27. Святые отцы и учители Церкви

From the time of the apostles there comes a continuous line of holy fathers and teachers of the Church. It is customary to call those church writers who became famous for the holiness of life the Fathers of the Church. Church writers who are not recognized as saints are called teachers of the Church The fathers and teachers of the Church in their creations preserved the apostolic traditions for us and explained the true teaching of faith and piety; in difficult times of struggle against heretics and false teachers, they were defenders of Orthodoxy and in their lives they left a high example to follow. In particular, the 4th century became famous for the appearance of great teachers who stood up for the defense of the holy faith at a time when the world of the Church was deeply and for a long time shaken by the Arian heresy. The first great fighter against Arianism was Saint Athanasius the Great (297–373). Endowed by nature with extraordinary talents, Athanasius received his education under the close guidance of the Alexandrian archbishops Peter and Alexander and graduated from the founder of Egyptian monasticism, Anthony, whom he served in his youth. Having thoroughly studied the Holy Scriptures, the works of the fathers and ancient classics. He occupied a very important and influential position at that time as archdeacon under Archbishop Alexander and was his zealous assistant in the initial struggle against the Arian heresy. As the closest colleague and confidant of Archbishop Alexander, Athanasius accompanied him to the first Ecumenical Council and here attracted general attention: no one objected so strongly to Arius, no one surpassed him in the power of eloquence. Less than a year after the council, the young Archdeacon Athanasius was elevated to the see of Archbishop of Alexandria. Despite his comparative youth (28 years), Archbishop Athanasius firmly took control of the vast region under his control: he visited all the churches of his district, became close to the bishops, ordained Frumentius as a bishop to establish the Church in Abyssinia, visited monastic monasteries widely spread in Thebaid and other regions of Egypt, and was with the mentor of his youth, the Monk Anthony. Energetic and affable, unyielding in the truth and condescending to those in error, possessing remarkable tact in dealing with people, with a deeply insightful mind, versatilely educated, Archbishop Athanasius immediately acquired general respect and love for himself, but the peaceful period of his archpastoral activity lasted no more than two years; then a series of trials and disasters begins for him. Arius's supporters tried in every possible way to return Arius to the Church. Athanasius, penetrating the cunning and pretense of the false teachers, refused to accept the heretic who rejected the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. From then on, persecution began against the confessor of Christ and the darkest slander was invented against him. They accused him of collecting unjust income from churches, of having relations with enemies of the empire, they said that he had killed one bishop named Arseny and was using his cut-off hand for witchcraft. There were people who believed even this absurd invention, and Saint Athanasius had to defend himself in court. Here the enemies of Athanasius showed the very hand that they allegedly found on him. But here, to their shame, Arseny himself appeared. At this sign he was brought in and showed the congregation both hands which the Lord had given him. This evidence of slander brought Afanasy’s enemies into indescribable rage; they rushed at him and almost strangled him. This was the case during the lifetime of Emperor Constantine, the patron of the Church. Subsequent rulers - Constantius the Arian and Julian the apostate - directly and openly persecuted him, but could not crush his unshakable firmness. There was a time when the most zealous accomplices of Athanasius in the fight against the Arians - Hosea, Bishop of Cordoba, and Liberius, Pope of Rome, who like him suffered removal from their cathedras and imprisonment, wavered in their firmness and agreed to make a concession to the Arians, and Athanasius alone remained the unshakable leader of the Orthodox. During his almost half-century of priestly service, Saint Athanasius was expelled from Alexandria five times, spent about twenty years in exile and imprisonment, until the last minute of his life he fought with heretics and zealously tried to establish peace and unanimity in the Church. Amid the labors and excitement of his ascetic life, Saint Athanasius wrote many works in defense of Orthodoxy and the edification of his flock. The valiant archpastor died at the age of 75 (in 373). In the 4th century there lived ecumenical saints and teachers: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom. Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, born in 329. He received his initial upbringing in a family distinguished by special piety: his grandmother, sister, mother, and brother were canonized. His father was a teacher of eloquence and a lawyer. After graduating from Caesarea, Vasily studied at the famous Athenian schools. Upon returning to his homeland, Vasily was baptized and was ranked among the clergy with the rank of reader. Then he lived for a long time among the desert people of Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt. The desert life was to Vasily’s heart, and he, having chosen a secluded place for himself, built a monastery, where the friend of his youth, Saint Gregory, labored with him. The Caesarea archbishop Eusebius summoned Basil from the desert and ordained (364) a presbyter. In the position of presbyter, being the closest assistant to the archbishop in matters of church administration, Vasily worked until exhaustion, preached every day, sometimes even twice a day, set up hospitals, shelters, and hospice houses in Caesarea and its environs. After the death of Eusebius (370), Basil was elevated to the See of Caesarea and spent almost the entire time of his archpastoral service in a fierce struggle with the Arians, who had great power under the Emperor Constantius and even more so under the Emperor Valens. Archbishop Basil, in the fight against the Arians, continued the work of Athanasius the Great and, like him, towered above everyone as an indestructible pillar of Orthodoxy. Valens was convinced that if Basil gave in, Arianism would finally triumph. Valens sends the prefect Modest, known for his cruelty in persecuting the Orthodox, to Caesarea. Extremely arrogant, Modest summoned Archbishop Basil to him and at first lured him with various promises of royal favors if he entered into communication with bishops who were inclined to Arianism; then, seeing his unyielding firmness, he began to threaten him with deprivation of property, exile, and death. Vasily courageously answered him: “I am not afraid of expulsion, for the whole earth is the Lord’s; property cannot be taken away from someone who has nothing; death is a blessing for me: it will unite me with Christ, for whom I live and work.” Vasily's greatness amazed the prefect. “No one has ever spoken to me like that before,” he said. “You probably haven’t had the opportunity to talk to the bishop,” Vasily answered modestly. After this, the emperor himself arrived in Caesarea (372) and on the feast of Epiphany he came to the church where Basil officiated; The reverent service of the saint and the multitude of tenderly praying people amazed Valens. Nevertheless, all measures were used on his part to persuade Vasily to at least make some concessions to Arianism. Having met a decisive refusal, the emperor condemned Vasily to exile, but the sudden illness of his son prompted Valens to cancel this sentence and ask for prayers from the saint. Then the Arians insisted that at least the region of Archbishop Basil be reduced; it was divided into two parts, and one of the bishops who had previously been subordinate to Vasily (Anfim, Bishop of Tiana, a new regional city) became his colleague and enemy. In order to protect his diocese from Arian machinations, Basil established a special bishopric in the city of Sasima, on the very border of the separated region, and for this see, so important in the fight against Arianism, he appointed his friend Gregory, he had already consecrated him, but Gregory refused to occupy such a disturbing place, which did not correspond to his spiritual mood. In addition to his selfless defense of Orthodoxy against the Arians, Archbishop Basil provided other great services to the Church. His entire life, and especially the nine years of his archbishop's service, were filled with incessant labor. His numerous letters show how worried he was about the turmoil that was in the Church, and how concerned he was about establishing peace among the bishops. Set up partly with his own funds, inherited from his parents, partly with the benefits of other people disposed to benevolent by him, the shelters for the sick and poor were so extensive that they seemed like an entire city. He was the founder of the glorious monastic inhabitants and gave rules for the life and behavior of monks, which guide them to this day. The reverent service of Saint Basil amazed Valens, but we have evidence of this from another, the most authoritative connoisseur of spiritual beauty, Saint Ephraim the Syrian. By a special inspiration from above, he came to the church where Vasily was officiating and preaching, and was brought into such admiration and such delight by everything he saw and heard here that he loudly expressed these feelings in his Syrian language, which attracted general attention. This was the reason for friendly relations between them, as evidenced by their letters. Concerned about the uniformity and order of the clergy, Basil outlined the rite of the apostolic liturgy, known under his name. Vasily composed many prayers used in the Church, of which the most famous are the prayers read with kneeling at Vespers after the Liturgy on the day of the Most Holy Trinity. The divinely wise works of Archbishop Basil enjoy great fame in the Church, of which especially “Conversations on the Sixth Day,” in which he is not only a great theologian, but also the most learned man of his time in the field of natural sciences. Meanwhile, intense labors and sorrows imperceptibly exhausted Vasily’s bodily strength and, at the age of 50, plunged him to his deathbed. He died on January 1, 379 52. Saint Gregory the Theologian was born in 326 and was the son of Gregory, who later became the Bishop of Nazianza, and Nonna, a woman of high moral principles. Even before his birth, she promised to dedicate him to God and used all her efforts to incline his will and heart to serve the Lord: the upbringing given to him by his mother, the saint considered the most important for himself. With outstanding abilities, he studied for a long time in the schools of Caesarea in Palestine, where there was a rich library collected by the martyr Pamphilus, in Alexandria, where he studied the works of Origen, and, finally, in Athens, where he especially became close to Basil the Great, with whom he was familiar somewhat earlier and valued his fellowship more useful than the highest school, which at that time was considered Athens - “the eye of Greece,” “mother.” Plato and Demosthenes." Here he saw Julian and left a living image of this evil and treacherous enemy of the Church. Upon returning to his homeland, Gregory avoided holding any public position for a long time. Contemplation, prayer, reading the word of God, writing inspired words and songs, and serving elderly parents were his activities. He spent some time with his friend Vasily in his desert and considered this time the happiest in his life. His father, who was already a bishop, needing an assistant, called him from the Basil desert to Nazians and ordained him a presbyter. Already this rank frightened Gregory so much with the height and severity of the responsibilities associated with it that he withdrew for some time into the solitude of the desert. Having calmed the unrest of his spirit there, he took upon himself this ministry, consoled by the fact that, while serving God, he was helping his elderly parent in his labors and caring for the flock. Meanwhile, his friend Vasily had already achieved the high rank of archbishop. Wanting to have a devoted and enlightened assistant in the management of a vast region, Vasily offered Gregory the position of chief protopresbyter at his department, but Gregory declined to accept this honorable and influential position. Some time after this, Gregory was consecrated as bishop of the city of Sasima by secret agreement between Archbishop Vasily and Gregory’s father. This dedication was a surprise to Gregory. Seeing the will of God in this, Gregory accepted sacred ordination, but refused to accept the position itself and, as a co-ruler (vicar), continued to serve his parent and the Nazianzian flock. In 374, Gregory's elderly parent died; after him his mother died. Gregory continued his father’s work for some time in managing the Nazianzi Church, but suffered a severe illness, after healing from which he retired to a secluded monastery, where he spent about three years in fasting and prayer. The great lamp, however, could not hide. Elected by Orthodox bishops and laity to the throne of the archbishop in Constantinople, he arrived there during the era of the strongest Arian rule, when they captured all the churches in the capital. Gregory stayed at the house of his friends; He turned one of the rooms into a church, called it Anastasia (meaning “resurrection”), out of confidence that Orthodoxy would be resurrected here, and began to preach. The Arians showered him with ridicule and curses, threw stones at him, and sent secret assassins to him; but the people recognized their true shepherd and began to crowd towards his pulpit, like iron clings to a magnet (in the words of Gregory). With his strong words, the example of his life, and his pastoral zeal, Gregory defeated the enemies of the Church and his own. Finally, after the accession of the Orthodox Emperor Theodosius, the Arians were expelled from the churches of the capital. When the Macedonian heresy was discovered, Gregory fought against it and took an active part in the proceedings of the Second Ecumenical Council. Having accomplished his feat, Gregory renounced the See of Constantinople, retired to his native village of Arzians, near Nazians, and here he spent the last years of his life in strict ascetic deeds, dying in 389. For his lofty creations, Saint Gregory received from the Church the title of Theologian and Ecumenical Teacher, and for his ability to penetrate with thought to the deepest mysteries of faith and express its incomprehensible truths with transparent clarity and strict accuracy, the Church in one of its hymns calls him the extreme mind, that is, the highest. Saint John Chrysostom was born in 347 and came from a noble family. Having lost his father in childhood, he was carefully raised by his mother Anthusa, an excellent woman and an exemplary Christian, and then studied with the famous pagan orator Libanius. Having brilliant talents by nature, he carefully developed them through a thorough and deep education (biblical in combination with classical). When Livanius was asked who he would consider a worthy successor, he sadly replied: “Of course, John, if the Christians had not taken him away from us,” and about his mother he said: “What worthy women these Christians have!” After completing his education, John took up the position of lawyer and became famous for his eloquence; but soon worldly life bored him. Having received baptism, according to the custom of that time, already in the years of courage, he wanted to retire into the desert and stayed only at the request of his mother. Meanwhile, Meletius, Bishop of Antioch, learned about John’s extraordinary talents and enrolled him among the clergy. At this time, John was intensively studying the Holy Scriptures and other sciences related to theology. After the death of his mother, he fulfilled his long-standing desire: he lived for four years in a secluded monastery and two in complete solitude, in one cave. A health crisis prompted him to return to Antioch. Here he was ordained a deacon and then a priest. 12 years of priesthood in Antioch were the happiest time of his life. He preached tirelessly and took a very active part in the joys and sorrows of the Antioch flock. His sermons were often interrupted by applause. John stopped the listeners, saying: “What do I have in your applause? Correcting my life and turning to God is the best praise I can receive from you.” He became especially famous for his words on the occasion of the disasters that threatened the Antiochians for the overthrow of the imperial statues. Soon, throughout the entire Christian world, the glory of St. John, like Chrysostom (the name given to him by one simple woman publicly in the church in a fit of delight at his word), was already thundering. Therefore, when, after the death of Nektarios, the successor of St. Gregory the Theologian, the see of the Archbishop of Constantinople became vacant, Emperor Arcadius wished that it be given to Chrysostom. The first time of his priesthood was very comforting for John, and he devoted himself with all zeal to the concerns of eradicating the remnants of Arianism, reconciling the warring bishops, correcting the clergy and the entire flock; but this energetic activity of the great saint raised many enemies against him, at the head of which was openly the Empress Eudoxia, an extremely vain and power-hungry woman. Eudoxia attracted Archbishop Theophilos of Alexandria to her side, around whom all the bishops dissatisfied with John united. These bishops formed a council (in the town of Dub, near Constantinople) and condemned John to deprivation of his see and exile. “The Church of Jesus Christ did not begin with me and will not end with me,” John said to his devoted friends and left the capital. But that same night there was an earthquake, and its blows were especially heard in the palace. The frightened Eudoxia asked Chrysostom to return as soon as possible. Two months have passed. Eudoxia again indulged in her passions and vices, and John again spoke with a word of reproof. This time John was convicted in absentia and sent into exile. John lived for about three years in the Armenian city of Kukuza, then was sent further to Pitsiont (on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea, in present-day Abkhazia). For three months, stern warriors led the saint on foot through the mountains, both in the heat and in the pouring rain. Exhausted to the extreme, the saint stopped in the city of Komanakh. Here at night the holy martyr Vaslilisk (whose relics rested in this city) appeared to him and said: “Don’t be discouraged, brother John, tomorrow we will be together.” John received Holy Communion and died peacefully with the words: “Glory to God for everything.” This was in 407. In his numerous conversations and teachings (up to 800), Chrysostom left interpretations on many books of Holy Scripture and is considered the best of his expounders. He compiled the order of the liturgy, introduced religious processions and some other pious customs into church use. Above all this, he is known for his zealous concern for the spread of the Church: by the way, he sent preachers of the faith to our country, to the then Scythians, and is considered one of its educators. And in the Western Church during the 4th century, many saints and teachers became famous. One particularly prominent one is Saint Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan (340–397). Having received an excellent upbringing, Ambrose soon rose to prominence and took the position of ruler of Liguria. In Mediolan, or Milan, its main city, elections for a bishop took place, and heated debates took place between the Orthodox and the Arians. Ambrose appeared in the church to restore order, and suddenly some voice, as if childish, exclaimed: “Ambrose is bishop.” The people and Emperor Valentian himself saw this as God’s election. In vain Ambrose, who was then still among the catechumens, made excuses, even secretly withdrew from Milan; he was forced to agree to everyone's desire, was baptized, quickly passed through the ecclesiastical degrees, and in 374 was consecrated bishop. His first act after his election was to distribute his property to the poor; after this, he began to zealously study the Holy Scriptures and the works of the great fathers of the Eastern Church in order to supplement his education, and then entered the field of new activities and life struggles. Saint Ambrose courageously fought against Arianism, which was strongly patronized by Empress Justina (in memory of the victory over Arianism, he composed the song “We Praise God to Thee”), and against the remaining adherents of paganism. At his insistence, the pagan title pontifex maximus (i.e., supreme high priest) was deleted from the imperial title, the priests and churches were deprived of government support, the so-called sacred fire of the Vestals was extinguished, and the statue of Victory was removed from the Senate. Saint Ambrose showed a high example of archpastoral firmness when he decided not to allow Emperor Theodosius into the church after the terrible beating of the Thessalonians who had rebelled against him. “A man who has shed so much blood,” Ambrose told him, “cannot be in the church of the God of peace.” The king objected: “And David sinned, but did not lose the mercy of God.” “You imitated David in crime,” answered Ambrose, “imitate him in repentance,” and imposed penance on him for reconciliation with God and the Church. Ambrose spent the last years of his life in constant prayer, calmly and joyfully awaiting his death. Blessed Jerome, called Stridonsky (after his place of birth in 331 in the city of Stridon, on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia), completed his careful home education in Rome. Having great success in the sciences, he became carried away by the scattered life of his comrades, but after being baptized, he completely changed. Strict fasting, frequent long prayer and the study of difficult eastern languages ​​(Jewish and Chaldean) contributed to his victory over passions. After this, he was shown another passion nestling in his heart. Once, during his illness, it seemed to him that he had already died and appeared at the judgment of God. When asked by the Judge about faith, Jerome answered that he was a Christian. “No,” the Judge told him, “you are a Ciceronian: where your treasure is, there will your heart be.” From then on, Jerome lost interest in works of secular literature and devoted himself entirely to the study of the Bible and feats of self-mortification. Of the works of Blessed Jerome, the Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgata versio, is especially remarkable. He died in 420. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was born around the half of the 4th century. His mother Monica represents an example of high Christian virtues. Like Nonna and Anfusa, she tried to raise her son in the spirit of faith and piety; his father, who was among the catechumens and was baptized only before his death, was concerned about how to more advantageously arrange his position in the world. From childhood, Augustine showed amazing mental acuity; but early strong passions also began to reveal themselves in his soul. The father rejoiced at his son’s successes, and the mother grieved over his vices: days and nights she prayed to the Lord to convert her son, whom she mourned as if he were dead. After various adventures, Augustine was invited to Milan to teach eloquence. Ambrose was preaching in Milan at that time, and the word of the saint greatly influenced Augustine. A difficult struggle began in his soul: either holy faith seemed to him the only path to peace and bliss, then his old passions began to rage in him with new fury. “Save me, Lord, just not now,” he sometimes cried from the depths of his soul, in which there was a struggle between love for God and the temptations of the world. One of Augustine’s acquaintances told him about the life of Saint Anthony and other Egyptian desert dwellers, wholly dedicated to God. Augustine felt reproaches from his conscience. In emotional agitation, he went out into the garden and gave full vent to his tears. “How long, O Lord, is Thy wrath against me? - he cried, - forget my lies! Suddenly a voice, as if of a child, was heard: “Take it, read it.” Augustine's face changed, he began to remember if there was a children's game where these words were repeated, but he did not remember a single one, and finally guessed that the voice of God was inspiring him to read the book that lay in his hands. These were the Apostolic Epistles. Having unfolded the book, Augustine read to his amazement: “As during the day, let us behave decently, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor in voluptuousness and debauchery, nor in quarrels and envy; But put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:13-14). From that moment, he decisively changed to the indescribable joy of his mother: he received baptism from Saint Ambrose, distributed part of his estate to the poor, became a monk, and spent three years in complete solitude. Afterwards he was a priest in Ippon, gaining fame as a great preacher and finally reaching the rank of bishop, in which he served the Lord until the end of his life (430). The conversion of St. Augustine is significant not only in itself, as one of the instructive events of human life, but also in relation to his subsequent ministry. He rebelled with the most living energy against what he himself once served, living far from God. In his famous work “On the City of God,” he proves the inconsistency of paganism and the immeasurable superiority of Christianity over it; he fights the Manichaeans and refutes their errors; In particular, Blessed Augustine is known for his energetic struggle against the Pelagian heresy. By revealing in his writings how the saving power of God operates in the restoration of fallen man, Augustine contributed greatly to the understanding of the doctrine of grace; but, carried away by disputes, he came to the not entirely correct doctrine of predestination. According to Augustine’s view (later adopted and expanded by Calvin), not everyone is saved because God, according to laws incomprehensible to us, was pleased to choose some for salvation, and leave others to their own devices. In this passion of Augustine lies the explanation of why his creations do not enjoy such glory in the Orthodox Church as they deserve based on their merits. And after the 4th century, remarkable preachers of the truth and fighters for the right faith appeared: in the West, Pope Leo I (?–461), Pope Gregory the Great, or Dvoeslov (c. 540–604), in the East, Cyril of Alexandria (?–444), Maximus the Confessor (c. 580–662) and especially John of Damascus. John of Damascus was born in Damascus in 676 from parents famous for both the antiquity of the family and Christian piety, and was educated under the guidance of the enlightened monk Cosmas, whom his father found among the captives brought for sale to the market. Thanks to his excellent upbringing, brilliant abilities and nobility of the family, John quickly rose to the top and took the position of first minister of the Caliph of Damascus. While ruling Damascus, John at the same time zealously labored for the benefit of the Church, defending it from various enemies with the power of both power and words. Regarding the iconoclastic disputes that opened in Constantinople, he wrote several letters to the Christians there, in which he defended with force and eloquence the ancient dogma of icon veneration. Emperor Leo the Isaurian, in order to take revenge on John, ordered his scribe to study his handwriting. Then a forged letter was composed on behalf of John to the emperor, in which John allegedly expressed his readiness to betray his ruler and give Damascus to the Greeks, and it was sent to the caliph, who believed the slander and ordered John’s right hand to be cut off. Through the tearful prayer of John before the icon of the Mother of God, with Her miraculous help, this severed hand grew back to its joint. A monument to this great miracle is the hymn composed by Saint John of Damascus in praise of the Mother of God: “In You, O Gracious One, every creature rejoices.” After this, John no longer wanted to stay in Damascus and retired to the Palestinian Lavra of Saint Sava the Sanctified. In addition to his zealous defense of icon veneration, Saint John of Damascus is known as a theologian (he wrote the first systematic exposition of the Orthodox faith), and especially as a hymn writer. He compiled canons for Holy Easter, Christmas and other great holidays, dogmas in honor of the Mother of God and established church singing in eight voices. Died around 780. - “Your word is thunder, and your life is lightning.” “You breathed for few on earth, but you brought everything and gave it as a gift to Christ - soul, body, word, and hands, O Great One, the great glory of Christ, the support of the priests, the support of truth.” “You alone showed us both life, equal to teaching, and teaching, equal to life,” (words of Gregory the Theologian about Basil the Great. Works, vol. V, pp. 382–384). You might be interested in: