell the glory of God, but the firmament will proclaim His handiwork (Ps. 18:2)” 515. As we see, the theology of logoi primarily describes the private creation of individual beings. The angle of St. Theophan the Recluse in the doctrine of the soul of the world is a general creation, but in a particular creation it is only a typological moment. Therefore, the teaching about the logoi of God by St. The recluse does not find any detailed development, although, of course, the doctrine he develops about the soul of the world is entirely compatible with this department of patristic theology. In particular, the theology of logoi is implied by the Russian saint in indicating the dependence of the soul of the world in the production of creatures and the Providence for them on the will of God, as well as in indicating the creation by the soul of the world of “different plants” and “different little boogers”. Summing up the results of the study, it should be recognized that, although St. Feofan mentions two Western European philosophers of the New Age, G.V. Leibniz and G.G. Schubert, the true source of his teaching about the soul of the world is biblical Revelation and the exegetical theology of the Holy Fathers. The main provisions of the teaching about the soul of the world, namely: the hierarchy of forces in nature, the immateriality of the soul, the reality of the soul as a force, two stages of creation, the creation from the soul of the world as if from nothing, creation by the will (word, logos) of God, the complete dependence of the soul of the world on God, its created character, the presence of a natural norm in the soul of the world - are not first found in St. Theophan the Recluse, and developed by Christian theologians of antiquity. In his teaching about the soul of the world, the Russian saint owns the original synthesis of patristic provisions. Thus, although being a “private theological opinion” 516, the teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse about the soul of the world, nevertheless, entirely belongs to the Orthodox tradition of church theology. Pimen (Khmelevskoy), archimandrite. Christian teaching about spirit, soul and body according to the works of Bishop Theophan and Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov: typescript. Zagorsk: Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1957. P. 62. URL: theophanica.ru/catalog/arhim.Pimen_ (Hmelevskoy).pdf Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. pp. 114–115. Letter No. 266. Right there. P. 109. Letter No. 264. Florovsky G., prot. Paths of Russian theology. M.: Institute of Russian Civilization, 2009. P. 506. The identity of the addressee of the saint was established by the staff of the Scientific Editorial Council for the publication of the Complete Collection of Works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. A report on the Shishkov family as recipients of St. Theophan was presented by Dr. Philol. n. V.V. Kashirina at the VII Seminar of students of spiritual and secular higher educational institutions “The Spiritual Heritage of St. Theophan the Recluse” within the framework of the XXV International Christmas Readings (Moscow, January 26, 2017). Thus, Plato’s teaching on the origin of the world, developed by him in the dialogue “Timaeus,” as presented by A.F. Losev, “contains the concept of space as a living being, gifted with intelligence. Here we see a whole hierarchy of principles - mind, soul, body, which in relation to the cosmos gives the cosmic mind, cosmic soul and cosmic body. The body of the cosmos is thus animated and endowed with mind, i.e. The cosmos is a living, intelligent being, created by the good demiurge in imitation of the eternal intelligible model. The dialectics of the cosmos, therefore, is constructed in such a way that the mind-wisdom, to which Plato came in the Philebus, passes into its otherness, becomes the soul, and the soul, passing into its otherness, becomes a cosmic body. But for this it is necessary that the cosmos be an imitation not of an individual, but of a universal living being, a living being in its idea.” See: Plato. Collected works in 4 volumes. T. 3. / trans. from other Greeks; total ed. A.F. Loseva, V.F. Asmusa, A.A. Tahoe-Godi. M.: Mysl, 1994. (Philosophical heritage). P. 595. It is obvious that Christian theologians have never understood the cosmos in such a mythological (hylozoic) way. Kokin I.A. The categories “logos” and “world soul” in the biblical-patristic tradition // Bulletin of Slavic Cultures. No. 19. T. 1. 2001. P. 23–30. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. pp. 106–110. Letter No. 264. pp. 111–118. Letter No. 266. Right there. pp. 107–108. Letter No. 264. Theophan the Recluse St. The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit. M.: Talan, 1997. P. 191. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. S. 108109. Letter No. 264. Pimen (Khmelevskoy), archimandrite. Christian teaching about spirit, soul and body according to the works of Bishop Theophan and Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov: typescript. Zagorsk: Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1957. P. 59. URL: theophanica.ru/catalog/arhim.Pimen_ (Hmelevskoy).pdf. P. 59. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. I. P. 162. Letter No. 140. (See also: Issue VIII. P. 212. Letter No. 1462.). Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Thessalonians // Sam. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to Thessalonians, Philemon and Hebrews. M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. P. 6–308. pp. 295–296. Sokolsky A.I. Bishop Theophan as an interpreter of the epistles of St. Apostle Paul: course. op. student of the XXXVIII graduation. KazDA, 1896. P. 50. Theophan the Recluse St. The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit. M.: Talan, 1997. pp. 178–179. Gregory of Nyssa, St. On the structure of man (De opificio hominis) 8 // Works of St. Gregory of Nyssa: at 8 hours (T. 37–45). M.: Printing house V. Gauthier, 1861–1872. (“Creations of the Holy Fathers of the Church”). T. 37 (Part 1). pp. 97–99. PG Vol 44. Co1. 144–145. See also: Gregory of Nyssa, St. About the soul and resurrection (Dialogus de Anima et Resurrectione). Part 4, pp. 239–241. PG Vol 46. Gol. 59–61. In particular, in Aristotle (384–322), who in his treatise “On the Soul” identified three abilities of the soul - plant, animal and rational: “We called the plant ability, the abilities of aspiration, sensation, spatial movement, reflection. Plants have only the vegetative ability, other creatures have both this ability and the ability of sensation; and if the faculty of sensation, then also the faculty of striving. After all, aspiration is desire, passion and will. In addition, some living beings have the ability to move in space, others also have the ability to think, i.e. mind, for example to people and other creatures of the same kind or more perfect, if they exist. without the plant faculty there can be no faculty of sensation. Meanwhile, in plants, the vegetative ability exists separately from the ability to sense. In turn, without the ability of touch there can be no other sense, but touch also exists without other senses. Finally, very few creatures have the ability to reason and reflect. Namely: those mortal beings who have the faculty of reasoning also have all the other faculties.” See: Aristotle. About the soul, 414a-415a // He. Works in 4 volumes / ed. V.F. Asmus. T. 1. M.: Mysl, 1976. P. 368–448. pp. 400–401. Let us note that the question of the coincidence of biblical and ancient philosophical teachings was already resolved by Clement of Alexandria in favor of Moses. In the Stromata we read: “In the same way, in philosophy, as if stolen from heaven by Prometheus, there is contained the fire of a certain luminous truth, which can be fanned with effort. There are some traits of wisdom in her, a certain orientation towards God. And yet, the Hellenic philosophers were thieves and robbers, because, having borrowed some parts of the truth from the Jewish prophets before the coming of the Savior, they not only did not fully understand it, but also presented it as their own invention, in places distorting it, in others, in immoderate enthusiasm, mixing things up, sometimes, however, achieving understanding on their own. After all, a certain “spirit of wisdom” was not alien to the Hellenes” (I.87.1–2). See: Clement of Alexandria. Stromates. T. 1. (Books 1–3) / edited, translated from other Greeks. and comment. E.V. Afonasina. St. Petersburg: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2003. (Ser. “Library of Christian Thought.” Sources). P. 124. “<...> the Hellenic philosophers undoubtedly stole their teachings from Moses and the prophets, ungratefully hiding the source” (V.10.1). See: Clement of Alexandria. Stromata. T. 2. P. 151. Subsequent Christian theologians express the same idea, so “the theme of “theft” is a common place for the Church Fathers, for more details see J. Danielou. Message evangelique et culture hellenistique. P. 41." See: Yastrebov A.O. XI Book of “Gospel Preparation” by Eusebius of Caesarea // Church and Time. No. 3 (20). 2002. pp. 105–192. P. 176. Note. 2. We also meet it in the late Byzantine theologian St. Gregory Palamas: “So we, hearing pious speeches from the Hellenes, do not consider them pious themselves, nor do we classify them as teachers, because even though we know that they took all this from us - it was not for nothing that one of them said about Plato: “Who is Plato if not the Attic Moses?” - even though we, I say, know that if they have something good, then they picked it up from hearsay us, however, having looked closely, we guess that they did not understand everything in the same sense” (I.1.11). See: Gregory Palamas, St. Triads in defense of the sacredly silent / trans., epil. and comment. V. Veniaminova. M.: Kanon+, 2005. (History of Christian thought in monuments). P. 19. Theophan the Recluse St. The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit. M.: Talan, 1997. P. 181. Anthony the Great, St. Instructions on good morality and holy life, in 170 chapters // Philokalia in Russian translation, supplemented: in 5 volumes. Rep. ed. 1895. STSL, 1992. T. 1. P. 63–94. P. 93. Gregory of Nyssa, St. On the structure of man (De opificio hominis) 15 // TSO, T. 37 (Part 1). P. 134. PG Vol 44. Co1. 176–177. “By the way, Origen’s madness is also evident from the fact that he says that the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the waters above the heavens are animated and are some kind of intelligent forces. And this is clearly refuted by Saint Basil in the third conversation of the six days.” See: Acts of the Ecumenical Councils, published in Russian translation at the Imperial Kazan Theological Academy. T. 5. Kazan: Central Printing House, 1913. P. 277. The teaching of St. Gregory of Nyssa borrows about the types of life, as D.S. shows. Biryukov, St. Dionysius the Areopagite (Biryukov D. Hierarchies of existence in patriotic thought. Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite // State, religion, church in Russia and abroad. 2014. No. 3 (32). pp. 302–324). For example, in the treatise “On the Divine Names” we read: “However, someone will say: due to the fact that existence extends wider than life, and life wider than wisdom, are not the living above the living, the sentient - the living, the intelligible - the sentient, and the intelligible - the intelligible, since they exist near God and are closest to Him? After all, it is fitting for those who have received great gifts from God to be the best and to surpass others.” See: Dionysius the Areopagite, St. On the divine names (De divivus nominibus) V.3 // Same. Essays. Interpretations of Maximus the Confessor / trans. and preface G.M. Prokhorova. St. Petersburg : Aletheia, 2002. pp. 206–565. pp. 407–409. This hierarchy of existence is then adopted by the scholiast St. Dionysius the Areopagite St. Maximus the Confessor: “After all, all [creatures], due to their origin from God, participate in God in proportion, - according to either the mind, or the word-reason, or (sensory) perception, or vital movement, or essential and retaining [in being] suitability [for such communion], as it seems to the great Manifestation of God Dionysius the Areopagite.” See: Maxim the Confessor, St. On the various difficulties of the Theologian [Gregory], chapter 7 (Ambigua VII(II)) // Rev. Maximus the Confessor: Polemics with Origenism and Monoenergism / comp. G.I. Benevich. 2nd edition, rev. and additional St. Petersburg : “Oleg Abyshko Publishing House”, 2014. (Ser.: Library of Christian Thought; Byzantine Philosophy. Vol. 16; ΣΜΑΡΑΓΔΟΣ ΦΙΛΟΚΑΛΙΑΣ). P. 283. PG Vol. 91. Col. 1080V. See also in the “Chapters on Love”: “All bodies are by nature motionless. They are set in motion by the soul: some [bodies] by the rational [soul], others by the unreasonable, and still others by the insensible. Of the powers of the soul, some are nutritious and vegetative, others relate to the ability of imagination and desire, and others relate to the ability of understanding and thinking. Plants participate only in the first, irrational animals also participate in the second, and people participate in all three. The first two forces are perishable, and the third is incorruptible and immortal” (Maximus the Confessor, St. Chapters on Love. III.31–32 // He. Selected Creations. M.: Pilgrim, 2004. pp. 136–200. P. 174. PG Vol. 90. Co1. 1028A). The “ladder” of existence, traditional for the holy fathers, is generalized and leads to unity by St. Gregory Palamas: “Since, due to the ineffable excess of goodness, the Producer and Organizer (παραγωγεὺς καὶ κοσμήτωρ) made everything diverse, deigning [to grant] to some [His creations] only existence, and to others to receive, in addition to being, life; and one [of these latter] is to be involved in the [rational] life (vocpaq), and the other is to enjoy only the sensual. There are also those whom [He allowed] to have a life mixed from both; and of those who received verbal and mental life from Him - those who, by voluntary inclination towards Him, were granted unity with Him and thus live divinely and above-naturally, being awarded His God-creating grace and energy.” See: Gregory Palamas, St. In how many meanings is divine union and division understood, and that we are taught to understand the difference in God not only by hypostases, but also by common appearances and energies, and that we have accepted, in accordance with each union and division, to think of Him as uncreated, even though Barlaam and Akindinus did not like it // He. Treatises / trans. from Greek and approx. archim. Nektary (Yashunsky). Krasnodar: Text, 2007. pp. 6–38. pp. 19–20. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. I. P. 98. Letter No. 106. Cf. with a discussion about the participation of God in the birth of every person St. Athanasius the Great: “If anyone gives the first-created advantage because he has been honored with God’s hand; then let him give Adam's advantage in honor, and not in nature; because Adam came from the earth, like everyone else, and the same hand that formed Adam then, now and always, again forms and produces those born after Adam” See: Athanasius the Great, St. The message that the Council of Nicaea, having seen the treachery of Eusebius’s adherents, set out its definition against the Arian heresy in a decent and pious manner // Works like the saints of our father Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria. Part 1. STSL: Own printing house, 1902. pp. 399–444. P. 410. Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. Letters. M.: Father's House, 2006. P. 35. The consideration of the similarity between man and angel is also traditional for patristic theology. For example, St. Gregory the Theologian teaches: “<...> the artistic Word creates a living being, in which both are brought into unity, that is, invisible and visible nature, creates, I say, man; and from the already created substance, taking a body, and putting life from Himself (which in the word of God is known under the name of the soul and image of God), creates, as it were, some kind of second world, great in small things; places on earth another angel, a worshiper composed of different natures, a spectator of the visible creation, the secret of the intuited creation, a king over what is on earth, subordinate to the heavenly kingdom, earthly and heavenly, temporal and immortal, visible and intuited, an angel who occupies the middle between greatness and baseness, one and the same is spirit and flesh - spirit for the sake of grace, flesh for the sake of exaltation, the spirit to abide and glorify the Benefactor, the flesh to suffer and, suffering, remember and learn how much it has been disadvantaged by greatness.” See: Gregory the Theologian, St. Homily 45, on Holy Easter 7 // Same. Creations: in 2 volumes. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2010. T. 1: Words. pp. 559–574. P. 562; PG Vol. 36. Co1. 632. More specifically, the identity and difference of man and angel is revealed by St. Gregory Palamas in “150 chapters of physical, theological, moral and practical” (chap. 27, 30, 38–39), whose thought V.N. Lossky summarizes as follows: “The thought of St. Gregory Palamas is clear: human and angelic spirits created in the image of God differ in that in man this image is more complex, revealing not only the existence of the spirit in itself, but also its providence for the body, similar to God’s providence for the world, while angels show in their simpler spirit only the image of God’s perfection, unrelated to the providence for the external. But the same great simplicity also determines the great closeness of angelic spirits to the Divine nature, although it provides for the external, but is not connected by nature with the world, like the human spirit with the body. Hence the great height of the angelic nature that St. speaks of. Gregory Palamas." See: Lossky V.N. Dispute about Sophia // Aka. God's vision / trans. from fr. V.A. Reshchikova; comp. and entry Art.A.S. Filonenko.M.: AST, 2006. (Philosophy). pp. 10–108. pp. 46–47]. Seraphim (Rose), Hierom. Genesis: creation of the world and the first Old Testament people. Christian Orthodox knowledge. M.: Publishing house. House “Russian Pilgrim”, 2004. P. 114. Mikhail (Gribanovsky), archimandrite. Lectures on introduction to theological sciences. Rep. ed. St. Petersburg : Society in Memory of Abbess Taisia, 2005. P. 152. We find the same idea about the corporate creation in St. John Chrysostom: “When it (Scripture. - Hierodiac. P.) speaks about heaven and earth, it means everything taken together that is on earth and in heaven. Therefore, just as when narrating about creatures, it does not speak about all of them in order, but having mentioned the most important ones, then does not tell us about each one separately, so this entire book, although it contains many other things, calls the book of the existence of heaven and earth, leaving us to conclude from the mention of them that this book must contain everything visible that is in heaven and on earth. See: John Chrysostom, St. Discourses on the book of Genesis. XII.2 // Works of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. T. 1–12. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg Theological Academy, 1895–1906. T. 4. P. 95. PG Vol. 53. Co1. 99 D. Gregory of Nyssa, St. About Shestodnev, a protective word to brother Peter (Apologia in hexaemeron) // TSO, T. 37 (Part 1). pp. 11–13. PG Vol. 44. Col. 72. Right there. P. 21. PG Vol. 44. Col. 77 D. Right there. P. 21. PG Vol. 44.tal. 77–80. Nesmelov V.I. The dogmatic system of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Kazan: Printing house of the Imperial University, 1887. P. 344. The teaching of St. Gregory of Nyssa about the two stages of creation - in possibility (δυνάμει) and reality (κατ' ἐνέργειαν) - is also inherited by St. Maximus the Confessor: “God, having immediately formed, as He Himself knows, the logoi of [everything] that has happened and the general essences of existence, still carries out not only the preservation of them for existence, but also the creation, emergence and arrangement (in reality. - Hierodiac. P.) of the parts contained in them in possibility (ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν κατ' ἐνέργειαν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς δυνάμει μερῶν δημιουργίαν πρόοδόν τε καὶ σύστασιν)". See: Maxim the Confessor, St. Questions and Answers to Thalassium (Quaestions ad Thalassium) II // Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Book II. Questions and answers to Thalassia. Part 1. Questions I-LV / trans. from ancient Greek and comment. S.L. Epifanovich, A.I. Sidorova. M.: “Martis”, 1993. (Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Theological Institute. Patristic Heritage, vol. 2). P. 30. PG Vol. 90. Co1. 272A. S.L. Epifanovich comments on the word used by the monk immediately (ἅπαξ) in the following way: “Rev. Maxim, obviously, adheres to the view of St. Gregory of Nyssa (“On the Sixth Day”) that “God suddenly and in an instant laid the foundation for the causes and powers of all beings” (potentially created the world instantly), after which individual types of being began to appear in a certain order” (Ibid. Note 1 on p. 185). Thus, “the general essence of existence”, St. Maximus act as an analogue not only to the “foundation of beings” of St. Gregory of Nyssa, but also the “soul of the world” St. Theophan the Recluse, which “carries within itself the norms” of all beings, that is, contains “possibly” individual beings (“parts”). Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. P. 108. Letter No. 264. Creations like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse. Letter No. 266. pp. 115–116. Right there. Letter No. 266. P. 116. Compare: “Recently, some German put will at the basis of all phenomena. And he didn’t indicate who the Willer is. And his theory was left up in the air. The will, for sure, is visible everywhere and the will is intelligent and understands its work well. But without indicating who the Willer is, we are only indicating a fact without explaining it. And what I said (i.e., the ladder of forces. - Hierodeak. P.), also presupposes will. But there is also a willer - an invisible, immaterial force of a spiritual nature. But even this theory, if accepted, does not complete the matter. Where does this power come from? God created." See: Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. P. 115. Letter No. 266. Wed. also with the interpretation of St. Theophanes on Rom 8:22 We know for sure that all creation (with us) sighs and suffers even to this day: “We know for sure. This word suggests that there is more than personification in the Apostle’s speech. Indeed, what prevents us from assuming a common innermost lamentation among all creation about its sad situation together with us? Animals have meaning and feeling, in plants there are obvious traces of feelings and drives: what prevents us from assuming some kind of dark sense in the processes of crystallization and chemical affinity? And behind this there will be something left in which there seems to be no flair, element or strength. But even above them one should assume something dominant, controlling, governing (i.e., the soul of the world. - Hierodiac. P.). If we allow some kind of instinct in this latter, then we will see the entire creation as a whole as somehow feeling.” See: Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). M.: Rule of Faith, 2006. pp. 672–673. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. P. 115116. Letter No. 266. Nesmelov V.I. The dogmatic system of Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Kazan: Printing house of the Imperial University, 1887. pp. 347–348. Wed. also with recognized bishops. Mikhail (Gribanovsky) in the Christian cosmology of “two necessary sides” of the emergence of creation - the power of God and natural conditions: “Thus, both natural conditions and the creative power of God go together: natural conditions do not separate out new facts from themselves, do not transform into them, they only enable them to arise from nothing according to the creative will of God. New teachings believe that the phenomena of organisms are understandable if the conditions for their emergence are indicated, and they forget that in addition to the condition of emergence, it is necessary to understand the emergence itself, the very transition from non-existence to being, i.e. the very creativity of fact. The Bible understands these two necessary aspects of any fact, and, consequently, the appearance of organisms on earth, and therefore it is expressed quite precisely: God created so that the earth produced, i.e. the earth and natural forces in general were the external conditions for the emergence of organisms, and their very emergence, creation, under these conditions established by creative force, was produced by God.” See: Mikhail (Gribanovsky), archimandrite. Lectures on introduction to theological sciences. Rep. ed. St. Petersburg. : Society in Memory of Abbess Taisia, 2005. P. 152. Nesmelov V.I. The dogmatic system of Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Kazan: Printing house of the Imperial University, 1887. P. 349. Kokin I.A. The categories “logos” and “world soul” in the biblical-patristic tradition // Bulletin of Slavic Cultures. No. 19. T. 1. 2001. P. 25. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. P. 109. Letter No. 264. The saint's reference to G.V. With this sequence of thoughts, Leibniz is more associative than genetic. So, G.V. Leibniz is widely known for distinguishing the following types of monads: 1) simple, “naked” monads (nues), possessing vague perceptions and constituting inorganic nature; 2) developed monad-souls (ames) - their perceptions are more distinct and are accompanied by memory, but they are devoid of self-consciousness and represent the passive souls of animals; 3) the main composition of monads-spirits (esprits) - the souls of people; 4) higher monads, more perfect compared to people (post humanum); 5) God as the supreme monad. Moreover, there is a continuous connection between the monads through a chain of intermediary links, i.e. countless intermediate beings from lower to higher as embodiments of different stages of comprehension of absolute truth. See: Leibniz G.V. Monadology // Same. Works in four volumes / ed. and comp. V. V. Sokolov; lane Ya.M. Borovsky [and others]. T. 1. M: Mysl, 1982. (Philosophical heritage. T. 85). pp. 413–429. It is obvious that G.V. Leibniz, as a Protestant philosopher, built his hierarchy of monads independently of Orthodox teaching, although he inherited this metaphysical problematic from patristic theology (which is why St. Theophan remembered him). It can be said that from the standpoint of dogmatic theology, all metaphysics and physics of philosophers turns out to be only a more or less successful commentary on the Sixth Day. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. II. P. 114115. Letter No. 266. See, for example, St. Gregory of Nyssa: “that logos (TSO: word. - hierodiac. P.), according to which the essence of fire acted in this (ᾧ δὲ λόγῳ ταῦταἐνεργεῖ τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ οὐσία), belonged to be spoken (εἰπεῖν) by the one God, who put into nature the luminous logos (TSO: word. - hierodeac. P.) (οῦ ἐναποθεμένου τὸν φωτιστικὸν λόγον τῇ φύσει)". Gregory Nyssa, St. About Shestodnev, a protective word to brother Peter (Apologia in hexaemeron) // TSO, T. 37 (Part 1). P. 16. PG Vol. 44.tal. 73. St. Maxim means St. Dionysius the Areopagite: “Prototypes (Παραδείγματα) we call the logoi of beings pre-existing in God in unity, creating the essence (τοὺς ἐν θεῷ τῶν ὄντων οὐσιοποιοὺς καὶ ἑνιαίως προϋφεστῶτας λόγους), which theology calls destinies (προορισμοὺς) and divine and good wishes (θεῖα καὶ ἀγαθὰ θελήματα), dividing and creating existing things, in accordance with which the Superessential predetermined and realized all existing things.” See: Dionysius the Areopagite, St. On the divine names (De divivus nominibus) V.8 // Same. Works... P. 431433. PG Vol. 3. ^l. 824. Also curious is the scholia of St. Maximus to this fragment of St. Dionysius, which contains the Confessor of Philosophy’s assessment of Plato’s ideas, from which sensory things supposedly originate: “Plato expounded the doctrine of ideas and prototypes in a vulgar and unworthy of God manner; the father, using this term, expressed the thought piously ἀναξίως Θεοῦ ἐξείληφεν· ὁ δὲ Πατὴρ τῇ μὲν λέξει ἐχρήσατο, τὴν δὲ ἔννοιαν εὐσεβῶς ἐξηγήσατον)” (Ibid. P. 431. PG Vol. 3. ^l. 824). Wed. also with three times, according to A.F. Losev, the Church’s anathematization of Platonism: “Firstly, Plato and his school were touched upon at the V Ecumenical Council in 553 regarding the condemnation of the famous Christian Platonist Origen” (Losev A.F. Essays on ancient symbolism and mythology / compiled by A.A. Taho-Godi; general editors: A.A. Taho-Godi and I.I. Makhankova. M.: Mysl, 1993. P. 860). Secondly, the “Synodikon on the Week of Orthodoxy” includes anathemas of Local Councils of the 11th century. regarding the teachings of the Platonic philosopher John Italus: “those who Platonically accept ideas as true, and who say that self-existent matter is formed from ideas, and who openly reject the autocracy of the Creator, who brought everything from the carrier to being and as the Creator, who lordly and sovereignly put the beginning and end of everything, is anathema” (Ibid. p. 864). Thirdly, in the same “Synodikon” the Platonism of the Barlaamites is anathematized. XIV century Just as Platonism “does not distinguish between divine being and created being,” so the Barlaamites separated energies (logoi) from God, due to their cognizability and divisibility, and considered them created (Ibid. p. 872). Thus, in Byzantine Orthodoxy there are no “ideas” in the Platonic sense. The Holy Fathers understand “ideas” only as uncreated logoi (energies) of God, which are accessible to human contemplation provided that his mind is clean from sinful passions. Maxim the Confessor, St. Questions and Answers to Thalassius (Quaestions ad Thalassium) XIII // Decree. op. P. 47. PG Vol. 90. Col. 293–296. Korniliy (Zaitsev), priest. The teaching of St. Feofan the Recluse on the nature of the soul // Feofan’s readings: collection. scientific Art. / ed. V.V. Kashirina. Ryazan, 2016. Issue. IX. pp. 178–187. P. 186.