gr. agioths, lat. sanctitas), one of the fundamental concepts of Christian teaching. Its main meaning lies in the involvement of a person with God, his deification (see: deification), in his transformation under the influence of God's grace. In the transformed man, his nature, not damaged by sin, is restored, his union with God as a "child of God." The basis of this restoration is the Incarnation, Christ's perception of human nature. Since in Christ human nature was deified, this opened the way to God and for all mankind: Christians, following Christ, participate in his Divinity by grace and become saints. In the First Epistle of the Apostle Peter, he, addressing the Christians, says: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as an inheritance ... Once not a people, but now the people of God; once unpardoned, but now have mercy." (I Peter 2. 9-10). Entering holiness is accomplished through Christ: "But, following the example of the Holy One who called you, be yourself holy in all your deeds; for it is written: be holy, for I am holy" (I Peter 1. 15-16). This understanding of Christians as the people of God is based on the words of Christ himself, told by Him to His disciples: “On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20); Christ "to those who received Him, to those who believe in His name, gave authority to be children of God" (John 1:12). With this understanding of holiness in mind, the Apostle Paul refers to Christian communities as to the gatherings of saints: "To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints" (Rom. 1. 7); "to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi" (Phil. 1. 1); "to the saints who are in Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus" (Ephesus 1: 1); "the church of God, located in Corinth, with all the saints throughout all Achaia" (II Cor. 1.1).
The understanding of the Christian community as a community of friends of God, a "holy people" was most fully expressed in the liturgical life of the ancient church, since it was the Eucharist that was the center and basis of this life, the basis of worship and the basis of teaching. As St. Irenaeus of Lyons (d. C. 200), "our teaching is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist, in turn, confirms our teaching" (PG, 7, 1028A). The earliest extant Eucharistic prayers speak of the "holy people" who attained Christ, the Son of God, for the Father (for example, in the Eucharistic prayer given in the "Apostolic Tradition" of St. Hippolytus of Rome, describing the Roman liturgical practice of the 3rd century). This "holy people" is identified with the community participating in divine services and partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharistic Prayer, cited in the "Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles" ("Didache", not later than the 2nd century), ends with the words: "Who is holy (agios estin), let him come, and who is not, let him repent. Maran-afa (Lord is coming). Amen "(ch.X). The idea of \u200b\u200bthe holiness of the communion community is preserved in the modern rite of the Orthodox liturgy, when the priest, after reading Our Father and before communion, proclaims: “Holy to the Holy (Ta agia tois agiois)”, to which the community (choir) replies with the words: “One is Holy, There is one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen ", - the Holy Gifts (" Holy ") are given to the saints, and their holiness is the holiness of Christ, with whom they are united in communion (the testimony of the cry" Holy to the Holy "is available in catechetical writings St. Cyril of Jerusalem 348).
This moment of the eucharistic service contains a certain theological concept of holiness. The Eucharist is the union of believers (faithful) with God, the realization of the Kingdom of God in historical being, moving towards this Kingdom. During the sacrament, the eternity of the transformed being (the Kingdom of Heaven, pakibenie) is really present in the temporal being, in the earthly life of the church community. Believers stand before God together with heavenly powers and mysteriously depict cherubim ("Those who are cherubs secretly form ..."). The sacrament requires cleansing from sin (it is from here that the later combination of the sacrament of repentance with communion occurs), which is given by the grace of the Eucharistic worship. The entry of believers into eternity, into the life, prepared by their cleansing, and forms their holiness. Holiness, therefore, is belonging to eternal life, participation in the Divine, anticipation in this being of the coming life of God.
The ancient church proceeded from the same understanding in the veneration of individuals as saints. Those whose participation in God was revealed to the church as a reliable fact, whose salvation (i.e. entry into the Kingdom of Heaven) was revealed even now, before the Last Judgment, are revered as saints. These persons were originally the apostles, about whose chosenness for eternal life Christ himself said (John 17.21-24). They also included the Old Testament prophets and patriarchs, whose holiness the Holy Scriptures testified to. The same was the view of the martyrs, because, according to the ideas of the ancient church, the feat accomplished by the martyrs immediately opened the Kingdom of Heaven before them. The gift of miracles, which the deceased saint received, testified to his participation in God. The canonization (see) of the saints, which has developed over time into a completely formal procedure, is essentially a church certificate of the saint's participation in God.
Thus, a saint is every time a manifestation of salvation, the mercy of God to people, the grace that God sends to his people. In the Acts of Martyrdom of Perpetua, Felicitata and others who suffered with them (Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis cum sociis), who underwent torture in Carthage in 202 or 203, it is told how Felicitata, shortly before the execution, while already in prison, was released from pregnancy. The birth was so difficult that the soldiers guarding her asked: "If you are suffering so much now, then what will become of you when you are given to the beasts?" Felicitata replied: "Now I suffer because I endure for myself, and then I will suffer for the other [that is, Christ] and this other will be in me and will suffer for me." The feat accomplished by the saints is thus viewed not so much as the attainment of the saint himself, but as an action of the grace of God, as a manifestation of Divine providence. The Decree of Gelasius (Decretum Gelasianum), a Latin ecclesiastical canonical monument of the early 6th century, asserts the need for public reading of acts of martyrdom, in which "the victory of the martyrs and their amazing confession shine through the many different tortures they endured. For what believer can doubt that their suffering exceeded the measure of a person and they were able to endure them not thanks to their own strength, but thanks to the grace and help of God? " (PL, 59, 171). So, the saints are a visual discovery of God's providence for man. The variety of deeds leading to holiness testifies to the diversity of providence: each saint with his own special life demonstrates his path to holiness and acts as an example of this path.
The saint opens the way to God and in this capacity acts as an intercessor for people before God, as a kind of mediator between God and people. The development of the cult of saints is superimposed here on a powerful layer of religious and socio-cultural ideas of late antique society (as well as later on partially similar ideas of other peoples experiencing Christianization). The saint, in his function of protector and intercessor, fulfills the same mission that in the pagan worldview was attributed to demons (or other mythological creatures) who guard a person or his entire family and play the role of an intermediary between a person and higher powers. Accordingly, the cult of saints responded to the expectation of patronage and protection, which was firmly rooted in the socio-cultural structure of late antique society; the saints were addressed with prayer in the same cases when they had previously made sacrifices to the gods and asked for help from the heroes. It was this transfer of functions that ultimately determined the consolidation of various spheres of influence for individual saints, which is so characteristic of both the Western and the Eastern Middle Ages and is usually attributed to the so-called. "popular" religiosity.
From the very beginning, however, in the Christian understanding of holiness, certain points are distinguished that are fundamentally alien to pagan cults. Human holiness is correlated with the humanity of God the Word, with following the path paved by the suffering and death of Christ on the cross. Therefore, all early Christian authors insist that the martyrs became communion with God precisely because of their completely human suffering and martyrdom. Closeness to God in conjunction with humanity provides the saints with the opportunity to mediate between God and people. On the contrary, pagan beliefs are characterized by the idea of \u200b\u200ban impassable line separating the higher powers from everything that preserves human nature, in particular, from the deified heroes.
At the same time, pagan beliefs attributed mediation between higher forces and man primarily to mediating spirits (geniuses, demons, or - in other systems - to other "lower" spirits). In Christianity, the analogue of these beliefs is the concept of guardian angels. The invocation of saints as mediators indicated a radical revision of such ideas about world building. Along with the angels, the mediators were people who became partakers of the Divine through their feat. The intercession of the saint and closeness to him (which, due to the veneration of the relics, was expressed in quite concrete and tangible forms) introduced the believer into closeness to God and created religious experiences practically unknown to paganism. Bl. Augustine ("On the City of God", VIII, 27) directly opposes the path to God through the holy martyrs, who are not gods, but received God's mercy by their virtuous life and death, to the pagan appeal to demons, which can be good and evil, to false The spiritualism of paganism is opposed here by the anthropologism of Christianity, based on faith in the incarnation of God the Word.
The teaching of the intercession of saints is based on the concept of a single church of the living and the dead, constituting the Body of Christ. Physical death does not cut off the believer from the church community, and therefore prayers for the departed have been established in the church since ancient times. These prayers, according to church teaching, are beneficial for the departed and contribute to their salvation. As St. John Chrysostom wrote, "offerings for the departed are not in vain, prayers are not in vain, alms are not in vain: all this was established by the Holy Spirit, wishing that we receive benefit through each other." Likewise, the saints, having been born through their assumption to eternal life, continue to be in the church community and can act as prayer books for it and for individual believers who turn to them for intercession.
Thus, the doctrine of holiness contains overcoming the opposition of material and spiritual, created and uncreated, i.e. the main oppositions, which in pre-Christian views acted as absolute boundaries separating the divine and the human, the mortal and the immortal. The saints, being "friends of God" and intercessors for people before God, unite in this action with the angels, ie. disembodied, immaterial forces; thereby, the opposition of the material (material, bodily) and spiritual is overcome, and materiality ceases to be an obstacle to union with the Divine. At the same time, saints are those created beings who are attached to God, i.e. uncreated beginning, and thereby unite created humanity with uncreated Deity. These elements of the doctrine of holiness are formed into a consistent theological system, fully formulated in the 7th-8th centuries. Rev. Maximus the Confessor and St. John Damascus. Developing the doctrine of Divine energies, they talk about the penetration of these energies into human nature and about holiness as a result of such penetration. Since the opposition of the spiritual and the material is overcome in holiness, the saints are saved "bodily" (swmatikws), i.e. Both their flesh and their images (icons) are permeated with divine energies. This doctrine substantiates the veneration of saints (see) in general, as well as such forms as the worship of the relics and icons of saints.
The inscription on the gates of paradise: "Those who consider themselves saints, please do not disturb"
Not all saints who go to church.
English proverb
Holiness as a personality trait is the ability to establish an ideal relationship with God, to get rid of all bad qualities, to have real purity of heart, in which there is no envy and pride.
In ancient times, there was only one Man. His holiness was so great that even the angels were amazed at it, and deliberately descended from heaven to see: how, living on earth, can one become so like God? And once the angels said to God: - Lord, grant this person the gift of miracles! “I agree,” answered the Lord. - Ask him what he wants. And the angels asked the saint: - Do you want to give health with one touch of your hands? - No, - answered the saint. - Let the Lord Himself do it better. “Would you like to have such a gift of the word, by the power of which you would convert sinners to repentance? - No, this is the business of angels, not a weak person. I pray for the conversion of sinners, but I do not. - Maybe you want to attract to yourself with the radiance of virtue, and thus glorify God? - No, attracting to myself, I will distract people from God. - What do you want? The angels asked. - What more would I want? May the Lord not deprive me of His mercy! And with her I will have everything. But the angels continued to insist. - Well, - answered the saint, - I want to do good so as not to know about it myself. The angels were embarrassed, but then they decided that the shadow of this man, which he does not see, can also heal the sick, relieve sorrow and sorrow on earth. So it has been since then: wherever this saint appeared, his shadow covered the trampled roads with greenery, returned the water to dried up streams, flowers bloomed under it and people's tears dried up. And the saint simply walked the earth, spreading goodness around him, without knowing it.
Holiness is when you have a perfect relationship with God. Holiness is the essence of God. God's holiness is love, omnipotence, wisdom, righteousness, glory, greatness, and faithfulness to God. Holiness strives for God all his life, strives to enrich himself with virtues in the material world and, accordingly, get rid of the vicious qualities of the person. Viciousness cannot be hidden among people for a long time. Ears of envy, hatred, anger, and anger always stick out, no matter how you cover them with goodwill and friendliness.
One second of communication with a holy person can radically change the life of another person. Holiness speaks from a pure heart, truth comes from it, its words are weighty, fall right into the heart, therefore they are remembered and prompted to act. For holiness it makes no difference what confession a person is in. The condition for holiness is real purity of the heart.
There are 26 character traits of a saintly person:
- 1.fearlessness
- 2.purity of consciousness
- 3.development of spiritual knowledge
- 4. charity
- 5.composure
- 6.performing sacrifices
- 7. study of the "Vedas"
- 8.performing austerities
- 9.simplicity
- 10.non-violence
- 11. truthfulness
- 12.Lack of anger
- 13. self-denial
- 14. calmness (peacefulness)
- 15.Lack of desire to look for flaws in others
- 16.compassion for all living beings
- 17.no greed
- 18. gentleness (kindness)
- 19. humility
- 20.determination
- 21. Purposefulness
- 22.forgiveness
- 23. tenacity
- 24. cleanliness
- 25.no envy
- 26.Lack of desire for honor (modesty)
In the Bhagavad Gita (16: 1-3) it is said: “The Supreme Lord said: Fearlessness, purification of one's existence, cultivation in spiritual knowledge, charity, mastery of the senses, performing sacrifices, studying the Vedas, performing austerities, simplicity, refusal from violence, truthfulness, innocence, self-denial, calmness, lack of desire to speak evil, compassion for all living beings, lack of greed, gentleness, modesty, determination, purposefulness, ability to forgive, perseverance, purity, lack of envy and desire for honor - these are, O son of Bharata, the divine qualities of the righteous people endowed with divine nature. "
It is interesting that a person, having achieved perfection in one of these personality traits, pulls along all the others, acquires the breadth of the consciousness of holiness. At the same time, you should know that each personality trait has four different manifestations. For example, Purity of Consciousness:
Spiritual - Achieve the ability to see God and fully realize oneself as His servant. In goodness - To develop the qualities of a holy person. In passion - Consider your consciousness very pure, constantly pointing out this to everyone, and be proud of your learning. In ignorance - Out of ignorance to consider oneself to be God or His reincarnation, not understanding what qualities are inherent in God and what are his parts.
Another example: Pacification: Spiritual - One who has attained the Lord - attains peace. In goodness - Peace is the enjoyment of the world in oneself. In passion - a person becomes peaceful, experiencing temporary material happiness. In ignorance - Experiencing pacification under the influence of sleep, intoxicants, carnal pleasure, to the detriment of self-improvement.
Compassion: Spiritual A devotee of God shows compassion for those poor souls who are devoid of spiritual knowledge and enlightens them to help them gain spiritual knowledge. In goodness - According to the saints glorified by their generosity, the one who experiences pain at the sight of other people's suffering and rejoices in someone else's happiness - he has compassion and professes the eternal precepts of religion. In passion - Show pity only for loved ones and not notice the suffering of everyone else. In ignorance - Bind a person to vicious activities, out of ignorance, thinking that it will help him. The truly compassionate is the one who reveals to people the knowledge that makes them happy, not the one who nods his head in sympathy.
Petr Kovalev 2014
The gifts that the Lord gives to his chosen ones are very diverse, and since holiness is first of all their manifestation in people, then this concept itself includes many forms. Due to the fact that historically Christianity was divided into several directions, in each of them canonization, that is, the glorification of one or another saint of God, has certain features.
The concept of holiness came into use at the very dawn of Christianity. Then this category included the Old Testament forefathers, prophets, as well as the apostles and martyrs who accepted suffering and death in the name of Christ. In a later period, when Christianity became the state religion, they included pious rulers, kings, princes and many others.
Orthodox holiness is a system borrowed from Byzantium and further developed in Russia, according to which the saints of God, most clearly marked by His Gifts and who deserve canonization by their deeds, are divided into several ranks, or ranks. This division is very conditional, since in the days of earthly life the saint could be glorified by the most varied exploits.
Christ's Disciples Who Have Attained Holiness
The primacy in this honorable row is traditionally given to the apostles - the closest disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, endowed by Him with special gifts of preaching the Word of God, healing the suffering, casting out demons, and even raising the dead. Having taken upon themselves the great mission of spreading Christianity, almost all of them ended their lives with martyrdom.
From the Gospel, we learn that for the ministry of the Church created by Him, Jesus called twelve of His closest disciples, but later seventy more chosen ones joined them, and they were all canonized in the rank of holy apostles. The holiness of the apostles is special because it was attested by Jesus Christ Himself. It is known that in the middle of the 3rd century, that is, even before the victory of Christianity over paganism, services were performed in their honor, and in the 6th century a general holiday was established.
The history of Christianity also knows the names of a number of ascetics who gained fame through the spread of Christianity among tribes mired in paganism. Since in their ministry they were in many ways likened to the apostles, they were glorified by the Church in the rank of equal to the apostles and thus constituted a separate category. Their holiness is a feat of enlightening nations with the light of Christ's truth.
Pre-Christian saints
The next two categories of saints - prophets and forefathers, which have already been mentioned in this article, came to us from the Old Testament times. The first include the elect, on whom the Lord entrusted a special mission to reveal His will to people, or, in other words, to prophesy. A certain order of their veneration has been established, and several days a year (mainly in December) are dedicated to the memory of each of them.
The Old Testament includes several books of the prophets, the special value of which is that they contain a prediction about the inevitable appearance in the world of the Messiah, sent to deliver people from the curse of original sin. The significance of these saints is so great that one of them, the prophet Isaiah, who lived in the 8th century BC, is even called the “fifth evangelist”.
The forefathers include the pious patriarchs who lived in Old Testament times, as well as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary called the Godfathers - the righteous Joachim and Anna. Their holiness is the result of actions that contributed to the coming into the world of the Messiah, who brought people salvation from eternal death.
Holy successors of the apostles
The appearance on earth of the Son of God gave impetus to the emergence of a large host of saints who became the successors of the apostles and led the Christian communities. Those bishops who, being at the highest levels of pastoral service, have shown an example of high piety and selflessness, have been glorified by the church in the rank of saints for two millennia.
These included a large number of bishops, archbishops, metropolitans and patriarchs, who contributed to the strengthening of the faith and steadily resisted schisms and heresies. The most striking examples of such church hierarchs are St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Gregory the Theologian and a number of others.
It is known that the righteousness and piety revealed by the servants of God are often rewarded with gifts sent from above, one of which is the ability to work miracles. That is why, reading the lives of many saints, one can find descriptions of the miracles they have created. As a rule, these are the healing of the sick, the resurrection of the dead, the prediction of the future and the pacification of natural elements.
Good Martyrs of Christ
A special category is the ranks of holiness associated with suffering for Christ. These include those who, by their readiness to accept torture and death, testified to their faith in the victory of the Son of God over eternal death. The saints belonging to this very large group fall into several categories.
Those who were vouchsafed to endure the most grievous and prolonged torments are usually called great martyrs (saints - Panteleimon, George the Victorious, If such a voluntary sufferer turned out to be a bishop or priest, then he is called a holy martyr (Hermogenes, Ignatius the God-bearer) .A monk who accepted the torment of Christ for the faith and death, glorified in the rank of martyrs (Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna). There is also a category of martyrs. This category includes those who accepted death and torment at the hands of their own brothers in faith (holy princes Boris and Gleb).
Holiness Born in the Storms of the 20th Century
The host of Orthodox martyrs increased significantly in the 20th century, most of which became a period of persecution against the church, exceeding in its cruelty what it had to endure in the first centuries of Christianity. This period revealed to the world a whole galaxy of new martyrs and confessors who suffered as a result of mass repressions, but did not renounce the faith.
Among the confessors are those who continued to openly proclaim (profess) the faith, despite the threat of prison and even death. Unlike the martyrs, these people did not die a violent death, but nevertheless suffered severe persecution. Their holiness is a manifestation of self-sacrifice.
Practically all the decades of the atheist regime in Russia are filled with examples of such feats. The above categories can also be characterized as ranks of holiness, directly related to the suffering of Christ, since the saints glorified in them, enduring suffering, were likened to the Savior.
Saints who became like angels during their lifetime
This high title is evidence that, having renounced the vain world and extinguished the movement of passions in themselves, they became likened during their lifetime, that is, became like the angels of God. Their host is adorned with the names of the saints Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Seraphim of Sarov, Theophan the Recluse and many others.
Host of faithful rulers
The Orthodox Church also honors the memory of those of her children who, being at the pinnacle of power, used it to strengthen their faith and deeds of mercy. At the end of their life, they are numbered among the faithful. This category includes kings, queens, princes and princesses.
This tradition came to Russia from Byzantium, where emperors were actively involved in the life of the church and had broad powers in solving the most important religious issues. Nowadays, many are familiar with the icons depicting the noble princes Dmitry Donskoy, Alexander Nevsky and Daniel of Moscow, whose brows are decorated with a halo - a symbol of holiness.
The Righteous and Unmercenaries Who Shone in the Angelic Order
Righteousness is an integral part of the life of every saint, but even among them there are those who especially succeeded in this virtue and set an example for the edification of posterity. They are included in a separate order and glorified in the face of the righteous. The Russian Church knows a lot of such names - these are the righteous John of Kronstadt, Stefan Omsky and Alexy (Mechev). Laymen can also belong to them, for example, Admiral Ushakov and Simeon Verkhotursky.
One of the consequences of righteousness is the need for selfless service to others. The saints who have adorned their lives with this feat are called unmercenaries and also constitute an independent group. These include mainly doctors who professed the principle "every talent is given by God, and should be used in His glorification."
Their host is innumerable, and there is hardly a person who has not heard the names of such saints as the unmercenaries Panteleimon or Cosmas and Demyan. They are also canonized in the rank of great martyrs, which is a fairly frequent occurrence when one and the same saint glorifies God with various deeds.
Despised and Beaten Bearers of God's Truth
And finally, there is one more order, which has enjoyed special respect in Russia for many centuries - blessed. This form of holiness is highly unusual and in many ways paradoxical. Blessed, or, in other words, holy fools, in Russia from ancient times were called those who, under the guise of external madness, trampled on all generally accepted worldly values, including ostentatious external piety.
Often their behavior was so provocative that they were subjected not only to insults and humiliation from others, but also to beatings. Ultimately, however, such self-deprecation and voluntary suffering were seen as following the example of Christ. Among Russian saints, more than twenty people have been glorified as blessed, the most famous of whom are Xenia of Petersburg and Andrei of Constantinople.
The word "holiness" itself, in addition to its purely religious meaning, is often used in worldly life to denote objects and concepts that require a particularly respectful and even reverent attitude towards themselves. For example, hardly anyone will dispute the validity of such expressions as "the sanctity of motherhood" or "the holy memory of fallen heroes." There is no religious connotation in these examples, but nevertheless, the mention of holiness is always associated with manifestations of spiritual greatness and purity.
Question: Yuri Kirillovich, so that our striving for the purity of the Church of the Bride of Christ and striving for personal holiness is not opposed to the striving for unity, I propose to talk about what HOLINESS is.
Answer: The theme of holiness is inexhaustible. This is due to the fact that holiness is the essence of God. "I am holy." - says the Lord. A lion. 11:44. Isaiah describes a vision of the heavenly kingdom: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! The whole earth is full of His glory ”! Is. 6: 3. The Apostle John saw a similar thing: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, God the Almighty, who was, is and is to come." Open 4: 8.
The holiness of God the Father also shows the holiness of the Son, the holiness of Jesus Christ. The holiness of Jesus both in the Father's word on the day of baptism, “this is my beloved Son,” and in the Son's address to the Father: “Holy Father”! The holiness of Jesus Christ is that the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. The holiness of Jesus in his essential oneness with the Father. "We have seen His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father." The holiness of God the Father is also emphasized by the Spirit of God, which is revealed to us as the Holy Spirit. This name in a special way emphasizes the holiness of God. I deliberately mark the Trinity as God in three persons, in which holiness is clearly reflected.
We cite texts of Scripture that definitely reveal to us the Holy God. But it doesn't make it easier to give a clear description of Holiness. Holy means holy.
God's holiness is God's omnipotence.
The holiness of God is the wisdom of God.
The holiness of God is the righteousness of God.
The holiness of God is the glory of God.
The holiness of God is the greatness of God.
God's holiness is God's faithfulness.
The holiness of God is the love of God.
In this case, a person's holiness can arise only as belonging to the Holy God. “Therefore, if you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My inheritance from all nations, for the whole earth is Mine, and you will be with me a kingdom of priests and a holy people". Ex. 19: 5,6. The same is the case, for example, with the Sabbath day. “Do your business for six days, and the seventh day should be your saint, saturday rest to the Lord". Ex. 35: 2.
This is an act of God! No amount of human effort could make him holy. But God, with his power, performs an act of love and separates a person for Himself. He sanctifies it with Himself, and makes it holy. Everything that is dedicated to God becomes holy! “I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. So, be holy because I am holy... Lev 11:45.
God separates people for himself, and declares them to be saints, i.e. set apart for Himself. God gives them the Law, by keeping which they keep themselves holy. This is a prerequisite. The law includes the sacrifice of blood, the observance of moral standards, the observance of oneself in purity.
From this text, it is obvious that the power of God over these people, and the obedience of people to God, creates a condition for the holiness of people. God sanctifies them with Himself. “And God said:“ Don't come near here; take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. " Ex. 3: 5.
Just as the earth is holy because God sanctified it with Himself, so people become holy because God sanctified them with Himself. God lives among these people. People differ from the earth in that they have a will and God, being Almighty, calls people to voluntarily acknowledge His authority and fulfill His laws. God gives the Law, fulfilling which the people abide in holiness, and, breaking which, they are deprived of holiness. This is a short description of holiness as revealed to us in the Old Testament.
What happened with the coming of Christ to earth? After all, on the earth cursed for the sin of man, all people were sinners.
The True Man Christ, having fulfilled the Law, became a perfect sacrifice offered to God for all people. The Risen Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary with His Blood and paid for the sins of all people. The holy Lord thus removes the insurmountable barrier between the holy God and man. This obstacle is a sin. The wages of sin is death. The death of the Holy Christ became a sacrifice, the shed blood became a price, paying which, any person can receive the remission of sins, i.e. receive freedom from the power of sin, and free access to God the Father. Simply put, now every person who awakens the desire to turn to the holy God can take the Blood of Jesus Christ, take His holy Body, and come to God, ask Him for forgiveness. Taking His Blood and Body is simply believing in their reality and efficacy. To ask means to tell God about it, sometimes such an appeal to God is called prayer. The Blood and Body of Jesus Christ ample payment for all our sins. Once and for all. God in return gives such a person forgiveness, brings him into the Body of the Church, and fills him with the Holy Spirit.
The promise of antiquity is being fulfilled: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will give you a new spirit; And I will take a stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and I will make you walk in My commandments and observe and fulfill My statutes. " Ezek. 36:26, 27.
So I am saved, I am holy. After all, I am the temple of the Holy Spirit living in me. I am now a child of Heavenly Father. This is the Father's answer to the prayer of Christ: "May all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, so may they be one in Us, - may the world believe that You sent Me." John 17:21. Having received Christ, I am united with Him, and thus I am united with the Father. All the qualities inherent in the Son of God Jesus Christ have passed on to me. They are actually imputed to me. The right to be called and to be a child of God is imputed to me. "See what love the Father has given us so that we may be called and be children of God." John. 3: 1.
His holiness is imputed to me. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as an inheritance, in order to proclaim the perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light"; 1 Peter 2: 9.
His righteousness is imputed to me. His Sunday is imputed to me. His feelings are imputed to me. His love is imputed to me. His obedience is imputed to me. His humility is imputed to me. His meekness is imputed to me. All that is Christ, the true man, is imputed to me. It's like the Tablets of the Covenant were given to Moses and the people of God. These are the commandments, fulfilling which you will be holy! Now stone tablets were not used, but a new heart. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!"
After all, I have received and accept the Body of Christ and His Blood. After all, there is no other way out of sin and curse to go out, and to enter the Holy God. Only in Christ! Before such a gift of God's love, I fall on my face, and as Paul the apostle I whisper. I want nothing, everything is rubbish, everything is nothing. I want to abide in You, I want to know You, I want to be filled with Your holiness, Your love, Your fullness. I want to get to know You. I want to grow in You. I want to hide in You. And every approach to Him reveals in me that I am not yet perfect, I have not yet reached, as Paul the Apostle says, “I do not consider myself to have attained”. I also see how difficult it is to reject the lusts of the flesh, how difficult it is to overcome temptations, how difficult it is to just be honest. How impossible it is to be humble, how unable to love even your neighbors, not that enemies, how unable to lay down your life for your friends. I understand this in myself, I see next to me my brothers, who also reject carnal passions, struggle with temptations, fall and rise again, and I cannot judge them, I only pray for them, I support them in this struggle. I say, like an ancient prophet: "Everyone helps his friend and says to his brother:" Be strong! " Isa. 41: 6. Be strong brother!
Moreover, our immersion in Jesus takes place in the church, in communion, in the obligatory concelebration with fellow believers. Be strong brother!
“Therefore, I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every fatherland in heaven and on earth is named; rooted and confirmed in love, could comprehend with all the saints, which is latitude and longitude, and depth and height, and to comprehend the love of Christ that surpasses understanding, so that you will be filled with the fullness of God". Eph. 3: 14-19. On my knees I pray for my brothers! With all the saints. This condition is very important. With all the saints! To comprehend and be fulfilled!
Our holiness is only in the collective redeemed people - the church. This circumstance does not follow from the question, but it is extremely important. Christ creates a holy Church out of people. The Scripture presents an image of the church - the back of the stones, where every believer is a stone. Coming to Him…. Try to grind neighboring stones in this quality. Themselves, polish yourself, test yourself, achieve perfection. Do the logs in your own eye so as not to get into the eye of your neighbor. The stone will fall out, and it is no longer a part of the temple, but just a stone on the road, stumbling into feet. In this image of the church, unity is a matter of course.
Another image of the church is the body, the head of which is Christ, where every holy Christian is a member of the body. In this image, the Apostle Paul directly says: Will the hand say to the leg, whether the eye will say to the ear ... And in this image it is clearly visible. The hand is nothing outside the body. The eye is nothing outside the body. The leg is nothing outside the body. In this image, unity is a matter of course.
Another image of the church is the Vine, Christ, and the branches of the vine, members of the Church. And in this image, even more than in others, it is quite obvious that unity is a natural state, but no branch can blame another. My Father is a grower. He cuts off some branches so that it bears more fruit. Branches that do not bear fruit, He cuts off and throws them into the fire. And this image of the church shows unity as a matter of course.
The Apostle John wrote in this way: “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we are lying and do not act in the truth; if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. " 1 John 1: 5-7.
In one verse, the Holy Spirit is pleased to show the continuity of holiness and unity.
The terms "holy", "sacred", "holiness" mean the possession of Divine Grace. Holiness is inseparable from the core of Christian teaching - the concept of God. In Orthodoxy, God acts as a moral law that dictates a system of values \u200b\u200band a way of relationships between people.
Russian thinkers note that Westerners have historically been accustomed to cherishing their social status and living conveniences. And for a Russian person, even of a noble birth, this was unusual. The endless expanses of the country, the harsh climate, insecurity from the raids of nomads, the trials during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the constant threat of an attack from Europe - all this contributed to the aspiration of the Russian people to the just and eternal Kingdom of Heaven, to spiritual, and by no means to material values. The ideal of holiness became for the Russian person the highest moral ideal, the embodiment of enduring spiritual values \u200b\u200bin earthly life. For, as it is said in the Holy Scripture, "not by bread alone ...".
In Kievan Rus, Christian teaching, taken from Byzantium, was combined with the foundations of the spiritual worldview and cultural traditions of the Slavs that make up its population. As a result of this combination, a multifaceted spiritual power was formed, which is implied by the concept of the holiness of Russia. The concept of Russian holiness is complex and multifaceted; it includes the inner convictions of a Russian Orthodox person and their external manifestations at various levels - from the behavior of an individual to culture and the traditional structure of state life. The inner convictions of a Russian Orthodox person include his absolute acceptance of the Symbol of Faith and adherence to the basic commandments of the Old and New Testaments; veneration of the Cross of the Lord; acceptance of holiness as the highest criterion for external and internal beauty; special veneration of holy icons and unshakable faith in the protection of Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints through their miraculous icons and relics; the perception of the life of the saints as a role model, etc. External manifestations of holiness include the canons and the unique style of Russian icon painting; special attitude to the Orthodox church and the uniqueness of Russian temple architecture; sacraments, rites and customs of the Russian Orthodox Church; establishment of Orthodox holidays and traditions of their celebration; veneration of the Russian elders; reflection of holiness in works of literature and art and much, much more.
Already during the choice of a single new faith by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, capable of uniting the Slavic tribes into a powerful state of Kievan Rus, one of the fundamental arguments in favor of the Greek Orthodox faith was the feeling of beauty experienced by the ambassadors of the prince and the associated feeling of holiness from the divine service in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Constantinople. The acceptance of beauty as holiness is historically consonant with the Russian soul, its origin and development is inherent in the most unique Slavic civilization, which was fully formed by the 10th century.
In the future, this perception by the Russian people of beauty as holiness found its natural development in temple architecture, in the art and culture of Russia. Thus, in Russian temple architecture it was expressed in the high divine symbolism of the multi-domed Russian Orthodox churches, in the unique white-stone carving, in the wooden temples known all over the world, striking with their magnificence and art of ancient Russian masters, as well as in the unique original Russian hipped roof architecture.
In the internal structure of churches, holiness was reflected in the iconostasis, which replaced the usual altar barrier of Christian churches in the West and East. You already know that the iconostasis is a symbolic display of the assembly of the holy celestials who are face to face with the faithful attending the service. And to a large extent, with the expression of deep reverence for the holy faces, it is customary in the Russian Orthodox Church to perform divine services standing, with bows and bows to the ground, emphasizing the admiration of the Russian Orthodox person before the Greatness of God and before the holiness of those who stand with him.
In art, the perception of beauty as holiness and sublime grandeur was reflected in the formation of a unique Russian school of icon painting. Our ancestors well understood that the visual image has the strongest effect on the human soul. As Father Pavel Florensky put it, “God in Orthodoxy is not proved, but shown,” that is, an icon is a silent way of preaching from heart to heart. Throughout the history of baptism and the strengthening of the Orthodox faith in Russia, in parallel with the translation of the Bible into Church Slavonic, there was a process of forming the Russian Orthodox image as a visual formula of Divine Revelation.
Once the ambassadors of Prince Vladimir saw in Hagia Sophia an image of heaven on earth, an icon of the Kingdom of God, and this convinced them of the truth of the Greek Orthodox faith better than the words of divine services, which they did not understand. A thousand years later, the Russian Orthodox icon was officially recognized as a spiritual phenomenon of the Russian people. You will learn more about Russian iconography when you study the chapter "Orthodox Icon".
In addition, being surprisingly poetic, the Russian soul strove to give a special musical sound to beauty as sacredness. This was embodied in sacred music, which most accurately showed the high poetry of the Church Slavonic language.
The search for the most powerful sound expression of the holiness of the Russian soul led to the special role of bells in Russia and their diversity. As you know, only in Russian Orthodox churches the bell tower is combined with the temple, there are several bells of different sounding on it, allowing you to create truly Russian Orthodox bells.
By introducing national features into temple architecture and the interior decoration of an Orthodox church, developing a unique light and sublime style of Russian icon painting, developing national features of Russian Orthodox worship, supplementing it with new customs and rituals, the Russian Orthodox Church thereby firmly linked the concept of beauty as a manifestation of holiness with national self-awareness Russian people.
Another, no less important argument in favor of adopting the Orthodox faith in Russia was the stories of the Greek missionary about the content of the Bible. The basic commandments of the Old and New Testaments turned out to be consonant with a patient, gentle, closely connected with their native land and an open Slavic soul. It is not surprising that, given the unique ability of Russian self-awareness, everything perceived from the outside, the new gradually turns into national: the Symbol of Faith and the basic commandments of the Old and New Testaments very soon began to determine the inner self-awareness of the Russian "new" person. From time immemorial, from our distant ancestors, the call came to us: “Holy Russia! Keep the Orthodox Faith! " Historically, it so happened that our ancestors saw the historical purpose of Russia as a state in preserving the inviolability of the foundations of the Orthodox faith for the sake of saving the country and every Russian person, as well as saving the whole world from the coming of the Antichrist. This was the meaning of patriotism and loyalty to the Fatherland for the Russian people!
A special place in the acceptance of the holiness of the Russian land is occupied by the veneration of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, in whose name Orthodox churches were consecrated. The Russian people historically consider themselves to be under the special patronage of the Most Holy Theotokos, and for a long time Russia itself has been prescribed a special mission of protecting Orthodoxy from heresies and alien influences from other religions.
You know that immediately after the Baptism of Kievan Rus, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir dedicated Kiev as the capital of the state, and from him the entire Kievan Rus to the dominion of the Mother of God, consecrating the main Orthodox church in Kiev in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The Most Holy Theotokos in Russian consciousness is firmly associated with the most important Intercessor of Russia before God.
A lot of miracles of intercession are known, performed for Russia and the Russian people during the terrible battles and trials of the main shrine of Russia - the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The image of the Mother of God was first painted by the Apostle Luke from the Virgin Mary Herself during Her earthly life. You also know about the miracles performed in the name of the salvation of Russia by the Kazan icon of the Mother of God.
And the acquisition of the icon of the Mother of God "Reigning" during the abdication of the last Russian emperor became a sign of the special favor of the Mother of God to Holy Russia and the capture of Russia under the protection of the Mother of God. Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) said: "The Mother of God has always defended and pardoned Russia, punished and again returned Her love to people who went through suffering for the sake of their sins, purified their hearts by repentance and suffering."
Countless miracles are associated with many other icons of the Most Holy Theotokos, acquaintance with which awaits you when studying the chapter on the Orthodox icon.
Also, the concept of Russian holiness includes the veneration of holy angels in Russia. The Archangel or Aristratig Michael, Archangel Gabriel and the Guardian Angel received by every Orthodox person after baptism are especially revered in Russia. The veneration of holy angels - disembodied and immortal spirits, endowed by God with powers and abilities higher than those of man, is associated with the desire laid in the Russian man for centuries to save his soul, which is also incorporeal and immortal, similar to the angelic principle in man.
In addition, in the Russian Orthodox Church, a whole system of revered saints was developed, whose holiness evoked special admiration and veneration, they were asked for protection and their memory was honored, dedicating icons, churches, and prayers to them. Holy people are very often called the saints of God, since they pleased God with their righteous life on earth, and now, while in heaven, they pray to God for those living on earth, helping them. According to V. N. Krupin, saints are “people who store and transmit spiritual energy. It preserves both our soul and the spiritual life of the state. A state without a soul is doomed to ruin. The prayer of the saints is the main thing in the spiritual life. It is aimed at the creation and power of the state. " You will get acquainted in detail with the Russian saints when studying the final paragraph of this chapter.
One of the characteristic features of Russian holiness is eldership, which became especially widespread in the 19th and early 20th centuries. An elder is a monk who wholeheartedly accepted the teachings of Jesus Christ and attained personal holiness through spiritual strength, a prayerful lifestyle and complete self-denial. Those who got confused in their everyday affairs, who were looking for justice, went to the elders for consolation and healing from physical and spiritual ailments, for advice and guidance. It was the elders who formed that “mysterious Russian soul” that admired and amazed other peoples with its nobility, spiritual strength and purity.
FM Dostoevsky defined the place of eldership in Russian holiness in this way; “... for the humble soul of the Russian commoner, tormented by work and grief, and most importantly, by the perpetual injustice and perpetual sin, both our own and the world’s, there is no greater need and consolation than how to find a shrine or a saint, fall before him and worship him: “If we have sin, unrighteousness and temptation, then all the same there is on earth somewhere, somewhere holy and higher; on the other hand, the truth is ... it means that she does not die on the earth, but, therefore, someday she will come to us and will reign over the whole earth, as promised. " The founder of the Russian eldership was the great old Paisiy Velichkovsky (1722-1794). The basis of his teaching was "Philokalia" - a collection of teachings of the Church Fathers about the cleansing of the soul from passions and sins, the means and methods of ascending to this cleansing, as well as about the Lord's prayer. This collection was translated into Church Slavonic and published in Russia in 1793 under the title Dobrotolyubie.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the disciples of Elder Paisius restored the old monastery Optina Pustyn, which had fallen into disrepair near the town of Kozelsk, Kaluga province. And already under the next great elder of Optina Hermitage, Leonida (1768-1841), a mass pilgrimage to Optina Hermitage began, and the monastery itself became the center of the Russian eldership. Elder Leonidas had a great influence on ordinary laity; peasants and townspeople. The people said about him: “He is for us, the poor, more than our own father. We are, without him, full orphans ”. The Kaluga bishop, due to a misunderstanding, forbade Elder Leonid to accept pilgrims in his monastery cell, but people stood for days at the elder's cell and at the gate of the monastery in line for advice, blessing and a simple prayer of the elder for the health of their loved ones. Therefore, in response to the prohibition, Elder Leonid replied: “Do with me what you want! Even though you send me to Siberia: look at these patients - can I refuse them the prayer they only hope for, which they are waiting for and which, by their faith and zeal for the Mother of God, gives them healing ?! "
Russian people of all classes, including royal families and the tsars themselves, sacredly believed the elders. N.V. Gogol, A.K.Tolstoy, F.M.Dostoevsky addressed the elders of Optina Pustyn. It is known that before his death in October 1910, Leo N. Tolstoy, excommunicated from the official Church, tried to get to Optina Pustyn ', but on the way he fell ill and had to get off the train. He immediately sent a telegram to the Pustyn with a request to send an elder to him, and this request was immediately granted.
The Optina elders taught the Russian people the formula of Russian holiness: "Pray and believe, hope and endure, forgive and love." Read in the additional reader about some of the famous elders of Optina Pustyn.
At all times, Russian philosophical thought and Russian literature exerted a decisive influence on the formation of the foundations of the holiness of the Russian land, as well as on the upbringing and development in Russian people of high spirituality and morality, based on the observance of the canons of the Orthodox faith, because it is said in the Gospel: “In the beginning it was Word..."
