Святитель Феофан о католицизме

V.V. Kashirina, Dr. Philol. sciences In the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire of the 19th century. it was noted that “the primary and dominant faith in the Russian Empire is the Christian Orthodox Catholic of the Eastern confession” 517. As St. Theophan noted, “dominant: a trace, towering above all others, visible everywhere and in everything, passing through all branches of people’s life, directing, sanctifying and enlivening everything. She is the joy of the people, the inspiration of their spirit, the excitement of high impulses. The Orthodox government does not tolerate its own Orthodoxy: but with its Orthodoxy, beloved, revered and exalted, it tolerates other faiths, keeping them, however, in the shadows. As long as we maintain this order, there is no need to fear a cooling of the faith, and consequently, the rejection of God” 518. In the middle of the 19th century. The policy of proselytism on the part of the Catholic Church is intensifying both within the borders of the Russian Empire and outside it. After the Polish Uprising of 1830–1831 in 1832, the Main Directorate of Spiritual Affairs of Foreign Denominations was annexed as the Department of Spiritual Affairs of Foreign Denominations to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1839, the Greek Catholic Church was completely abolished in Russia. In 1842, Pope Gregory XVI, in the elocution “Hoerentem diu,” condemned Russia’s policy towards the Catholic Church and accused the Russian government of lack of religious tolerance, persecution and destruction of the Catholic Church. In the first criminal code adopted in 1845, the second chapter “On crimes against the Faith and the orders of the Church” contained punishments “for seduction from the Orthodox to another Christian faith” (No. 195), including the Catholic. The guilty person was sentenced “to deprivation of all special rights and advantages assigned to him personally and by state and to exile to live in the province of Tobolsk or Tomsk,” or “to punishment with rods and to being sent to correctional prison companies of the civil department for a period of one to two years.” On December 12, 1845, a meeting between Emperor Nicholas I and Pope Gregory XVI took place in Rome, which prepared the conclusion on July 22, 1847 in Rome under Pope Pius IX of a concordat between the Russian Empire and the Holy See, which stipulated the organization and structure of the Catholic Church in Russia. On January 6, 1848, Pope Pius IX issued the encyclical “In suprema Petri Apostoli Sede,” where he called on the Orthodox to “unity in communion with the Roman Church.” The message was sharply rejected by the Council of Eastern Patriarchs, which took place in May 1848 in Constantinople under the chairmanship of Patriarch Anthimus of Constantinople. After the Polish Uprising of 1863–1864 in 1866, Russia terminated diplomatic relations with Rome, believing that the Roman throne supported anti-Russian policies in Poland. On October 17, 1867, the pope issued the encyclical “Doverte,” condemning the actions of the Russian government and prohibiting Catholics from obeying the decrees of the Ecclesiastical College. In 1875, the last Greek Catholic diocese on the territory of the Russian Empire, Kholmskaya, was abolished, and in its place an Orthodox diocese of the same name was established. In addition, a phenomenon called “Russian Catholicism” has spread in Russia itself. In the middle of the 19th century. a number of representatives of famous families converted to Catholicism. Among them is the Decembrist M.S. Lunin, Prince I.S. Gagarin, V.S. Pecherin, D.D. Golitsyn, E.P. Balabin, S.S. Dzhunkovsky, Z.A. Volkonskaya, S.P. Svechina, M.A. Svistunova, E.G. Volkonskaya, N.A. Tolstoy, I.M. Martynov and others. Many of them began to actively propagate their ideas, publishing works abroad, which then penetrated into Russia. The idea of ​​the crisis of Russian Orthodoxy, of overcoming it by uniting the Churches under the leadership of the Pope in the second half - the end of the 19th century. spread throughout Russian society and had its followers. Among the brightest proponents of this idea, one can point to the philosopher V.S. Solovyov 519, who converted to Catholicism, and others. The relations between the two Churches were influenced not only by political factors, but also by differences in dogmatic issues, which multiplied during that period. During the pontificate of Pope Pius IX, beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 2000, who led the Catholic Church for 32 years (1846–1878), the bull “Ineffabilis Deus” (literally: “Indescribable God”) was issued in 1854, proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception Virgin Mary 520. Under him, the First Vatican Council (1869–1870) was convened, which approved the dogmatic doctrine of the infallibility of popes in matters of faith and morals, transferring the functions of the Church to its highest hierarch, who, according to modern theologians, becomes “the deputy and vicar of Christ,” sometimes overshadowing the invisible Head - Christ. The decision of the First Vatican Council affirms that “the knowledge of the truth is given to the pope independently, personally, without connection with the Church” 521. Saint Theophan, like many Russian hierarchs and church historians, reacted vividly to the processes taking place in relation to the two Christian Churches. He did not have a separate work devoted to this issue. But unlike many authors, he had rich personal experience of interaction with Catholic priests, serving in the Holy Land as part of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, in Constantinople, etc. 522, so his statements are of significant interest. For example, in a letter dated June 29, 1851, being a member of the Russian Spiritual Mission, he wrote to Hieromonk Antonin (Kapustin) in Athens that the “evil Latins” were actively engaged in proselytism, but “no one wants to see their dominion here” 523. Sources for analyzing the views of St. Theophan on the issue of attitude towards Catholicism are: sermons, mainly during his rectorship at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; articles published in the magazine “Home Conversation” in 1859–1877; handwritten sources – correspondence between St. Theophan and Prince N.B. Golitsyn about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and notes in the margins of the manuscript by S.O. Burachka "The Key to the Eastern Question". The following themes are discussed most fully in the spiritual heritage of St. Theophan: dogmatic teaching about the infallibility of popes in matters of faith and morals; dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary; Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism. Dogmatic doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope in matters of faith and morals In 1854, due to the outbreak of the Crimean War, the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem was forced to suspend its work. The Russian Empire and Türkiye, whose borders included Palestine, were opponents in this war, so mission employees had to return to their homeland through neutral countries. In 1854, Saint Theophan, being a hieromonk, had a short audience with Pope Pius IX, with Cardinal Antonelli, about which memories were preserved in the work of Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky) “The Book of My Genesis” 524. Bishop Porfiry describes this meeting in detail, relaying his conversation with the Pope. Members of the mission spent less than three weeks in Rome (June 23 – July 12, 1854), venerating Christian shrines and getting acquainted with the paintings of masters. In a conversation with members of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, the pontiff noted that his “only happiness is the union of the Churches in Jesus Christ” 525. On August 22, 1854, on the way from the Pope in Vienna, together with Fr. Porfiry met with Stepan Stepanovich Dzhunkovsky 526, where they discussed issues “about the unification of the Eastern and Western Churches and about the sinless conception of the Virgin Mary” 527. But the union of the Churches was conceived in this context only under the leadership of the Pope; it is in this matter, according to the contemporary of St. Theophan, theologian and Church historian A.M. Ivantsov-Platonov, the main difference between the Roman Catholic doctrine and the Orthodox is in the dogma of the pope, “as the visible supreme and infallible head of the Church - God’s vicar on earth” 528. The manuscript fund of St. Theophan in the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos preserved his correspondence with Prince Nikolai Borisovich Golitsyn, who anonymously published abroad in 1858 the book “On the possibility of uniting the Russian Church with the Western Church without changing the rites of Orthodox worship” 529, asserted that “the main and, one might say, the only obstacle to an agreement to unite the Churches Eastern and Western lies in the recognition of the Roman High Hierarch as the visible head of the universal Church” 530. Prince Golitsyn believed that the Russian Orthodox Church never formally separated from Rome, preserving the purity of the faith. And the Eastern, that is, the Greek Church, fell into schism. He also acted as a defender of the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The draft of Golitsyn's work contains numerous critical remarks in the margins of Archimandrite Feofan, who at that time served as rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy 531. The authorship of the book was soon discovered, and the prince’s book was sharply opposed by Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow, the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy Archimandrite Sergius (Lyapidevsky) 532 and the famous spiritual writer A.N. Muravyov 533. In “The Homily on the Day of the Accession to the Throne of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich,” which was spoken on February 19, 1855 during a difficult period for Russia, when the Crimean War was going on, where a coalition consisting of the British, French, and Ottoman empires came out against Russia, Saint Theophan again speaks of the need to preserve the inviolability of faith and firmness when encountering “seductive charm.” European civilization: “the enemy of our salvation knows that all the power and healing of the Faith depends on its immutability or this decisive immobility, and therefore he tries in every possible way to introduce it into the stream of human changes: he excites heresies, irritates superstition, lifts the sword, scatters seductive charm - he consumes everything in order to introduce some changes in its divine structure, and thereby destroy its power. In other countries - under the deceptive pretext of civilization, humanity, common humanity - he has already managed to persuade people to change in the Faith. In the form of imaginary improvement, some things were canceled, others were added, and thereby ruined the healing power of the Faith. The enemy rejoices in success and reaps the fruits of unbelief, depravity, disturbances and all kinds of disorder” 534. A small book by St. Theophan, “A Warning Against Infatuation with the Spirit of the Present Time,” published in 1858 535, was also a reaction to the polemics with the papists. The book contains four letters, the first of which is called “A Letter from a Spiritual Father to One Confused by the Speeches of Freethinkers” 536. Having heard blasphemous speeches against Orthodoxy, Saint Theophan advises: “with all simplicity and with all the power of warm conviction, tell him how you confess, how the truth that is under attack is confessed and has been confessed by all Christians at all times - and that’s enough. Do not expand on your arguments and do not strain to refute false ideas” 537, “you cannot be indifferent: this would expose our coldness; but you can maintain more peace of mind and show yourself as an uncomplaining confessor of the truth” 538. On February 17, 1859, a solemn celebration of the 50th anniversary of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy took place, at which the rector - the future Saint Theophan - delivered a word dedicated to the most pressing problem of that time - the need to preserve Orthodoxy from heterodox influences and distortions that the Catholic and Protestant churches accepted. Saint Theophan noted that “novelties” 539 have spread in other Churches, which distort the teachings of Christ - “since the time of the Lord’s appearance on earth, the spirit of lies has not ceased to rebel against the truth and hostilely attempts to suppress it, modifying methods and techniques and remaining unchanged only in deceit, flattery and guile. After various heresies, he invented a center of unity in the West and with its help, directly and indirectly, he propagated there many harmful teachings, which almost completely obscured the truth, which was exhausted in the fight against them, because a part of the lie was mixed in with it, weakening it. Because of this, Europe, which is ahead of us in some respects, suffers greatly from false faith, unbelief and indifference (indifference in faith). Meanwhile, in our country only Europe is praised, and now whole ships are bringing to us from there, along with goods, hordes of enemies of truth (things, persons, books), for whom it is difficult to find a decent name, between which one can, however, distinguish, as it were, two enemy camps: papism and freethinking (as if they are opposites, and yet this is the father and his fiend). They enter our region through secret paths in the hope of sure success” 540. The word was spoken so passionately and boldly that the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archpriest Alexander Gorsky, who was at the anniversary, wrote to Saint Philaret (Drozdov): “At the liturgy, the rector of the academy pronounced a word filled, like his other words, with a spirit of zeal for Orthodoxy, although it seems to some that it would be more decent in the church word to avoid some harsh expressions about Protestants, especially since he was at the Liturgy Prince Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg" 541. Saint Theophan always consistently opposed union with Catholics. In a letter dated April 18, 1882 to N.V. He offered Elagin the following draft response to the Pope’s call for unity: “We are very glad to receive you, and we pray earnestly that the Lord will lead you to unity with us. Of course, you know the conditions: to delete from your beliefs the infallibility of your Holiness, Filioque, the sinlessness of the Mother of God in birth, the complete renunciation of secular dominion, the return to the ancient rite in the performance of certain sacraments...” 542. N.V. Saint Theophan strongly recommended that Elagin translate the 543rd book of Fr. Vladimir Goette “Schismatic Papacy” 544. Archimandrite Vladimir Goette is a Catholic priest who converted to Orthodoxy in 1862. A year later, in 1863, his work was published, about which St. Theophan wrote, for which the Moscow Theological Academy awarded him the degree of Doctor of Theology. According to the author himself, in his work he consistently proved: that the papacy, since the ninth century, wanted to impose on the Universal Church - and, moreover, in the name of God - a yoke unknown in the first eight centuries; that this ambition caused legitimate resistance on the part of the Eastern Church; that the papacy was the main cause of the division; that it strengthened and perpetuated it with its innovations and mainly by recognizing it as a dogma, an illegal supremacy that it arrogated to itself; that it turned this division into a real schism, establishing the papal Church in the bosom of the catholic Eastern Church itself, erecting an altar against the altar, establishing an illegal bishopric against the apostolic bishopric 545. Commenting on the work of Archimandrite Vladimir (Goethe) “The History of the Christian Church from the Nativity of Christ to the Present Day,” which was published in Russian translation in 1872–1875. 546, Saint Theophan noted that this work is “a merciless hammer for Catholics” 547. At the end of 1891, in a letter to Archpriest Pyotr Alekseevich Smirnov, editor of the Church Gazette, which was published with the support of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, K.P. Pobedonostsev, Saint Theophan wrote about the need to create a collection that would help “reflect the ravings of the priests. They will say so much that the listener will inevitably be amazed” 548. And then he continued: “Muravyov 549, Avdiy Vostokov (Reverend Anatoly Mogil.) 550 are heavy and not easy on the head. Papaute schismatique o. Who can access Vladimir Getta?! and there is nothing else for tea. Yes! Your Eminence Nikanor! 551 – but that’s not complete. Persuade someone to extract from all the most prominent, easy to read and victorious. It will be timely and useful. I would have rushed, but I don’t have the strength, my writing is over” 552. And from the church pulpit, from the pages of magazines and books, Saint Theophan called on Christians to stay awake, not to be lukewarm and indifferent when they see new teachings that contradict the truth: “let no one make a reservation: what can I, as a private person, do? Nothing special is required. Just be everyone a true son of the Church, form yourself according to Her spirit, and nothing contrary to this spirit will dwell among us. If each individual does not agree to listen to some perverse teaching, how will it spread? If everyone rejects an evil custom, how will he find a place for himself in our society? If everyone unswervingly walks according to the rules of the Church, they will rule over everyone. If this were so, then there would be an end to all new teachings, customs and violations of the statutes of the Church: then if anyone of an opposing spirit appeared, he would be cast out like a dead member. How does evil spread? Because we ourselves look at it indifferently and willingly give in to it. What is printed is not true; we read and do not speak; an unkind custom is introduced, and we not only do not resist it, but willingly get carried away by it ourselves” 553. Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary In July 1858, Prince N.B. Golitsyn sent a letter to the editor of the journal of the St. Petersburg Academy “Christian Reading”, in which he defended the new Catholic dogma based on church hymns, also citing the fact that this teaching is “always St. It was considered a pious thought by the Fathers and the Church and became part of Western catechisms” 554. According to Prince N.B. Golitsyn, “The Greek Church from time immemorial proclaimed the immaculate conception of Mary” 555, and Orthodox liturgical texts contain confirmation of the new Catholic dogma. “The Undefiled, Pure, Most Pure, Immaculate, Immaculate Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be offended if Her zealous admirers call Her pure even at conception. And if it turns out that it really is so, then those who are trying to prove that the Mother of God is the same sinner from birth as we all will have to regret that with their harassment they wanted to deprive the purest of the Virgins of the advantage inseparable from Her high destiny” 556. Numerous other examples were also given, among which are the words of the canon to the Mother of God: “You, the Pure, You the Virgin and the Undefiled, the one Imam the insurmountable wall,” the name of the Mother of God the Burning Bush, etc. And here the words “the undefiled and one,” according to N.B. Golitsyn, clearly testify in favor of the authenticity of Catholic dogma 557. If we do not recognize the Catholic dogma, then, following the logic of the prince, “they will refute the immaculate conception of the Son of God Himself under the pretext that His Mother was not removed from the general law, and therefore the Savior Himself allegedly got rid of the filth of original sin through the baptism that he received from John the Baptist” 558. The prince comes to the conclusion that Russian theologians do not want to accept the new dogma, which is contained in all church hymns, “out of one hostile feeling towards everything Roman” 559. Judging by the reservation made in the letter of Saint Theophan, he repeatedly discussed the new dogma with the prince. The letter also mentions two letters from Prince Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin 560 defending the dogma, which N.B. Golitsyn forwarded it to the saint for review. In the letters of the prince. Gagarin argued that “in the East they always believed in conception without original sin, in the West there were disputes” 561. The prince defended these same thoughts in his works published abroad. In the same 1858, abroad, Prince. I.S. Gagarin published “Curious testimonies about the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God”, “On the reconciliation of the Russian Church with the Roman” 562. In his response letter, Saint Theophan explains that “it is dogmatically determined that our Lady is the Ever-Virgin, the Mother of God - therefore the Most Honest Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim - a powerful Intercessor for everyone with Her Son, Christ our God. By these advantages and in the general consciousness, She stands above all created things” 563. According to the saint, the adoption of the new dogma is due to the fact that the papists “come up with something new from time to time to occupy minds and support the thought of the pope and his power” 564, “to let the world know that the pope exists and that his power has not fallen,” especially following the events of 1848, when Pope Pius IX fled from Rome after the start of the Italian revolution. However, by accepting the dogma, the papists achieved the opposite result. Wanting to exalt the Mother of God, they “humiliated” Her, depriving Her of free will, making Her an “unfree instrument” 565. Moreover, if we continue the line of reasoning of the papists, in the opinion of the saint, then the righteous Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos, also could not have been subject to original sin, for “in order for She to be born sinless, it is necessary that Her parents also be sinless...” 566. This line can reach Adam, and thus the “mystery of redemption” 567 will be destroyed. According to the saint, “renegades from the Orthodox Church who do not know this Church” 568 often cite excerpts from Orthodox church chants as proof of their errors. Saint Theophan in a letter to Prince. N.B. Golitsyn at the end of 1858 analyzed in detail the Orthodox chants for the feast of the Conception of St. Anna (December 9/22) and for the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8/21). In the divine service, or, in the words of St. Theophan, the “sacred poem” 569, the epithets “pure, immaculate” are used, which for the papists serve as the basis for the argumentation of their dogma. Explaining them, the saint writes: “The words “Pure, Most Pure, Immaculate,” attached to the conceived Virgin, should in no way be interpreted in the sense that she was conceived without original sin, but only in the sense that she remained a Virgin forever (that is, the consequence of the perfection revealed in her is attributed to Her), just as the words “Mother of God,” “Her Container of the Incontainable,” and etc. are attributed to Her as being conceived not because She was such at conception and birth, but because She was revealed as such subsequently and that these advantages belong to no one but Her” 570. One of the main errors in the papists' argumentation was that they used individual phrases taken from liturgical texts. However, as Saint Theophan notes, “in considering church services, one must take into account the entire totality of services, and not just private phrases” 571. An example of such a detailed analysis of the liturgical texts for the Feast of the Conception of St. Anne is a detailed analysis made by the saint himself, as a result of which he comes to the conclusion that the liturgical texts of this holiday “do not even give reason to think that the Blessed Virgin was conceived without original sin. On the contrary, they contain clear indications that She was not alien to this sin. If such a belief had ever existed in the Church, It could not but have been expressed - precisely in songs for this day, the main subject of which is conception. If it is not clearly expressed that it did not exist, that it is alien to the Church” 572. Thus, in analyzing the new dogma, Saint Theophan followed the arguments of his opponents, analyzing in detail their theses, which were based on liturgical texts. A dogmatic and historical analysis of the dogma of the virgin birth was given later in the works of other researchers 573 . The doctrine of purgatory as a dogma of the Catholic Church was formulated at the Ferraro-Florence Council (1439). The Orthodox Church does not accept the doctrine of purgatory. Explaining the difference between purgatory and ordeals, Saint Theophan in letters “to those who turned from sectarian wisdom” 574 noted that purgatory “is a place where unrefined sinners are cleansed. Purification is accomplished through torment corresponding to sins. Everyone who has any sinful impurity enters it. – In the Orthodox Church there is no such teaching, but there is a belief according to which those who died with repentance and communion, but did not have time to undergo corrective labors or penances, make up for this with the church’s prayers for them and alms for them, and, of course, with their own prayers there. They live in hope and do not suffer; they are not in torment. This is similar to purgatory, but not the same” 575, at the ordeal “the life of the dying person is reviewed with all sins and good deeds” 576. Thus, Saint Theophan pointed out the main differences in teaching between Catholics and Orthodox. Catholics have adopted the doctrine of purgatory as a dogma; purgatory is a place of punishment in accordance with sins. Among the Orthodox, the doctrine of ordeals is not dogmatized. The ordeal that the human soul goes through for forty days is not a place of punishment, but a private court. In the Catholic tradition, the soul is cleansed by punishments, in the Orthodox tradition - by church prayers and alms. Indulgence is the practice of the Catholic Church, “release from temporary punishment for sins forgiven in the sacrament of repentance, and after death - from suffering in purgatory, cleansing from unredeemed guilt for forgiven sins” 577. The controversy over the issue of indulgences was intense in the 19th century, as Popes Pius IX and Leo XIII granted a large number of indulgences, including plenary indulgences during the celebrations of the extraordinary jubilee year in 1854, 1857, 1867, 1869 (in connection with the preparation for Vatican Council I), 1879, 1881, 1886, as well as during the feasts of the Most Sacred Body and Blood of Christ (1849), the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1854), the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1856) 578. In 1857, when Saint Theophan served as rector of the embassy church in Constantinople, the Athens newspaper “Century” (Aiwv. 1857. Nos. 1525, 1526, 1530) reprinted the “Tariff for Indulgence” from the Paris edition of 1820 “with the direct participation” 579 of the saint Feofan. A preface was made to the publication, translated into Russian by Saint Theophan, where the purpose of the article was clearly stated - “to portray the Roman Church, which is so hostile to us and so much blaspheming us - in its true form,” and also “to strengthen in us the feelings of reverent respect that we, Eastern Christians, have for the Mother of our Church, who has never shied away from such inappropriate actions” 580. The translation into Russian was originally published in 1895 in the magazine “Soulful Reading” 581 under the autograph of the saint. The publishers italicized what was written into the translation by the hand of Saint Theophan himself. Analyzing these notes, we can say that the saint is focused on the theme of the love of money of the Pope and the cardinals. For example, in a small paragraph, a rather large edit was made by the hand of St. Theophan, which indicates his significant interest in this topic: “No one can be worthy of seeing the pope without payment - at his door; and the poor can never appear before the pope, because they have nothing to give. What about the cardinals? Their hands are always open to take, and none of them will say: enough” 582. The publication published some paragraphs of the indulgence tariff, highlighted by St. Theophan, which relate mainly to the payment for committing a murder. Depending on the person who committed the murder and the person who was killed, a certain amount is paid. The list of paragraphs is striking in the thorough detail with which this grave sin is described. There is no mention of repentance, but only the payment for forgiveness is determined with mathematical precision. Accompanying the publication, the editors noted that the saint: “not a desire for polemics, no: truly pastoral zeal for the salvation of Christian souls and deep, selfless devotion to Orthodoxy” 583. After the publication of the article, the rector of the Roman Catholic Church in Athens, Paul Gad, wrote a refutation, claiming that such a tariff does not exist, it is “a fabrication, a slander of the enemies of the Catholic Church,” 584 which prompted a letter from the newspaper editor in which he defended his views, examining in detail his opponent’s remarks. The issue of indulgences was also considered in a number of other works of St. Theophan. In a letter to V.I. Askochensky, editor of the magazine “Home Conversation,” in 1873, Saint Theophan gives one example that he witnessed during his service in the East, allegorically showing the path of the Catholic Church, which turns a person away from the path of salvation. A sinful man came to his spiritual father and asked to heal his sinful wounds. The confessor, seeing the man’s repentance and sympathizing with him, did not impose the punishment that St. prescribes. Church. After the death of a Christian, he more than once appeared in a dream to his confessor, reproaching him: “I opened your wound and asked for a plaster, - you did not give me the proper plaster, - and now they are not justifying me for this.” The priest, out of grief and fear, went to Athos, where he spent several years in prayer and labor in order to receive forgiveness for false leniency 585. St. Theophan defined papal indulgences as “the benefits and indulgences that he gives in defiance of the law of Christ,” from which “the entire West has become corrupted in faith and life and is now perishing in unbelief and the liberties of life, with its indulgences. The Pope changed many dogmas, spoiled all the sacraments, relaxed the rules of church leadership and the correction of morals, and everything went against the Lord’s intention, worse and worse” 586. Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism The truth of the Orthodox faith is determined by the principle of succession from the apostles and immutability: “We believe as we received from our fathers; our fathers believed as the Orthodox East betrayed them; The East believes as taught by the apostles; and the apostles were taught by the Lord and spoke by the Holy Spirit. Look around in your mind all the borders of our fatherland and see that it is all dotted with incorruptible relics, miraculous icons, and other signs of God’s special closeness to us. So gracious was and is St. our faith! 587. The Orthodox Apostolic Church was created “by the good will of the Father, the Lord Savior, by the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. People can’t create something like this” 588. In the words “Farewell to the Vladimir flock” before leaving for Vysha, Saint Theophan, giving his last testament to his flock, from the church pulpit testifies that at present “many false teachings have spread, ... corrupting, undermining the foundations of faith, upsetting family happiness and destroying the well-being of the state” 589, and calls on her with the words Apostle Paul to preserve the tradition of the Church (cf. 1 Tim. 6:20). In his interpretation of this apostolic verse, Saint Theophan gives a clear definition of tradition. The Apostle commands Saint Timothy to keep the tradition, i.e. “what has been entrusted to you, and not what you have invented, what you have accepted, and not what you have invented, is not a matter of the mind, but of teaching, a matter translated to you, and not received its beginning from you, in which you are not the producer (auctor), but the guardian, not the founder, but the follower, not leading, but following 590. According to the saint, “Christian dogmas seem very simple, but to the mind that enters them, they represent everything embracing a harmonious system, which no created mind has ever generated and cannot generate” 591 . The teaching of the Orthodox Church is, in the words of St. Theophan, “the stone with which gold is tested” 592, therefore “all teaching that does not agree with this” must be “rejected as evil, no matter how plausible it is covered with a title” 593. The Orthodox faith, as the saint has repeatedly pointed out, is “an area that is no longer subject to renewal, precisely because, having been renewed once, it remains invariably new and all-renewing” 594, it is a spiritual ladder that “has already been established and has raised many to heaven; it is not necessary to rebuild it, but to ascend along it” 595. Saint Theophan repeated more than once: “Let everything in the world move and change,” St. our faith abides and will remain unchangeable” 596. In the article “Standing and Marching Forward in Christianity,” Saint Theophan points out that this immutability in Christianity is combined with a constant spiritual striving forward. In Christianity you cannot be motionless and unchanging. But many fall into the mistake - instead of “striving forward to renew themselves according to the model of Christianity, ... they want to renew Christianity according to their own whims, not subordinating themselves to it, but adapting it to themselves” 597. Many, as the saint notes, think that “Christianity can be changed in its dogmas, rules and sanctifying actions in accordance with the spirit of the times and that, being applied to the changing tastes of the sons of this age, it can add some things and subtract others” 598 . However, in reality it is completely different - “Christianity must remain eternally unchanged, not in the least dependent and under the control of the spirit of the age; on the contrary, it is itself appointed to rule, or to rule over it in all those who submit to its leadership” 599. An important evidence of faith and its “miraculous power”, “conviction of the truth of the holy faith,” according to St. Theophan, are holy relics: “We, in Russia, have them in all limits, and in what other quantities! In the West they ceased along with the separation from the East and the falling away from the truth” 600. The East and West have completely different vectors of development. In the East, pagan ideals were replaced by Christian ones in all areas of human life - “mental, moral, aesthetic, family, political” 601. “In the West, the pope, having fallen away from the Church, was the first to accept the root of pagan life - pride” 602. Gradually, “a circle of people imbued with the pagan spirit formed, who set themselves the task of reintroducing pagan principles everywhere” 603. The Western Renaissance was a return to the pagan principles of life, in the words of St. Theophan, this is “the restoration of paganism in defiance of Christianity” 604. The same idea is repeatedly confirmed in the manuscript of Stepan Onisimovich Burachk “The Key to the Eastern Question” 605, dedicated to the role of Catholicism in the events of World History, where Saint Theophan made characteristic underlinings that make it possible to reconstruct his views on the relationship to the Catholic Church and the spread of Western culture 606. The Catholic Church, and then the Protestants, fell away from the “true Church” 607 due to various “fabrications” 608 and “novels”, therefore in the Catholic Church “certain parts in the structure of confession and church rite are damaged, or changed with a departure from the most ancient” 609. Luther, “a smart but capricious man,” followed the pope, “began to build and rebuild everything in his own way and thus established a new faith, Lutheran, far from being similar to the one commanded by the Lord and handed down to us by the holy apostles” 610. In the article “New Plague” about the religious views of Luther, the inspirer of the Reformation, the saint writes: “He built for himself a view of the work of God in Christ Jesus and scattered everything that seemed to him incompatible with his construction. The voice of the Church in teaching - away, the sacraments - away, ascetic severity - away, the entire church rite of worship - away. The students followed in the teacher's footsteps. Anyone who undertook theology considered it his duty to come up with something new and rebuild everything according to his own idea. At present, there is no counting of all their views: there is no unity. That is why they do not have theology, but rather indomitable theology. They talk, but never come to an agreement” 611. The reason for such innovations is “inquisitiveness - tickling the mind; It is not the truth that is dear to her, but the news and especially spectacular news, ... the truth here becomes backward, and in front stands its own invention” 612. Along with materialism and spiritualism, Saint Theophan considers “German theology” to be a destructive ulcer for Russia 613, for “they are ready to go against God Himself” 614. In October 1869, in the magazine “Home Conversation”, St. Feofan published notes “The Orthodox Mind and the German Mind” 615, “The New Ulcer” 616, dedicated to the difference between the Orthodox and Protestant worldviews. According to Saint Theophan, the essence of the German mind (in modern Protestant terminology) is “the spirit of novelty and constant renewal” 617, i.e. “The German mind only gets clever, it has no standard of faith, and it keeps looking for it; He does not undertake to study the faith, but to invent and build, and even having built, he does not rest once and for all, but still searches, still searches, not being satisfied with what he has found. The Orthodox mind, having studied and assimilated the truth, rests in it and delights in the contemplation of its divine face” 618. Saint Theophan lists the signs of Protestant writings, “German habits”: 1. “where a theory or view is built and then passages of Scripture are adjusted to them, a readiness to subordinate the Divine to the human” 619; “where there is no simplicity of thought and word, but some kind of sophisticated interweaving of sayings and concepts, so that you can’t imagine what it’s all about” 620; the desire to “construct different views on Christianity, regarding both its essence and history, and, according to these views, strive to rebuild Christian society” 621. Summing up, the saint points out: “The Orthodox truth is simple, clear, understandable even for children. He who understands it and accepts it with his heart always speaks simply, without mental or verbal intricacies. The German mentality and words are hooked, dark, confusing. From the outside looking in, the German mind seems to be going deeper, but in fact it is wandering around the tops and outskirts, without touching the very essence of truth. The Orthodox mind recognizes the truth in its essence and without any roundaboutness” 622. In his analysis of the teachings of Protestants, Saint Theophan refers to the 19th canon of the VI Ecumenical Council 623 - “whoever brings his personal wisdom into the realm of Divine truth will be subject to an oath” 624. The Orthodox reverence the patristic writings, for in them “the Apostolic tradition is observed, which is recognized by the common consent of all of them” 625, “Catholics have muddied the Apostolic tradition. The Protestants set out to correct the matter - and made it even worse. Catholics have one pope, but Protestants have one pope, no matter the Protestant” 626. As a result of such “fabrications,” as St. Theophan predicts, many creeds will arise - “every kingdom, then its own confession, and there, whatever the region, and then, whatever the city, and in the end, perhaps, whatever the head, then its own confession. Where they build faith for themselves, and do not accept God’s, it is impossible to be otherwise. And all such will take upon themselves the name of Christians” 627. In the 70s Saint Theophan also worked on a separate work on Protestantism, which he mentions in a letter to N.V. Elagin on May 14, 1881: “I had a big plan: to gradually dismantle all Protestantism. Yes, all the writer’s fervor has disappeared” 628. By the middle of the 19th century, according to the testimony of St. Theophan, in Russia “a class of people had formed who insist that everything churchly, everything Christian is dilapidation that must be discarded, and European education is a renewal that should be assimilated” 629. With particular concern, Saint Theophan notes that unbelief and infatuation with false teachings are spreading in his contemporary society, where “unbelievers of all sorts have accumulated many dreamy assumptions” 630, however, “all their wisdom is a house of cards: blow and it will fly apart” 631. Saint Theophan has truly prophetic words about the increase of unbelief and lawlessness, about future persecutions and trials for Christians: “For now only a bad roar is going around everywhere; but it is not surprising that what was prophesied by the Lord will soon begin: “they will lay their hands on you... and persecute you... you will be betrayed... and they will kill you.” The spirit of Antichrist is always one; what was in the beginning will be now, in a different form, perhaps, but with the same meaning” 632. The counteraction to these forces is the “root elements of Russian life” - Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. It is this idea, formulated by the Minister of Public Education S.S. Uvarov in the 30s. XIX century, became the subject of consideration in the article by St. Theophan “The Root Elements of Russian Life,” published in 1873 in the magazine “Home Conversation” 633. Without these “elements” the Russian people “will cease to be Russian and will lose their sacred tricolor banner” 634. This idea was actively supported by many contemporaries of St. Theophan, famous historians, philosophers, and publicists: S.P. Shevyrev, M.P. Pogodin, F.V. Bulgarin, N.I. Grechem, M.N. Zagoskin, N.V. Kukolnik, D.A. Khomyakov and others. Formulating this idea in a traditional way, however, the saint gives it special sharpness and clarity: “Orthodoxy is expressed by the unity of God-given truth; autocracy - the unity of God-given power; nationality - by the unity of aspirations indicated by the king and sanctified by God. Orthodoxy accepts the truth from God through the Church and humbly submits to it; autocracy receives the king from God through the succession of clans and whole-heartedly obeys him; the people perceive the consciousness of God's chosenness for the special purposes of Providence, measuring them by the known will of God and presenting themselves as its executing instrument. What an indestructible force - a people devoted to God and the king and unanimously striving to fulfill the goals indicated by God! What a deposit of prosperity and success for him in everything! There is a reason to take care of these treasures! Take care, Russian people, don’t waste or spoil them!” 635 In the Russian multinational state there must be religious tolerance, however, according to the words of St. Theophan, “true religious tolerance sincerely loves and reverently honors the one Holy One. his faith, is jealous of its purity and glory, rejoices at its exaltation; but at the same time it gives a place near it to other faiths, not because they consider them equally honorable and saving, but out of condescension for the weaknesses of the erring. She does not press, does not drive, does not pursue; but at the same time he does not miss the opportunity to lovingly point out error and offer free conviction and conscience the choice of the best” 636. Tolerance, which is understood as the patience of faith in general - “breathes unbelief,” or as the patience of all faiths - “reveals the absence of any conviction and smells of dead indifference in faith (indifferentism)” 637. Code of laws of the Russian Empire. St. Petersburg, 1892. T. 1. Part 1. Basic state laws. Art. 40. Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 49. From the word on the day of accession to the throne of the most pious sovereign, Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich. Soloviev V.S. Dogmatic teaching of the Church in connection with the question of the union of Churches // Orthodox Review. 1885. No. 12. pp. 727–798. Later, the article was included in the book by V.S. Solovyov “History and future of theocracy (study of the world-historical path to true life). Zagreb, 1887. A detailed analysis of the teachings of V.S. Solovyov was given in the work: Nikanor (Brovkovich), archbishop. A conversation about whether there is anything heretical in the Latin Church? // Additions to the Church Gazette. 1888. No. 38 (September 17). pp.1033–1045. Dept. ed.: Nikanor (Brovkovich), archbishop. Kherson and Odessa. A conversation about whether there is anything heretical in the Latin Church. St. Petersburg, 1889. “The most important monuments of the venerable antiquity of the Eastern and Western Churches most convincingly prove that the doctrine of immorality. The conception of the Most Blessed Virgin every day more and more, as a result of the most sincere mood, teaching, zeal, science and wisdom of the Church, brilliantly developed, explained, intensified and miraculously spread among all peoples and nations of the Catholic world; in the Church itself, as received from the ancestors, it always existed and was designated by the nature of the revealed teaching” // Cip. from: Differences between the Eastern and Western churches in the doctrine of the Holy One. to the Virgin Mary the Mother of God regarding the Latin dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Polemic-dogmatic study of Archpriest Alexander Lebedev. Warsaw, 1881. P. 8. Maxim Kozlov, Archpriest, D.P. Ogitsky. Western Christianity: a view from the East. M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2009. P. 139. “...in Jerusalem, Hieromonk Theophan became acquainted with Lutheranism, Catholicism, Armenian-Gregorianism and other Christian heterodox faiths from living examples. It should be noted that all these faiths have their own learned representatives, their own altars and schools, where their followers find satisfaction for their religious needs. Feofan had to have frequent conversations and official business relations with the clergy of these faiths. In Jerusalem, as if in focus, all the faiths of the Christian religion converge, so that there, in this cradle of Christianity, they can draw strength and find justification for their beliefs. This is one of the places where one can become better acquainted with the teaching, worship and moral activities of members of the various denominations of Christianity. Theophan acquired significant knowledge here and experience in dealing with people of other faiths, in fact he learned what the strength of their propaganda and weakness was, and therefore he himself could successfully counteract the aspirations of Catholicism and Protestantism that are harmful to Orthodoxy and give reliable advice to others, as he actually gave to those who turned in this case for advice and instructions” (Krutikov I.A. Saint Theophan, Recluse and Ascetic of the Vyshensk Hermitage // Soulful reading. 1897. Part 3. October, pp. 223–224). Quote from: Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. T. I. M., 2016. P. 377. Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Parts I-VIII. St. Petersburg, 1894–1902. T.VI. pp. 244–247. Dzhunkovsky Stepan Stepanovich (1820–1870) is one of the most prominent Russian adherents of Catholicism. After graduating from St. Petersburg University (1842), he went abroad with the intention of introducing Orthodoxy to foreigners. Arriving in Rome, he converted to Catholicism, joined the Jesuit order and, after 5 years of studying Catholic theology, accepted the priesthood. In 1853, having left the order, he went to Paris, where he acted as a member of the “Eastern Society for the Unity of Churches”, the founder of a “mission” in the vicinity of Paris, a member of the “brotherhood of the blind”, etc. In 1858 he returned to Rome with a project for the reconstruction of the Roman church and, mainly, the abolition of celibacy. His project was rejected, and they began to remove him from Rome under the pretext of various assignments, which he carried out successfully: in Vienna he negotiated a concordat with the emperor, in Westphalia he restored an ancient Catholic diocese, in London he built a church for foreign Catholics. In 1855 he was appointed head of the mission to the Eskimos. Over the course of seven years, he established seven parishes among the Eskimos and restored seven Catholic dioceses that had been abolished since the Reformation - in Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and Iceland. In 1866 in Stuttgart he was joined as a simple layman to the Orthodox Church. Ivantsov-Platonov A.M., priest. About Roman Catholicism and its relationship to Orthodoxy: in 2 volumes. M., 1870. Vol. 2. P. 85. On the possibility of uniting the Russian Church with the Western Church without changing the rites of Orthodox worship." Paris, Berlin, London, 1858. ARPMA. F. St. Feofan (Govorova). Op. 24. D. 42. Doc. No. 4321. pp. 3–21. For a detailed analysis of this manuscript, see: Vadim Popov. Analysis of the Catholic doctrine of the “immaculate conception” according to the liturgical texts of the Orthodox Church in the unpublished correspondence of the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archimandrite Feofan (Govorov) with Prince N.B. Golitsyn // Feofanov readings: collection. scientific Art. Vol. VII. Ryazan, 2014. pp. 145–153; It's him. Controversy between Saint Theophan (Govorov) and Prince. N.B. Golitsyn on the issue of the “immaculate conception” of the Mother of God - based on the liturgical texts of the Russian Orthodox Church // Feofanovsky readings: collection. scientific Art. Vol. VIII. Ryazan, 2015. pp. 249–257. Sergius (Lyapidevsky), archimandrite. Reply to the letters of the prince-writer regarding the Latin teaching about the pope. PribTSO. 1859. Part XVIII. Muravyov A.N. Letters to someone who has become alienated from Orthodoxy” (PribTSO. Part XV.). “The Word of Catholic Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism” (PribTSO. Part XI); “The Roman Church with its real claims to supremacy before the court of St. Hippolyta" (PribTSO. Part XII). Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 34. From the Word on the day of the accession to the throne of the most pious sovereign, Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich. A warning against getting carried away by the spirit of the present time. Rector's essay St. Petersburg Theological Academy of Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1858. 84 p. A warning against getting carried away by the spirit of the present time. pp. 3–19. Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 18. Popov S. Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archpriest Alexander Vasilyevich Gorsky. Experience of a bibliographic essay // Theological Bulletin. 1896. May. P. 260. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VII. P. 160. Letter No. 1153. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VII. P. 225. Letter No. 1195. La Papauté schismatique ou Rome dans ses rapports avec l'Englise orientale. Paris, 1863. In Russian. lang.: Papacy as the reason for the division of churches, or Rome in its relations with the Eastern Church / Doc. Op. O. Vladimir Gette / trans. from fr. edited by K. Istomina. Kharkov: Type. lips gov., 1895. Also: M., 2007. Vladimir (Goette), archimandrite. Papacy as the cause of the division of churches, or Rome in its relations with the Eastern Church. M., 2007. P. 243. Vladimir (Goette), archimandrite. History of the Christian Church from the Nativity of Christ to the present day. St. Petersburg, 1872–1875. T. 1–3. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VIII. P. 186. Letter No. 1217 dated December 15, 1891. Muravyov A.N. The truth of the universal church about the Roman and other patriarchal sees (St. Petersburg, 1841 and 1849); “The Word of Catholic Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism” (Moscow, 1852 and 1853). Vostokov Avdiy. About the relationship of the Roman Church to other Christian churches and to the entire human race. St. Petersburg, 1857. (Avdiy Vostokov is the pseudonym of Bishop Anatoly (Martynovsky) of Mogilev and Mstislavsky). Nikanor, Hierom. . Analysis of the Roman teaching on visible primacy in the Church, made on the basis of the Holy Scriptures and traditions of the first centuries of Christianity until the 1st Ecumenical Council. St. Petersburg, 1856–1858. Vol. 1–2. Also: Nikanor (Brovkovich), Archbishop. Kherson and Odessa. A conversation about whether there is anything heretical in the Latin Church. St. Petersburg, 1889. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VII. P. 255. Letter No. 1217 dated December 15, 1891 Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 200. From the Word for the consecration of the chapel of St. Great Martyr Catherine in St. Petersburg St. Isaac's Cathedral. Quote from: Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. T. I. M., 2016. pp. 782–783. Quote from: Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan... P. 809. Prince Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin (1814–1882) joined the Catholic Church in 1842 and a few years later took monastic vows in the Society of Jesus with the name Xavier. In 1855 in Paris, on the initiative of Prince. I.S. Gagarin, under the auspices of the Jesuit Order, the Slavic Library (the first Slavic Museum) was founded, the funds of which included various documents related to Russian Catholics. The prince became the first director of the library and one of the founders of the magazine “Etudes de theologie, de philosophie et d'histoire,” founded in 1857. In 1856, in France, he published the essay “Russia, will it become Catholic?” (Gagarine I.S. La Russie sera-t-elle catholique? Paris, 1856. Translated by: Gagarin I.S. On the reconciliation of the Russian Church with the Roman / translated by I.M. Martynov. Paris, 1858). After the publication of the work, he was deprived of all class and property rights and was banned from entering Russia. He considered himself a follower of P.Ya. Chaadaev, in 1862 published in French selected passages from the letters of P.Ya. Chaadaeva. Quote from: Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. T. I. M., 2016. P. 790. Curious testimonies about the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Published by I. Gagarin, priest of the Jesus Society. Le Mans, 1858. In the book, the author proves that the dogma “is not at all contrary to the beliefs of the Eastern Church, and completely agrees with the teachings of the Greek Holy Fathers and with the liturgical books hitherto used in the Russian Church” (p. I). In this book he publishes extracts sent to him from St. Petersburg from the works of Lazar Baranovich, Ioannikiy Galatovsky, and Anthony Radivilovsky. Also: On the reconciliation of the Russian Church with the Roman Church. Work by I. Gagarin, translation by I. Martynov, priests of the Brotherhood of Jesus. Paris, 1858. In 1859, “Analysis of the Curious Evidence of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary” was published, criticizing the views of Prince. I.S. Gagarin, published in the November book “Christian Reading”, and in the same year published as a separate publication. See: Analysis of “Curious Testimonies of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God,” published by I. Gagarin, a priest of the Society of Jesus. Le Mans 1858. St. Petersburg, 1859. 24 p. (From the November book of “Christian reading” of 1859). A detailed analysis of the book's arguments. I.S. Gagarin, see also in the book: Differences between the Eastern and Western churches in the doctrine of the Holy One. to the Virgin Mary the Mother of God regarding the Latin dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Polemic-dogmatic study of Archpriest Alexander Lebedev. Warsaw, 1881. pp. 133–149. Quote from: Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. T. I. M., 2016. P. 783. Quote from: Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan... See, for example: Differences between the Eastern and Western churches in the doctrine of the Holy One. to the Virgin Mary the Mother of God regarding the Latin dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Polemic-dogmatic study of Archpriest Alexander Lebedev. Warsaw, 1881. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. III. P. 126131. ​​Letters 478–479. Right there. P. 130. Letter No. 479. Ivanov M.S. Indulgence // PE. T. 22. P. 632. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. V. P. 67. Letter No. 791. Eminence Theophan about the tax of the “infallible popes” for sins // Soulful reading. 1895. Part III. pp. 315–320. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. V. S. 63–64. Letter No. 791. First published: Bishop Feofan. A word of justification. (Letter to the editor) // Home conversation. 1873. Issue. 40. October 6. pp. 942–946. See also: Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (A word of justification (letter to the editor). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. pp. 455–456. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (A word of justification (letter to the editor). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. pp. 456–457. Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 189, 191. From the Word on the name day of Her Imperial Highness, the Blessed Empress Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna. Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: short teachings. (Saturday before Epiphany). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 7. Words to the Vladimir flock of His Grace Theophan. Vladimir, 1869. P. 683. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul: to Titus. To Timothy (Pastoral Epistles). M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. P. 605 Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: short teachings. M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 182. Words to the Vladimir flock of His Grace Theophan. Vladimir, 1869. pp. 683–684. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Area excluding progress). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 120. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Standing and Marching Forward in Christianity). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. pp. 160–161. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Standing and Marching Forward in Christianity). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 160. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Justification (letter to the editor)). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 448. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (The path to knowledge of true faith). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 278. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Dilapidation and renewal). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 282. Right there. P. 283. The idea about the essence of the Western Renaissance is consistently heard in the writings of St. Theophan: “The West corrupted itself: instead of the Gospel, they began to learn from the pagans and adopt their customs - and they became corrupted” (Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: brief teachings. (30th Week after Pentecost. Thursday). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 377.), it was in the West that “the pagan abominations that were expelled from the world were first restored, from there they have already passed on and are coming to us” (Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and Reflection: Brief Teachings. (Nativity). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 93). In Europe, “for the first time, the pagan abominations that had been driven out of the world were restored; They have already crossed over from there and are coming to us. Having inhaled this hellish frenzy, we are spinning like crazy, not remembering ourselves” (Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for every day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: brief teachings. (Nativity). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 393). This manuscript has been preserved in two lists: 1) in the fund of the St. Panteleimon Monastery (BRPM. F. St. Theophan (Govorov). Op. 24. Doc. No. 33124) 1850 with numerous notes and autographs of St. Theophan; 2) in the collection of handwritten books by Leonid (Kavelin) in the handwritten fund of NIOR RSL (NIOR RSL. F. 557. Unit 12. 117 sheets) with a note on the back of the cover that it comes from “From the manuscripts of Archimandrite Moses.” List after 1855. Let us give some examples of crossing out in the manuscript (the places marked by St. Theophan are highlighted in bold (we give links to the sheets according to the manuscript: BRPM. F. St. Theophan (Govorov). Op. 24. Doc. No. 33124): “Russia only needs to part ways forever with Latinism, with its civilization, humanity, philanthropy, literature, philosophy, aesthetics, with his corrupt life and return with all his heart to the Russian, churchly, blessed, fruitful life" (l. 49 vol.); "... it is impossible to unite the Latin world into one spirit; because the Latin spirit is the spirit of uncontrollability, hostility, predation and division; at the first opportunity it will snatch everything out of hands" (l. 29); it is necessary to destroy Russia both because it is Orthodox, and that is Latin; and because motionless Russia interferes with the sincere progress of each of the Latin powers and, finally, because it is now so independent, powerful and formidable; The day begins, is filled, and ends entirely with Latin affairs and undertakings: reading, visits, dinners, balls, performances, philanthropy, cards, salons, dancing, slander, red tape, intrigue, seeking, fashion, outfits - all this is Latin, alien, disgusting, incompatible with Orthodoxy; for all this removes him from him, makes him cold towards him, suppresses him in us” (l. 60), “An Orthodox person is Orthodox only because he lives a church life, in order to have time to purify and sanctify himself for eternal life in the short time of his earthly life” (l. 60 vol.). Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Retreat in the last days of the world). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 355. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VII. P. 202. Letter No. 1181. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (A word of justification (letter to the editor). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 457. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (New ulcer). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. pp. 52–53. Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: short teachings. (21st Week after Pentecost). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 298, 299. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Orthodox mind and German mind). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 49. Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: short teachings. (10th Week after Pentecost. Thursday). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 212. Orthodox mind and German mind // Home conversation. Vol. 40. October 4. pp. 1023–1024. New ulcer // Home conversation. Vol. 41. October 11. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. Orthodox mind and German mind). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 49. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection... P. 49–50. Rule 19 of the VI Ecumenical Council. The heads of the churches must on all days, especially on Sundays, teach the entire clergy and people the words of piety, choosing from the Divine Scripture understandings and reasonings of truth, and without transgressing the established limits and traditions of the God-bearing fathers: and if the word of Scripture is examined, then let them not explain it otherwise than as the luminaries and teachers of the church have set forth in their writings, and these more so They are satisfied rather than composing their own words, so that, due to a lack of skill in this, they do not deviate from what is proper. For, through the teaching of the above-mentioned fathers, people, receiving knowledge of what is good and worthy of election, and of what is unprofitable and worthy of disgust, correct their lives for the better, and do not suffer from the disease of ignorance, but by listening to the teaching, they encourage themselves to move away from evil, and, through the fear of threatening punishments, achieve their salvation. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Orthodox mind and German mind). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 51. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VI. P. 97. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Retreats in the last days of the world). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 357. Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery; Pilgrim, 1994. Vol. VII. P. 97. Letter to N.V. Elagin No. 974 dated May 14, 1881 Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Dilapidation and renewal). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 284. Theophan the Recluse, St. Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God: short teachings. (29th Week after Pentecost). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 364. Ep. Feofan. The fundamental elements of Russian life // Home conversation. 1873. Issue. 32. August 11. P. 7bb-767. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Root elements of Russian life). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. P. 419. Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection: brief teachings. (Root elements of Russian life). M.: Rule of Faith, 2007. pp. 419–420.