| Jonah’s story gives us an image of serving the Word. The Word is difficult, hard to grasp, it makes you want to run away from carrying its burden (and our emblem showed Jonah exactly this way – carrying a heavy load). However, neither can you throw it out of your heart or blow out its flame. It is noteworthy that Prophet Jonah did not remain the Faith and Word festival’s patron for long. When in 2010 the responsibility for the festival was taken away from the journalists (editorial team of The Church Messenger newspaper) and given to the PR team and officials of the Church (the Synodal Information Department of the Moscow Patriarchate), changing Prophet Jonah for Saint Paul was the very first decision of the new administration. They had a hard time understanding and accepting that image. And that change has its spiritual meaning and symbolism: ever-troubled, doubting and protesting prophet was not congenial to the Church bureaucrats. A linear storyline is much closer and understandable for many these days: yes, Saul used to persecute Christ’s disciples, but since the Lord revealed Himself to the future apostle on the way to Damascus, Paul became a relentless preacher and servant of the Word. Way of the Magi Our conference agenda has linked all reports and presentations with media and journalism. However, I strongly believe that such a 20 th -century approach is insufficient today, for it imposes significant limits. Let me reiterate this: in the information society, not only the words are essential, but also the visual images. And those who create those images deserve very close attention of the Church. I don’t mean just iconographers and church architects. I am also thinking of artists, sculptors, designers, wide circle of film-makers, be it documentary or fiction, those who work in theatrical production, those who produce musical shows, street performances, exhibitions, etc. There’s another important question that we should ask ourselves: how will our time go down in history of the Church and world culture? Will we be remembered for merely copying (even if professionally and even virtuosically) the best examples from the past, or will we, the Orthodox Christians of today, learn to create the new grace-filled images, styles and movements that will be our unique contribution to the treasure chest of Christian culture? This remains an open question. |
| I have to add that when Sretensky Monastery was being restored and Liubov Timofeevna began to come to the services, she was already 100 years old! But she firmly believed that Vladyka Hilarion would be canonized while she was still alive. The Monastery was just beginning to gather materials for the glorification of Hieromartyr and Confessor Hilarion (Troitsky) and had written his Life for presentation to the canonization committee of the Holy Synod. Liubov Timofeevna, by the way, told us many interesting things about the saint, and gave us many of his photographs. The canonization committee works long and scrupulously; it could not be otherwise, for many facts and circumstances must be proven, especially concerning the martyrs of the twentieth century. It was the same for the material about Archbishop Hilarion. The material on his life was reviewed during the course of over two years at several committee meetings, but a final resolution had not yet been made. Liubov Timofeevna had reached the age of 100, then 101, and was now experiencing serious, exhausting illnesses; nevertheless, she still lived with the firm belief that Hierarch Hilarion would be canonized, that it would happen during her earthly lifetime, and that she would hear what she had believed all her life, never doubting. The doctors were amazed at how she could still be alive with all her illnesses. But Liubov Timofeevna would only say, “I will not die until I hear the resolution to canonize Hieromartyr Hilarion.” Her faith lent support to our own faith and sureness. We had even painted a small icon of Hieromartyr Hilarion, only without his name, and hung it on the royal doors of the church’s side altar. Then, in early March, 1998, Metropolitan Juvenaly, the committee chairman, called us to say that the final committee meeting dedicated to the canonization of Vladyka Hilarion was scheduled for March 11. He said that all the necessary documents had been collected, all the evidence was with the committee, that the archives had arrived from the Cheka which testified to Vladyka Hilarion’s conduct during interrogation—he was courageous and steadfast, did not betray anyone, and adamantly preserved his own faith. Vladyka Juvenaly also told us that the commission was ready to confirm Archbishop Hilarion’s canonization on that day, March 11. We went straight to Liubov Timofeevna to tell her the news. She was already very weak and sick; she was then 102 years old. She received Holy Communion; and although in her physical weakness, the words “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word…” were not on her lips, they were certainly in her heart. |
| You say then, Where is your Father? As if already you knew me; as if what you see were all that I am. Therefore because you know not me, I do not show you my Father. You suppose me, in fact, to be a man; hence you seek a man for my father, because you judge after the flesh. But because, according to what you see, I am one thing, and another thing according to what you see not, and that I as hidden from you speak of my Father as hidden, it is requisite that you should first know me, and then you know my Father also. 3. For if you knew me, you would perhaps know my Father also. He who knows all things is not in doubt when He says perhaps, but rebuking. Now see how this very word perhaps, which seems to be a word of doubting, may be spoken chidingly. Yea, a word expressive of doubt it is when used by man, for man doubts because he knows not; but when a word of doubting is spoken by God, from whom surely nothing is hid, it is unbelief that is reproved by that doubting, not the Godhead merely expressing an opinion. For men sometimes chidingly express doubt concerning things which they hold certain; that is, use a word of doubting, while in their heart they doubt not: just as you would say to your slave, if you were angry with him, Thou despisest me; but consider, perhaps I am your master. Hence also the apostle, speaking to some who despised him, says: And I think that I also have the Spirit of God. 1Corinthians 7:40 When he says, I think, he seems to doubt; but he is rebuking, not doubting. And in another place the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, rebuking the future unbelief of mankind, says: When the Son of man comes, will He, do you think, find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8 4. You now, as I think, understand how the word perhaps is used here, in case any weigher of words and poiser of syllables, as if to show his knowledge of Latin, finds fault with a word which the Word of God spoke; and by blaming the Word of God, remain not eloquent, but mute. For who is there that speaks as does the Word which was in the beginning with God? Do not consider these words as we use them, and from these wish to measure that Word which is God. |
| Do these seem to you good?” says he. “For what, sir,” say I, “is better than these?” “Walk then in them,” says he, “and restrain not yourself from them, and you will live to God. Keep, therefore, this commandment. If you do good, and restrain not yourself from it, you will live to God. All who act thus will live to God. And, again, if you refuse to do evil, and restrain yourself from it, you will live to God. And all will live to God who keep these commandments, and walk in them.” Commandment ninth: prayer must be made to god without ceasing and with unwavering confidence He says to me, “Put away doubting from you and do not hesitate to ask of the Lord, saying to yourself, ‘How can I ask of the Lord and receive from Him, seeing I have sinned so much against Him?’ Do not thus reason with yourself, but with all your heart turn to the Lord and ask of Him without doubting, and you will know the multitude of His tender mercies; that He will never leave you, but fulfill the request of your soul. For He is not like men, who remember evils done against them; but He Himself remembers not evils, and has compassion on His own creature, Cleanse, therefore, your heart from all the vanities of this world, and from the words already mentioned, and ask of the Lord and you will receive all, and in none of your requests will you be denied which you make to the Lord without doubting. But if you doubt in your heart, you will receive none of your requests. For those who doubt regarding God are double-souled, and obtain not one of their requests. But those who are perfect in faith ask everything, trusting in the Lord; and they obtain, because they ask nothing doubting, and not being double-souled. For every double-souled man, even if he repent, will with difficulty be saved. Cleanse your heart, therefore, from all doubt, and put on faith, because it is strong, and trust God that you will obtain from Him all that you ask. And if at any time, after you have asked of the Lord, you are slower in obtaining your request [than you expected], do not doubt because you have not soon obtained the request of your soul; for invariably it is on account of some temptation or some sin of which you are ignorant that you are slower in obtaining your request. |
| Wherefore do not cease to make the request of your soul, and you will obtain it. But if you grow weary and waver in your request, blame yourself, and not Him who does not give to you. Consider this doubting state of mind, for it is wicked and senseless, and turns many away entirely from the faith, even though they be very strong. For this doubting is the daughter of the devil, and acts exceedingly wickedly to the servants of God. Despise, then, doubting, and gain the mastery over it in everything; clothing yourself with faith, which is strong and powerful. For faith promises all things, perfects all things; but doubt having no thorough faith in itself, fails in every work which it undertakes. You see, then,” says he, “that, faith is from above – from the Lord – and has great power; but doubt is an earthly spirit, coming from the devil, and has no power. Serve, then, that which has power, namely faith, and keep away from doubt, which has no power, and you will live to God. And all will live to God whose minds have been set on these things.” Commandment tenth: of grief, and not grieving the Spirit of God which is in us Chapter 1 “Remove from you,” says he, “grief; for she is the sister of doubt and anger.” “How, sir,” say I, “is she the sister of these? for anger, doubt, and grief seem to be quite different from each other.” “You are senseless, O man. Do you not perceive that grief is more wicked than all the spirits, and most terrible to the servants of God, and more than all other spirits destroys man and crushes out the Holy Spirit, and yet, on the other hand, she saves him?” “I am senseless, sir,” say I, “and do not understand these parables. For how she can crush out, and on the other hand save, I do not perceive.” “Listen,” says he. “Those who have never searched for the truth, nor investigated the nature of the Divinity, but have simply believed, when they devote themselves to and become mixed up with business, and wealth, and heathen friendships, and many other actions of this world, do not perceive the parables of Divinity; for their minds are darkened by these actions, and they are corrupted and become dried up. |
| For those who do want God to exist but are doubting, go on to the next pieces of conversation. 5. “Having doubt is normal and nothing to be ashamed of.” One of the most difficult aspects of having doubt about our faith is feeling that we’re somehow abnormal—that if we experience doubt, we’re not a “real” Christian. But doubt is actually a normal part of faith. When we don’t have certainty about something, there is always room for doubt. For example, we can be confident that an airplane will safely deliver us to our destination, but we can’t be certain of that, so some doubt should necessarily exist. Even John the Baptist experienced doubt about Jesus being the Messiah when circumstances got tough and he was in prison (see Luke 7:18-30). Sharing with your child that doubt is normal can put them at ease for further conversation. Rather than feeling something is wrong with them (or wrong with God!) because they’re doubting, they can feel hopeful that the doubt can be resolved. 6. “Fortunately, God hasn’t left us to just guess whether or not He’s there. He’s given us plenty of evidence.” If you haven’t had some deeper conversations of faith with your kids, there’s a good chance they’ve never heard the idea that there could actually be evidence for His existence. In the minds of many kids (and adults), believing in God is simply a blind choice—not something that is rooted in tangible evidence. Kids have to know this is not the case. Emphasize that they may not yet know the evidence, but that it exists and you want to lead them through it. This simultaneously takes the pressure off of them to make a decision about God they may have thought was rooted only in their own feelings and sets you up to suggest the following point. 7. “Let’s study the evidence for God’s existence together.” If you read the last point and thought, “That’s great, but I have no idea what to say…” have no fear. You don’t have to be a professional apologist (someone who knows how to make a case for and defend the truth of Christianity) to have this conversation. More than a lecture, kids need you to come alongside them. |
| Who is it that suffers through doubting, unbelieving, blasphemous thoughts: the object of which the man doubts, in which he does not believe and which he blasphemes, or the man himself, who doubts, does not believe, and blasphemes? The latter. He grows afraid with that fear of which the Psalmist speaks: «There were they brought in great fear even where no fear was.» 97 He is tortured by his doubt, unbelief, and blasphemy; whilst the object of his agony remains firm, immovable, and has evidently the better of him, because it makes him change his mind for the sake of his own tranquillity, and does not allow him to grow quite calm until he has repented of his former false opinions and has accepted more favourable and truer ones. Therefore it is foolish to waver and be disturbed, and still more so to become fainthearted and fall into despondency, when during prayer, or at any other time, doubting, unbelieving, blasphemous thoughts occur to you. They are all only enticements of Satan. Malice, or any other passion that has taken root in your heart, has a tendency–in accordance with the infallible law of evil–to discharge itself outwardly. This is why it is usually said of an evil or angry man that he has vented his anger upon another person or upon another object. It is the worst of evil that it does not remain in the heart, but tries to diffuse itself outwardly. From this it is already evident that the author of evil is great himself, and has a wide domain over which he reigns. «The whole world lieth in wickedness.» 98 Like a vapour or gases that have accumulated in a great quantity in a shut-up place strive to rush out, so also the passions, like the breathing of the spirit of evil, having filled the heart, strive to rush out of one man to pour themselves into others, and corrupt, by their ill-odour, the souls of others. God has granted us existence--the greatest gift of His goodness, and after we had fallen away from Him, from life into death, He gave us for our regeneration, to bring us back to life, His Son. How small in proportion are all the other gifts which we ask of Him in prayer, and how easy it is for Him to give them to us at the first word of true faith, if they are really necessary for us! Therefore it is perfectly unpardonable in us if we still doubt that we shall obtain what we ask of God in prayer. The Lord said plainly: «Ask, and it shall be given you.» 99 |
| You hear the Word indeed, and despisest it; hear God and fear Him: In the beginning was the Word. Thou referrest to the usage of your conversation, and sayest within yourself, What is a word? What mighty thing is a word? It sounds and passes away; after beating the air, it strikes the ear and is no more. Hear further: The Word was with God; remained, did not by sounding pass away. Perhaps thou still despisest it: The Word was God. With yourself, O man, a word in your heart is a different thing from sound; but the word that is with you, in order to pass to me, requires sound for a vehicle as it were. It takes to itself sound, mounts it as a vehicle, runs through the air, comes to me and yet does not leave you. But the sound, in order to come to me, left you and yet did not stay with me. Now has the word that was in your heart also passed away with the passing sound? You spoke your thought; and, that the thought which was hid with you might come to me, you sounded syllables; the sound of the syllables conveyed your thought to my ear; through my ear your thought descended into my heart, the intermediate sound flew away: but that word which took to itself sound was with you before you sounded it, and is with me, because you sounded it, without quitting you. Consider this, thou nice weigher of sounds, whoever thou be. Thou despisest the Word of God, thou who comprehendest not the word of man. 5. He, then, by whom all things were made knows all things, and yet He rebukes by doubting: If you knew me you would perhaps know my Father also. He rebukes unbelievers. He spoke a like sentence to the disciples, but there is not a word of doubting in it, because there was no occasion to rebuke unbelief. For this, If you knew me, you would perhaps know my Father also, which He said to the Jews, He said also to the disciples, when Philip asked, or rather, demanded of Him, saying, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us: just as if he said, We already know You even ourselves; You have been apparent to us; we have seen You; You have deigned to choose us; we have followed You, have seen Your marvels, heard Your words of Salvation, have taken Your precepts upon us, we hope in Your promises: You have deigned to confer much upon us by Your very presence: but still, while we know You, and we do not yet know the Father, we are inflamed with desire to see Him whom we do not yet know; and thus, be cause we know You, but it is not enough until we know the Father, show us the Father and it suffices us. |
| 1001) Call without doubting, in the simplicity of your heart, upon the Lord God, also upon the Angels and the Saints, who by the grace of God and through their association or union with God, and the simplicity of their being, most speedily, with the rapidity of lightning, both hear and fulfill our prayers in accordance with the will of God. 1002) To love God with all our heart means not to have any attachments to anything earthly, and to surrender all our heart to the Lord God, fulfilling His Will in everything, and not our own; to love God with all the soul means always to have all our mind in Him, to establish all our heart in Him, and to submit all our will to His Will in all circumstances of life, both joyful and sorrowful; to love God with all our strength means to love Him so that neither any opposing power nor any circumstance of life, neither tribulation nor distress, nor persecution, nor peril, nor the sword, nor height, nor depth, 794 shall be able to separate us from the love of God; to love God with all our understanding means always to think of God, of His mercy, long-suffering, holiness, wisdom, omnipotence, of His works, and to withdraw ourselves by every means from thoughts of vanity and from evil recollections. To love God means–to love righteousness with all our soul, and to hate iniquity, as it is said: «You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity» 795 ; to love God means–to hate oneself, that is, our old carnal man: «If any man comes to Me, and doesn’t hate his own life, he cannot be My disciple.» 796 In us, in our thoughts, in our hearts and in our will, there is an evil power extraordinarily living and active, which always, every day and every moment, endeavors to estrange us from God, suggesting thoughts, desires, cares, intentions, undertakings, words and acts of vanity, exciting the passions and forcibly instigating us to them, namely, to malice, envy, covetousness, pride and ambition, vanity, slothfulness, disobedience, obstinacy, deceit and intemperance. To love God means–to fulfill His commandments: «If a man loves Me, he will keep My words. He that doesn’t love Me, doesn’t keep My sayings.» 797 |
| 11. For since the divine power administers the whole spiritual and corporeal creature, the waters of the sea are summoned and poured out upon the face of the earth on certain days of every year. But when this was done at the prayer of the holy Elijah; because so continued and long a course of fair weather had gone before, that men were famished; and because at that very hour, in which the servant of God prayed, the air itself had not, by any moist aspect, put forth signs of the coming rain; the divine power was apparent in the great and rapid showers that followed, and by which that miracle was granted and dispensed. In like manner, God works ordinarily through thunders and lightnings: but because these were wrought in an unusual manner on Mount Sinai, and those sounds were not uttered with a confused noise, but so that it appeared by most sure proofs that certain intimations were given by them, they were miracles. Who draws up the sap through the root of the vine to the bunch of grapes, and makes the wine, except God; who, while man plants and waters, Himself gives the increase? But when, at the command of the Lord, the water was turned into wine with an extraordinary quickness, the divine power was made manifest, by the confession even of the foolish. Who ordinarily clothes the trees with leaves and flowers except God? Yet, when the rod of Aaron the priest blossomed, the Godhead in some way conversed with doubting humanity. Again, the earthy matter certainly serves in common to the production and formation both of all kinds of wood and of the flesh of all animals: and who makes these things, but He who said, Let the earth bring them forth; and who governs and guides by the same word of His, those things which He has created? Yet, when He changed the same matter out of the rod of Moses into the flesh of a serpent, immediately and quickly, that change, which was unusual, although of a thing which was changeable, was a miracle. But who is it that gives life to every living thing at its birth, unless He who gave life to that serpent also for the moment, as there was need. Chapter 6.– Diversity Alone Makes a Miracle. |
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