| 157 Евсевий , Цер. ист. V, 7. Ирин . Прот. ер. II, 31. 158 Ориг . Прот. Цел. I, 2, 46—47. 159 Голубев , Обозр. посл. Кор. 209. 160 «Учение 12 апостолов», гл. 10. 161 Ср. 2 Кор. 8:19. Игн . к Филад. 10, Смирн. 11. 162 Уч. 12 ап. 15. Ср. Клим. рим . 1 Кор. 44: «почитаем несправедливым лишать служения» епископов. 163 Ср. Деян. 13, 2 и выше стр. 164 Деян 2:5. 11. 13. 165 Деян. 10:44; 19, 6. 166 Lange-Braune , D. Kor.-Br. 235. 167 1 Кор. 14:4. 5. 12. 16. 168 1 Кор. 14:14. 15. 169 1 Кор. 14:16. 170 1 Кор. 14:2. 171 1 Кор. 14:14. 15. 16. 172 1 Кор. 14:28. 173 1 Кор. 12:10. 30. 174 1 Кор. 14:13. 175 1 Кор. 14:4. 176 1 Кор. 14:10. 177 Иуст . Апол. 1, 9. Ирин . Прот. ep.I. 6. Тер .. Пр. Марк. 5. Ориг . на Исх. 13:2. О мол. 2, на посл. к Рим. 7:6. Кир. Иер . Огл. 17, 16. Злат . на 1 Кор. бес.29. Григ. Богосл . Сл. 41, на 50-цу. Август . Сл. 5, на 50-цу. близко к этому мнение Ляйтфута, что в Коринфе языкоговорение состояло в чудесной способности говорить на древнем еврейском языке, тогда уже не употреблявшемся ( Ligthfoot, Horae hebraicae et talmudicae in ep. priorem ad Corinthios, Opera , 917 sq. 178 Billroth . Commentar zu den Briefen des Paulus an die Korinther, Leipz. 1833, по Lange 200. 179 Аристотель , De arte poeticac. 21. Гален , Exeges. glossar. Hippocr. prooem. Квинтилиан . Inst. orat. 1, 8. 180 Bleek . в Theol. Studien und Kritiken. 1829, S. 17 f. 181 Eichhorn в Allgemein. Biblioth. der biblischer Literatur I, 91 f. и др. 182 Wieseler в Theol. Stud. und Krit. 1838, 378 f. 183 Edwards, A . Commentary of the first epistle to the Corinthians, Lond. 1884, p. 319. 184 У Поллукса , греч. музык. Phetis , Histoire de la musique, t. IV, p. 281. Фивейский . Духовные дарования, 45. 185 У Аристоксена, Плутарха и др. Там же. 186 Плутарх . De musica 36. 187 1 Кор. 12:31. 188 У Аристоксена и Плутарха . De def. огас. Phetis III, 46. Фивейский 99—100. 189 Деян. 2:4; слав. и рус. «провещевати». 190 Ирин . Прот. ер. III, 17, 2. 191 Аристотель . Probl. Фивейский 47. 192 К этому мнению склоняются Schultz , Die Geistesgaben и особенно Фивейский , указ. соч. |
| 4. Is God a Trinity? The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost are not separate Gods or separate beings, but are distinct Persons within the one Triune Godhead. Throughout the New Testament the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father are separately identified as and act as God (Son: Mark 2:5-12; John 20:28; Philippians 2:10,11; Holy Spirit: Acts 5:3,4; 2 Corinthians 3:17,18; 13:14); yet at the same time the Bible teaches that these three are only one God (see point 1). By contrast, the Mormon Church teaches that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate Gods (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370; Mormon Doctrine, pp. 576-577), and that the Son and Holy Ghost are the literal offspring of Heavenly Father and a celestial wife (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 2, p. 649). 5. Was The Sin Of Adam and Eve a Great Evil Or a Great Blessing? The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that the disobedience of our first parents Adam and Eve was a great evil. Through their fall sin entered the world, bringing all human beings under condemnation and death. Thus we are born with a sinful nature, and will be judged for the sins we commit as individuals. (Ezekiel 18:1-20; Romans 5:12-21). By contrast, the Mormon Church teaches that Adam’s sin was " a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us " (Gospel Principles, p. 33; Book of Mormon — 2 Nephi 2:25; Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 114-115). 6. Can We Make Ourselves Worthy Before God? The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross we are spiritually " dead in trespasses and sins " (Ephesians 2:1,5) and are powerless to save ourselves. By grace alone, apart from self-righteous works, God forgives our sins and makes us worthy to live in His presence (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6). Our part is only to cling to Christ in heartfelt faith. (However, it is certainly true that without the evidence of changed conduct, a person’s testimony of faith in Christ must be questioned; salvation by grace alone through faith, does not mean we can live as we please — Romans 6:1-4). |
| And no, I’m not referring to the Psalter of David, or even the later Odes of Solomon . I’m talking about the “Book of Odes” (δα), a collection of fourteen Scriptural hymns or canticles, which are still regularly sung in the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. The earliest known collection of these fourteen Odes is found in the Old Testament of Codex Alexandrinus. Codex Alexandrinus is a four-volume compilation of the Scriptures in the Greek language, and includes what the Orthodox Church calls Anaginoskomena , as well as some other pseudepigraphal and apostolic-era works. For example, a summary of the Psalms written by Eusebius of Caesarea, as well as St. Athanasius’ Epistle to Marcellinus are included before the traditional Psalter, with the 151st Psalm of David and the δα immediately following. The epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians (1 Clement), as well as a sermon attributed to him (2 Clement) are also placed after the traditional twenty seven books of the New Testament. Given the inclusion of St. Athanasius’ letter, the earliest date for this codex can be A.D. 373, and most scholars today date it between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century. The Book of Odes aptly begins with the chorus, “Sing to the Lord! For he is eminently glorified” ( Odes 1:1 ). As already mentioned, most of these hymns are found in the canon of Matins—or “Orthros,” a morning prayer service—in the Orthodox Church. Of the fourteen, nine are included in the following order (versification according to Orthodox Psalter): 1. Ode of Moses ( Exo. 15:1-19 ) 2. Ode of Moses in Deuteronomy ( Deut. 32:1-43 ; sung during Great Lent) 3. Prayer of Anna ( 1 Sam. 2:1-10 ; 1 Kings/Reigns in LXX) 4. Prayer of Habakkuk ( Hab. 3:2-19 ) 5. Prayer of Isaiah ( Isa. 26:9-20 ) 6. Prayer of Jonah ( Jon. 2:3-10 ) 7. Prayer of the Three Holy Youths ( Dan. 3:26-56 ) 8. Hymn of the Three Holy Youths ( Dan. 3:57-88 ) 9a.Hymn of the Theotokos ( Lk. 1:46-55 ) 9b.Prayer of Zacharias ( Lk. 1:68-79 ) |
| “Our objective salvation is realized only in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whereas our personal or subjective salvation, which in the language of the New Testament is called “righteousness”, “holiness”, or “salvation” (in the narrow sense), is realized as a continuance of this objective salvation, with our personal energy or activity acting in co-operation with Divine Energy or Grace.” It is the Orthodox teaching of personal (subjective) salvation that we intend to outline in the present work. CHAPTER 1. THE ORTHODOX TEACHING ON PERSONAL SALVATION 1.1 Personal salvation is the restoration of our original communion with God. The Orthodox teaching on personal salvation is based on the teaching on the purpose of God’s creation of man and the damage suffered by human nature as a result of the “original sin.” God created man “in His Image and His likeness” (Genesis 1:26) – that is, God intended man to be god by grace. “The loss of the Kingdom of God was the most severe consequence of the fall. Adam and Eve lost blessedness that they had already tasted in Paradise.” “After his first fall, man himself departed in soul from God and became unreceptive to the grace of God which was opened to him; he ceased to listen to the divine voice addressed to him, and this led to the further deepening of sin in him.” Salvation is the restoration of the wholeness of God’s image in us, of the possibility of our union with God. It is the restoration of our original essence. “Holy Tradition teaches that… we will be saved when we become like Christ… Because of our faith in Him and our desire to become God-like, we are not so much saved all at once as slowly changed into the creatures we were created to be .” 1.2 Everyone is called to salvation. Salvation is not for the “elect”, or “chosen people”. God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Furthermore, “in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him” (Acts 10:35). Christ said: “I… will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). He “died for all , that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again…” (2 Corinthians 5:15). From Christ the Apostles “have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations…” (Romans 1:5). With the Apostles “we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men , specially of those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). |
| According to St.Paul “two can be made one flesh” even in fornication. But this purely carnal union only defiles those who commit such fornication. What within marriage is a mystery, like Christ’s union with the Church, is outside marriage defiled. Again we see that marriage is not a casual physical relationship, but the all-embracing union of husband and wife ( 1Cor.6:15–20 ; cf. Eph.5:22–33 ). Immediately after this passage in Corinthians, St.Paul advises married couples not to avoid physical intercourse with each other, and to remember that they belong to one another in the flesh. In general, it is better to be able to enjoy the conjugal rights than to be tempted and “inflamed” ( 1Cor.7:1–9 ). The Apostle continues by saying that husband and wife can sanctify and save one another through marriage, even when one of them is an unbeliever. Also, the children of such mixed marriages are holy ( 1Cor.7:10–17 ). If husband and wife surrender to each other not only their bodies but also their souls and entire beings, it is only natural that the spiritual power and strength of one should be transmitted to the other... Elsewhere St.Paul speaks mainly about the influence that a husband may have on his wife, and advises wives to be, above all things, obedient. 44 St.Peter, too, counsels wives to be obedient, and at the same time testifies to the great positive influence a wife may have upon her husband, urging husbands to deal kindly and honorably with their wives ( 1Pet.3:1–2 ). A woman’s heart can be so filled with the “incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” that her “chaste and reverent behavior” may without a word win her husband for God. In his Epistles to Timothy and Titus, St.Paul sketches the figure of a wife closely resembling the model wife of Proverbs. This is the ideal of a wise, chaste and submissive wife who cares for the master’s household, who loves her children, and ministers to their needs ( 1Tim.5:1–16 . Tit.2:1–5 ). The New Testament does not dwell as much as the Old on the question of multiplication of the human race. |
| Before we briefly note some other New Testament passages, let’s consider an additional way to understand deification from the Book of Genesis. There we learn that we are created in God’s image. Through sin, that image has been greatly broken and damaged, but through redemption in Christ it is renewed “according to the image of Him who created” it, as Paul notes in Colossians 3:10. Add all these other motifs—sonship, being fellow heirs, union, being made like Christ, partaking of the divine nature—and we see that these describe the divine image, broken and marred (but not altogether lost) through Adam’s fall, being remade in us through Christ’s redeeming work, so that we become like God. Thus in Genesis we are created in God’s image; through Christ we are given the opportunity to acquire God’s likeness. In Ephesians 4:23–24 this very idea is reinforced: “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” and “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” And in 5:1 we are enjoined to be “imitators of God.” A number of other New Testament passages describe theosis: Romans 12:1–2: We are to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice,” doing so as part of our spiritual worship. And we are to “be transformed” by the renewing of our minds into the likeness of God. 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:17: We are reminded that we are God’s “temple” and that “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him”—union with God. Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Philippians 1:21: “For me, to live is Christ.” Colossians 3:3: We have “died” and our lives are “hidden with Christ in God”—total participation in Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23: May God “sanctify you completely”—complete conformity to the image and likeness of God. 2 Thessalonians 2:14: We were called by God “for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 John 4:17: “Because as He is, so are we in this world”—the possibility of deification, total participation in Christ this side of eternity. |
| Communion of Saints : When Christians depart this life, they remain a vital part of the Church, the body of Christ. They are alive in the Lord and «registered in heaven» (Hebrews 12:23). They worship God (Revelation 4:10) and inhabit His heavenly dwelling places ( John 14:2 ). In the Eucharist we come «to the city of the living God» and join in communion with the saints in our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22). They are that «great cloud of witnesses» which surrounds us, and we seek to imitate them in running «the race set before us» (Hebrews 12:1). Rejecting or ignoring the communion of saints is a denial of the fact that those who have died in Christ are still part of his holy Church. Confession is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It means literally «to agree with» God concerning our sins. St. James the Apostle admonishes us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or priests, as they are called today ( James 5:16 ). We are also exhorted to confess our sins directly to God (I John 1:9). The Orthodox Church has always followed the New Testament practices of confession before a priest as well as private confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant means of repenting, and receiving assurance that even our worst sins are truly forgiven. It is also one of our most powerful aids to forsaking and overcoming those sins. Discipline may become necessary to maintain purity and holiness in the Church and to encourage repentance in those who have not responded to the admonition of brothers and sisters in Christ, and of the Church, to forsake their sins. Church discipline often centers around exclusion from receiving communion (excommunication). The New Testament records how St. Paul ordered the discipline of excommunication for an unrepentant man involved in sexual relations with his father " s wife (I Corinthians 5:1–5). The Apostle John warned that we are not to receive into our homes those who willfully reject the truth of Christ (II John 9,10). Throughout her history, the Orthodox Church has exercised discipline when it is needed, with compassion, always to help bring a needed change of heart and to aid God " s people to live pure and holy lives, never as a punishment. |
| That was how the word is used in Luke 22:31, to describe Satan sifting Peter as thoroughly as wheat is sifted, by overwhelming him by a temptation to despair after his denial of Christ. That is how the word is used Revelation 3:10, to describe an hour of persecution and seduction that was coming upon the whole world. St. Paul often spoke of how Satan would send persecution in an attempt to overwhelm Christians in hope they would apostasize. He spoke of Satan hindering him from coming to Thessalonica by persecuting him (1 Thessalonians 1:18), and of suffering a multitude of insults, distresses, persecutions, and difficulties as a messenger of Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7, 10). St. Peter referred to Satan prowling about like a hungry lion, seeking someone to devour—i.e. through persecution inducing apostasy (1 Peter 5:8). St. John spoke of Satan cast out of heaven at the Ascension of Christ and coming down to earth in wrath, making war against the saints through persecution (Revelation 12:9f). In the Lord’s Prayer, therefore, it seems that peirasmos refers to an hour of trial that comes upon in the form of persecution. In this petition, we pray that we may withstand the assault. The Lord issues the same call to faithfulness in the fire when He refers to the persecution and difficulties coming upon the Church just before the final end of the age: “That day will come upon you suddenly like a trap…Keep on the alert, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36). Peirasmos will come to all who serve Christ in this wicked and perverse generation, for the Evil One wars mightily against us. May we all be delivered in that hour, and stand before the Son of Man at the Last Day. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| He’s absolutely right about this. In our emphasis on mercy — humanly understood — we have forgotten that it is indeed “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). And we “have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord” (Hebrews 12:5) — there is scarcely a verse in all of Scripture more apt for our generation than this one. We have forgotten these things because we have forgotten that there exists such a thing as love that is willing to risk pain in pursuit of healing, that is willing to use even suffering as a means of salvation. In short, we have forgotten the Cross, and the God Who in His surpassing love was willing to be crucified upon it, and Who called each and every one of His disciples to nothing less than that same suffering in pursuit of that same measure of self-emptying love. No, we are a generation of opiate addicts and helicopter parents, and we have instead made for ourselves a god in our own image and after our own likeness. And that’s why we can’t understand the words of St. Paul. That’s why we can’t understand his exhortation to “deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus ” (1 Corinthians 5:5). The problem is the one spoken of by Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov): One day, I was able to pose one and the same question to two different ascetics—Fr. John (Krestiankin) and Fr. Nicholas Gurianov: ‘What is the main illness of contemporary Church life?’ Fr. John replied at once, ‘Unbelief!’ “’How could that be?’ I protested. ‘And what about the priests?’ He again replied, ‘For the priests also—unbelief!’ Then I went to Fr. Nicholas Gurianov, and he gave me the very same answer, independently of Fr. John: unbelief. The problem is our unbelief. We don’t really believe in Heaven, so we are unwilling to sacrifice our happiness — or the happiness of those for whom we care — on earth. We don’t really believe in the wisdom of the Church, and so we are unwilling to crucify our own understanding. We don’t really believe that God loves us, and so we try to cover over anything in Christianity that doesn’t feel to us like love. |
| that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” ( 2Cor.5:1–5 ). Man is created for eternal life. The fruits of the tree of life are returned to man in Christ, the Bread of Life ( John.6 ). God gives us everything abundantly for our enjoyment, just as He gave all things to our forefathers in paradise ( 1Tim.6:17 ). We are “created in Christ for good works” ( Eph.2:10 ), just as Adam was created to cultivate the world. We are created for communion with God, a communion which began in paradise (Acts.17:27). We are, in short, created for God. 38 The New Testament doctrine on God’s image in man is extensive and significant, and is clearly based on the teaching of Genesis. The concept itself is referred to on many occasions (e.g. Jas.3:9. 1Cor.11:7 ). The distinctive element in the New Testament teaching on man’s likeness to God is that this is attained through becoming likened to Christ, who from all eternity is the perfect Image of God, as God’s Son. The whole of the first Epistle of St.John is a call to become like God through His Son Jesus Christ, in truth and purity and love. St.Paul calls Christ “the Image of the invisible God” ( 2Cor.4:4 . Col.1:15), or “the glory of God bearing the stamp of His nature.” (Heb.1:3). In Philippians he says that Christ “being in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped…” 39 Thus when we compare the New Testament doctrine on God the Father and God the Son, we see that the Father and Son are similar in nature and being, in their freedom and omnipotence, in their blessedness and perfection, in love, wisdom and knowledge, in their holiness, eternal nature, simplicity and goodness. As the Nicene Fathers expressed it, because the Son of God is in all things like the Father, He must also be of one substance with Him. Christ is the Image of God. Christians must be images of Christ. “To those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.” 40 He calls the Corinthians to imitate him as he himself imitates Christ. |
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