Mission to the parish in the Russian Orthodox Church. Abstract: The mission of the Church in the world

Having experienced different historical eras together with its people, throughout its history the Russian Orthodox Church has been actively engaged in social activities in the field of labor and employment, the development of various forms of charity and missionary activity, the daily education of the moral sense of the people, the education of the people and the establishment of the institution of Russian school education . The analysis of the charitable activities of the Church in the historical past of Russia, carried out in the previous section, allows us to assert that the role of the Russian Orthodox Church as a social institution in the life of the state and society was significant.

According to Archpriest Alexander Stepanov, Chairman of the Charity Department of the St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, “in the early 90s, the state was faced with a wave of social problems that it had not known before. In addition, the usual command-administrative methods of solving these problems turned out to be unacceptable due to the advent of glasnost. This period coincided with the beginning of reforms in both the social security and health care systems. Problems accumulated like a snowball. The state often imitates social activity, formally creating its own institutions that designate activities in one direction or another, but without working to achieve a specific result.”

“Another problem,” according to Father Alexander, “is that the situation in Russia is characterized by the absence of a strategic perspective for the development of the state... The state lives by solving today’s problems. Therefore, we find a lot of uncertainty in the legislation on religious organizations. For example, an analysis of laws regulating the interaction of the church and the state in the social sphere (“On freedom of conscience and religious organizations”, “On non-profit organizations”, “On social services population", "On charitable activities") shows the lack of development of interaction mechanisms and the lack of interest of the state in involving the Church in solving social problems in society."

One of the main reasons for many social problems that impede the development of modern Russian society is the loss of the spiritual and moral foundations that have developed in Russian society over many centuries and are characteristic of our people.

“No human aspirations: neither the power of power together with its material basis, nor education and science, nor the power of the state and army - by themselves are capable of making a person decent and happy. For this, only the material component is not enough; order in the soul is needed, mental well-being, which a person gains only when the powers of the soul are subordinated to the laws of morality and moral standards. Violation of the moral law leads a person and society to suffering to the same extent as violation or neglect of the laws of the physical world. When showing care for a person, it is important to realize that a person embraces both material and spiritual nature,” writes Archbishop of Tobolsk and Tyumen Dimitry (Kapalin).

In various socio-historical conditions, including at the present time, the Church remains the most stable institution, possessing the organizational and spiritual-moral potential to provide various types helping the socially vulnerable part of society.

“The modern status of the Russian Orthodox Church,” concludes Archbishop Dimitry, “is, first of all, the result of its new relationship with the state. These relations are conditioned and inextricably linked with the processes of formation of the rule of law and the democratization of society, the implementation of human rights, which serve as an incentive to increase the social activity of society and the establishment of mutual understanding and cooperation between people, regardless of their relationship to religion and the Russian Orthodox Church. Currently, the majority of church hierarchs and ordinary clergy are in the position of a new understanding of modern socio-economic and socio-political problems that arise in the process of development and change in our society.”

Religion, reflecting a person’s understanding of the world, including the social one, being the dominant type of social consciousness in certain historical communities, contains a capacious system of detailed knowledge about the structure of social life as the embodiment of divine conduct. In the Middle Ages in Christian Europe, the prevailing opinion was that Revelation contained all the specific instructions regarding social order, the structure and nature of power, the relationship between master and servant, debtor and creditor, and family life. The nature and specific forms of power, the state, and legal norms were derived from the Holy Scriptures. The secularization of society established the idea of ​​the state as a process and the result of the activities of the people themselves. However, problems of social life are still given a significant place in the religious system of views on the world and not only in ideological or theological terms. Moreover, research shows that there is modern trend shifting the emphasis in the activities of religious centers and organizations from direct worship to diakonia - service to society and people. Service as a religious activity is carried out in the spiritual and practical spheres. Social service in the spiritual sphere consists of the development of social religious ideas, the systematization of theological dogmas about the life of society and man, the composition of theological works on problems of renewal modern church. Practical religious service is focused on solving difficult social problems of modern society and, thereby, realizing the divine plan for the world. Social service is one of the factors in the sustainable development of the state itself.

This new role for social service contributes to its formation into a new powerful social institution with all its inherent attributes - the institution of social service.

At the same time, the history of the development of the Christian church clearly confirms that in society the church is effective only when there is enough “testimony of Christians,” which should manifest itself in the sphere of work, profession, study, housing, free time, and friendly pastime. If praxis is absent in the life of Christians, then the church cannot fill the spiritual sphere of society, which leads to the penetration and establishment of other forces in society, as well as to a change in the legally guaranteed position of the church in the state.

Prerequisites for the development of social activities of the Church

At the same time, the Church has always strived to alleviate human suffering, for hunger, cold, and loneliness can harden the human heart and make it rough. Fulfilling the commandment of Christ the Savior: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36) is the responsibility of not only every Christian, but also the entire Church. The ministry of mercy has always been one of the most important aspects of Christian service and Christian preaching. It must be said that the most effective social programs have always been carried out by the Church, because the religious motivation for charity is different from the secular. Charity for the church worldview is not only a “solution to social problems,” but rather the fulfillment of God’s commandment of mercy.

According to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the “weapons” of the Church are prayer, word, and conviction. It is not the Church’s fault that the voice of the Church has often been silenced over the past decade. We are often asked why the Church did not react in any way to the problem of Chechnya? Why is the Church not interested in salary arrears? Why is the Church silent about the threats of drug addiction and alcoholism? We answer: The Church is not silent. Her voice is silenced. Thank God, now this problem is gradually becoming a thing of the past. The Church always tries to stop evil to the extent of the strength and capabilities that it possesses...

The mission of the Church is not to destroy or move backwards towards outdated historical realities, but to transform existing reality on the basis of God-ordained love. Today, reality poses new challenges to the Church and Christians, and we should readily meet them, armed with the Tradition of the Church, its wisdom and experience of a grace-filled life. The faithfulness of the first Christians to this mission made the pagan Roman Empire Christian, filled the dilapidated ancient culture with Christian content, and gave birth to what we call Christian civilization. I am deeply convinced that fidelity to this mission of modern Christians is capable of realizing the ideal of Holy Rus' within the framework of current historical reality.”

Main sources and state of social service

Social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church can be defined as a system of its interactions with other social subsystems, during which the socially significant functions of a given social institution are realized. This activity is carried out in the form of social service of the Russian Orthodox Church, the most important goals of which are to introduce the ideals of morality and humanism into society; strengthening law-abidingness and patriotism in society; revival of traditional Russian culture.

Real problems of society and people in Lately are increasingly reflected in ideological systems. Including religious ones. Documents of religious organizations devoted to social problems contain an assessment of the entire diversity of social situations, economic, political, interstate, military, cultural and other issues. Religious organizations do not remain aloof from these problems. In addition to offering real practical help to those in need as a fulfillment of their original function, they strive to expand their influence on public consciousness, caring for the morality of humanity as a factor in its survival.

The social dimension of spirituality is expressed through the solidarity of all people of good will in multiplying goodness in society. Social service is focused on increasing good in society. The concept of “social service” is defined as a set of organized forms of social activity of religious organizations aimed at implementing a religious mission in public practice.

Ministry is the activity of individuals, groups, institutions, organizations that can be both ecclesiastical and non-church in nature. Providing social assistance and carrying out social work most often requires special training and involves activity in non-religious areas: economic, political, industrial, professional, government, scientific, artistic. Thus, service appears as a non-religious (in terms of objective content, subject and results) activity. However, one of the motives for this service is a religious motive - to act for the good of man - the image of God. Charity acts as a realization of the divine plan.

When implementing church social programs and concepts, first of all, it is necessary to rely on the Holy Scriptures and the works of the Church Fathers, as discussed in the first section. In this section we will focus on documents from a later time.

Are of great importance « Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox

The provisions formulated in the document reflect official the position of the Moscow Patriarchate in the sphere of relations with the state and secular society. It is these provisions that are proposed to guide the Orthodox social organizations, which were created to solve pressing problems, the instructions of this document should also be used in pastoral practice related to new phenomena in the life of society.

“Fundamentals…” is “a principled, theological answer to the problems of church-state and church-social relations, intended for all our pastors, for the entire flock. This is a basic document, designed not for a year or two, but at least for the coming decades... This is a long-term program of public service of the Church, based on the Orthodox theological understanding of the position of the Church in a pluralistic secular society.”

To understand the importance of adopting the “Fundamentals…” in the development of church social service, let us turn to the speech delivered by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' at the opening of the IX International Christmas Readings on January 21, 2001 in the report “The Church and the World on the Threshold of the New Millennium.”

In his opinion, modern civilization has made man’s earthly existence easier, but has also confronted him with many new and serious problems that need to be solved. “The Russian Church freed itself from the shackles of many years of captivity and set out on the path of broad public service, fulfilling the behest of the Holy Apostle Paul: “ admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone"(1 Thess. 5:14). To satisfy the spiritual needs of modern society, not to deceive its hopes and expectations, to support and develop its creative potential, to revive and strengthen the moral principles of life, to promote the salvation of every human soul - these are the most important historical tasks facing us. Many disadvantaged, suffering people, deprived of a full and dignified life, are crying out for help. And the Church, rising after long decades of persecution, although in a difficult situation, strives with all its might to help them. She is looking for every opportunity to collaborate with the state and society in matters of goodness and mercy. These things cannot be put off - we must remember that the hand of the giver will not become scarce. " Always seek the good of each other and everyone."(1 Thess. 5:15).

“It is goodness and mercy that the whole world lacks now... The threshold of the new millennium is a favorable time to free ourselves from the inertia of the past that weighs us down, from the spirit of malice, enmity and hatred that divides people and destroys the spiritual harmony of the human community. " Church name, says Saint John Chrysostom, there is a name not for division, but for unity and harmony... With agreement, small things increase, and with discord, great things decrease" Both the Church and the state have many joint tasks of both national and universal significance. It is possible to approach their solution only together... The Church is called to grieve over the needs of the people, to testify to the great responsibility of rulers before God, people and history. In every good deed, the Church supports the efforts of the authorities, resolutely stands for its consolidation and strengthening, but it cannot help but condemn morally ill-considered actions, passivity and inaction, and cannot make concessions to the forces of evil... Our people now especially need people capable of sacrificial deeds in the name of love - love for God, the Fatherland and neighbors."

For the further active development of the social activities of the Church, the position formulated in the section “Basic theological provisions” is important.

It is important that a Christian should not disdain the life of the world around him. The Church calls on its children to actively participate in public life, but at the same time to such participation that is based on the principles of Christian morality, which serves as convincing evidence of the effectiveness of the Christian faith.

The document says the following about this: “Life in the Church, to which every person is called, is unceasing service to God and people. All of God's people are called to this service. Members of the body of Christ, while participating in general service, also perform their own special functions. Each one is given a special gift to serve all. “Serve one another, each with the gift that you have received, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”(1 Pet. 4:10).”<…>“The Savior says about Himself: “ I am in your midst, like an employee"(Luke 22:27). Service for the salvation of the world and man cannot be limited to national or religious boundaries, as the Lord Himself clearly speaks about this in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Moreover, members of the Church come into contact with Christ, who bore all the sins and sufferings of the world, meeting every hungry, homeless, sick, and prisoner. Helping those who suffer is, in the full sense, help to Christ Himself, and the eternal destiny of every person is connected with the fulfillment of this commandment (Matthew 25:31-46). Christ calls on His disciples not to disdain the world, but to be “ salt of the earth" And " light of the world». <…>“Fulfilling the mission of saving the human race, the Church does this not only through direct preaching, but also through good deeds aimed at improving the spiritual, moral and material state of the world around us. For this purpose, it interacts with the state, even if it is not of a Christian nature, as well as with various public associations and individuals, even if they do not identify themselves with the Christian faith. Without setting the direct goal of converting everyone to Orthodoxy as a condition for cooperation, the Church hopes that joint charity will lead its co-workers and surrounding people to the knowledge of the Truth, will help them maintain or restore fidelity to God-given moral standards, will move them to peace, harmony and prosperity, in conditions whom the Church can best carry out her saving work."

An important source of information about what problems the Church is currently working on can be considered its official website: Patriarchia.ru. (http://www.patriarchia.ru/). The official position of individual dioceses, accordingly, can be found on diocesan websites.

On these sites you can find documents of the Bishops' Councils, which sets out a general church view of certain social problems. For example, the Position of the Russian Orthodox Church on the reform of family law and problems of juvenile justice, the Concept for combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, and current environmental issues have been formulated.

The analysis of Orthodox media requires special attention from the point of view of considering social problems.

For example, a large number of articles devoted to social issues can be found on the thematic website “Miloserdie.ru”, on the website “Orthodoxy and Peace” (http://www.pravmir.ru/), and on forums. But we must be quite careful, since the individual opinion of a priest or layman may not coincide with the official position of the Church, or the official position may not be clearly formulated. At the same time, many articles are interesting and can provide food for thought, since they sometimes contain living and relevant experience, illuminating daily life ordinary people. There are also articles dedicated to the discussion of new bills. They reflect an attempt to harmonize and compare, to find out what is common and how the state position and the position of the Church differ.

It seems that in modern Russia the most promising is the social model of state-church relations, built on the basis of constant cooperation between the state, church, as well as other social institutions and public organizations. This model is based on social partnership and constructive dialogue with all social institutions and strata of Russian society.

One of the most important places in this model is occupied by social work institutes,“including the entire range of social services and institutions that provide assistance to the population (official, unofficial, state, non-state, voluntary-public). Each social institution has its own specific tasks.

Specially created institutions of assistance and protection (formalized institutions of social work) include: state institutions social protection population, education, healthcare, cultural institutions, Armed forces, etc.

Non-state formalized institutions of social work include: churches, public organizations, charitable foundations, industrial enterprises.

Family (relatives), neighborhood, friendship, and private philanthropists are considered as informal institutions of assistance. They can act either independently or provide assistance to government and non-government organizations.”

The interaction of social structures should become the norm not only in the practical but also in the scientific sphere, which is due to the need to apply a whole range of knowledge and skills to solve social problems. “By its nature, social work is an interdisciplinary and integrative science, which implies cooperation between representatives of various disciplines in solving complex problems of man and society and technologies for resolving them.”

Ways to solve social problems

There are two approaches to solving social problems: Western and Eastern.

In the West, the main approach to solving social problems is systemic. It, of course, has its positive aspects: effectiveness, visible well-being. The main feature of this approach is that the results can be “touched”: to solve social issues, completely material methods of solving them, built into the system of socio-political and economic management of Western states, have been and are being used.

The Eastern approach to solving social problems is the perception and application of the divine vision of the essence of the problem as the true source of identifying its root cause. Here the ethical component is a priority, and the earthly comes into subordination to the divine.

The solution of social problems is carried out by the Orthodox Church precisely with aspiration to eternity. And if the Western world, globalizing, draws the entire universe into these processes, imposing its values ​​and leaving no choice for national and spiritual identity, then, accordingly, there is an attempt to artificially replace priorities, which cannot but lay the foundations for future conflicts.

Prospects for the development of the Church’s social activities in solving social problems

In such a multinational and multi-confessional country as Russia, it is possible to ensure an effective system of church social service only in the conditions of such state-church relations in which the state will not delegate its direct social functions to the Orthodox Church. It is necessary to take into account the fact that the modern Russian Orthodox Church, after 70 years of stagnation in its development, has not recovered to this day - neither in personnel, nor in scientific, nor in property terms. At the same time, the number of social problems in society has increased. The Church today, without the help of the state, is unable to independently cope with the colossal volume of social needs of Russian society.

Today there are a huge number of social problems in solving which the Church could effectively help the state and society. These are education, protection of the family, motherhood and childhood, spiritual, cultural, moral and patriotic education of children and youth, assistance to prisoners and rehabilitation of those released from prison, the fight against such social ills as alcoholism and drug addiction, and much more.

Not without the participation of the Church, the threat of civil war was averted in 1993. With the participation of the Church, it was possible to avoid the extremes of division between the peoples of the disintegrated Soviet Union. Moreover, it is the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the post-Soviet space that allows us to hope that the destruction of the historical community of people that has developed over many years is not an irreversible phenomenon. The Church also carries out the mission of reconciliation between nations involved in hostility, for mutual understanding and mutual respect are the only way to guarantee a lasting and just peace. In particular, the mediation efforts of the Moscow Patriarchate contributed greatly to overcoming tensions between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In modern crisis conditions, joint activities of the Church (including at the diocesan level) - on the one hand, and the state, society and individuals - on the other hand, aimed at solving social problems of society, can significantly contribute to improving the situation in social sphere of the Russian state.

The major challenge of diakonia today is to find new forms of social service that meet the needs of individuals, families, and communities while promoting social justice at the local, national, regional, and global levels. One of the main forms of public service of the church is the establishment and development of its social partnership both with the state and with other structures - charitable, educational, scientific, cultural and others.

Social partnership between the state and religious organizations will expand the latter’s ability to work in the field of mercy and charity, receiving the necessary support in the form of tax and other benefits, logistics and subsidies, financing on a competitive basis for the charitable programs they have developed, etc.

Comments on some social issues

National question

On the one hand, Orthodox ethics is disgusted by the division of peoples into better and worse. When working with representatives of national minorities, migrants, refugees, it is necessary to remember that for us, as Christ’s servants, there is neither a Greek nor a Jew, that the curse of the nations in the form of the division of languages ​​during the Babylonian Pandemonium was overcome on the day of Pentecost, when the Disciples received the gift of preaching Gospels in other languages. However, the division of humanity into nations was not completely abolished by the Lord. The existing barriers are designed to preserve the identity of nationalities in order to preserve all the best in their traditions and culture, and not to “infect” others with their negative national traits. Concepts such as patriotism, nationalism and racism should be distinguished.

If the first means love for one’s people, which does not exclude a positive attitude towards representatives of other nations, then nationalism is characterized by a negative attitude towards foreigners due to a painful, exaggerated sense of one’s national identity. Racism is a worldview that asserts the racial inequality of people, i.e. biological sign.

A Christian’s attitude to patriotism as a virtue, to nationalism as a natural phenomenon, which, however, must be overcome, to racism as a heresy.

Labor and property

From the point of view of the Orthodox Church, work has been a person’s calling since the moment of his creation, when God blessed Adam to cultivate the land, and property, as the fruits of labor, should belong to a person by right, because it is a necessary condition for his existence. However, these questions constantly require clarification. After the Fall, work turned from a blessing into a punishment and acquired signs of such - “heaviness and pain.” Hard work, devoid of the element of creativity in a broad sense, is not beneficial for a person and does not contribute to his spiritual and personal growth. In Church Slavonic, the word “labor” has a negative meaning. So, in the psalms we read: “...iniquity and labor are in the midst of it, and unrighteousness, and from its hundreds of usury and flattery do not fail” (Ps. 54). The idea that only the worker is worthy of food: “...he who does not work does not eat” is absolutely unacceptable for a Christian, for it is a blasphemous distortion of the words of St. ap. Paul from his second letter to the Thessalonians: “...For while we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone is unwilling to work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). This moral maxim is balanced by the context: “But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing good” (2 Thessalonians 3:13), which, according to the interpretation of St. Theophan the Recluse is a call to do charity to people who are unable to work independently.

The human right to property is protected by the Old Testament (the commandments “Thou shalt not steal”, “Thou shalt not covet...”). Even under the conditions of “early Christian communism,” when “no one called anything of his property ...” (Acts 4:32), the right of ownership is not officially abolished. When ap. Peter denounces Ananias, he states: “What you owned was not yours, and what was purchased by sale was not in your power?” (Acts 5:3).

The author of the encyclical “Rerum novarum”, Pope Leo XIII, derives the right to property from natural law. Man differs from animals, first of all, in the ability to mentally combine the past, present and future, says the pontiff, - in connection with this, a person can foresee what he will need in the future and make the necessary supplies.

Pope Leo XIII

However, the Lord in the Gospel calls on the disciples to refuse to use this advantage of man over animals: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren't you much better than them? (Matt. 6:26).

In the Sermon on the Mount and other Gospel passages, the Lord calls to seek, first of all, the Kingdom of Heaven and His Truth, which can be hindered by excessive attachment to earthly goods (Luke 18:25). But the Lord calls for using the available blessings to acquire “friends from mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:9), to “become rich in God” (Luke 12:20), etc.

Crime, punishment, correction

The Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church says:

“A crime committed and convicted under the law requires a fair punishment. Its meaning is to correct a person who has broken the law, as well as to protect society from the criminal and to suppress his illegal activities. The Church, without becoming a judge to a person who has broken the law, is called upon to take care of his soul. That is why she understands punishment not as revenge, but as a means of internal cleansing of the sinner.”

Care for the soul of a convicted person by a pastor without help in adapting a person to social life after his release cannot be complete and effective. Therefore, everything that is written for pastors in this section also applies to church social workers.

The Church can help solve problems in the following areas:

1. Peacemaking at the international, interethnic and civil levels, promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between people, nations and states.

2. Concern for the preservation of morality in society.

For example, deformation of family and marital relations.

The current demographic situation in Russia and the main trends in the development of family and marriage relations indicate crisis phenomena in this social institution. These negative trends, along with other reasons, are determined by what kind of family model takes place in modern Russian society and how it is consistent with Orthodox ideas about the family.

The Church of Christ lives " in the world", but she " not of the world"(cf. John 17:11 and 14-15). The Church is a sign and image of the Kingdom of God in history, preaching the gospel of “ new creature"(2 Cor. 5:17), about " new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells"(2 Peter 3:13), about a world in which " God will wipe away every tear from my eyes of people , and there will be no more death; there will be no more crying, no crying, no sickness"(Rev. 21:4-5).

The Church already lives by this aspiration and anticipates it especially during the celebration of the Divine Eucharist, gathering “ together"(1 Cor. 11:20) the scattered children of God (John 11:52) without distinction of race, gender, age, social or other status into one body, where " there is no longer Jew or Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; no male or female"(Gal. 3:28, cf. Col. 3:11), into a single reality of reconciliation, peace and love.

This anticipation " new creature", the transformed world, the Church also lives in the person of her saints, who, through asceticism in Christ, already in this life showed the image of the Kingdom of God, proving and confirming that the aspiration of peace, justice and love is not a utopia, but " implementation of the expected"(Heb. 11:1), achievable by the grace of God and through the spiritual achievement of man.

Finding constant inspiration in this aspiration and anticipation of the Kingdom of God, the Church does not remain indifferent to the problems of man in every era, but shares his concerns and pressing problems, taking upon herself, like her Lord, pain and wounds, the cause of which is the evil operating in the world, and, like the Good Samaritan, in a word "patience and consolation"(Rom. 15:4, Heb. 13:22) and pouring oil and wine on his wounds with efficacious love (Luke 10:34). Her word addressed to the world is not intended primarily to judge and condemn the world (cf. John 3:17 and 12:47), but to offer it as guidance the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, hope and confidence that the last word in history is not about evil, no matter what guise it appears, and that it must not be allowed to direct its course.

Based on these principles, the cumulative experience and teaching of its patristic, liturgical and ascetic tradition, the Orthodox Church shares the concerns and anxieties of the people of our time regarding the pressing problems troubling the modern world, and wishes to contribute to their resolution so that the peace of God may reign in the world, “ which is beyond all reason"(Phil. 4:7), reconciliation and love.

A. Dignity human personality

1. The dignity of the human person, resulting from the creation of man in the image of God to participate in the fulfillment of the Divine plan for man and the world, was a source of inspiration for the Fathers of the Church, who delved into the mystery of the Divine economy. The statement of Saint Gregory the Theologian about man is characteristic: “Creator” creates, as it were, a kind of second world, great in small things, places on earth another angel, a worshiper made up of different natures, a spectator of the visible creation, a witness to the secrets of the intelligible creation, a king over what is on earth, subordinate to the heavenly kingdom... a living being, here prepared and transported to another world and (which is the end of the mystery) through the desire for God achieving deification"(Homily 45, On Holy Easter, 7. PG 36, 632). The purpose of the incarnation of the Word of God is the deification of man . Christ, having renewed the old Adam in Himself (cf. Eph. 2:15), “ He formed man in Himself, the firstfruits of our hope"(Eusebius of Caesarea, Proof in favor of the Gospel 4, 14. PG 22, 289).

For just as the old Adam contained the entire human race, so the new Adam contains the entire human race. : « The Only Begotten became man in order to<…>to bring together and return to its original state the lost race, that is, humanity"(Cyril of Alexandria, Interpretation of the Gospel of John, book 9, PG 74, 273D-275A). This teaching of the Church is the source of every Christian aspiration to preserve the dignity and greatness of man.

2. On this basis, it is necessary to develop inter-Christian cooperation in all directions to protect human dignity and preserve peace, so that the peacemaking efforts of all Christians become more significant and effective.

3. Universal recognition of the high value of the human person may be a prerequisite for broader cooperation in the field of peacekeeping. The Orthodox Churches are called upon to promote interreligious dialogue and cooperation, and thanks to it, to overcome any manifestations of fanaticism, for the sake of strengthening friendship between peoples, the triumph of freedom and peace throughout the world for the benefit of every person, regardless of race and religion. Of course, this cooperation excludes both syncretism and attempts to dominate one religion over others.

4. We are convinced that both " co-workers with God"(1 Cor. 3:9) We can develop locally, nationally and internationally a joint service for the benefit of humanity with all people of good will who strive for a godly world. This service is a commandment of God (Matt. 5:9).

B. About freedom and responsibility

1. One of the highest gifts of God to man, both as a specific bearer of the image of the personal God, and as a member of the community of individuals, in the unity of the human race, by grace, reflecting the life and communication of the Divine Persons in the Holy Trinity, is the gift of freedom. " He who created man in the beginning made him free and autocratic, limiting him only to the law of the commandment.”(St. Gregory the Theologian, Word 14, About love for the poor, 25. PG 35, 892Α). Freedom allows a person to succeed in ascending to spiritual perfection, but at the same time it also includes the danger of disobedience, leaving subordination to God and, through this, the Fall, the tragic consequence of which is the existence of evil in the world.

2. The consequence of this evil is the prevailing modern life imperfections and shortcomings: worldliness, violence, loose morals, such negative phenomena, such as drug and other types of addiction observed among part of modern youth, racism, the arms race, wars and the social disasters that arise as a result of them, oppression of certain social groups, religious communities and entire nations, social inequality; restriction of human rights in the field of freedom of conscience, in particular religious freedom, disinformation and manipulation of public opinion; economic backwardness, uneven distribution or complete absence of the necessary goods of life, hunger of millions of people, forced deportations of the population or human trafficking, influx of refugees, environmental destruction, uncontrolled use of genetic biotechnologies and biomedical procedures in relation to the beginning, continuation and end of human life - all this brings endless anxiety in the life of modern humanity.

3. In the face of this situation, which has led to the degradation of the concept of the human person, the duty of the Orthodox Church today is to reveal the truth of freedom in Christ through preaching, theology, worship and pastoral activity. " Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial; everything is permissible for me, but not everything edifies. No one seeks his own, but each [the benefit] of another... for why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience?”(1 Cor. 10:23-24, 29) . Freedom without responsibility and love ultimately leads to the loss of freedom.

B. About peace and justice

1. From time immemorial, the Orthodox Church has recognized and proclaimed that peace and justice occupy a central place in the life of peoples. The revelation of Christ itself is characterized as “ gospel of peace"(Eph. 6:15), for Christ, " pacifying...Blood of the cross"(Col. 1:20) all, " preached peace...to those far and near"(Eph. 2:17). He became " our world"(Eph. 2:14). This world, " which is beyond all reason"(Phil. 4:7), as the Lord Himself said before the Crucifixion to His disciples, is broader and more significant than the peace that promises peace: " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you: not as the world gives, I give to you"(John 14:27). For the peace of Christ is the mature fruit of the union of everything in Christ: the manifestation of the dignity and greatness of the human person as the image of God, the manifestation of the organic unity in Him of the human race and the world, the universality of the principles of peace, freedom and social justice and, finally, the bearing of the fruits of Christian love among people and peoples of the world. True peace is the fruit of the triumph on Earth of all these Christian principles. This is peace from above, for which the Orthodox Church always prays in its daily prayers, asking him from God Almighty and Hearing the prayers of those who come to Him with faith.

2. From the above it becomes clear why the Church, “ as the Body of Christ"(1 Cor. 12:27), always prays for the peace of the whole world, which, according to Clement of Alexandria, is synonymous with justice ( Stromata 4, 25. PG 8, 1369-72). And Saint Basil the Great adds: “ I cannot convince myself that without mutual love and without peace with everyone, as far as it is in my power, I can be called a worthy servant of Jesus Christ» ( Letter 203, 2. PG 32, 737). As the same holy father writes, this goes without saying for a Christian: “ Nothing is more characteristic of a Christian than to create peace» ( Letter 114. PG 32, 528). The peace of Christ is the mysterious power that flows from the reconciliation of man with his Heavenly Father, " according to the providence of Jesus, who completes everything in everything and creates peace, ineffable and predestined from eternity, and reconciling us to Himself, and in Himself to the Father"(Dionysius the Areopagite. About divine names 11, 2, 4. PG 3, 953).

3. At the same time, it should be emphasized that the gifts of peace and justice also depend on human cooperation. The Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts when a person, in repentance, strives for the peace and truth of God. These gifts of peace and justice appear where Christians exert themselves in the work of faith, love and hope in Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Thess. 1:3).

4. Sin is a spiritual disease, the external symptoms of which are conflicts, strife, crimes and wars with their tragic consequences. The Church strives to eliminate not only the external symptoms of this disease, but also the disease itself - sin.

5. At the same time, the Orthodox Church considers it its duty to approve everything that truly serves the world (Rom. 14:19) and opens the way to justice, brotherhood, true freedom and mutual love between all children of one Heavenly Father, as between all peoples who make up one human family. She has compassion for all people who in different parts of the world are deprived of the benefits of peace and justice.

D. Peace and War Prevention

1. The Church of Christ condemns war as such, considering it a consequence of the evil and sin existing in the world: “ Where do you get hostility and strife? Is it not from here, from your lusts that war in your members?"(James 4:1). Any war threatens to destroy God's creation and life.

This applies especially to wars involving weapons of mass destruction, the consequences of which will be terrible, because they will cause the death of huge numbers of people, and for the survivors life will become unbearable. Incurable diseases will appear, genetic changes will occur and other disasters will occur that will catastrophically affect subsequent generations.

Nowadays, not only nuclear, chemical, biological, but also other types of weapons seem very dangerous, which create for those who possess them the illusion of superiority and domination over the outside world. Such weapons create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust and become the cause of a new arms race.

2. The Church of Christ, initially perceiving war as a consequence of the evil and sin existing in the world, encourages any initiatives and efforts aimed at preventing it through dialogue and other acceptable means. In the event that war becomes inevitable, the Church continues to pray and provide pastoral care for her children participating in hostilities in order to protect their lives and freedom, while at the same time making every effort to restore peace as quickly as possible.

3. The Orthodox Church strongly condemns various conflicts and wars that have their cause in fanaticism, justified by religious principles. Of deep concern is the steady trend towards increasing oppression and persecution of Christians and representatives of other communities on the basis of their faith in the Middle East and other parts of the world, and attempts to eradicate Christianity from its traditional regions. Thus, existing interreligious and interethnic relations are jeopardized, and many Christians are forced to leave their places of residence . Orthodox Christians around the world sympathize with their Christian brothers and all those who are persecuted in this region, and call for a just and final solution to the problems of the region.

Wars inspired by nationalist motives and leading to ethnic cleansing, changes in state borders and the seizure of territories are also condemned.

D. The Church’s attitude to the problem of discrimination

1. The Lord as the King of righteousness (Heb. 7:2-3) rejects violence and injustice (Ps. 10:5), condemns inhumane treatment of one’s neighbor (Mark 25:41-46; James 2:15-16). In His Kingdom, which is reflected and present already here on earth in His Church, there is no place for discord, hostility and intolerance (Isa. 11: 6; Rom. 12: 10).

2. On this issue the Orthodox Church takes a clear position. She believes that God from one blood he produced the whole human race to live on all the face of the earth(Acts 17:26) and that in Christ “there is no longer Jew nor Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). To the question: “ Who is my neighbor?“Christ responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), thereby teaching us to reject any mediastinum of hostility and prejudice. The Orthodox Church professes that every person, regardless of skin color, religion, race, gender, nationality, language, is created in the image and likeness of God and is an equal member of the human community. Following this faith, the Orthodox Church does not accept discrimination on all of the above grounds, which implies a difference in dignity between people.

3. The Church, respecting the principles of human rights and equal treatment of people, evaluates the application of these principles in the light of its teaching on the sacraments, on the family, on the position of both sexes in the Church and on the values ​​of Church tradition in general. The Church has the right to bear and bears witness to its teachings in the public space.

E. Mission of the Orthodox Church
as evidence of love in service

1. Fulfilling its saving mission in the world, the Orthodox Church actively cares for all people in need of help, including the hungry, the poor, the sick, the disabled, the elderly, the persecuted, captives, prisoners, the homeless, orphans, victims of disasters and military conflicts, human trafficking and modern forms of slavery. The efforts of the Orthodox Church to overcome need and social injustice are an expression of its faith and service to Christ Himself, who identifies Himself with every person and especially with those in need: Just as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.(Matt. 25:40). In this diverse social service, the Church can cooperate with various public institutions.

2. Confrontations and enmity in this world entail injustice and inequality in the participation of people and nations in the benefits of Divine creation. They deprive millions of people of basic goods and lead to the degradation of the human personality. They cause mass migration of the population, give rise to conflicts on national, religious and social grounds, threatening the internal cohesion of society.

3. The Church cannot remain indifferent to economic processes that have a negative impact on all humanity. She insists on the need not only to build an economy on moral principles, but also through it to actively serve people, following the teachings of the Holy Apostle Paul: While working, we must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for He Himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”(Acts 20:35). Saint Basil the Great writes that everyone in their work should set the goal of helping those in need, and not their own needs (The rules are set out at length in the questions and answers. Question 42 PG 31, 1025 A).

4. The gap between rich and poor is growing dramatically due to the economic crisis. It is the result of rampant speculation on the part of financial circles, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and perverse financial activities, which is devoid of justice, humanity and responsibility and ultimately does not serve the true needs of humanity. A viable economy is one that combines efficiency with fairness and social solidarity.

5. In these tragic circumstances, the Church accepts the great responsibility that lies upon it to overcome hunger and all manifestations of poverty in the world. The fact that such a phenomenon occurs in our time, when countries live in a globalized economy, indicates a serious identity crisis in the modern world. Famine not only threatens the divine gift of life for entire peoples, but also insults the high dignity of the human person and thereby challenges God Himself. Therefore, if caring for our own food is a material issue, then caring for our neighbor’s food is a spiritual matter (James 2: 14-18). Consequently, the task of all Orthodox Churches is to testify to their solidarity towards their brothers in need and to provide them with effective assistance.

6. The Holy Church of Christ, uniting many peoples of the earth in its catholic body, supports the idea of ​​all-human solidarity and closer cooperation of peoples and states for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

7. At the same time, the Church is concerned about the increasing imposition on humanity of a consumer lifestyle, devoid of support for Christian moral values. Consumerism, along with secular globalization, leads to peoples losing their spiritual roots, to historical unconsciousness and oblivion of traditions.

8. Modern media often fall under the control of the ideology of liberal globalism and thus become instruments for the spread of consumerism and immorality. Of particular concern are cases of disrespectful and even blasphemous attitude towards religious values, which provoke discord and unrest in society. The Church warns its children about the danger of influencing consciousness through the media, of using them not to bring people and nations closer together, but to manipulate them.

9. Manifestations of secular ideology are increasingly standing in the way of preaching by the Church and fulfilling its salvific mission of serving humanity. Based on the experience of faith and recalling its true mission towards the people by proclaiming the Kingdom of God and cultivating the consciousness of the unity of its flock, the Church of Christ is called to new strength express the content of your prophetic testimony and show it to the world. Thus, a wide field of activity opens up for her, since she presents Eucharistic communion and unity to a fragmented world as an essential element of her ecclesiological teaching.

10. The desire for constant growth in prosperity and immoderate growth in consumption inevitably lead to disproportionate use and depletion of natural resources. Nature, created by God to be cultivated and preserved by man (cf. Gen. 2:15), experiences the consequences of human sin: The creation submitted to vanity not voluntarily, but according to the will of the one who conquered it, in the hope that the creation itself would be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together to this day.(Rom. 8:20-22).

The environmental crisis associated with climate change and global warming makes it imperative for the Church to contribute with all the spiritual means at her disposal to protect God's creation from the consequences of human greed.

Greed, manifested in satisfying material needs, leads to spiritual impoverishment of a person and destruction of the environment. We should not forget that natural resources are not the property of man, but of the Creator: The earth is the Lord's and what fills it, the universe and everything that lives in it(Ps. 23:1).

Thus, the Orthodox Church emphasizes the need to protect God’s creation by educating man’s responsibility for the world around him given by God, revealing the value of the virtues of moderation and self-restraint. We must remember that not only the present, but also future generations have the right to natural resources which the Creator gave us.

11. For the Orthodox Church, the ability to scientifically study the world is a gift from God to man. At the same time, the Church points out the dangers fraught with the use of some scientific achievements. She believes that the scientist is endowed not only with the freedom of research, but also with the duty to cease his research when basic Christian and humane principles are violated. " Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.”(1 Cor. 6:12). " Good is not good if it is not done with a good disposition.”(St. Gregory the Theologian. Cfirst word on theology, 4, PG 36, 16 C). This point of view of the Church turns out to be, for many reasons, necessary for correctly defining the boundaries of freedom and the enjoyment of the fruits of science, from which both successes and dangers are expected in almost all fields, and especially in biology. At the same time, we emphasize the undeniably sacred nature of human life from the moment of conception until natural death.

12. Recent years have seen rapid developments in the biological sciences and related biotechnologies, many of these advances considered beneficial to humans, while others are associated with moral dilemmas or even rejected. The Orthodox Church asserts that a person is not just a collection of cells, tissues and organs; it cannot be assumed that it is determined only by biological factors. Man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and therefore it is necessary to speak about him with due respect. Recognition of this fundamental principle leads to the conclusion that both in the process of scientific research and in the practical application of the results of new discoveries and inventions, the absolute right of every person to be respected at all stages of life must be respected. It is also necessary to respect the will of God as it was revealed in creation. When conducting research, moral and spiritual principles and Christian principles must be taken into account. Due respect should be given to all of God's creation, both when a person uses it and in the process of research, according to the commandment given to him by God (Gen. 2: 15).

13. In the current era of secularization, in the face of the spiritual crisis characteristic of modern civilization, the need to highlight the meaning of holiness is especially acute. An erroneous understanding of freedom as permissiveness leads to an increase in crime, destruction and desecration of sacred places, and disrespect for the freedom of others and the sacred nature of life. The Orthodox Tradition, formed by the embodiment of Christian truths, is a carrier of spirituality and is distinguished by its ascetic character, which especially needs to be emphasized and revealed in our time.

14. The Church does not cease to take special pastoral care of children and youth for their upbringing in Christ. Of course, the pastoral responsibility of the Church extends to the divinely established institution of the family, which has always been invariably based on the sacred sacrament of Christian marriage as the union of a man and a woman, reflecting the union of Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:22-32). This is especially relevant in view of attempts to legalize in some countries and theological justification in some Christian communities forms of human cohabitation that are opposed to Christian teaching and tradition.

15.V modern era, as at all times, the prophetic and pastoral voice of the Church is addressed to the heart of man, calling him to accept and put into practice, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report(Phil. 4:8), and especially the sacrificial love of the Crucified Lord as the only way leading the world to peace, justice, freedom and love between people and nations.

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MOSCOW THEOLOGICAL ACADEMY AND SEMINARY

HIGHER THEOLOGICAL COURSES AT MPDA

Graduate work

subject: Missiology

Mission to the parish in the Russian Orthodox Church

Scientific supervisor Ph.D.

Hieromonk Nikodim (Shmatko) Completed by a listener

evening/correspondence courses

course 4.8 gr.7

Ivanov Roman Ivanovich

1. Theological justification for the mission and its historical development in the Russian Orthodox Church at the parish

2. Revival of the Russian Spiritual Mission in modern Russia

3. The mission of the Church and its legal law in modern Russia

4. Basic principles of the mission and its practical application

Conclusion

List of used literature

mission orthodox church

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INTRODUCTION

“...Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how could they cry out to Him if they did not recognize Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have not heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him if no one preaches to them about Him? And how will people preach if they are not sent to preach?” (Rom. 10. 13-15).

“Christianity is, first of all, a faithful testimony to the truth about the great deeds of God, which reached their peak “in those last days” in the coming of Christ and His redemptive victory.” For almost 2000 years now, Christ’s Church has been sending evangelists, fulfilling Christ’s command to “go and convert all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

This experience, staggering in its colossality, is not downplayed, even though it has become a truism. Divine activity in history changes human existence, i.e. Christianity views history as a sequential series of acts of the Almighty and Unchangeable God. “The faith of Christians is based not on ideas, but on events.” This vision is based on the single and real event of the incarnation of God. Thus, having perceived the imperishable and eternal, humanity is truly saved, for it has been communed with God and has acquired the meaning of existence. There is no force that could tear away human nature from the Divine. Losing paradise a second time is impossible. The God-man is already “at the right hand of the Father.” The only concern of the Church is to connect the individual human personality to what has been accepted by human nature as a whole. This is the wondrous plan of the Wisdom of God.

The relevance of the topic of this thesis is due to the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century the influence of Christianity on the historical development of the peoples that were part of Russian Empire was interrupted by a series of revolutionary upheavals. Serious trials befell Orthodoxy, which was one of the most important elements of the culture of the Slavic peoples. A real threat of self-destruction looms over the planet. The world is being swept by a wave of terrorism, violence, crime, drug addiction. Lack of spirituality, demoralization, cynicism have become the dominant trend, and, to a greater extent, the moral norm of people's lives. For seventy years, RUSSIA was slowly dying, but the LORD did not allow RUSSIA to perish. And so, on the threshold of the new millennium, Russia threw off the shackles of slavery. And by the Providence of God, the favorable time came for Her to serve the world in the fullness of her strength. The revival of the role of the church has become one of the indicators of the spiritual renewal of society taking place at the turn of the 20th - 21st centuries. But the situation was complicated by the fact that the people of our country, who were either cut off from the Church, or, due to circumstances and upbringing, were never grafted into Her, and having lost their ideological basis, became spiritually demoralized. The enemies of the Church of our Fatherland took advantage of this spiritual vacuum. And Russia was once again subjected to unprecedented aggression by destructive demonic forces. Totalitarian sects, all kinds of occult teachings, propaganda of violence and debauchery, drug addiction and pornography, corruption and civil war have overwhelmed our Great Russia. The enemy promises our compatriots earthly paradise, a carefree and easy life, but in fact they lead to enslavement and disintegration of the individual, the destruction of the family, an increase in crime, incurable diseases and the weakening of our state. And in this difficult hour for the country, every Orthodox Christian, to the best of his strength and abilities, is obliged to take part in the mission of the Church. Some through the spoken or printed word, others through example of life and prayer, and others through material means. One of the founders of the Altai Spiritual Mission, Archimandrite Makariy Glukharev, said this: if you yourself cannot preach the Gospel, then at least prepare food for the missionaries. The revival of the Orthodox gospel at the present stage is one of the most pressing and pressing tasks of the Russian Orthodox Church. The right of any person to preach his religion, that is, to engage in missionary activity, is not subject to discussion. The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, held on November 29-December 4, 1994 in the St. Daniel Monastery in Moscow, made a decision aimed at renewing the Orthodox mission in our country. The message of the Council of Bishops, addressed to pastors, monks and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church, in particular, says: “More than ever, society needs the calm, pure voice of Orthodoxy. This voice is called to bring the light of the Gospel gospel to every home, to every soul, to every heart. This must be the voice of the Orthodox mission, fulfilling the covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you in all the days until the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20). We must not forget that the mission field of each of us is nearby, close. These are our brothers and sisters who live in the darkness of ignorance, skeptical unbelief, or submissive adherence to all kinds of false teachings. We must understand that our Church is the truly living Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), and that which is alive cannot help but grow and expand, “for the Word of God is living and active” (Heb. 4:12 ). Missionary activity will only achieve success when it is active and diverse in form. “I have become all things to all, that I might save at least some” (1 Cor. 9:22), says our holy Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary of the Christian world. The forms of mission can be preaching and catechesis and publishing activities and sincere service to the suffering and disadvantaged and liturgical life. We call on pastors, monastics, and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church to support with their labors and prayers the work of reviving the Orthodox mission, as well as the work of newly created structures.

At present, the focus of the Orthodox mission should be the Orthodox parish, cared for by a pious and educated pastor. If we look at history, we will see that earlier the center of the mission was churches and monasteries, because they had land, an apiary, and a farm as their assets, which allowed them, both spiritually and financially, to set up almshouses, open schools, hospitals, and orphanages , and for many years becoming in this area the center of evangelism and feeding the flock, enlightening and strengthening, both spiritually and physically, educating them morally, instilling in them love for the homeland, obedience in the family and elders. Helping people with all their everyday problems. And now the entire mission, both internal and external, falls on parish churches; But They are poor, and this is due to the fact that the state is silent, and We do not insist on repaying the debt of at least the land, one third of which is desolate today. Therefore, labor collectives should be organized at churches that will allow them to competently and timely conduct missionary work and engage in charity work. The mission of the Orthodox Church is the salvation of every person, and the scope of its testimony includes everything that modern humanity lives by. In 1995, at the Meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Concept of the revival of missionary activity was adopted, calling on all the faithful children of our Church to take the path of Orthodox witness. The missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church are deeply aware that their activities have great importance for the Orthodox Church and the destinies of all humanity, who live in one inseparable multipolar world. The chosen topic is relevant for all parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is in the Church that many people become acquainted with spiritual life. A missionary expands the expanses of the Church, sowing a seed into a person’s soul, a priest gives grace-filled gifts for its growth, a teacher strengthens faith. In our work we will consider the mission of service in an Orthodox parish from different angles and, first of all, historical and practical work. We will touch upon the issues of educational missionary practice through Sunday school, pilgrimage trips, divine services, Orthodox children's concerts, as well as in the organization of labor collectives at churches. The modern missionary service of the Church is based on two thousand years of experience of Orthodox witness and patristic traditions. Specific goals and objectives of missionary service are determined by general church and diocesan documents.

Goals and objectives of the study; . The main goal research is an analysis of the mission in Russia at the parish. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Give a theological analysis of mission;

Study the history of mission principles and its organization in Russia;

Analyze the new policy of church revival in Russia at the parish;

To give a legal assessment of missionary activity - to characterize the mission of the Church in modern Russia at the parish

Prepare a project for a modern missionary

The main methods of scientific research are the principles of historicism and objectivity in the assessment of historical events, interconnected with each other in their development. The work comprehensively analyzes and compares various points of view previously published in scientific journals. In addition, data obtained from a study of a wide range of published documents and materials are summarized.

The focus of the study is the Russian Orthodox Church and ITS missionary service.

The object of the study is the mission of the church in the state in the parish during the period under study.

The source base consisted of documentary materials from the history of Russian Orthodoxy, decisions of Local Bishops' Councils and missionary congresses of the Russian Orthodox Church, legal and regulatory acts of the Russian Federation. Various types of publications were widely involved. “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, “Theological Works”, “Theological Collection”, “Alpha and Omega”, as well as “Moscow Church Bulletin”, “Orthodox Conversation”, “Orthodox Word”. Significant assistance was provided by the writings of Orthodox missionary theologians, who in one way or another considered the problem of mission in Russia, and the relationship of the Church to society and government.

Structurally, the thesis consists of an introduction and five chapters. conclusion, list of references.

1. THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE MISSION AND ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

The gospel of the Church of Christ to the world at the dawn of its birth is connected with the ministry of the Apostles. Apostles are messengers (from the Greek ajpostevllw - to send) of the Divine Founder and Head of the Church - the Lord Jesus Christ. But first of all, the Savior of the world Himself carries out this messenger ministry in His Person: He did not come from Himself, but the Father sends the Son in the Holy Spirit (John 2O, 21-23). The words “sent”, “sent” in relation to Jesus Christ appear in the New Testament about 50 times.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Jews directly calls Jesus Christ an Apostle: “Therefore, holy brothers, understand the Apostle (to;n ajpovstolon) and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:1), the sending of the Son of God into the world is good news, and He Himself reveals the ministry of the gospel: “And to other cities I must preach the Kingdom of God, for for this purpose I was sent” (Luke 4:43). He is both the Gospel and the Evangelist in one Person. As the image of the Father, Christ the Son of God testifies to the Father. So, Christ is the first Apostle, Evangelist and Witness.

After the Son has fulfilled his mission, He sends from the Father the Holy Spirit of the Comforter (John 14:16; 15:26), Who “comes not in His name, but in the name of the Son, to testify of the Son, just as the Son came in the name of the Father" (17:120), to testify about the Father. “The persons of the Holy Trinity are not established by themselves, but One testifies to the Other” (ibid.). The Holy Spirit bears witness to the Divinity of Christ and reveals “the knowledge of the Divine work which the Father has done in Christ.” (17.139), Thus, the entire Holy Trinity reveals itself to the world: through the Divine sending of its two persons, it calls to regain lost communion with itself. “God in Himself is the Life of communion,” then the Divine Mission of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity into the world “sets the goal of attracting man and creation in general into this communion with the very life of God” (26:8).

“The mission of the two Persons of the Most Holy Trinity sent into the world is not the same, although the Son and the Holy Spirit do the same thing on earth: They create the Church in which people are united with God” (17:131). According to the teachings of Ap. Paul, the Church is the mystical Body of Christ and at the same time the fullness of the Holy Spirit, filling everything in everything" (Eph. 1:23). Christ deified human nature in Himself, and the Holy Spirit bestows His grace on human individuals.

There are certain conditions for a person to associate with God. As V.N. writes Lossky, “The Holy Spirit was sent into the world, or rather into the Church in the name of the Son” (“Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name” (John 14:26)). Therefore, one must bear the name of the Son, be a member of His Body in order to receive the Spirit" (17, 123). And St. Irenaeus of Lyons says that one can partake of the grace of the Holy Spirit only in the Church, in the Body of Christ (4.720). At the same time and the true perception of Christ is possible only in the Church, in the Holy Spirit. “The historical Christ, “Jesus of Nazareth” as He appears to the eyes of alien witnesses, Christ outside the Church, is always filled in the fullness of Revelation, given to His true witnesses - the sons of the Church, enlightened by the Spirit. Saints" (17.183).

Thus, outside the Church there cannot be a full-fledged Christian mission, an adequate witness to Christ. This casts doubt on the possibility of cooperation in the missionary work of the Orthodox Church with the so-called Christian communities that have separated from it. Today we are faced with the phenomenon of a plurality of preached gospels and, accordingly, a plurality of preached “Christs”. We are talking here not about false Christs and false missions, the number of which our time is also not offended, but precisely about the many different human interpretations of the true Gospel of Christ and about other understandings of the image of our One and Only Lord Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Church tells us that there can be no question of the equivalence of these human gospels with the Gospel stored in the Church, and Christ abiding in the Church is not the same thing as Christ proclaimed outside Her. After the election and consecration of the Apostles, the gospel became the most important work of their lives and the main principle of Their existence in this world. They understood well the commandment of their Divine Teacher and Lord; “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them, in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. This commandment is due to the circumstances under which it was given; What was important was a kind of last testament of Christ the Savior. Even in the preparatory period for the Apostolic ministry, the Lord, in the parable of the faithful servant whom the master placed over his servants to give them food in time, indicated the responsibility of his disciples for preaching the word of God. On the other hand, witnessing the truth about the wonderful works of God became an internal need of the Apostles. We cannot help but say what we saw and heard. Like the prophet Jeremiah, They carried a burning fire in their hearts and could not contain it. This is My necessary duty, and woe to Me if I do not preach the gospel; said the Apostles. Nothing in everyday life should have distracted the Apostles from this most sacred duty. The priority of the ministry of the word is not comparable to any other in the Church. The commandment of God about the gospel could not be canceled by the commands of people, both those invested with higher religious authority and secular ones.

The missionary service of the Russian Orthodox Church cannot be considered without studying the mission of the famous Slavic educators - Saints Cyril and Methodius.

It is important for us in a double aspect: on the one hand, the direct influence on the Christianization of Rus', on the other, the very unique experience of organizing the first Slavic Church, shown by the holy brothers.

Historical science recognizes the most valuable and reliable sources of their activity as the so-called Pannonian Lives of Saints Cyril and Methodius, compiled by their closest disciples.

The “Slavic apostles” were born within the Byzantine Empire, in the south of Macedonia in the city of Thessaloniki, the region of which was densely populated by Slavic tribes in the 9th century. This factor of upbringing in a Slavic environment was of great importance: in addition to the natural mastery of the Slavic language, they could here become close to the local population and become involved in the cultural, historical and civil context. Subsequently, Saint Methodius deepened this experience during the time when for ten years he was the archon (chief) of one Slavic province of Byzantium (8.259). At the same time, he could delve well into the life of the Slavs and become acquainted with their morals, character, customs and religious beliefs.

The younger of the brothers, Konstantin, succeeded on another front. Gifted from childhood with a deep and strong mind, thanks to his ardent desire to learn, he was able to receive an excellent education from the best professors of Byzantium (Leo the Philosopher, the future Patriarch Photius, etc.) at the highest court school of Constantinople (5.102). Then he was in charge of the patriarchal library in St. Sophia. For his great intelligence and rare learning, Constantine was nicknamed "philosopher". Numerous disputes with heretics (the dethroned iconoclastic Patriarch John) and heterodox (in the Baghdad and Khazar missions) allowed him to further develop his intellectual gifts.

Thus, the brothers seemed to complement each other: one shone with scholarship and linguistic knowledge, the other was an expert on the Slavic environment.

We must not lose sight of the spiritual and ascetic training of future missionaries. Constantine retired to a monastery on the Sea of ​​Marmara (13.8), and Methodius labored on the famous monastic Mount Olympus and subsequently became abbot of the largest monastery there, Polychron (5.125), where his younger brother joined him. In solitude they indulged in prayer and book studies.

The first major test for the brothers was the Khazar mission in 858. Here we already see the extraordinary missionary zeal of Constantine, when he responded with the greatest readiness to the emperor’s offer to go to the Khazars: “I am glad to go without everything, on foot and barefoot, as the Lord commanded His disciples” (1:105). The results of this mission can be judged in two ways. On the one hand, it does not look very impressive - only two hundred people ("except wives and children") were converted (2.6). But on the other hand, the reduction of the influence of Jewish missionaries on the Kagan, together with the restoration and proclamation of religious tolerance towards Christians in Khazaria and in the Russian lands dependent on it, was its major success. Not to mention the fact that the preachers themselves went through a good missionary school here. In Chersonesos, Constantine studied the Hebrew and Samaritan languages ​​and became acquainted with some elementary version of Russian writing (1.105). But the main work of their life, which brought them world fame and the grateful gratitude of the Slavic peoples, was the Moravian mission.

The initiative and further support for the mission came from the Moravian Prince Rostislav, who pursued not only religious, but also political goals. This principality was dependent on the Franks both in state and church terms. Moreover, in the process of a difficult struggle, the Moravian princes managed to achieve political independence. But semi-pagan Moravia was a missionary area and was under the jurisdiction of the Bavarian bishop - the “archpresbyter” as the superior over all German (Fran) missionaries (8.165). These missionaries cared very little about the Christian education of the Moravian people.

So, for example, at the Council of Mainitz, in 852, the Moravian Latin clergy was directly confronted with their neglect of the flock, whose Christianity, as the acts of the council say, is “rude, ignorant” (9:12). Not only did they limit themselves to introducing worship in a Latin language incomprehensible to the majority of the people and preaching the Gospel in it (as well as in their own German), but they also supported the colonial policy towards Moravia of their king Louis and “forged forges against the Moravians " (9.24). In addition, they were poorly educated and, together with Christianity, spread various superstitions (1.112), and also imposed heavy church taxes on the people. Naturally, the Moravian prince was vitally interested in replacing these politically dangerous and economically burdensome missionaries, alien to the Slavic national spirit, with any others. At first he asked to send preachers from Rome, but by the Providence of God they turned out to be the holy brothers of Thessaloniki.

Constantine the philosopher was a supporter of the idea that both worship and the preaching of the Gospel should be carried out only in the living vernacular language, so that the word of the Gospel would penetrate the hearts of people. But “Slavic speech was not organized” (15:12) and the gospel in such conditions would be “writing a conversation on the water,” as Constantine said (1:117). Therefore, first of all, it was necessary to give these people writing.

The implementation of these ideas was the most difficult and at the same time the greatest feat of the Slavic enlighteners. The Church of the era of the Ecumenical Councils fully recognized the principle of equality of all languages ​​and nationalities in worship (15.523). But in the West, already from the UP century, the opinion began to dominate that only in three languages ​​can one glorify God - in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. This teaching was later called the “trilingual heresy.”

In the East, the Church approved translations of Holy Scripture into “barbarian languages,” but even there the Greeks gradually began to consider their language the dominant language of worship, and by the 9th century this “monopoly of the Greek language as the language of Holy Scripture and worship increased to the point of extreme exclusivity” ( 16.285-286). Therefore, if at home, in Byzantium, the holy brothers, at best, could not count on the approval of their ideas, then in the West they had to endure a severe battle with the “trilinguals” for the free development of the Slavic spirit.

While still in Constantinople, Saint Constantine began to work on the invention of the Slavic alphabet, the so-called “glagolitic alphabet”. It was a new work, completely different from all known alphabets. Only in some cases did he borrow Greek, Hebrew and Slavic letters. Then he translated selected (liturgical) passages from the Gospel and the Apostle (Aprakos), as well as “the entire church rite” (1.118) into Slavic. This was the Macedonian dialect of those educated Christian Slavs, in whose mouths Slavic speech could already acquire known grammatical forms, terms and expressions capable of conveying sublime Christian concepts (10.26). The translation itself was highly appreciated by modern Slavists. It shows Constantine’s deep knowledge of the Greek and Slavic languages ​​and “is distinguished by its accuracy, harmony, euphony and remarkable purity of expression of Christian concepts (in comparison, for example, with Gothic) due to the elimination of all hints of the former, pre-Christian way of life” (11.245). In many places the translation is quite free: nowhere is clarity of meaning sacrificed to the letter of the original (14, 207).

The holy brothers arrived in Moravia in 863. Their activities in the Slavic countries were carried out in two stages. First, it was necessary to introduce worship in the Slavic language and train personnel for the national clergy. The Moravian prince ordered the construction of churches everywhere, where services were performed in the Slavic language. Schools were also set up here, in which future priests were taught Slavic literacy and service using Slavic books.

Saints Constantine and Methodius were assisted in their translation and pedagogical works by several educated students - Clement, Naum, Savva, Angelarius and Gorazd. Together with their brothers, they formed the so-called group of “sevenths.” In three and a half years, “the foundation of the Moravian Church was laid: they created for it a Slavic liturgy and religious literature in the Slavic language and formed schools for the education of disciples.” In the second stage, they were to achieve the ordination of their students to the priesthood and “the formation of the Moravian church hierarchy” (8.185).

As one would expect, in the person of the German clergy, the first teachers of the Slavs found their main opponents and enemies. Infected with the trilingual heresy, they strongly opposed the activities of the sevenths, accusing them of dogmatic and canonical violations. Throughout their mission in the Slavic countries, the holy brothers constantly had to endure this enmity, which was expressed in different forms. These include intrigues at the court of the popes with denunciations, and the restoration of the Moravian prince against the “enlightenment”, and direct threats and violence. For example, Saint Methodius was imprisoned for two and a half years in Swabia by a Bavarian bishop, where he was kept in cruel conditions.

In defense of his holy cause, Constantine the Philosopher composed an apology against the “trilinguals.” It contains about fourteen biblical quotations and provides links to translations of the Holy Scriptures and divine services into national languages ​​among such peoples as the Armenians, Persians, Abascans, Iberians, Goths, Turks, Khazars, Egyptians, Arabs and Syrians (1,118). The brothers also used this apology, in which his brilliant gift of argumentation was demonstrated in full force, during debates in Venice and Rome.

On the way to Rome, they stopped in Pannonia, the prince of which was informed about the missionary methods of Constantine and Methodius and welcomed their evangelistic labors in the territory of his country. For ordination to the local clergy, he gave them fifty disciples.

The further success of the mission in the Slavic countries was largely determined by the attitude of the Roman pontiffs towards it. The Roman popes Adrian II and, subsequently, John USH reacted favorably to the evangelistic works of the Slavic apostles, approved the concept of their missionary activity and provided them with significant support. Slavic sacred and church books were “solemnly canonized”: Adrian II placed them on the throne of the Roman temple and served liturgy over them, and then ordered several Slavic liturgies to be performed in some churches of the city (6,16). He also justified the Slavic service with a special message (3.7). The disciples of the holy brothers brought from Slavic countries were ordained to the priesthood. Referring to the historical affiliation of Pannonia and Moravia with Rome, the pope transferred them to his jurisdiction and later appointed Methodius as Bishop of Moravia-Pannonia and even made him his “apostolic legate in all Slavic lands” (8,239). During the imprisonment of Saint Methodius by the Fransian archbishop, Pope John USH freed him, returned his see to him and subsequently provided him with his patronage. This behavior of the popes seems incompatible with the importance that was attached to the Latin language in the Roman Church, but this was only a temporary concession. (Already Pope Stephen U1, successor of John U1P, unconditionally banned Slavic worship and Slavic books).

One can easily discern the “secret springs” that guided the popes and the calculations that made them supporters of the Slavs. “The Roman high priests of those times were zealously concerned about expanding their spiritual dominance and tried to spread Christianity among the European peoples who remained in paganism; driven by these impulses of love of power, they both sent preachers on their own and supported those who had already existed” (6,10). Knowing well the importance that the Slavic rulers attached to the methods of Saints Constantine and Methodius, the popes were afraid of losing their influence there, as they had been before, and “caressed themselves with hopes” of bringing Ilirik, Bulgaria and others under the authority of the Roman Apostolic Throne Slavic lands"(3.7). Slavic books served as a convenient means for this, which could then be banned at any time. Their behavior was also influenced by the political climate in Europe at that time. Firstly, this is reconciliation with Byzantium. In addition , “the pope supported the Western Carolingians, and the goodwill of the Moravian prince, who was at enmity with the eastern, German, Carolingians, was important to him” (14.11). He also sought to limit Frankish church influence in the Slavic countries (8.187). The popes tried to implement broad plans regarding the Slavs and solve some of their problems.

During a visit to Rome by the brothers in 869, Saint Constantine fell ill and died there, taking monasticism with the name Cyril. He bequeathed to his elder brother to continue the great and holy work of enlightening the Slavs. After his death, Saint Methodius for another sixteen years (until his death in 885) labored to establish the first Slavic Church. Great Moravia had by this time become the most powerful state in Central Europe(3.12) and included several Slavic tribes. But this was a country in which “most of the baptized were Christians only in name, and in which at least half of the inhabitants remained unbaptized” (6, 56).

Saint Methodius and his disciples were diligently engaged in the conversion and education of the Slavs, visited rural areas where paganism was strongly rooted and continued to train the local clergy. Remarkable is his uncompromising strictness regarding the observance of the sanctity of marriage, the violation of which has become a custom among the local Slavs (consanguineous marriages, frequent causeless dissolution of marriage bonds). St. Methodius pursued pagan morals and superstitions with “tireless and most unyielding zeal” (6.29). He made apostolic journeys beyond Moravia - to Krakow Poland, to the Czech Republic (which he baptized together with its prince Borivoj), to the Ugric prince, and the seeds of his teaching fell into Slovakia, Carpathian Rus, Serbia and Slovenia (7,12 ). Thus, “all Slavic tribes, starting from Croatia and Dalmatia to the borders of Poland, listened to the Slavic service of Methodius” (3.12). He also completed the unfinished works of translating all the canonical books of Holy Scripture and distributed them with the help of his disciples in many copies, translated the Nomocanon and some books of the Holy Fathers. After the death of Saint Methodius, a persecution was launched against the associates of the holy brothers and in general against the Slavic language in the Church. Gorazd, Clement, Naum, together with two hundred priests, were expelled from Moravia. But the hatred of the enemies, according to God's Providence, served to spread the work of Saints Cyril and Methodius - their disciples dispersed to different Slavic countries. The center of Slavic culture and writing moved first to Bulgaria (there it led fifty years later to the “golden age” of Tsar Simeon, who filled his chambers with many books” (11.235), and then to newly baptized Rus', in which the works of Saints Cyril and Methodius brought the most big fruits.

Their main significance for all Slavs and the Russian people in particular was that the translation of Holy Scripture and worship into the Slavic language became one of the most important reasons for the successful spread of the faith of Christ there. The Slavic peoples had been neighboring Byzantium and Rome for several centuries, but missionary successes there were more than insignificant. “In the clothing of the Slavic word,” the Christian faith seemed to be something of its own, dear, came to the Russian heart and became a national property (4.193). It was easy to see now the superiority of her divine truths over crude pagan superstitions. The mission of Cyril and Methodius protected the Russian people from Islam, which, during the formation of our state, made rapid progress on the southeastern border of Rus'; she saved us from the networks of German missionaries who came to Rus', according to the chronicler, from the “Roman papacy” (15.11). In addition, the holy work of the Thessaloniki brothers influenced the awakening of national self-awareness, contributed to the religious unity and political unification of the Slavic tribes on the territory of Rus'. Through their efforts, a national literary language was created and the beginning of a national literature was laid; they formed the basis for the spiritual, cultural and historical development of the Russian people.

2. REVIVAL OF THE RUSSIAN SPIRITUAL MISSION IN MODERN RUSSIA AT THE PARISH

At the parish level, the general organization, coordination and control of missionary work is the responsibility of the rector. The direct implementation of this work should be entrusted to a full-time parish missionary in all parishes, as it were, there would be no need to create such a staff unit (or the mission issue should be handled by a clerk). The decision on the possibility or impossibility is made by the parish council, headed by the rector, in agreement with the dean and the relevant diocesan department (responsible diocesan employee). The parish missionary is appointed and dismissed by the rector, enrolled in the parish staff with a salary in accordance with the staffing table, reports to the rector and coordinates his activities with the chairman of the relevant diocesan department (the relevant responsible diocesan employee) and with the person responsible for missionary work in the deanery.

Parish Missionary:

1. forms a group of parishioners capable of conducting missionary activities and organizes their training in the basics Orthodox faith and mission methods;

2. with the support of the parish rector, takes care of the financial support of parish missionary initiatives;

3. regularly improves his qualifications, in particular at diocesan refresher courses.

A parish missionary must have a firm knowledge of the fundamentals of Orthodox dogma and be able to give an answer to every questioner (1 Pet. 3:15).

As part of missionary work, the following types of activities can be carried out in the parish:

1. conducting educational conversations with those coming to the temple;

2. consulting church employees who have constant contact with parishioners, candle box workers, and attendants;

3. missionary actions in educational, youth, social, cultural and other similar institutions located within the parish; training of clergy and missionaries from the local population.

4. monitoring schismatic, sectarian, occult and atheistic activities within the parish, countering them, protecting people from their harmful influence;

5. involving the laity in active church work through the fulfillment of specific missionary assignments, including participation in missionary expeditions, work on preparing those wishing to receive Baptism, duty in the church, participation in discussions on the Internet, television and radio broadcasts;

6. distribution of educational leaflets, literature and videos of spiritual and educational content among unchurched people;

7. interaction with educational and cultural institutions to implement joint projects for missionary purposes.

Missionary work as a phenomenon for quite a long time was a way not only of church preaching, but also of developing new territories and voluntarily bringing them within the borders of Rus' and the Russian Empire. Today, the goals of missionary activity have changed somewhat. “The mission of the Church in large cities and industrial-labor centers represents, among other things, a special kind of service and witness in the labor and professional movement, as well as among the disadvantaged victims of urbanization and modern technological civilization. A separate area of ​​missionary influence is the work of the Church with youth.... The missionary influence of the Church on the sphere of culture requires a special approach...” - this is how Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' defined the goals of missionary work, and not only on the territory of Russia. This statement alone allows us to confirm the conditional division of missionary activity into at least two types - urban and agricultural (mission in the countryside). But in the very concept of missionary activity there are two problems hidden, without considering which it would be difficult to find out the general and specific features in the foreign policy activities of the state and the Church.

Since the time of Saint Constantine (IV century), the Church has been in close connection with the state, as a result of which the goals of the state often became the goals of the Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church adopted precisely this type of relationship. At the same time, a number of researchers note a close relationship between the political goals of the secular ruler and the activities of the Church. This connection gives civil authorities the opportunity to determine goals for the spiritual mission that may be diametrically opposed to the goals of church authority. The social character of the Russian Orthodox Church also contains the key to the Orthodox understanding of its mission. As in worship, in missions all share in the service of the Lord, although not all play the same role, just as in the performance of civic duty. Missionary work is not an individual responsibility. This work is predominantly collective, carried out exclusively under the auspices of the Church. But today (as in the past) the role of the bishop is no less important: it is the role of an intercessor, then his actions are perceived as carried out on behalf of the entire Church, since the teacher of truth is usually a bishop. Therefore, we can say that the entire Church, represented by the bishop, is involved in the mission, and his relationship with the state often influences the fact that the international activities of the Church and the state coincide. And in the future it will be more correct to speak of the “political goals” of the mission as something that is more an intention that they hope to realize than an incentive to missionary activity.

As for the reasons and goals of the Orthodox mission, they can be divided into the following provisions:

1. The immediate goal of the mission is the establishment of local Churches.

The components of this goal are:

a) preaching the Gospel;

b) the conversion of pagans and the awakening of “nominal” Christians;

c) involving converts in active church life;

d) mobilization of the Church in all its fullness and in all its manifestations.

2. All these goals are naturally in harmony with the ultimate goal of the mission - the Glory of God.

Such goals are not something special and inherent only to Orthodoxy, they are on a par with the missionary goals of other Christian Churches. After considering the goals of the mission, it is quite natural to move on to the study of missionary methods, since in many cases it is the goal of the mission that determines its method. When the goal was to establish a national Church, this was achieved through a specific methodology. When political goals were pursued (for example, Russification), the methodology was different: through the adoption of Orthodoxy, the desire of people abroad to understand Russia and to become familiar with Russian culture and history increases. Thus, the number of supporters of Russia, adherents of the ideals of the Russian state, is growing. Undoubtedly, the Russian diaspora is strengthening and, taking into account modern political traditions, fertile ground is being created for lobbying the interests of Russia. Thus, through missionary activities, the Russian Orthodox Church contributes to the formation of the image of Russia abroad (which will be discussed in more detail in the next paragraph). In the mission of the modern Orthodox diaspora, another, special method comes to the fore, which will be discussed later.

The goal common to all Orthodox missions is, of course, preaching: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” [Matt. 28. 19-20]. Therefore, it would be most appropriate to consider all the methods used in the history of Orthodox missions, even if some of them are not considered worthy due to the tactics used or the ephemeral nature of the results achieved.

Methods can be classified in the following way:

1. use of the local language and ordination of representatives of the local population: incarnational approach;

2. an attempt to organize one’s life among the non-Orthodox indigenous population and influence it by personal example: the method of Orthodox presence (close to incarnational or one of its “versions”);

3. reliance on state power and support: political approach;

4. “social evangelism”.

It is worth noting that the political approach will be most fully discussed in the next paragraph and in the second chapter, so the main focus of this part of the study will still be devoted to the incarnational approach and the method of Orthodox presence.

Incarnational approach. It is not an exaggeration to say that the most carefully thought-out method of mission has also proven to be the most effective, especially if success is taken to mean not just a fixed number of baptisms, but a constant quantitative increase. The incarnation approach is not only a mechanical translation of the Gospel from one language to another, but the embodiment of the truths of Orthodoxy in the language and culture of the converted people, and this can already be assessed as highest achievement missionary work.

“The word of Christ must reach people in a form that is understandable and easy to understand. The word of God must reach the listener in a language he understands." That is why the missionary approach, based on the translation of the Bible, liturgical texts and other religious literature into the native language of the people being converted, the definition of incarnational is fully consistent. Bible translation and the use of the vernacular in Christian mission have long been hallmarks of Orthodoxy. Even Byzantine missionaries constantly resorted to this method in their missions to pagan tribes. While the Roman Catholic Church insisted on the universal significance of Latin as a liturgical language, Orthodox theology preached the use of the language of a particular people. And today, in its services, the Russian Orthodox Church uses Arabic in Damascus and Beirut, Finnish in Helsinki, Japanese in Tokyo, English (when necessary) in London and New York. Translation of texts in this case plays such a significant role, since the entry of God's truth into the life and mentality of the people is the task of the mission, and the incarnational approach is the best for its implementation.

There are several distinctive features of the incarnational approach:

1. understanding, and sometimes deep respect for the culture of the people with whom the missionary is dealing;

2. special attention to the study of the local language and, if necessary, the creation of writing and translation of sacred texts;

3. attracting the local population to church service, and, in particular, to priesthood;

4. the gradual acquisition of self-government by the new Church as a result of all the work of the mission.

Another element of Orthodox missionary practice that was used to facilitate the perception and embodiment of Orthodoxy in various local cultures was the personal example of many missionaries who used the incarnational approach. Living in “evangelical poverty,” by the way, minimized the separation of missionaries from the local culture and minimized the damage done to the culture of the indigenous people. Since material assistance is still widely used in many countries where Western missions have operated, it is easy to see how “gospel poverty” can minimize the harmful effects on the culture of the aboriginal people. The best Orthodox missions prioritized respect for national culture and understanding of its values. This, in part, echoes state methods of conducting international affairs, especially at the national level, when the rights of nations are enshrined in law.

Generally speaking, it was often the Church that acted as the guardian of culture. The example of the Russian Orthodox Church during Mongol yoke and much later - during Soviet repressions. The religious and cultural identification of Orthodoxy, which sometimes creates certain difficulties, is more an advantage than a disadvantage. The Greek Orthodox Church, which spent more than three hundred years under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire, preserved not only the culture of its people, but also traces of ancient culture. Thus, the role of the Church in state policy to disseminate or preserve national culture is difficult to overestimate. However, one should not confuse missionary activity with one of the elements of globalization as the erasing of cultural boundaries: the features of national culture (down to the local form of prayer as an addition to the accepted one) remain unchanged. The same applies to the second sign of the incarnational approach - attention to local languages.

Russian Orthodox missions are experiencing certain difficulties that stand in the way of the revival of Orthodox missionary service and are characteristic of the current state of external activity of the Church, but they are not directly related to the abandonment of many social programs. Among these problems are the following:

1. insufficient scientific and methodological support for missionary activities with manuals on the history of missions,

2. lack of trained missionary personnel;

3. insufficient use of the modern missionary experience of the Local Orthodox Churches;

4. insufficient financial and economic support for missionary programs;

5. The response of government agencies to missionary activity is not always adequate.

Options for solving these problems may be as follows:

Regularly convene missionary congresses at the general church and diocesan levels (preferably also at the international level - the activities of a similar international center “Porefthendes” in Athens will be discussed below);

Through the efforts of the Church and scientists, publish manuals and encyclopedias under the general title “Library of the Orthodox Missionary” and prepare special programs for religious and secular educational institutions on the mission of the Church in modern civil society;

Use more widely available funds mass media for the better implementation of the Orthodox mission;

To attract funds to support missionary activities (to replenish the Missionary Fund of the Russian Orthodox Church) and, to a greater extent, the parish is obliged to earn money itself; only common prayer and work unite, strengthen and allow.

Thus, in solving problems associated with international activities, The Church more often relies on own strength, rather than government assistance. And, summing up this part of the study, mainly theoretical, we can draw the following conclusions:

The Church and the state have different natures, goals and objectives, but this does not exclude their cooperation, taking into account the Byzantine tradition of church-state relations (the close, “family” connection between the Church and the state), which the Russian Orthodox Church follows;

Meanwhile, relations between the Church and the Russian state at the present stage are becoming more complicated: firstly, the not entirely clear role of the Church in society assigned to it by the state authorities, and secondly, the discrepancy between the concept of “freedom of conscience” as one of the basic principles of modern church-state relationships;

The spiritual values ​​preached by the Russian Orthodox Church, given its contribution to Russian statehood and culture, could become the basis for the Russian national idea;

The church and the state can cooperate in the international arena in the following areas: peacemaking, charity, development of joint social programs, preservation of world cultural heritage, science and creative activity, environmental protection and countering the spread of pseudo-religious structures that pose a danger to individuals and society;

The Russian Orthodox Church has a fairly strong influence on the formation of the image of the Russian Federation in the eyes of the world community, and partly thanks to its Spiritual Missions;

Missionary activity is one of the main methods of external relations of the Church;

One of the options for missionary activity is a political approach (reliance on state power), but it is not preferable, since it makes the Church dependent on public policy and interferes with the implementation of the Church’s own interests in the international arena;

Existing financial and personnel problems somewhat impede the implementation of the missionary goals of the Church, but do not exclude them: relationships with international missionary structures (the Porefthendes center), with international organizations (through the Department for External Church Relations) are maintained.

The most fruitful seems to be the incarnational approach to missionary activity (the use of the local language and the ordination of the local population), which leaves room for the implementation of certain state goals - social work (especially in “hot spots”), shaping the image of Russia abroad, and scientific research of international importance.

Taking into account the possible interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian state structures in the international arena, it is worth remembering that the testimony and service of the Church is diverse and is proclaimed to the world different languages. These differences do not arise from the nature of the Church, since the Church is the same everywhere and always, but from the local and historical conditions in which its witness and ministry are carried out. The preaching methods that the Church uses in one place are not always clear to Christians living in other places. This difficulty in distinguishing languages ​​leads to hasty judgments that darken fraternal relations between Christians and create a mediastinum between members of the United Church. However, in the witness and service of the Church, carried out in conditions radically different from the usual, the effect should be sought in the receipt of “good fruit” from missionary or other activities.

3. The mission of the Church and ITS legal law in modern Russia

The draft missionary concept sets the task of “supplementing and clarifying” the general profile concept of the Church and “promoting the development of active missionary activity” on the territory of Russia.

A significant place in the project is given to “Ethics and Etiquette of an Orthodox Missionary.” Missionaries are instructed (“it is desirable and necessary”) to attend meetings of representatives of other faiths and different worldviews exclusively with the blessing of the ruling Bishop. Preach only to an audience of appropriate skill level).

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Mission of the Church
in the world

Biblical theology

Donetsk Christian University

Roger E. Hedlund

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

IN THE WORLD A Biblical Theology

Baker Book House

Dedicated to all participants in missionary service

Churches in India, especially those of my disciples who have given

It helps me a lot in life and thinking, as well as

Carl and Lisa, my children, and Tee June, my wife

Mission of the Church in the world: Biblical theology: Trans. from English

Translator N. N. Dmitrieva. Editor D. V. Dmitriev

Foreword by A. Glasser, J. Gamaliel.

^ Preface to the American edition

In recent years, evangelical Christians have become increasingly focused on moving closer to biblical understanding and fulfilling Christian mission. This does not mean that they ceased to regard Jesus Christ as the “unfading center” of God’s eternal purpose (Eph. 3:11). They are more determined than ever to regard the atoning sacrifice of Christ as the central event of history, since He alone showed sinful humanity the way to reconciliation with God and entering into fellowship with Him. Evangelical Christians are more convinced than ever that as a result He was given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18).

Today, evangelical Christians are discovering with ever-growing interest the reverse dimension of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in those who have experienced His renewing grace. He provides strength, means, and leadership to God's people to dutifully carry out their missionary duty in the world.

In addition, Christians are coming to an ever greater understanding of the very special role of the Father, which can be traced through His grace and providential care for His children. They learn a new meaning of the driving force He provides: the power that transcends all motivations—to do all things for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).

The full meaning of Trinitarian mission theology is gradually revealed as one comprehends the Old Testament preparations for the fulfillment of the times when the Lord was to send His Son to announce the Kingdom of God. The New Testament continues this line, beginning with the first mention of Jesus Christ - his incarnation - when God became man, lived among us and redeemed His people.

Then, on the day of Pentecost, His people witnessed the second incarnation - when the Holy Spirit came to people so that through them the mission of God could be fulfilled. The Bible ends with the assurance that at the end of time the Triune God will appear in His fullness, ending human history and defeating all His enemies.

God helped Dr. Roger Hedland carry out detailed analysis biblical revelation - from the creation of the world “in the beginning” to the climax: the appearance of “new heavens and new earth.” With the utmost clarity, he brings together the disparate parts of the Bible into a single whole, which perfectly enables us to “discern the signs of the times” and help the Church, guided by biblical principles, to serve the modern generation for the glory of God.

We consider the Apostle Paul to be a “mission” theologian whose Epistles resulted from personal involvement in Christian mission. We only have the opportunity to read what he left us in his Epistles, so we cannot fully understand the concerns that lived in his heart and prompted him to serve Jesus Christ. Roger Headland, the author of this book, follows the same apostolic tradition. He represents a rare combination of impeccable academic credibility, rich and varied missionary experience (Italy and India), significant literary contributions, an excellent knowledge of the diverse forms of the world Christian movement and, most valuable of all, many years of study of the Holy Scriptures.

All of the above are reflected in this biblical study. You will be pleased to discover the insight of his tenets and will be grateful to God for bringing this timely and useful book into existence.

Arthur Glasser

Dean Emeritus and Senior Professor of Theology

And East Asian exercises

World Mission School

Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena

^ Preface to the Asian edition

Dr. Roger Headland's book Mission to Man in the Bible is a timely publication in the field of mission theology. It is a complete and in-depth study. Theology of mission has been discussed and written about a lot lately at conferences and in journals. However, most of the publications were fragmentary and somewhat confusing, highlighting only certain aspects of the mission. Most works are characterized by a lack of balanced opinions and thoughtfulness of positions.

In this context, Headland's book is something different. This is a balanced and comprehensive study. Over the course of twenty-seven chapters, the author traces the development of mission theology beginning with the Garden of Eden. Giving an explanation of the messianic prophecy in Gen. 3:15, he writes, “This is the gospel in the Garden of Eden.” He then systematically traces the conclusion of God's covenant with Noah, Abraham, the exodus, and the various stages of the history of Israel and the prophets. The author then turns to the New Testament, describing the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, including Paul's missionary journeys. A diachronic approach coupled with a critical assessment of contemporary theological theories of mission makes the book even more valuable.

The book is not only a rich source of information on theology and missiology, but it also critically evaluates contemporary theological teachings, whether religious pluralism, liberation theology, or humanization from the perspective of evangelical theology. This book gives a fair assessment of the latest publications published in the West and East. Missiological challenges and opportunities are also discussed here.

This book, with its wide range of issues, depth and special insight, is a blessing to the Church in India, which needs strong biblical foundations and clear missionary goals in the face of vague religious concepts and empty postulates.

Finally, another strength of the book is the author's attempt to successfully integrate biblical theology and the church growth principles of Dr. Donald McGavran, a modern-day apostle of church growth. Dr. Headland responds to the unfair criticism leveled at Church Growth Schools and restates some of Dr. McGavran's important findings. Careful study and application of the theology and principles advocated in this book will help the Church in India, under God's guidance, to engage in mission and church growth, which is the imperative of today.

Dr. James Gamaliel

Concordia Seminary

Nagercoil

^ Introduction to the Asian edition

The Church of Jesus Christ in Asia is called to bear witness in the context of contemporary social change, political instability, religious quest and cultural dialogue. So many voices want to be heard. The resurgent neo-Hinduism is making desperate attempts to completely take over the spiritual life of the Indian people. Recent conversions to Islam in South India have received wide publicity, and in North India neo-Buddhism has attracted new adherents. Various social movements and political ideologies are also fighting for recognition.

In such a situation of political, social and religious unrest, the Church is called upon to fulfill its mission. In a country of such stark differences and countless divisions, the Church must be a means of reconciliation and peace and fight on the side of the oppressed classes. Kanjamala writes: “Part of the Christian struggle for a just society is to use all means to destroy evil in our society” (Kanjamala 1983:130). When Christians do this, sick humanity is healed and society is transformed by hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, the Church appears to be wavering on the issue of mission. Over the past twenty years, opinions have been divided on the meaning of mission. Today, despite signs of similarity (Bosch 1983; Glasser 1983), cleavages remain. Basically, all the differences are related to theological issues. Carotemprel writes that the mission of the Church today is to proclaim reconciliation: “This is the real Gospel, the Good News that should be preached to all: that the Lord reconciles, forgives, transforms sinful man in Jesus Christ even today and makes him the son of God and an organic human being” (Karotemprel 1983:97). However, not everyone will agree on what such a proclamation means or how to carry it out. It is therefore necessary to return to the original sources, the Old and New Testaments, in order to understand the very essence.

In recent years, a large number of books, monographs, articles and periodicals dealing with mission issues have appeared in the English-speaking world. The Roman Catholic Church tried to focus on a slightly different understanding of the problem after the Second Vatican Council; see, for example, Rahner, Re-Thinking the Church's Mission (1966 ed.), Shillebeeckx, The Mission of the Church (1978) and Biihlmann, The Coming og the Third Church (1978). The most significant Protestant works include three translations from the Dutch: An Introduction to the Science of Missions by Bavinck (1960), The Missionary Nature of the Church by Blauw (1962), and Contemporary Missiology by Verkuyl (1978) Recent popular series “I believe”. "), published by Michael Green, released three works on church mission: Warren's I Believe in the Great Commission (1976), Watson's I Believe in Evangelism (1976), Gibbs's I Believe in Church Growth (1981) . Various other works deal with a variety of missionary topics, such as the Holy Spirit (Boer 1964), dialogue (Ab-hishiktananda 1976), evangelism (Green 1970), social justice (Desrochers 1977; Gutierrez 1973; Miranda 1974; Santa Ana 1978; Scott 1980 ), church planting (Hesselgrave 1980), culture (Kraft 1979), and Bible study (Bright 1953; Hahn 1965; Jeremias 1967; Tippett 1970). Indian researchers studied issues of humanization (Thomas), adaptation of the Gospel to local conditions (Amalorpavadass), Christology (Panikkar) and religions (Pathrapankal). DeRidder offered a very detailed study of the biblical concept of mission from the perspective of the Old and New Testaments in Discipling the Nations (1975).1

The present study is an attempt to fill the existing gap. No book on biblical mission theology has yet appeared in India. There is also a need here for an exegetical study of the missionary theology of the Bible. The chapters in this book attempt to present important biblical themes that define the mission of the Church. The author makes an attempt to correlate biblical data with problems that are typical specifically for India. This study, of course, cannot be considered the last word on this issue, but it aims to awaken God's people to action.

This book took ten years to write. From 1974 to 1978 I taught a course on the Mission of the Church at the Union Biblical Seminary, Yavatmal. Since there were no textbooks, apart from scattered notes and library extracts and selections, these lectures became the “textbook”. At first, lectures were recorded and then typed. The result was 115 pages of text, which covered the gap in this topic for the next few years. There were proposals (from some students) to publish these lectures. Therefore, in 1978 I began editing them, which continued, with some interruptions, until 1984.

I express my deep gratitude to those people who worked with me. My colleagues and students contributed with various questions and ideas. The contents of the book have been compiled from numerous sources. In the introduction I mentioned some of the major works. An effort was made to study all the available literature on this subject, including journals, books, reference books (mostly in English). However, I could not cover all the literature because some works were not available. The bibliography provides a list of literature that was studied. Documentary sources were used with extreme care in accordance with the standard of missiological sociological format. Scripture quotations are given according to the Synodal translation. Over time, ideas become so internalized that they become their own, so it is sometimes very difficult to trace their true roots. I apologize for any such shortcomings. In particular I would like to thank Dr. Arthur Glasser, from whose lectures at Fuller Theological Seminary I borrowed some information. I am also grateful to my friends who critically reviewed the text and provided comments. These are, first of all, Dr. Alan Gates (Institute of Chinese Studies in Pasadena), Dr. Herbert Rader (Salvation Army Catherine Booth Hospital in Nagercoil), His Rev. Richard Sturz (Baptist Theological Faculty of Sao Paolo, Brazil), Dr. Anil Solanki and Dr. A. Swamidos (United Biblical Seminary of Yavatmal, Pyun). I would especially like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. J. C. Gamaliel of Concordia Seminary (Nagercoil), who kindly agreed to write the foreword. I appreciate the comments of Dr. Sunanda Sumitra of Union Biblical Seminary (Pyun) as well as Dr. A. B. Masilmani of Hyderabad. Mr. B. J. A. Solomon of Madras kindly read and edited the manuscript. Mr. Viswasham Selwyn, lecturer from South Asian Christian College (Madras), prepared the indexes for the book.

I would also like to thank my wife, Tee June Hedland, as well as Ms. Pamela Muthia of the Church Growth Research Center office who typed up the drafts of the book. All the staff of the Center for Church Growth Research participated in one way or another in the production of this publication... especially the director, Rev. S. Vashantharai Albert, and Mr. A. Rajakumar, who supervised the manuscript through the various stages of production.

I would also like to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of Mr. W. M. Abraham and Mr. Benjamin Gnanamani-kam of the Gospel Literature Ministry (Madras), as well as the financial support of Mr. Page Fund of the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society.

Glory to God alone!

Part I

Instruction to humanity:

Mission in the Old Testament

Gospel in Eden

Missionary work appeared long before Jesus Christ. Therefore, the study of missionary theology should begin with the Old Testament. Why don’t we turn first of all to the person of Jesus Christ, on whom the Church and missionary work rest? Blau, turning to the Old Testament in his study of the theological foundations of missions, also asks this question and recognizes that Scripture testifies to Jesus Christ as the central figure of the Bible. “It is through Him that the Old Testament makes sense” (Blauw 1962:13). However, the personality of Jesus Christ should be understood only based on the experience of Old Testament teaching. This does not mean that we must fit Christ into the context of Old Testament events; rather, we begin our Bible study where it really begins, and only then move on to the New Testament. The appearance of Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. Therefore, it is with the Old Testament that we must begin. Christ Himself recognized the importance of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament text should be treated with great attention, since it lays the foundations of the New Testament teaching, in particular, the concept of missionary work.2 The Old Testament describes the history of the people of God. It is presented in the context of the history of peoples, which in itself has deep missionary significance. De Ridder is right when he says that “no student of missiology can deny the need to study the Old Testament prototypes of Christian missionary work” (1975:2).

The story that Scripture describes is theological in nature. The Old Testament reveals the actions of God throughout human history. Old Testament history is the history of revelation. “History is one of the main categories of biblical revelation. Revelation not only sheds light on historical events, but is also the driving force behind them” (Kasper 1975:43). Human existence thus has meaning and significance. The Lord reveals himself to man for his salvation. Theologians call this the salvific story of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Lord reveals Himself in acts for the salvation of man. “It is necessary for God to take the initiative first before anyone does so out of fear of wrath...” (Alon-so-Schokel 1975:289). The Old Testament, from Genesis onwards, contains a record of the Lord doing just this. The Lord's desire to bring man to salvation finds its highest expression in the revelation of Jesus Christ, “the synthesis and crown of revelation” (Alonso-Schokel 1975:287).

The Old Testament is important for understanding Christian missionary work. Christian missionary work, which begins with the New Testament, has its origins in the Old Testament, where long before the incarnation of Jesus Christ we find the Lord at work. From the very beginning of history, God has accompanied man. The significance of the Old Testament for missions, Tippett argues, is that it provides “a range of situations in different historical and cultural settings in which the people of God become actively involved in the events of the world, as they enter into relationships with other nations, experiences social crises and is opposed to other religious systems” (Tippett 1973:xviii).

When studying the Old Testament we borrow several missionary concepts: God, creation, man, redemption, nations.
^ God and gods
The Old Testament reveals the nature of God: He is holy, righteous, omnipotent, zealous... He is one. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4). “The Old Testament is a missionary book because Jehovah is a missionary God” (Kane 1976:18). Yahweh is the God of Israel. Other peoples also had gods; from world history and the history of religion we learn about the nature of these deities. The Bible, however, highlights the God of Israel, who is recognized as God not only for Israel, but for the entire universe (Gen. 18:25, Ps. 21:27-28; 46:8; 66:4-5 ; 71:19; Jer. 10:6-7). The God of the Bible is contrasted with the gods of other nations (Ex. 9:14; 12:12; 15:11; 18:11; Deut. 3:23; 4:33-35; Ps. 96:5). Yahweh does not recognize the existence of other gods, as stated in the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3).

Currently, one of the issues discussed in the field of missionary work is the question of other gods. How does the Old Testament compare with other religions and other gods? What are they like, these gods that other peoples worship? Do they really represent an alternative source of revelation? The debate is around world religions: is it possible to treat religions other than Christianity as a legitimate means of salvation? The conflict between Yahweh and the other gods helps us answer this question. First, the gods of other nations are considered mere fiction: they are powerless, silent and useless.1 The God of Israel claims that He is the only Lord: “For I am God, and there is no other God” (Isa. 46:9). Yahweh is the God of the entire universe. He says, “The whole earth is mine” (Ex. 19:5).

The question of other gods concerns the nature of revelation. De Ridder notes that Christians often place revelation in such a “limited frame” that any manifestation of divine intervention outside the Bible in nature or in the world is not treated with due attention: “All revelation is the self-revelation of the one true God” (1978:13). The Bible does not deny that the Lord reveals Himself to the world. On the contrary, she repeatedly emphasizes that the Lord wants to be known about Him. The Lord reveals Himself through action and word to all mankind. It is available.

Secondly, Yahweh speaks of Himself as God, carrying out judgment on Israel, who, having taken possession of the promised land, was forced to exterminate its population. There has always been conflict between the God of Israel and the gods of other nations. For this reason, there could be no question of compromise between the people of God and the Canaanites, who had become extremely corrupt. Their depravity was partly expressed in the fact that they professed a false religion. The main reason for the enmity between them was the Canaanite cult of fertility. As Wright emphasizes, “the cultic embodiment of the myth, which was based on magical elements corresponding to its spirit, is a completely foreign phenomenon to the religion of the Israelites” (Wright 1968:66). The Canaanite gods of fertility encouraged the cult members to take part in shameless rites dedicated to the various seasons. "For a polytheist it was affordable way influence on the forces of nature and the gods, which the people of Israel for the most part did not share" (Wright 1968:78). Man played the role of the gods of nature in order to induce the gods themselves to act through their actions. “At the center of these great cult festivals lay the sacred rebellious drama of creation, the union of the god of rain and vegetation with the goddess of fertility... In these festive rites man recreated an ordered world, fighting against chaos and guarding the rebirth of nature in winter and autumn” (Wright 1968:94 ). Tippett adds to this that “man assumes the role of creator” (Tippett 1973:xvii). The Old Testament knew only one way - to follow the will of the one true God. All other religions are declared false teachings, in relation to which there can be no compromise solutions. These gods, according to Moses, are not gods, but demons (Deut. 32:17). For this reason, a policy of sympathy, syncretism or coexistence with other religions is impossible. According to the Bible, none of them lead to salvation.

Isn’t such an assessment of the religions of other peoples too strict? The destinies of the Israeli and Canaanite peoples were intertwined for a long time, which entailed both the process of denial of an alien culture and assimilation with it. However, the syncretism between faith in Yahweh and the worship of Baal could not last long. “Despite its strong cultural influence, the worship of Yahweh finally rejected the possibility of union with an alien religion” (L'Hour 1973:77). The religious ideas of the Canaanites were completely different from those of the Israelites and expressed a view of the world order that was incompatible with biblical faith. The above assessment runs counter to today's climate of largely tolerant attitudes towards other world religions, for example, Kasper writes: “It is no longer possible to maintain an irreconcilable hostility between the Christian and non-Christian worlds” (1973:196), and Dupuy, emphasizing the obvious differences, thus however, clearly feels that “non-Christian religions also convey divine grace” - although to a lesser extent than Christianity (Congar, 1973:233, however, points out that the right to exist of a particular religion is not at all a question). is associated with the problem of saving people to whom the Gospel has not been preached (1973:168) Not all Catholic theologians share the point of view of Rahner and Pan-nikar. Gomez emphasizes that other religions contain serious mistakes and vicious orders. “It is difficult to believe that the rise of such creeds was the will of God,” since they are contrary to God's design (Gomez 1973:303). Any serious dialogue requires knowledge of these essential differences.

^ Creation of the World

The description of the creation of the world has a certain missionary significance. Some Asian theologians have suggested that the starting point for Asian theology should be creation rather than the history of redemption and salvation (Niles 1982; Song 1975). Blau (1962) begins his study of missions with the first eleven chapters of Genesis. The history of mankind begins with Gen. 1:1.

God created the world, producing at the end the crown of creation - man. The first chapters of the Bible are dedicated to God and man. “The first concern that appears in the biblical text concerns not the fate of the Jews, but the fate of all mankind” (De Ridder 1975:14). In Gen. 1 - 11 we are not talking about one people (Israel), but about the history of all mankind. Song puts it this way: “The Creator and Redeemer God cannot be placed into any one racial or cultural context” (1975:22).

God's creation of the world means that there is only one human race. Reading Genesis, we discover that “all mankind traces its history back to one ancestor” (De Ridder 1975:16), and Yahweh is not the deity of a certain tribe, but the Lord and Father of all living things. The idea of ​​the creation of the world, which we find in Scripture, is the basis for the proclamation of the supreme power of God over the entire world and the peoples inhabiting it.

Thus, all humanity has a single ancestor and a single dignity. Man is not only the crown of God's creative work, but has also been given special honor. “You have made him a little lower than the angels; crowned him with glory and honor; You have made him ruler over the works of Your hands; He put everything under his feet” (Ps. 8:6-7). As stated in Genesis, God created man in His own image and likeness in order to have fellowship with him.

If we begin our study where the biblical text begins, it will help us gain the right orientation. “A true understanding of the world as God created it gives us a broad perspective. The Christian worldview assumes that the world was created by God, the Father of all people, that the whole world is subject to Him, and history is the testing ground for His redemptive activity” (De Ridder 1975:21).

God's creation of man in His image and likeness endowed humanity with creative ability. This seems to be what Song means when he argues that “God's creation, especially with regard to the capacity for development and man's responsibility for his resources, remains largely unfinished” (1975:38). Culture, as Song recognized, is a manifestation of divine creation (1975:25). “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). Theologians often speak of this biblical text as a “cultural mandate,” contrasting it with the gospel mandate of the New Testament. Conn objects to this division, preferring the concept of covenant mandate. Man has the responsibility to fulfill the covenant to expand the boundaries of "God's garden" in this world, which God desires to be "full of prophets, priests and kings whose hearts belong to God" (Conn 1977:1-2). Man placed in a cultural environment attempts to convey the heavenly through earthly means, writes Song, who believes that the main missionary task is to “make a sober assessment of the cultural environment” (1975:28). Song understands creative activity as changes in social and political life. God created man as a rational being who must be responsible for the state of the environment and society (Gen. 2:15).

All creation is directly related to man. The biblical doctrine of man is very important for the correct understanding of the gospel in India. There is not a word in the Bible that God created some from His head, some from His chest and thighs, and some from His legs. The Bible says that God created man in His own image and likeness - all people. Among people there are neither exalted nor humiliated. Everyone is equally equal before God, everyone bears the image of the Creator. The rich, the poor, the untouchable and the Brahmin are endowed with equal dignity. There is no basis for caste division in the biblical concept of man. All people are equally exalted - all created in the image of the Creator. In the same way, everyone is equally humiliated - everyone is in need of redemption.

The Bible evaluates man as a being of high dignity, in whom the image of the Creator is imprinted, which in itself is a very encouraging factor for the victims of religious and social systems operating under the laws of despotism. Manickam in his study shows that the Christian gospel was the main source of hope for the Indian untouchables, and missionary work awakened social consciousness in India (1982:79, 96). Man is the highest creation of God and the object of His saving love.

The creation of the world and the biblical description of man is a very convenient place from which to begin an acquaintance with the Gospel, as well as the study of missionary theology.

Redemption

Genesis also contains the story of the Fall of man, which followed immediately after he disobeyed God. Man, who no longer obeys God, becomes His fallen creation. Lewis states the doctrine of the Fall as follows: “Man is now a terror both to God and to himself. He becomes a being who has to fight for existence, but not because the Lord wanted this, but because, having abused his free will, man himself doomed himself to such trials” (1959:57). The unity of the human race implies that all humanity has fallen into sin. Humanity has become guilty before God, morally corrupt and separated from Him, socially alienated and directionless. Adam's sin has global consequences. Man cannot exist in isolation! “The tragic separation of man from God and friend lies at the heart of the Christian mission” (Tippett 1973:xvii). Human rebellion has serious consequences. “The Bible, God's Word to man, begins with the consequences of this disobedience. It is intended for a person who is in a tragic situation that calls for Christian mission” (Tippett 1973:xvii).

Separation from God leads to social ramifications. “Man's alienation from God has a tragic effect on his relationships with other people” (Song 1975:210). Broken connections between people require restoration. Therefore, according to Song, “the chief concern of Christian mission must be humanization” (1975:216), since “salvation is humanization” (1975:217). This categorical statement is very characteristic of Song's thought and is an expression of the theology that has divided the worldwide Church since 1968.2 Song tempers his statement somewhat by explaining that "the humanization of the social sphere is not the only task of Christian mission" (1975:214), although he expresses his opposition to what he calls the obsessive evangelization of conversion (1975:213). Song assures us that his main concern - as well as the Christian mission - is the person, not social structure. "However, when social environment becomes more and more aggressive when it interferes with human development, the Christian mission, proclaiming the love and justice of God, cannot but take responsibility in demanding a change in the situation” (1975:214). Few people would argue with someone who wishes people well from the bottom of their hearts. In Eden, man was responsible for his brother. A man is his brother's keeper. Moreover, Girvargis Mar Ostathios reminds us that we should not ask the Lord Cain's question, “Am I my brother's keeper?” Since the Lord has already answered us: “You are not your brother’s keeper, you are your brother’s brother” (1980:107). Human failure, however, reveals the need for outside help.

At this moment, God reveals His missionary nature. In the Garden of Eden, God searches for man (Gen. 3:8ff.). Other world religions show that man seeks God. Here we see the opposite. In Genesis we read that the Lord Himself takes the first step. People can seek God, but they can also run from Him. Adam made an attempt to hide from God. But God Himself appeared before the disobedient Adam. Someone said that God is the first missionary. He came, He sought, He found, and He provided salvation for His lost creatures (Gen. 3:8). The Lord did not leave man in his trouble. He showed the means (Gen. 3:15) to the human race. This is the gospel in Eden.

The salvation that the Lord offers is for all people. The initiative that God takes upon Himself in the historical process provides humanity with the possibility of salvation and contributes to the emergence of missionary work. As Blau notes, “The basis for the missionary message in the Old Testament is universality” (1962:17). The Old Testament text contains a large number of references to various tribes and peoples (for example, Gen. 10; 12:3; 17:4; Exod. 19:5; Deut. 32:43; 1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 19: 19; 1 Chr. 6:33; 6; 60:3,18; Jer. 22:8; ; Avd. 15; Zech. 8:10;

What the Lord does in Israel is true for all nations (Ex. 14:4; 15:14; Deut. 28:10; Jer. 22:8; Eze. 20:22). Why is it important? Who are meant by nations? What is their role? As we continue our research, we will have to look at this issue in more detail. Nations are the people of the whole world. For the history of the Old Testament, they were primarily the tribes that lived in the neighborhood of Israel. The history of salvation, which centers on the people of Israel, also extends to other nations. God, if He is not a deity only for the Jewish people, has a connection with the world and with the peoples inhabiting it. If He is the Lord of the whole world, then the salvation of the Egyptians, Philistines, Babylonians, Assyrians and other nations is of paramount importance to Him. He does not want them to be destroyed, but to be saved (Isa. 19:19-25; 45:22; Ps. 68:31-32; 86:9; 87). The list of tribes (Gen. 10) suggests that the Lord has a direct relationship with every human family, language and people (Gen. 10:5,20, 31). The covenant that God made with Noah (Gen. 9:9-10) is a covenant with the whole world.

God revealed Himself to the people of Israel (Ex. 4:31; 9:14; 14:31; 18:11; Deut. 4:35; 1 Kings 20:28; 2 Chron. 2:12; Ps. 77:1) . This is where the people of God live, whose relationship with the outside world we see in biblical history. “The main religious problem for Israel was how to live in a world that existed according to different laws and had a different idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe world order” (Tippett 1973: xvii). The Asian Church finds itself in almost the same position today. In Old Testament times, Israel confronted social and cultural changes, alien ideologies, political upheavals, problems of poverty, wars and violence. We are experiencing the same thing today. Under such circumstances, God's people were called to bear witness through their existence, service, and worship. “Ye shall be My inheritance above all nations: for all the earth is Mine; and you will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6).

The Old Testament does not provide a basis for separation from the world. A godly life in which God is central must also be directed towards service in this world. Israel occupies a central place between the nations, where it cannot escape social conflicts. The Old Testament constantly warns against syncretism (union with the world), but it also warns against submission (submission to the world). Israel must preserve the uniqueness of its testimony, and it has the responsibility to make it effective. The Law of Moses, which was destined to shape the way of life of the Old Testament people, also served to emphasize the distinctiveness of God's chosen people and their purpose in this world. Although Israel failed in many ways to fulfill its purpose, exceptions did occur. At the temple dedication, Solomon prayed that “all the nations of the earth would know your name so that they may fear You, like Your people Israel” (1 Kings 8:43). Apparently, one of the purposes of building the Jerusalem temple was to witness to “all the nations of the earth” (1 Kings 8:60; cf. 1 Kings 8:41-43). The house of God was to be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7; cf. Mark 11:17). The prophets reminded the Israelites of their forgotten duty to testify: “My witnesses, says the Lord” (Isa. 43:10; 44:8; 49:3,6).

Situations of social conflict are of paramount importance for missionary work. In the Old Testament, during times of cultural change, turmoil, and instability, prophets speak for the Lord. In mission, the Lord's chosen way of revealing himself was "by speaking to men through men" (Tippett 1973: xix). Mi

Shelter at the Vladimir Church in Mytishchi The shelter at the Vladimir Church in Mytishchi arose almost simultaneously with the church community in 1992. Immediately after the opening of the temple, a free canteen for the poor began operating there. At first it was located in a heated garage. As the temple was restored, a kitchen and two refectories were built, one of which was intended for the poor. About 200 people are fed in the canteen every day.

For the most part, these are people who have neither work, nor housing, nor documents. Among them are local residents, refugees from other regions of Russia and the republics of the former USSR, people who have lost their family and home. During the warm season, some of them live next door in a kind of colony created by homeless people in Losiny Ostrov Park.

From this environment of disadvantaged, poor people, the inhabitants of the shelter came to us. Many of them subsequently became permanent employees of our temple.

Currently there are 10 people living in the shelter. Among them there are quite young and healthy people of thirty to forty years old, and the elderly, and the disabled. They took an active part in the restoration of the temple and most of what we have now was made by their hands.

They are still working to the best of their ability. The residents of the shelter do everything:

work in the kitchen, clean the temple and other premises, and store if necessary Construction Materials. They work for free.

In the morning and evening, all the inhabitants of the shelter gather in church, where they perform the morning and evening rules. Those of them who cannot come to the temple perform the rule in their rooms.

Despite the fact that among the inhabitants there are people of different ages, they all live in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and unanimity. Such a spiritual mood is created and maintained by prayer. In addition to general prayers, residents of the shelter perform their own special prayer rule. During work, study and short rest, they pray slowly and silently for others.

Unfortunately, the shelter is currently unable to increase the number of residents. However, the community tries to use every opportunity to help the poor who come to the temple. In addition to meals in the canteen, many of them are given clothes donated by parishioners. The temple actively cooperates with the adaptation and rehabilitation center "Lestvitsa" opened this year in Serpukhov under the Russian-American Brotherhood of St. Seraphim. The director of this center is one of the former residents of the shelter.

The workers are satisfied that people from different social groups and different ages live in the shelter of the Vladimir Church as a large friendly family.

Charity center at the Church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul Works of mercy and charity constitute an integral function of the Church, along with preaching the Gospel, performing sacraments and rituals.

The temple is located near three train stations: Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky, and homeless people, refugees released from prison, and simply people who suffered along the way constantly go there for alms. Some ask for food, others for money for a ticket, and in winter for warm clothes. A collection of clothes was organized and distributed to those in need. No one was released without a piece of bread, and in some cases, financial assistance.

In March 1995, the temple, together with the Russian-American Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Seraphim of Sarov organized the “Charity Center”, the director of which was the Orthodox Ethiopian Nimrud. He and his colleagues got down to business without further ado: they began preparing lunches in the church kitchen, taking them to train stations and distributing them to those in need there. Crowds of hungry people gather at the distribution sites in the morning. Currently, three times a week - on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday - at 13:00, not far from the Kazansky railway station, you can always see a group of volunteers - Nimrud's volunteer assistants, distributing hot meals to the homeless. 100-150 people receive a portion of freshly prepared buckwheat porridge with stewed meat or fish, hot coffee and bread. Sometimes the rector of the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, Fr. Stephen to say a prayer, bless the food, and talk to these people.

In order to somehow rectify the situation, the capital’s authorities are trying to send all homeless people to regional reception centers and shelters during the cold weather.

Moreover, most often, people without a fixed place of residence end up in the so-called homeless communities not of their own free will - the municipal police conducts special raids called “Beggars” six times a year, collecting homeless people from the streets, from underground passages and from metro stations. In total, according to the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, the police pick up about 30 thousand tramps every year, making an entry in the capital’s “Homeless” database, and also checking all captured beggars for criminal records.

There are seven reception centers for tramps in Moscow. All these receivers are designed for 650 people. Here homeless people are divided into “non-residents” (those who came to Moscow from the Russian provinces, as well as citizens of the CIS) and former Muscovites (those who various reasons lost my Moscow registration). During their stay in reception centers, people receive one meal, a separate bed and disinfection - they are treated by doctors from three special sanitary treatment centers in the capital.

True, recently there are practically no homeless people left in special detention centers. In order to place them in these institutions, a court decision is necessary, therefore, according to the organization Doctors Without Borders, which provides assistance to the homeless, the police are filling empty places with illegal citizens from China, Vietnam and the CIS countries. Former Muscovites (about 2 thousand people a year) are provided with certificates of lost documents and sent to shelters. According to the Moscow Social Protection Committee, there are now 12 such institutions in the capital, they are designed for 1,600 people - these are overnight stay homes, social hotels, the Center social adaptation and departments of boarding houses.

The largest of these institutions for the homeless is the Filimoniki Center for Social Adaptation, which accommodates 500 people and is located in the Leninsky district of the Moscow region. True, it only accepts disabled people and pensioners. The second largest is the night stay house in Lublin (Ilovaiskaya Street 2), which was one of the first to open in Moscow. It is here that the largest number of men and women flock to drink or have lost their Moscow apartments. This lodging house has 400 beds.

There are doctors and lawyers working there who help return the apartments to the owners.

As Gazeta.RU was told at the night shelter in Lublin, “the homeless are coming in a constant stream, the house is constantly occupied at 99%.” According to social workers, homeless people come on their own because they have known this place for a long time. However, as Gazeta.Ru notes, according to the Salvation Army public organization, which organizes free meals for the homeless, it is very difficult to get into such shelters. To do this, you need an extract from the house register confirming that the homeless person was previously a resident of Moscow, a police certificate and a letter of recommendation from the Social Protection Committee.

The organization Doctors Without Borders believes that the lack of information is due to the fact that the Moscow authorities are afraid of a large influx of homeless people into these social protection centers, which the workers of the shelters simply cannot cope with.

According to the head of the program for helping the homeless of the Doctors Without Borders mission, Alexei Nikiforov, the Moscow authorities still cannot take control of the situation with the homeless. " The main reason bad work The government can name a shortage of such houses in which not only former Muscovites, but also any person can at least just spend the night,” Nikiforov believes. In addition, the Salvation Army says that in Moscow it is almost impossible to open a private home for tramps. The authorities do not provide any benefits public organizations to purchase or rent a building for these purposes. True, the city government is now again discussing the issue of allocating an entire residential building for homeless people. The abbreviation homeless person no longer needs to be deciphered for anyone today. A phenomenon that was extremely rare during the years of developed socialism has become widespread today. Over the past 10 years, the number of detained persons has tripled. In just 9 months of this year, law enforcement agencies detained 1,515 persons of no fixed abode, including 244 women.

Among them are illegal migrants, people released from prison, and unfortunate lonely old people who have lost their housing as a result of fraud.

And if the situation with illegal immigrants is easier, then other categories of homeless people are a headache for the police. According to the law, they can be administratively detained for vagrancy or begging, and placed in a detention center for an extremely limited time. It is impossible to hold someone else accountable. There is no such article in the Criminal Code now.

An incident helped us find a way to solve the problem. In 1998, a publication appeared in one of the Russian publications about the activities of a specially created committee in St. Petersburg to work with persons without a fixed place of residence. The Ministry of Internal Affairs became interested in this experience. They did not create the same structure, just as they did not begin to adopt the experience of accommodating homeless people for the night in abandoned emergency buildings.

A night stay home for people without a fixed place of residence has opened next to a picturesque forest area. Painted light pink with neat porches and a carved gazebo under young birch trees, it in no way resembles the St. Petersburg “inns” for the homeless. More like a neat, clean provincial hotel. The only difference is that the “rooms” here are equipped not with ordinary beds, but with bunk beds. This house has a lounge with a TV, a shower, and a dining room with a refrigerator and luxurious indoor plants.

Conventionally, the house is divided into four halves. The first is the administration room. The other three are designed to accommodate women, people who have already found work and come here only to spend the night, and those elderly people who will be placed in nursing homes for the elderly. It is designed to accommodate 92 people.

People left without their corner are brought here from the reception center, and they themselves come for help, Nikolai Verkeev, director of the overnight stay home, shares his experience. During the establishment's existence, 2,501 people were registered who had both problems with housing and documents. 345 people were registered, 102 were employed, 29 were placed in boarding homes. Maintaining one “tenant” per day costs 7.5 thousand rubles. Finance for economic needs The city is helping.

Food provided by the Evangelical Church.

However, it is not easy for employees to work. Not because the contingent is difficult. It is very difficult to find a job for those who are still of working age (and there are almost 50 percent of them), so that a person has not only a stable income, but also a roof over his head. They can live in a house only for 1 month and only in exceptional cases - for six months. There is none normative act or laws that would regulate the work of the police and social security services that patronize our establishment. The problem of homeless people is not so harmless; it happens that, taking their appearance, criminal elements wanted by the police also hide. This year, for example, 118 such persons were detained. At the same time, 29 crimes were solved. But the homeless themselves often become prey to criminals, and they often die in basements and sewers from disease and cold.

Maybe someone will think it unnecessary to care about a person who makes his living in a landfill. Then go to the house of overnight stay, listen to the sad stories of the fall to the bottom of life of the inhabitants there. And try to look into the tired, sick eyes of a person from this very landfill.