| |
The Church
of Christ
and the "church" of the evildoers
(A
humble work in which is adverted a fundamental knowledge
on the Dogmatics - a Science of the Exactness)
Many people, even some Genuine
Orthodox Christians often speak of the Church, of the
Orthodoxy, yet in the end in all this common phraseology
of theirs, which they use from time to time, they have
gone away from the roots of the Orthodoxy, from the very
Essence. Even though speaking about the Orthodoxy, all
their ideas and their speeches come to something usual,
outward, which they have apprehended from their parents,
which however does not conform to the actual essence of
our Faith, that is - what actually the Holy Orthodoxy,
the Holy Church of Christ is. That is why as a
consequence they often cannot discern the Truth from the
lie, the Church of Christ from the church of the
evildoers. That is why they do get lead astray by the
evil one, who is trying to lead astray, if possible,
even the elect (Mt.24:24). The expression “church of the
evildoers” is given to us in the Psalms - there it is
pointed to us by God Himself. The Holy Spirit Himself
through the holy Prophet David speaks: “I have hated the
congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the
wicked” (Ps.26:5)
_____________________
+/ NOTIFICATION: The holy Icon above: ”The Church of
Christ and the church of the evildoers”. A copy of the
fresco in the Zographo Monastery, 1817 y., Holy Mnt.
Athos.
Which
is the Church of Christ and which is the church
of the evildoers?
It is known to
everyone, that in the world during the early development
of the mankind a multitude of religions have emerged and
even more theories announcing God’s existence. The great
French scientist Blez Pascal in his book “Thoughts” (Les
Pences) comes to the doubtlessly exact conclusion, that
the existence of so many religions and philosophical
teachings about God testifies that man has separated
from God. Because, if man were not separated from
God, then the religion would have been
only one – the Theoanthropical! But since he
has separated from God, man has lost the knowledge of
the Truth and this loss of the truth brought him to the
composition of various human religions. Therefore:
true is only this one religion, which
acknowledges that man has separated from God.
This great scientist conducted his investigation in the
Middle Ages, and despite he did not belong to the
Orthodox Church, with this powerful spirit of his he
theoretically came to the Orthodoxy, which brought about
to him not a few problems with the popish environment.
By his Philosophical level Pascal, in my own opinion,
rises to the second place after the greatest Hellene
philosopher Socrates, for without having practical
knowledge, their spirit by the Will of God came up to
the footstool of the Revelation, to the threshold of the
knowledge of the Truth.
The only
teaching about the Salvation.
For us to be able to understand the
essence, let us start from the very beginning: God has
revealed to us that man has really separated from Him.
The various religions, non- Christian do not mention
this separation and do not acknowledge it. These days we
can see a series of people trying to persuade us that
all religions speak of God as if they come from God
Himself. However, if this were the truth then why are
there so many deep and fundamental differences between
the religions? How could God reveal to somebody one
truth and to somebody else - not only a different truth
but even totally the opposite? Therefore, it is
impossible that all religions come from the Truth!
Our faith, the Holy Orthodoxy is not a human invention,
national epos, legend. It is the GOD’S
REVELATION. THE ONLY ONE AND EXCEPTIONAL.
What actually
has God revealed to us?
 |
God created man. He gave him reason and a
relatively infinite and most complete knowledge
of the Truth. We say “relatively infinite and
most complete”, because ONLY God is really
Absolute. God has given him free will and
possibility of self-determination.
|
He has enthroned man as a king of the
whole
visible world:
- the matter, the space and the time and also of the
plant and the animal life.
Man was united with God - Who is the Life of man!
The only prohibition of God to Adam was: the practical
experience of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. Namely, God has forbidden
Adam to taste of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
Adam had the theoretical knowledge of tasting the tree
of good and evil. In the same way as if God had told him
“There is poison in this cup. Do not drink from this
cup, because you will die!” or “There is a danger
there! Do not go there, for you will die!”, Adam had
this knowledge, but only theoretically. By such
theoretical knowledge the poison HAD NO EFFECT on him,
it did not kill.
And here is his fall: he wished to have also the
practical (experimental) knowledge: “Well, let me
check - is it really that? Will I really die?”
 |
Adam fell into the temptation under the
suggestion of the first dead person and enemy of
God - Eosphorus. Through the practical
knowledge (through tasting) the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, Adam lost the
Eternal Life in the Paradise.
|
After
his fall, during his life on the earth, Adam gave birth
to posterity, to descendants, the
whole mankind. So, we have the man Adam on one hand and
the whole mankind, that is named Adam, on the other
hand. How to explain this?
 |
All
men
came
from
one
source,
from
one
spring
-
Adam
The whole mankind became as a grape Vine. It
was named Adam, for the Origin that this Vine
has descended from
is Adam himself. |
The whole mankind became as a grape Vine. It was named
Adam, for the Origin that this Vine has descended from
is Adam himself.
In the teachings of the Holy Fathers the name Adam is
mentioned on the one hand to denote the person of Adam,
and on the other - the whole human Race.
All the people, each descendant of Adam was born
infected with the disease of death, because he
originated from the very same spring - Adam - who was
infected with the disease whose name is DEATH.
From that time on, as st. Ignatius Bryianchaninov also
testifies, the common doom of all men has been
perishment (death). This is what inherited every person
born in Adam. For this reason at the expiration of their
earthly life, people descended to Hades (Hell). All of
them. Both the evil and the good. Both the righteous
and the unrighteous. No religion and no philosophy could
save the man from this doom, common to all men.
A question often heard is: “Why not some righteous and
good man, who, nevertheless, is not christian, be
saved?” It is understandable when such a question is
asked by a person, who is not a christian himself. If
he is a christian, then it becomes clear that he is a
christian only by name and on the whole, he has no
knowledge what christianity is, or he has generally
departed from this knowledge. The answer of the
impossibility for salvation of non-christians is given
to us by the Holy Fathers - the Saints of the Living
God:
salvation is impossible for the heretics, the non-christians
and the schismatics,
even if they have good deeds.
For example, St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov (1867) in his
lecture “ON THE DEEDS OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH AND ON THE
IMPOSSIBILITY OF SALVATION FOR THE HERETICS AND
NON-CHRISTIANS EVEN IF THEY HAVE GOOD DEEDS.” answers to
such christians: “Christians! You let your imagination
run around the salvation, building fancys and fibs, not
understanding it and the reason why the world needs
Salvation, and ultimately you do not know
Christ, Who is the Only One, through Which we acquire
the Salvation. So, here is the ONLY teaching on the
question, the teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church:
The Salvation consists in the returning of man to the
unity with God - Who is the Life of man! This
unity was lost for the whole mankind, because of the
falling of our ancestors. Since then, all men,
after the end of their life on earth, descended into
Hell. Not only the sinners but also the righteous.
“I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me”. According to the psalm, Patriarch Jacob
says about himself and his pure and chaste son: “I will
go down into the Hades unto my son mourning”
(Gen.37:35). Such was the power of the good deeds of the
mankind in Adam.
Such was the price of the virtues of our fallen nature.
Neither with his intelligence, nor with his virtues
could Adam, or any other man, save himself from this
common destiny, from this common perishment. Unable to
save himself was even the greatest of the Prophets, St.
John the Baptist! Lord Jesus Christ testifies about the
Baptist, that he is the greatest among those who were
born by women - in other words, born in Adam (Mt.11:11;
Lk.7:28). If even this greatest one after his
bodily death descended to Hell, then still more how are
the mohammedans, the heretics and the non-Christians
going to evade Hell, even if they have good deeds! Can
they reach the Baptist with their good deeds, moreover,
can they surpass him - the greatest of all who were born
by a woman?
How then, in this situation they dare speak, as if all
religions were from God, since none of these religions
could bring salvation to Adam. How could we start to
believe, that all the rest of the religions are also
leading to salvation? And what significance at all
could have whichever of the WHOLE WORLD’S religions(!?)
After they could not find a way out then, how would they
succeed in this now?
There was an indispensable need for the coming of
Saviour!
For
the sake of man’s Salvation it was necessary
that a Saviour came! For the restoration of the
lost unity of man with God Who is the Life
of man it was necessary that there
should come a Redeemer - to bring Deliverance!
The redemption, the deliverance of man was done
not by an Angel, or an Archangel, or by some
higher heavenly being - created and therefore
limited. The Salvation was wrought by the
Very God Infinite. God had promised Adam that He
Himself will send him the Saviour.
For the salvation of the human race God
Himself decided:
to become also a man, not ceasing to be God as
well.
A new Man was born, Who was called Jesus
Christ. He was born not in the natural way like
all the rest of the people in Adam, but
supernaturally, - from the Most holy Theotokos
and the All-holy Spirit. A new Man Who was not
infected with the illness of death. By means of
this supernatural conception He avoided the
infection of the natural birth in Adam.
 |
The Birth of Christ was a miracle - the Birth of
the New Adam.
This was THE ONLY way of saving the people,
which was chosen by God Himself.
Then how should it be possible that another
religion could also lead to salvation? |
When He became a man, God did not
merge the natures nor separate them nor alter them,
but both His natures - the Divine and the human -
remained perfect and unchanged.
 |
The New Adam, Jesus Christ, the Theoanthropos,
The Only Sinless One, decided to accept even
death - for the SALVATION of the human race. |
Some
sceptics ask, "How can God be born? How could He die?"
We will also ask the sceptics some questions - let them
think and respond:
- Is there anything impossible for the Almighty? Is
there something that He, The Absolute, to wish - and can
not do?
- Is it possible God to cannot wish - also to be born?
- who could limit His freedom - to want what He Himself
wishes?
- Is it possible God to not be born - as he himself
wished?
Answer - unequivocal:
b) All the relative
are born -
as The Absolute orders them!
A) The Absolute is born -
as He Himself wishes!
It is impossible to describe what actually took place
when Christ descended to Hell. Neither a man, nor an
Angel would be able to describe the majesty of what
happened.
We shall try, after our weaknesses to explain it
approximately.
The Lord Jesus Christ went down not only with His human
nature, but also with His Divine nature.
There happened something awesome, one fearful meeting.
One and only in the history of everything that is
in being:
–
the Absolute Life
met the trembling with horror death
–
and trampled it!
The proud but finite hades opened its mouth
to devour the
Unlimited
God and burst
from His Absolute Deity!
Here is how that
indescribable event is worded in the liturgical text of
the Sunday service of the seventh tone: hades drew nigh
to Thee and in vain strove to crush Thy body with its
teeth, breaking its jaws upon Thee, to wit: hades drew
near to You and strove in vain to crush You with its
teeth, breaking its jaws.
The brilliance of the Deity
filled the darkness of hades with
most Powerful
Light!!!
Absolutely
beyond description!…
The whole Hell, the entire nether world, all the demons
and Eosphorus still shake with horror when they remember
this event, that is most terrible for them.
The Absolute Life defeated death.
Christ overcame the one that had the power of death,
that is, the devil. (Heb.2:14-15).
The God-man = The Absolute Life = Jesus Christ - not
only trod hell down and overcame death, but He rose -
because death was not able to hold Him back!
(Acts.2:24),
and along with Himself He set free all the dead,
who expected Him with faith
All the Prophets, when they descended to Hell, preached
the same they preached during their earthly life. St.
John the Forerunner preached that there was coming the
Mightier than him after him. (Matt.3:11, Mark.1:8,
Luke.3:16, John.1:26-27).
And everybody in Hell listened. All the souls, held in
captivity for thousands of years. Those who believed
were set free!
Lord Jesus
Christ - the Absolute Winner
emptied Hell and filled up Heaven!
After His Resurrection, the New Adam
gave birth to a heritage.
Thus, a new Mankind is growing. Mankind Jesus Christ.
So, we have:
-
On
one side the man Adam and the mankind Adam. On the
other side - the God-man Jesus Christ (New Adam) and the
Mankind Jesus Christ - the New Mankind.
-
On
one side there is the vine Adam, that is the Tree of
knowledge of good and evil. On the other side is the
Vine - Jesus Christ, that is the Vine of Life
(John.15:1-6) - the Tree of Life.
The mystery of Baptism
The heritage of the New Adam, of the God-man Jesus
Christ is born the same way as the God-man Jesus Christ
Himself -
not naturally, but – supernaturally.
This happens through the Mystery of Baptism = John.3:3-5
Here's how it
happens:
- The absolute King - the God-man Jesus Christ - gave
His apostles the power to bind and release "Truly I say
to you:
Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven." (Mat.18:18). So
He
sent them around the world to perform the Mystery of
Baptism and
the
other Mysteries of The Church.
Why is it called Mystery?
Because there are two sides – visible and
invisible:
- the event that happens in the visible world
- and that happens in parallel in the invisible
world.
In the Mystery of Baptism the man is:
- visibly immersed (baptized) in the font, by
three entire immersions, canonically, according to the
commandment of the law - which is visible to the
human eye
- and invisibly (Mystically) is cut from the Tree
Adam - and is joined to (engrafted upon) the Tree Jesus
Christ, to the Tree of Salvation.
This tree is indeed the Salvation of man, this is the
Vine Jesus Christ, this is the restoration of
the lost Unity of the man with God, it is the
Paradise, it is the Heavenly Kingdom - in Heaven and in
earth. (Mt.28:18)
So, with the Resurrection of our Lord and His Ascension,
and with the completion of this Work of the Salvation by
Him, there was born a new Vine. The Vine Jesus Christ,
the Vine of the Salvation and the Eternal Life - the Gog-man
Jesus Christ - the Vine Jesus Christ - the New
Humanity - the Genus of the Orthodox Christians - the
Holy Orthodox Church!
 |
All those who think that
“the Christianity is an idea” or - “an
ideology”, or even think as if there could
“exist christianity outside the Church” - are
deeply mistaken, they have seduced themselves!
The Truth:
- Christian is the only one who is
united with Christ!
|
The Truth is no more just an idea! The Truth is
a Personality - The Personality of Jesus Christ!
(John.14:6) The Truth WAS INCARNATED! =
and the Word
became flesh
(John.1:14)
Follows:
«Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God» (John.4:1-3)
>>>
part 2
|
|
All Rights
Reserved.
