How is the sinner justified before God?

[J. A. McIntyre]

Following the lead of Blessed Augustine...

Christ did not die to make salvation possible, Christ died with a purpose, that purpose is determined by almighty God and not the lowly sinner.

The intent and accomplished act:

Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. [Even on the practical level, if God has the power to accomphish a tack, it wouldn’t make sense for God to not follow thru.]

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us [intent], who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Gal 1:3, 4 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, [I]according to the will of God and our Father:

1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners [intent]; of whom I am chief.

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us [intent], that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people [intent], zealous of good works.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God [intent], being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:[intent]

Results of the Atonement:

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled [result], we shall be saved by his life.

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ [result], and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Eph 2:15, 16 Having abolished in his flesh [result of the atonement] the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:[result]

Col 1:21, 22 And you, that were [past tense] sometime alienated and enemies [we were enemies of God] in your mind by wicked works, YET NOW hath he reconciled. [result] In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: [result of the atonement]

What Christ secured with the atonement:

Rom 3:24, 25 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [results of the atonement is security, without works we are saved by Grace] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; [results]

Rom 5:8, 9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, [security] we shall be saved from wrath through him.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us [past tense, we are secure because of the atonement] from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:


Col 1:13, 14 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: [the atonement secures our redemption]

Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, HAVING OBTAINED [past tense] eternal redemption for us.

1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree

Jesus sent on a mission: Joh 6:35-40 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. [past tense, it’s been done, the atonement secured our salvation], that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We see what the death of Christ actually did, now who was the death of our Lord for…for His sheep. Not every sheep, for His sheep:

Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Joh 10:14-18 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Joh 10:24-29 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, [plain indictment] because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

Christ the High Priest:

Joh 17 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, [Christ gives us the reason they do not believe, because they are not His] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. [the atonement has been done and is now being applied to the elect of God] And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. [if Christ is praying for only those the Father gives Him, the work of the atonement has to be completed. if God the Father doesn’t hear the prayer of God the Son, then we have dissention in the Godhead] They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

All of the believers spiritual blessings can be traced back to the eternal decree of God:

Eph 1:3-12 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world [any way you want to slice it, God chose some in Christ but not all], that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [and this is how God did His choosing and way] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: [God purpose, not ours] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: [all things, that means the good, the bad and the ugly] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Many, not ALL:

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall [as a fact] save his people from their sins. [Christ’s death did just that]

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. [not all]

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. [this passage shows the New Covenant was made with a people, and that people now have remission of sins based upon the work of the Cross/shed blood]

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. [the blood of Christ was shed, it’s a done deal, it’s not universal]

Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it [Christ died to purchase the Church, not the world]; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Rom 8:32-34 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all [who’s the all Paul is speaking of….look down a few verses], how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Hebrews 2:17 “sins of His people” [not all people]
Hebrews 3:1 “who share in a heavenly calling”

Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. [just read it]

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many [not all but many]; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

In closing, Christ’s death bought a people, not every single person in the world. Salvation isn’t universal, that wouldn’t make sense to have a universal atonement and not plan to offer it to everyone.


Peace,

abide_above
PS: Do you know where I can find an Icon of St. Augustine?

[Tim Grass]

Great. Well, a conversation I had yesterday with somebody on how Scripture can be quoted a lot but totally misunderstood... now has a printable example.

That's about as unOrthodox a way to read the Bible as you can get.

--tim

[J. A. McIntyre]

Hummm...I'll accept correction if you'd care to give a context to the passages I quoted to show how I was in error. But no, instead you reply with logical fallacy, the appeal to ridicule. I was just talking with a friend the other day about how often this tactic is used in conversation and now, with your permission, I'd like to email your post to him...what'd ya say?

I guess the burden of proof is yours, to explain how these are quoted out of context or without a proper meaning behind each quotation.

Thanks.

[AndyHolland]

Perhaps an Orthodox Christian way of talking about justification is to simply point out the obvious. God loves us. The goal of Orthodox Christians is to acquire the Holy Spirit.

Would it not therefore, be fair to say when one examines what St. Paul is saying in context, that the emphasis should be on living in the Holy Spirit, rather than dwelling on the legalisms from which we are delivered?

andy holland
sinner

Please forgive the underlines and bolds to emphasize the context of justification and atonement.

Ro:5:1: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Ro:5:2: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Ro:5:3: And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Ro:5:4: And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Ro:5:5: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Ro:5:6: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Ro:5:7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Ro:5:8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ro:5:9: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Ro:5:10: For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Ro:5:11: And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Ro:5:12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Ro:5:13: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Ro:5:14: Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Ro:5:15: But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Ro:5:16: And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
Ro:5:17: For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Ro:5:18: Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Ro:5:19: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Ro:5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Ro:5:21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ro:6:1: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Ro:6:2: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Ro:6:3: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Ro:6:4: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Ro:6:5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Ro:6:6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Ro:6:7: For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Ro:6:8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Ro:6:9: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Ro:6:10: For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Ro:6:11: Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ro:6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Ro:6:13: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Ro:6:14: For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Ro:6:15: What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Ro:6:16: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Ro:6:17: But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Ro:6:18: Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Ro:6:19: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Ro:6:20: For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Ro:6:21: What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Ro:6:22: But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Ro:6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ro:7:1: Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
Ro:7:2: For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
Ro:7:3: So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Ro:7:4: Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Ro:7:5: For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Ro:7:6: But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Ro:7:7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Ro:7:8: But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Ro:7:9: For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Ro:7:10: And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Ro:7:11: For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Ro:7:12: Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Ro:7:13: Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Ro:7:14: For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Ro:7:15: For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Ro:7:16: If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Ro:7:17: Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Ro:7:18: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Ro:7:19: For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Ro:7:20: Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Ro:7:21: I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Ro:7:22: For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Ro:7:23: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Ro:7:24: O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Ro:7:25: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Ro:8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ro:8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Ro:8:3: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Ro:8:4: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ro:8:5: For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

[J. A. McIntyre]

Thank you Andy. God bless.

[Ken McRae]

Following the lead of Blessed Augustine ... etc. PS: Do you know where I can find an Icon of St. Augustine?

hi there J.A. ~

You can find an icon of him @ http://www.monasteryicons.com/monasteryicons/Item_St-Augustine-of-Hippo_703_ps_srm.html ; but I can't comment on its correctness. It looks good to me, but as I say, I know next to nothing about icongraphy.

On another note, I have to confess your post was just a little confusing to me. And judging by the feed-back, I would say others felt similar. First, I was wondering what your background was: Catholic or Protestant? And secondly, I was wondering what you think about the principle of "Patristic Concensus" and whether or not Augustine's writings/teachings should be subject to, or governed by it?

abide_in_Christ,
Theophilus

[AndyHolland]

Reading from the excellent link you provided:

Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. One day, however, he heard about two men who had suddenly been converted on reading the life of St. Antony, and he felt terrible ashamed of himself. "What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius. "Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!"

Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It was just what Augustine needed, for in it, St. Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. That did it! From then on, Augustine began a new life.

He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved Thee!" he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion. His feast day is August 28th.

Maybe his writings are not properly understood? No one man except Christ is infallible. One can find errors in St. Basil the Great and even St. John Chrysostom. Reading any father without truth and love is almost if not as bad as reading the bible alone.

Also, Western syntax writing and thinking is different from Eastern. Different is not necessarily wrong. There are plenty of wonderful works of God in the West through his Saints, including St. Leo for example, St. Irenaeous, St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, St. Patrick, St. Columba and the blessed (St?) Augustine to name a few. So we believe Jesus is there with them on account of their works - maybe we don't properly understand their words?

Could it be that replacing papal infallibity with a father infallibility could also be a dangerous heresy? Also, if it is dangerous to read the Bible without the Holy Spirit and the fathers, it seems to follow that it would be dangerous to read the fathers without the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible as well. "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

andy holland
sinner

[J. A. McIntyre]

hi there J.A. ~

You can find an icon of him @ http://www.monasteryicons.com/monasteryicons/Item_St-Augustine-of-Hippo_703_ps_srm.html ; but I can't comment on its correctness. It looks good to me, but as I say, I know next to nothing about icongraphy.

On another note, I have to confess your post was just a little confusing to me. And judging by the feed-back, I would say others felt similar. First, I was wondering what your background was: Catholic or Protestant? And secondly, I was wondering what you think about the principle of "Patristic Concensus" and whether or not Augustine's writings/teachings should be subject to, or governed by it?

abide_in_Christ,
Theophilus

Brother Theophilus,

Thanks for the reply, my background is clearly Calvinistic, but my heart has been divided in matters of worship.

abide_in_Christ...yes...who is seated in heavenly places...and if ye be in Christ then you are a new creation...those who walk according to his rule...etc.


Could it be that replacing papal infallibity with a father infallibility could also be a dangerous heresy? Also, if it is dangerous to read the Bible without the Holy Spirit and the fathers, it seems to follow that it would be dangerous to read the fathers without the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible as well. "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

It could be and is a dangerous heresy, we agree...and if my will is totally free and not determined by any [like sin], then I must allow my conscious to guide me…

JM

[Ken McRae]

abide_in_Christ...yes...who is seated in heavenly places ...

If He is not seated in the heart, then what does His being seated in heavenly places profit us? We are to seek the kingdom of heaven within us, which is to say, Christ within us, not above us; and we do that by concentrating attention in the heart, or by recollecting ourselves or gathering up all our senses and turning them inward to focus or pinpoint the mind in the heart, as opposed to anywhere else externally. If we are not at least resolved to abide in Christ, by seeking His kingdom inwardly, through a careful guarding and keeping of the heart, then there is ground to suspect that He is not yet enthroned there.


... my background is clearly Calvinistic, but my heart has been divided in matters of worship.

I suspected you might be; but there are many types of Calvinists, and many disagreements too, concerning the five solas, (i.e. the pillars of the Reformation,) including sola fide, as clearly evidenced by the history of Protestant theology itself. If the Orthodox way of worship attracts you, then I suggest you follow your heart, as the heart is the proper organ and seat of spiritual knowledge.

If you're not entirely adverse to receiving some advice, then I suggest you leave off from the doctrine of justification, just for the time being, and immediately set to work on the pillar of sola scriptura, as it appears to me (by your silence on the question of Patristic Concensus) that it still stands in your heart's temple. In my opinion, the first and main supporting pillar of the Reformation is sola scriptura; but taken together sola scriptura and sola fide are Samson's two pillars, that must come down, if ever you hope to convert your heart into an Orthodox temple of worship.

In closing, I was wondering if you' ve ever heard of the name Francis Rous[e]? He was one of the Westminster divines and published a few things in his life-time; one of which was a small treatise by the name of The Celestial Academy, in which he presents a theory of epistemology or spiritual knowledge largely informed by the Orthodox epistemology of the early Paristic fathers of the East. See the link for it below, as well as links to four contemporaries of his, each of whom were indebted to the Eastern fathers to a considerable degree. In Cudworth's sermon, for instance, he says that the Gospel is essentially summed up in the words of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, that "God became man, so that man could become God!" What is the significance of this admission, you might ask? The significance of it is that the Orthodox Church has never ceased for a second to preach this gospel of participation in God! Think about that one long and hard!

01 - Rous, Francis (1579-1659)
http://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/biographies/rous.html
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/RON_SAC/ROUS_FRANCIS_1579_1659_.html
http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp61954&rNo=0&role=sit

ACADEMIA CELESTIS, OR THE HEAVENLY ACADEMY
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/christian_library/vol9/CL9Part7.htm

02 - John Smith (d. 1652)

ON HOW TO ATTAIN DIVINE KNOWLEDGE
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/christian_library/vol11/CL11Part4.htm

03 - Nathaniel Culverwell (1619-1651)

SPIRITUAL OPTICS
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/christian_library/vol10/CL10Part1.htm

04 - Henry More (1614-1687)

ON RECOVERING THE DIVINE LIKENESS
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/christian_library/vol23/CL23Part7.htm

05 - Cudworth, Ralph (1617-1688)

THE LIFE OF CHRIST, THE PITH AND KERNEL OF ALL RELIGION
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/christian_library/vol9/CL9Part8.htm

In each of these articles, you will see it affirmed and reaffirmed that the heart, as opposed to the head, is the proper seat of spiritual knowing, and thus I say follow your heart, if it is leading you toward Orthodoxy. You say your heart is divided, but it sounds more to me like your heart is not satisfied with the "Reformed" way of worship, but your head is hung up on the five pillars/solas. And so I say, turn around all your senses, and concentrate them in the heart, by abiding in Christ enthroned there!

Even if these five Anglicans wanted to attend an Orthodox Church, and I'm not saying they necessarily did, but if they had ever desired to, it was totally and completely impossible in their time and place; so they tried to bring as much of the Orthodox faith as possible into Anglicanism, their own "official" State Church, largely based on the ancient Orthodox model. Each of these five men stand in direct opposition to the direction that modern Evangelicalism has taken. While attending an Orthodox Church in 17th century England was both a political and practical impossibility, God has been more gracious to you and I in these times by providing us an opportunity to do what our Western fathers could not, especially in countries where the Protestant Reformation made its greatest and lasting impact.

Having said all of the above, I wish to say now that if you still feel like discussing the doctrine of justification, I will engage you in it, by the grace of God, but it should be known in advance, if you have'nt already discovered it, that I am not Orthodox (yet), so can only offer you some beggarly observations on their teaching, which I have stumbled upon in my own darkness; and give you some leads to explore in your own search for and discovery of the Living Truth.

humbly yours ~
Theophilus

[AndyHolland]

Brother Theophilus,
It could be and is a dangerous heresy, we agree...and if my will is totally free and not determined by any [like sin], then I must allow my conscious to guide me…
JM
Please permit me to provide an Orthodox (hopefully) position:

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in Heaven,
give us this day,
our daily bread,
and forgive us our tresspasses,
as we forgive those who tresspass against us,
lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

"Christ Jesus came into the Universe to save sinners of whom I am chief."

Take Martin Luther's advice, search the Scriptures diligently and do a study on Soli - where does it occur; to whom does it pertain? But do not search Scriptures in bits in pieces but look at Scripture in context and compare things Holy to things Holy.

Also, we only control that portion of Earth God has given us, therefore, on Earth as it is in Heaven and to be perfect even as God is perfect mean the same things - God in us and we in Him. So Orthodox worship is heaven on Earth, and Earth - even us - in Heaven.

But not me alone for the command is not singular - to just love God or just love our neighbor, but to love God and our neighbor as ourselves - so we love ourself by loving God and others in communion with God and others - not alone.

Only in God are we righteous, and we are only righteous when God is in us and we in Him.

Search and pray the Scriptures.

Babylon is unity without Christ. Zion - the Church, is unity in Christ - in "what seems right to the Holy Spirit and to us" - not seems right to the Holy Spirit and to "me". 'Cursed is he who hates Zion.' Why would anyone want to go to heaven if heaven is Church, and if one hates Church then one is truly accursed - because they have denied Heaven itself and the Father who art in Heaven, and the presence of the Son who bridges the gap of Heaven and Earth and is the gateway into which we who are Earth enter Heaven.

Christ Jesus came into the Universe to save sinners of whom I am chief - and apart from God - loving God and my neighbor, burnt offering and whole burnt offering, I am nothing. For burnt offering is nothing - and without God to build the walls of Jerusalem in my heart, overthrowing Babylon - sin - I can do nothing, for without Christ I can do nothing.

For if I have faith to move moutains, and not love, I am nothing. So burnt offering is not acceptable alone - we need burnt offering and whole burnt offering.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft - and rebellion is to be alone - soli.

That is why we Orthodox never went over to the Protestants when they invited us, for we had been separated from the legitimate complaints of Martin Luther and Calvin against the Roman Church for centuries. We perceive the Protestant position of soli to be one where people seek self justification rather than the righteousness that comes from God.

Now maybe we have it wrong about what Calvin and Luther meant. We let Jesus judge, we do not judge what we do not know. We don't judge the Romans or the Protestants - we just don't know where they are coming from, so please don't take this as an attack. It is simply an Orthodox position. Even an Anathema simply means we leave it up to Jesus because we don't know.

But what we do know we know from God and from each other over all of time - universally - so it is truly written: "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

And this we have against Calvin and Luther, Icons are just picture bibles - we don't worship them - they are purposely 2D. The Bible needed to be accessed by people who could not read, so why throw out picture Bibles? The printing press wasn't invented until the 14th Century! Even Protestants use picture bibles for children. Why shouldn't the Gospel be only for the literate?

This throwing out of picture bibles - Icons - seems to us to be a failure of love. However and again, maybe we have it wrong - let God arise and judge the Earth, for to Him belong the nations. We can only say what is Orthodox, what is outside we do not know and let God who is allot smarter than us - we let God judge.

Our loving position is people who could not read needed to learn Church History, including the Saints, and so we have Icons of the Saints. And also, this is part of our Incarnational theology - that the Bible and Icons are part of sanctified matter, matter that is Holy because it teaches what is Holy and exudes in itself what is Holy - things Spiritual. We venerate Icons and venerate the Bible.

As Christ and the Father dwell in the Saints, those Icons are Icons of Christ Himself and the temple of the Father - fullfilling the Holy Scripture that Christ is with us even unto the end of the age. Amen.

andy holland
sinner

[J. A. McIntyre]

just quickly wanted to add...

Christ died unto sin. (Rom. 6:10)
You died with Christ. (Gal. 2:20)
You were buried with Christ. (Col. 2:12)
You have been risen with Christ for your sanctification. (Col. 3:1)
You are seated in the heavenlies in Christ. (Eph. 2:6) [this is where the idea of "abide_above" comes from]
Christ freed you from sin's power. (Rom. 6:6-7)
God accepts you in Christ. (Eph. 1:6)

I'll read the links and post latter. Thanks.

[Ken McRae]

Only in God are we righteous, and we are only righteous when God is in us and we in Him. Search and pray the Scriptures.


hi there Andy ~ I'm sittin' here wonderin' about this one, and experiencing some difficulty trying to imagine any devout Catholic disagreeing with you on the above point; and I'm inclined to say J.A. and many other Protestants with him would accept it as true, too, without a second's hesitation!



That is why we Orthodox never went over to the Protestants when they invited us, for we had been separated from the legitimate complaints of Martin Luther and Calvin against the Roman Church for centuries. We perceive the Protestant position of soli to be one where people seek self justification rather than the righteousness that comes from God.

J.A. ~ this doc's for you! It's a small step in the right direction for now, but an important one, nontheless. More to come, Lord willing!

Justification by Faith Alone? The Reply of Patriarch Jeremiah II to the Lutheran Tubingen Theologians, Concerning the Augsburg Confession (16th cent.)
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/faithalone.aspx



Now maybe we have it wrong about what Calvin and Luther meant. We let Jesus judge, we do not judge what we do not know. We don't judge the Romans or the Protestants - we just don't know where they are coming from, so please don't take this as an attack. It is simply an Orthodox position. Even an Anathema simply means we leave it up to Jesus because we don't know.

Actually, Andy, after reading the following doc, I'd say the complete opposite is true: It seems that according to Metropolitan Anthony, Russian theology has labored in the past under a strong, if not an overwhelming Western influence, especially in regard to its view of the Atonement and the sinner's justification (some would care to speculate). My feeling on this is that perhaps Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky, and all those who adhere to his [U]Moral Idea of the Dogma of Redemption, perhaps exaggerated their case just a little!

Hey there J.A. ~ the following doc[ument] is not exactly a happy one, and it's a little difficult to plow through, in a way, due to its controversial nature, but if you can see your way through it, (and it's a fairly long one, too,) you'll discover that the Russian Orthodox Church taught a theory of atonement very close to your own confession, minus the "L" (limited) aspect, of course. Some persons say she still teaches the same theory even today, though far more toned down than a century or two ago. I'll attempt to post some quotes from a few Russian saints to illustrate later, Lord willing!

Sacred Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece
His Eminence, Metropolitan Makarios of Toronto, Locum tenens
Resolution of the Sacred Synod Concerning
The Dogma of Redemption by Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky
http://www.homb.org/st_annas/Articles/EparchialSynod/Redemption.htm

[Father David Moser]

The Dogma of Redemption by Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky


I would just like to point out here that Metropolitan Anthony himself withdrew this essay from publication and that it was not and is not considered to be "mainstream" theology in the Russian Orthodox Church. There is a tremendous amount of controversy surrounding this essay and Metr Anthony, while not recanting the views he expressed, also made it clear that this was only a private opinion and not necessarily the teaching of the Church. I didn't get a chance to wade through the commentary in the link posted, but I have read the original article. Metropolitan Anthony was not writing on the theology of redemption, but the full title of the essay is "The Moral Idea of the Dogma of Redemption" and he was actually writing about his pastoral application of aspects of the redepemtion. I really hesistate to go into the whole controversy since it has significant political components that generated schism from the Russian Orthodox Church and so detract from the purely theological discussion. I will say that as a pastor, I find much of what Metr Anthony has to say is of interest and has a unique perspective on the co-suffering love of Christ, but at the same time I would not use it as a dogmatic presentation of the Orthodox belief of the dogma of redemption.

Archpr. David Moser

[AndyHolland]

Actually, Andy, after reading the following doc, I'd say the complete opposite is true: It seems that according to Metropolitan Anthony, Russian theology labored under a strong, if not an overwhelming Western influence, some would care to speculate. My feeling is that perhaps Metro Anthony Khrapovitsky exaggerrated perhaps just a little, and those who adhere to his Idea of the Moral Dogma of Redemption.

To anathematize is to let loose into the hands of the Living God.

"Let God arise and judge the Earth, for to Him belong all the nations."

As an Orthodox Christian I proclaim the above and mean the above quote, nothing less - it seems pretty straight forward to me. "Let God arise and judge the Earth, for to Him belong all the nations" - Amen.

When Jesus judges as outside those who cry Lord, Lord!, the Lord will say something like, 'Sir, I do not know where you come from.' I do not know who has put themselves over our Lord for Him to address as "sir." I don't want to know - I just want to repent of being "sir" and come in Church as (hopefully little old) andy. I need to get busy on loosing weight so I can go to the grave older.

andy holland
sinner

[Gregory]

[QUOTE=AndyHolland;34733]To anathematize is to let loose into the hands of the Living God.

I'm sorry if I'm dragging this off-topic, but what is the proper Orthodox response to a priest who really ought to be anathematized for persistently attacking the Traditions of the Church, but hasn't been? And what about something more exalted, like a Patriarch? How should a layman respond to heterodoxy in the Church, if one can be sure of it? I would be grateful to anyone with the time to answer, and I apologize for being a little off-topic.

[AndyHolland]

The canon says we are to run from those who teach heresy bareheaded in Church, and in the Holy Gospel our Lord says the sheep will not follow the voice of a hireling or a robber.

On the other hand, maybe we are not being sheep if we do more than simply exit?

Priests have a tough job, and many saintly Priests and Bishops have been persecuted by the foolishness of laity and the lust for power.

I think the canon is wise that says to flee. God will judge them, not me - I don't have to. The canon says flee - not fight, the Gospel says we will flee. I don't think sheep normally head-butt strangers unless perceive a serious threat.

andy holland
sinner

[Father David Moser]

I'm sorry if I'm dragging this off-topic, but what is the proper Orthodox response to a priest who really ought to be anathematized for persistently attacking the Traditions of the Church, but hasn't been?

The proper response for any concerns you may have about your priest is to write a letter to the ruling bishop of the diocese (or perhaps the local dean) with your concerns. Be brief and to the point - don't try to go into long theological essays (that will guarantee that your letter isn't read) - simply state what it is that the priest is saying that you have concerns about and ask the bishop to look into it. You may or may not get a personal reply, but all you can do is put it into the bishop's hands. For a bishop (any bishop regardless of rank), the authority which has the responsibility to address such issues would be the Holy Synod of that particular Church.

That is the proper response. If a particular priest in a particular parish is giving you difficulty, the go first to him and ask (don't demand or confront) him to explain this or that. Try and work it out between yourselves. It may be just misunderstanding. Don't rely on any "third party" reports no matter how trusted - in my experience these are invariably distorted reports. There is always someone in every parish (probably at one time or another every person) who has a particular "filter" or "agenda" that misinterprets or misrepresents the words or actions of a priest to fit their own ideas. I say this from personal experience (one person tells me one thing about a "problem" in the parish and when I investigate the problem, those who allegedly were concerned are as mystified as I am about what the problem is.)

It is possible to move from one parish to another or to develop a relationship with a spiritual father not in the parish - but this should be done with at least the knowledge if not the consent and blessing of your parish priest.

Fr David Moser

[J. A. McIntyre]

thanks folks for your gentle Christian replies

[Ken McRae]

... the Russian Orthodox Church taught a theory of atonement very close to your own confession, minus the "L" (limited) aspect, of course. Some persons say she still teaches the same theory even today, though far more toned down than a century or two ago. I'll attempt to post some quotes from a few Russian saints to illustrate later, Lord willing!

St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

all selections from My Life in Christ :-

01 - "Is not our Heavenly Father far from our hearts? Is it not rather an avenging God that we should represent to ourselves, we who have withdrawn ourselves from Him into a far-away land? Yes, by our sins all of us are worthy of His righteous anger and punishment, and it is wonderful how long-suffering and forbearing He is to us - that He does not strike us like the barren fig trees. Let us hasten to propitiate Him by repentance and tears." ( p. 3 )

02 - Who does not know how difficult it is, without God's special grace, for a sinner to turn from the way of sin that is so dear to him into the path of virtue? ... etc. But for the grace of God, what sinner would have returned to God? For it is the nature of sin to darken our souls, to bind us hand and foot ... etc. ... and I - like one inwardly chained - am unable to turn to God until He, seeing my helplessness, my humility, and my tears, takes pity on me and bestows His grace upon me." ( p. 30 )

03 - 'Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates.' (2 Cor. 13:5, 13) Truly, Christ dwells in me. Meanwhile, I have until now been a reprobate; I did not think and was not firmly convinced that the Lord is in me. It is He, the All-Holy, that is so sensitive in me to the slightest impurity of heart; it is He Who incites me to drive away from my soul the very germ of sin in the heart. But, alas! Satan is also there, ready to devour me at every step, and contest me from God. ( p. 31 )

04 - How easily and speedily the Lord can save us! - instantaneously, unexpectedly, imperceptibly. Often during the day I have been a great sinner, and at night, after prayer, I have gone to rest, justified and whiter than snow by the grace of the Holy Ghost, with the deepest peace and joy in my heart! ( p. 27)

05 - "I cleanse your sins and make your soul whiter than snow by My blood; I visit your soul with peace and joy ... etc." ( p. 28 )

06 - "When you have sinned against God, and your sins torment, burn you, then seek quickly the only Sacrifice for sins, eternal and living, and lay your sins before the face of that Sacrifice. Do not think you can obtain salvation by your own means." ( p. 41 )

07 - "O faith! faith! thou thyself art a miracle to us! It is thou that savest us! 'Thy faith hath made thee whole.' (Mark 5:34) And after lively faith in God's truth we always go from God in peace; whilst, on the contrary, after unbelief, always without peace." ( p. 17 )

08 - "Unite your soul to God by means of hearty faith and you will be able to accomplish everything ... etc. With faith you will be able to conquer everything, and even the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours. Faith is the greatest blessing of the earthly life; it united the man to God, and makes him strong and victorious through Him. 'He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit. ( 1 Cor. 6:17 )

09 - "Our requests (prayers) are necessary expressly to strengthen our faith, through which alone can we be saved. 'By grace are we saved through faith.' (Eph. 2:8) 'O woman, great is thy faith.' (Matt. 15:28) For this reason the Lord made the woman pray earnestly, in order to awaken her faith and to strengthen it." ( p. 12 )

10 - "The heart that doubts that God can grant what it asks for is punished for this doubt: it is painfully oppressed and contracted by doubt. Do not anger Almighty God even by a shade of doubt - especially you, who have already experienced many and many times, the omnipotence of God. Doubt is a blasphemy against God, and insolent lie of the heart or of the lying spirit that nestles in the heart, against the spirit of truth. Fear it as you would fear a venomous serpent, or no- what I would rather say, is, despise it, do not take the slightest heed of it." ( p. 8 )

11 - to be continued!
12 - ...
13 - ...
14 - ...

St. Innocent of Alaska (1797-1879)

selections from 'An Indication of the Way' @
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/kingdomofheaven.aspx

15 - "Jesus Christ redeemed us by His death, and, therefore, by the right of redemption we belong to Him and must do all that He wills."

16 - In these most trying sufferings, while justice and loyalty to His Father demanded from Christ that He destroy mankind as ungrateful and criminal, the feelings of pity and sorrow ultimately stirred Him to accept all sufferings and death itself to save us sinners from the power of the devil and from eternal damnation.

17 - For whom, then, did the Savior of the world suffer? He suffered for all mankind, for enemies and tormentors, for those who, having received many benefits from Him, failed to thank Him. He suffered for each and every one of us, stubborn sinners, who daily sadden Him with our indifference, ingratitude, hatred, lies, and wicked deeds, and who, by these innumerable sins, crucify Him again and again.

18 - If Christ had not suffered and died, then none of us, no matter how much we suffered and struggled, would enter the Kingdom of Heaven, for then we would have had to suffer as slaves, and slaves deserve no rewards. Now, however, we suffer as sons for our own salvation.

19 - "By His most precious blood Jesus washed away our sins and made of us children of God, who were slaves of passions and the devil. Those torments we, as transgressors of the will of God, would have had to suffer, He bore for us. By His death He crushed the power of the devil, destroyed the power of hell, and delivered us from death. By His resurrection He gave us life and opened the gates of Paradise to all. Therefore, death is no longer an irreversible tragedy but a passage from this temporary world of vanity and sorrows to the world of bright and joyous life. By His ascension into heaven Christ glorified our nature, enabling us to share eternal bliss with the angels and all the heavenly creatures."

20 - "It is impossible fully to comprehend and to describe all the benefits that the Lord has prepared for us. Let us just say that all who choose to believe in Him and to live a Christian life will become sons of God, will attain Paradise, where the angels and the just reside, and will see God face to face. They will rejoice with a pure and eternal joy, knowing no weariness, sadness, or troubles. It is so wonderful that Jesus Christ gives these benefits not to a chosen few but to each and every person who desires to receive them!"

21 - Christian! Your salvation or perdition is entirely in your own hands. In His unspeakable wisdom and love, the Lord has given you freedom to chose what you wish, and He does not force you to do anything against your will. Therefore, if you truly wish to follow Jesus Christ, He will show you the way into the Kingdom of Heaven and will help you along each step. If you do not wish to follow Him, it is your decision. But take care not to disdain the grace of God! Pitying you, Jesus Christ knocks for a long time at the door of your heart, waiting for your decision to save yourself. But woe to you if He, tiring of waiting, turns His face away from you, as a hopeless son or daughter of perdition. Then no one, neither the most powerful and influential person, nor all the angels in heaven, will be able to help you!

22 - Brethren, if any of you who walk the wide path should suddenly die, what will happen to you? To whom shall you turn? To the Lord? You refuse to listen to Him now, so you must expect He will refuse to listen to you then. Now He is your merciful Father; then He will be your righteous judge. Who will defend you against His righteous rage? Ah! How frightful it is to fall into the hands of the living God! Therefore, concern yourselves now with the salvation of your soul while you still have time! Work for your salvation while it is still daylight, for the night will come in which there will be no chance to change anything. Strive for the Heavenly Kingdom while you can still walk. Walk even a little bit, even if by crawling, but do it in the right direction. Then in eternity you will truly rejoice for every step you have taken!

23 - Without faith in Jesus Christ no one can return to God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. No one, even though he believe in Jesus Christ, can regard himself to be His disciple and share His glory in Heaven if he does not act as Jesus Christ did. And no one is able to follow Jesus Christ if he does not receive help from the Holy Spirit.

24 - No one can have a true living faith without the Holy Spirit. Even a person most learned in Scriptures is totally blind without His enlightenment. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit can make even the lowest simpleton wise and disclose God’s mysteries to them.

25 - What is this help given by Jesus Christ to Christians? This help is the Grace of the Holy Spirit. God’s grace surrounds us, and with it the Lord draws us to Himself. All who wish can receive this help and become filled with it. The Holy Spirit, being God, equal to the Father and the Son, is the source of life and strength. He gives to believers wisdom, inner peace and inspiration, not according to their merits but for Jesus Christ’s sake.

26 - As a bright ray of sun penetrates the darkness, enhancing the smallest details found within, so does the Holy Spirit, having descended upon people, disclose to them all the weakness and wretchedness of their soul. Enlightened by the Heavenly light, Christians can no longer boast about their good works, because they realize their soul needs healing and complete renewal. This realization makes them more humble, and they begin to repent and decide to live more carefully. They stop relying on themselves and ask God for guidance and help.

27 - Humility consists not only of realizing your unworthiness but also of bearing the various sorrows and adversities of life with patience and without grumbling, considering them as sent or allowed by God for our benefit. Do not say, "How unfortunate I am!" But say, "I deserve a still greater punishment for my sins!" And ask God not so much to deliver you from adversities as to give you patience and courage to bear them.

128- The essence of Christianity is pure and selfless love, which is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, brethren, if you wish to attain the Kingdom of Heaven, follow the path which Jesus Christ took, and He, the all-merciful one, will help you every step of the way.

29 - Descending upon a Christian, the Holy Spirit brings true love which warms his heart. This love inspires a person to do good deeds, so that for him there is nothing impossible or terrifying anymore. God’s commandments, which appeared to be difficult before, now become easy. Faith and love, gifts from the Holy Spirit, are such powerful means that the person possessing them can easily and joyfully follow the path of Jesus Christ.

30 - In following Jesus Christ, it is not enough to carry only an outward cross. Indeed, external crosses are borne not only by Christians but by everyone; there exists no person free from one or more sorrows. He who wishes to become a true disciple of Christ must also carry his own inner cross. An inner cross comes more readily than an outer one. In a state of repentance, you need only direct your thoughts inward to study your soul, and instantly a multitude of crosses will appear.

31 - As the Lord restores your spiritual sight, you will begin to comprehend more clearly that your heart is corrupt and that your passions obstruct your path to God. You will begin to understand also that the little good you have to your credit so far is damaged by your selfishness and conceit. Then you will certainly grieve, and you will become frightened and saddened: frightened because you are in danger of perishing forever, saddened because you have declined for so long to listen to the gentle voice of God who was calling you to salvation, and saddened because you have accomplished so little good. Although these inner crosses present themselves as burdensome, do not despair and do not think that the Lord has abandoned you. No!

32 - "He went to the garden of Gethsemane, where He experienced His most agonizing inner sufferings. The anguish was so great that during prayer the sweat on His face became a sweat of blood. At that moment the soul of the Savior was immersed into a terrible darkness and horror at the unbearable sins which He was taking upon Himself. Jesus knew that he had to wash away with His most Holy blood all the countless transgressions of billions of people, beginning with Adam and including all future generations. Overwhelmed by the oppression of the world’s evil, Jesus Christ exclaimed: 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death' (Matt. 26:38)."

St. Macarius of Optina (1788-1860)

33 - "When the enemy inserts despair into your heart, conjuring up in your mind thoughts of past sins so black that there can be no hope of pardon, refrain from weighing your own merits against your sins. Think only of the merits of Christ: the only merits that afford our salvation. Remember, too, that Mother Church prays for all sinners, at every Eucharist." (Russian Letters, p. 64)

[Gregory]

Thank you all for your kind explanations. I think they sound very reasonable.

[Matthew Panchisin]

Originally Posted by Theophilus
... the Russian Orthodox Church taught a theory of atonement very close to your own confession, minus the "L" (limited) aspect, of course. Some persons say she still teaches the same theory even today, though far more toned down than a century or two ago. I'll attempt to post some quotes from a few Russian saints to illustrate later, Lord willing!

Dear Theophilus,

I don't see or never understood that the Russian Orthodox Church taught a theory of atonement very close to the inquirers own confession, minus the "L".

The Orthodox view of atonement does not seem to me to be the same as any Protestant confessions that I'm aware of. After reading your post it is clear to me that we read things differently as I could not come to such a conclusion via reading the words of the Saints that you have presented. It seems to me that it is very important to remember that the full body or context of Orthodox ethos simply can't be accurately commented upon as an observer or student.

While sometimes one may come to some correct conclusions more often it seems to me that is not the case. I recently read a news article below from Pope Benedict's comments that really presented the Orthodox understanding of the cross and the light of "atonement" accurately via the presentation of "Passion of Andrew". It seems to me again this is a question of balance or going to far with in one direction or another that creates or fashions understandings.

While evidence could be presented to support such a conclusion, it seems to me that it really is not accurate. Certainly I'm not aware of it here in America and the Russians here now from Russia do not bring that sort of a disposition here, save an occassional confused Russian Protestant immigrant or two.

Of course these are just my thoughts and I could be wrong, perhaps others here will comment as well.


Below are some of Pope Bendict's comments.

In context: http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=90942

"A subsequent tradition, as I was saying, recounts the death of Andrew in Patras, where he also suffered the torture of crucifixion. However, in that supreme moment, as his brother Peter, he asked to be placed on a cross different from that of Jesus. In his case, it was a cross in the shape of an X, that is, with the two beams crossed diagonally, which for this reason is called "St. Andrew's cross."

This is what he would have said on that occasion, according to an ancient narrative (of the beginning of the sixth century), entitled "Passion of Andrew": "Hail, O cross, inaugurated by the body of Christ, which has become adornment of his members, as if they were precious pearls. Before the Lord mounted you, you caused an earthly terror. However, now, gifted with a celestial love, you have become a gift. Believers know how much joy you possess, how many gifts you offer. Confident, therefore, and full of joy, I come so that you will also receive me exultant as disciple of him who hanged from you. … Blessed cross, which received the majesty and beauty of the members of the Lord …, take me and lead me far from men and hand me to my Master so that, through you, he will receive me who through you has redeemed me. Hail, O cross, yes, truly, hail!"

As we can see, we are before an extremely profound Christian spirituality, which sees in the cross, beyond an instrument of torture, the incomparable means of a full assimilation with the Redeemer, with the grain of wheat fallen into the earth. We must learn a very important lesson: Our crosses have value if they are considered and welcomed as part of the cross of Christ, if they are touched by the reflection of his light. Only through that cross our sufferings are also ennobled and attain their true meaning."

In Christ,

Matthew Panchisin

[Ken McRae]

Dear Matthew,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It is under consideration and a reply will be forth-coming, the Lord willing and time permitting!

hi there J.A. ~ Just in case you have'nt noticed, the original selection of texts (to which Matthew responded) has been considerably revised! What follows now is an expansion of texts from St. John of Kronstadt, selected from the first third of his grace-filled book which is 500 + pages long! What solid gold nuggets might we find in the remaining two-thirds? "Seek and you shall find," and may the Lord bless all-sincere seekers of His truth, in His Holy Name!

Please note that some of the texts included in the following selection do not deal directly with the mysteries of propitiation and justification themselves, but are included in part for the light they shed on thoughts expressed in those texts which are obviously more central or relevant to the question(s) at hand. Note in particular selection "09" which deals with the fallen condition of the human will, and its "total inability" to free itself from the fetters of sin and death, to seek the Living God!




St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

all selections from My Life in Christ :-

01 - "Is not our Heavenly Father far from our hearts? Is it not rather an avenging God that we should represent to ourselves, we who have withdrawn ourselves from Him into a far-away land? Yes, by our sins all of us are worthy of His righteous anger and punishment, and it is wonderful how long-suffering and forbearing He is to us - that He does not strike us like the barren fig trees. Let us hasten to propitiate Him by repentance and tears." ( p. 3 )

01 - "The most usual way to God for us sinners, who have strayed from Him into a far-away land, is the way of painful suffering and bitter tears. Both the Holy Scriptures and actual experience testify that, in order to draw near to God, it is necessary for the sinner to suffer, weep, shed tears, and to amend his deceitful heart: 'Draw nigh to God ... be afflicted, and mourn, and weep.' ( Jam. 4:8-9 ) Tears have power to cleanse the wickedness of our heart, and sufferings and affliction are necessary, because through suffering the sinful expansion of the heart is salutarily contracted, and when the heart is thus contracted, tears more easily flow." ( p. 24 )

02 - Every thought, good or bad, every desire, every intention, word or act of such a mind is followed by a corresponding change in the state of the heart, peace or trouble, joy or grief ... etc. The soul, changeable in its relation to God, suffers changes in itself, thus it unavoidably expands and obtains peace of heart when it draws nearer to God by faith and good works, and unavoidably contracts, becomes restless and wearied, when it withdraws itself from God by unlawful acts, want of faith, and unbelief in God's Truth. ( p. 11 )

03 - Every insincere prayer removes your heart from God and sets it in opposition to you yourself, whilst every earnest prayer draws your heart nearer to God and makes it perpetually godly. Thus, be assured, if you hurry over your prayers, to give rest to your body, you will lose both spiritual and bodily rest. Oh! by what labour, sweat, and tears is the approach of our heart to God gained! ( p. 15 )

04 - The invisible God acts upon my soul as if He were visible, as if He were present here before me, knowing all my thoughts and feelings; every inward slothfulness, stubbornness, or other passion is always accompanied by a corresponding punishment. In general, if my inward disposition is unworthy of God, of His holiness, then I suffer punishment for it in my heart, a devouring fire; and if it is a worthy one, then I am joyful and at peace. ( p. 28 )

05 - Prepare yourselves, mortals, to answer at the judgment for all your thoughts, desires, words, for all your deeds, good and evil, which await you there, and which were sent there beforehand by you from earth - the good and the evil, unconfessed or not expiated by opposite thoughts, desires and deeds. For all these God will bring you to judgment. Most Merciful Lord! "Enter not into judgment with Thy servants (Ps 143:2)." "If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand (Ps 130:3)." ( p. 84 )

06 - "Let it be as I will, and not as thou wilt." Such is the mighty voice of God, which our soul ever hears when it has fallen into sin and desires to emerge from a state of spiritual, sinful affliction. "Let it be as I will: either repent from the depths of your heart in proportion to the sin, and return to the road that leads to life, shown by Me; either bear the punishment, corresponding to the sin and determined by My justice, or your sin will torment you as a deviation from My laws." And only then will our soul enjoy peace when we truly repent from the depths of our heart in proportion to the sin, or bear the punishment due from God. O! Almighty and most just power of our God, invisibly governing our invisible souls, all glory to Thee, glory to Thee, God our Saviour! Thy will be done is us! ( p. 26-27 )

07 - The degrees of beatitude and torment in the next world will be different. This is proved by the present state of the souls of different people or of the same man at different times under different conditions. The more simple, the better and more sociable the man is, the more blessed he inwardly is; the more deceitful, evil, and selfish he is, the more unhappy; the firmer his faith and the stronger his love are, the more blessed he is; the weaker his faith and love are, the weaker, the worse he feels. Thus those who have little or no faith, those who hate their fellow-creatures, are the most unhappy of men. By this we can understand what future torments will be. ( p. 95 )

08 - What would it have been if God's preventive grace had not been bestowed upon us; if it did not unexpectedly, suddenly embrace all our being after we have sinned, and incline our hearts to repentance and tears? What if it had been left to us to obtain it by our own efforts only? How accursed would we men then have been! Few, very few, could have been delivered from the burden of their sins, for our nature is slothful in exerting itself to effort, especially in the spiritual life; and without help, without powerful facility and the delights of spiritual labours, it would have abandoned them, and would have thrown aside the work of its salvation. But now God, the Most Wise and Merciful Father, sometimes lightens and sweetens our spiritual burden, sometimes makes it heavier for our trial, to teach us patience, and to weaken our crafty, destructive flesh, wisely changing the one by the other; and the work of our salvation, thank God, is thus always made possible - not too difficult, and very often pleasant to us. ( p. 120 )




02 - Who does not know how difficult it is, without God's special grace, for a sinner to turn from the way of sin that is so dear to him into the path of virtue? ... etc. But for the grace of God, what sinner would have returned to God? For it is the nature of sin to darken our souls, to bind us hand and foot ... etc. ... and I - like one inwardly chained - am unable to turn to God until He, seeing my helplessness, my humility, and my tears, takes pity on me and bestows His grace upon me." ( p. 30 )

09 - For a long time I did not clearly understand how necessary it is that our soul should be strengthened by the Holy Ghost. But now the Most Gracious Lord has granted me to know how indispensable this is. Yes, it is necessary every moment of our life, just as breathing is; it is necessary during prayer and throughout the whole of our life. Unless He strengthens our soul, it is constantly inclined to every sin, and, therefore, to spiritual death; it becomes enfeebled, loses all power, through the evil that enters into the heart, and incapable of any good. Without the strengthening of the Holy Ghost, one feels how the heart is undermined by various evils, and is ready to sink every moment into their abyss ... etc. He inspires in the man, in his interaction(s) with people of various positions and both sexes, a respect for the human person, who is made after God's image - whoever it may be - and is redeemed by the Blood of Christ the Lord ... etc. ( p. 62 )

10 - When you are disturbed and depressed by the wickedness of men, remember how boundlessly you are beloved by the Almighty and All-righteous God, Who suffers the evil until the time comes, and then will justly punish it. You cannot master yourself, your tongue, or one single member of your body. Judge by this what He must be, Who governs the whole world, Who keeps it in such wonderful order, Who governs the whole of mankind, evil, perverted as we are, ever ready as we are to destroy each other, and yet meanwhile more prosperous than needy under His Sovereignty. How almighty and wise must He be to govern such heterogeneous multitudes! Trust in Him entirely! ( p. 25-26 )

11 - It is impossible not to praise God when you remember that you were created from nothing, that you were predestined from the foundation of the world for eternal blessedness, quite without cause, not in accordance with your merits - when you remember what grace God has bestowed upon you for your salvation during all your life-time, what an innumerable multitude of sins are forgiven you, and this not once or twice but an incalculable number of times ... etc. ( p. 96 )

12 - When the foolish thought of counting up any of your good works enters into your head, immediately correct your fault and rather count up your sins, your continual and innumerable offences against the All-Merciful and Righteous Master, and you will find that their number is as the sand of the sea, whilst your virtues in comparison with them are as nothing. ( p. 113 )




03 - 'Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates.' (2 Cor. 13:5, 13) Truly, Christ dwells in me. Meanwhile, I have until now been a reprobate; I did not think and was not firmly convinced that the Lord is in me. It is He, the All-Holy, that is so sensitive in me to the slightest impurity of heart; it is He Who incites me to drive away from my soul the very germ of sin in the heart. But, alas! Satan is also there, ready to devour me at every step, and contest me from God. ( p. 31 )

13 - He (the Lord) does not always reign in my heart, in the inclinations of my heart and in my free-will. I frequently incline to evil and do evil, instead of the good offered to me. I often oppose Him and His laws. I am often incredulous, unbelieving, selfish, proud; I often despise others, envy others, am avaricious, covetous, sensual, gratifying my sinful flesh in every way; ambitious, impatient, irritable, slothful, doing few or no good works at all, and if any, more from a concurrence of favourable circumstances than from the free inclination and tendency of my heart; I do not pity those who suffer, as members of the one body of the Church - in a word, the Lord does not always reign in me by thoughts, feelings, and acts of faith, hope and love. ( p. 116 )

14 - In me, sinner as I am, at least seventy parts of my spiritual life belong to God, and only thirty parts to the Devil. How is it possible for me, then, not to see my Benefactor constantly before me, and how can I possibly waver mentally in my lively faith in Him? ( p. 16 )




04 - How easily and speedily the Lord can save us! - instantaneously, unexpectedly, imperceptibly. Often during the day I have been a great sinner, and at night, after prayer, I have gone to rest, justified and whiter than snow by the grace of the Holy Ghost, with the deepest peace and joy in my heart! ( p. 27)

05 - "I cleanse your sins and make your soul whiter than snow by My blood; I visit your soul with peace and joy ... etc." ( p. 28 )

15 - If the Lord were not long-suffering, if He were not the Lover of men, would He have borne with our great offences? would He have been incarnate? would He have suffered and died for you? would He have given you His most pure Body and Blood, upon which even the angels look with fear and trembling? would He have saved you from sin and spiritual death so many innumerable times? ... etc. But impenitent sinners will indeed be overtaken at the last by God's wrath, "in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." ( p. 43 )

16 - Man is constantly perishing through sin, and therefore he requires a constant daily Saviour. This Saviour is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; only call upon Him inwardly with living, clear-seeing faith in your salvation, and He will save you. Thus has He miraculously saved me an innumerable number of times; this salvation was as manifest as, for instance, the visit of any deliverer to a prison from which he frees the prisoner. It is necessary for a priest to experience himself the power of faith, the sweetness of prayer, and the remission of sins, and also to experience cases when prayer is unsuccessful, as well as spiritual afflictions, and the consolations of grace; so that in his prayer to God for the faithful he may say thus, "Give unto them the same blessings as those which Thou always givest to my unworthy self;" and so that he may be able to pray about everything from his own experience. ( p. 52 )

17 - The Lord is life in my death, strength in my weakness, light in my darkness, joy in my sorrow, boldness in my faint-heartedness, tranquillity in my agitation, obedience in my prayer, glory in my dishonour, and deliverance from my dishonour. Wonderfully, mightily, and quickly does He protect and save me in my misfortunes and distresses, and from the seductions of the passions. When I call upon Him to save me, the invisible enemies flee from me, after the evil they have wrought within me, and I sensibly recognise the saving right hand of my God, my Saviour, upon me. Glory and thanks to the Shepherd and Visitor of my soul! ( p. 125 )

18 - I am so weak, that it is only by Christ's name that I live and obtain peace, that I rejoice and my heart expands, whilst without Him I am spiritually dead, I am troubled, and my heart is oppressed; without the Lord's Cross I should have been long since the victim of the most cruel distress and despair. Only Christ keeps me alive: and the Cross is my peace and my consolation. ( p. 5 )




06 - "When you have sinned against God, and your sins torment, burn you, then seek quickly the only Sacrifice for sins, eternal and living, and lay your sins before the face of that Sacrifice. Do not think you can obtain salvation by your own means." ( p. 41 )

19 - In the Church especially is accomplished the mystery of the cleansing from sins. Reverence, therefore, the place where your soul is cleansed from all impurities, where you are reconciled to God ... etc. Glory to Thee, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. "He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2)." ( p. 53 )

20 - "He spared not his own Son ... how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things." (Rom. 8:32) The essential, the greatest is given; everything else that we ask or pray for is infinitely less than the Son of God. We may therefore ask God for everything trustfully in the name of Jesus Christ, every blessing or gift that we can think of, for "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (St. Jn 14:13) Do you pray for the forgiveness of the sins or for the repose of the souls of the departed? "He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world." (1 Jn 2:2) "The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 Jn 1:7) He can forgive even the departed every sin committed by them in word, deed, or thought. "He is the resurrection, the life and the repose of His departed servants" ... etc." ( p. 83 )

21 - Prayer is a golden link connecting the Christian man, the wanderer and the stranger upon earth, with the spiritual world of which he is a member, and, above all, with God the Source of Life. The soul came forth from God, and to God may it ever ascend through prayer. There is great benefit from prayer to those who pray: it gives rest to the soul and the body; it gives rest not only to the soul of him who prays (Matt 11:28) but also to the souls of our departed forefathers, to our fathers and brothers. See how important prayer is! ( p. 80 )

22 - Pronounce the words of the prayer with heartfelt firmness. When praying in the evening, do not forget to confess in prayer to the Holy Ghost with all sincerity and contrition, those sins into which you have fallen during the past day. A few moments of fervent repentance, and you will be cleansed by the Holy Ghost from every impurity; you will be whiter than snow, and tears, purifying the heart will flow from your eyes; you will be covered with the garment of Christ's righteousness, and united to Him, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost. ( p. 102 )

23 - When you stand praying, burdened with many sins and overpowered with despair, begin to pray with hope, with a fervent spirit, and remind yourself that "the Spirit Itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered!" (Rom. 8:26) When you remember with faith this action of the Spirit of God within us, then tears of emotion will flow from your eyes, you will feel in your soul peace, sweetness, justification, "and enjoy in the Holy Ghost," (Rom. 14:17) and you will cry in your heart, "Abba, Father!" ( p. 125 )

24 - Value by its properties that greatest miracle of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, as manifested in the communion, with faith, of His divine mysteries. What is the miracle? The peace-giving and life-giving effect upon your heart, slain by sin, which is so apparent after the uneasiness of heart and the spiritual deadness that often precedes communion. Never consider it from habit as anything ordinary or unimportant: by such thoughts and such a disposition of heart you will incur the wrath of God, and you will not enjoy peace nor feel renewed life after communion ... etc. ( p. 16 )




07 - "O faith! faith! thou thyself art a miracle to us! It is thou that savest us! 'Thy faith hath made thee whole.' (Mark 5:34) And after lively faith in God's truth we always go from God in peace; whilst, on the contrary, after unbelief, always without peace." ( p. 17 )


25 - Ah! Satan often enters into us after we have unworthily communicated of the Divine Mysteries, and in every way tries to instil his lie into our hearts - that is, unbelief, for unbelief is the same thing as a lie ... etc. ( p. 16-17 )

26 - You who love God, if you sometimes notice in your mind and heart extreme darkness, affliction, and grief, contraction and unbelief, as a force strongly opposing faith in God, then know that the power inimical to Christ - the Devil - is within you. This is the dark and destroying power, which, having stolen into your heart through any sin, often prevents your calling upon Christ and the saints, hiding them from you behind the mist of unbelief. Wherefore? In order to torment us, because faith saves us from his snares. ( p. 60 )

27 - We, who are free, and at the same time fallen beings - although we were re-established by the Son of God, and have become free through this grace, by faith, love to God, and by good works - ought, by continual prayer to God, to guard ourselves from the antagonistic forces fighting against our soul, wishing to make us their prisoners, and similar to them in spirit. ( p. 94 )

28 - The surer and stronger are the means that unite us to God (prayer and repentance), the more destructive are the actions brought to bear against them by God's opponent and ours, who makes use of every means to attain this end ... etc. ( p. 61 )

29 - The evil spirit tries to scatter prayer as if it were a sand-heap, tries to turn the words into dry sand, without coherency or moisture - that is to say, without fervour of heart. Thus prayer may become either a house built on sand or a house built on a rock. Those build on sand who pray without faith, absently, coldly: such prayer is scattered of itself, and does not bring any profit to him who prays; those build on a rock who, during the whole time of their prayer, have their eyes fixed upon God, and pray to Him as to a living person, conversing face to face with them. ( p. 11 )

30 - In order not to be in daily bondage to the passions and the Devil, you must set yourself an object to aim at, have this object constantly in view, and endeavour to attain it, conquering all obstacles by the name of the Lord. What is this? The Kingdom of God, the Divine palace of glory, prepared for believers from the creation of the world. But as this object can only be obtained by certain means, it also is necessary to have such means at one's disposal. And what are these means? Faith, hope, and love, especially the last. Believe, hope, and love, especially love, disregarding all obstacles; love God above everything and your neighbour as yourself. ( p. 47 )

31 - "Thy kingdom come;" that is, the kingdom of life, for at present the kingdom of death continues for the greater part under the dominion of him who has the power of death - the Devil. How can the kingdom of God come to a man during his present life? Through hearty repentance ... etc. ... let everyone learn to do the acts of Christian love, and especially "to bear the infirmities of the weak." ( p. 72 )




08 - "Unite your soul to God by means of hearty faith and you will be able to accomplish everything ... etc. With faith you will be able to conquer everything, and even the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours. Faith is the greatest blessing of the earthly life; it united the man to God, and makes him strong and victorious through Him. 'He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit. ( 1 Cor. 6:17 )

32 - My communion with God takes place through thought, through faith of the heart, which is nothing else but a lively and clear thought that God is in every place. When I have no such thought it signifies that I have the opposite negative one; when the principle that unites my soul to God is cut off, then there is no true life for me, and there only remains the phantom of an outward, false, animal life. ( p. 95 )

33 - Being wholly in every place, like air, or like mental light, the Lord is ready at every moment of our life - according to our faith, and on account of the constantly prayerful disposition of our soul - to support our spiritual forces by His all-active grace; to be the uninterrupted light of our mind and heart; the air by which our soul breathes; the food by which it is nourished and strengthened; the life-giving warmth by which it is warmed; and the garment with which it not only covers its sinful nakedness, but with which it also adorns itself as with royal purple - that is, the garment of Christ's justification ... etc. ( p. 94 )




09 - "Our requests (prayers) are necessary expressly to strengthen our faith, through which alone can we be saved. 'By grace are we saved through faith.' (Eph. 2:8) 'O woman, great is thy faith.' (Matt. 15:28) For this reason the Lord made the woman pray earnestly, in order to awaken her faith and to strengthen it." ( p. 12 )

34 - When you pray that your sins may be forgiven, strengthen yourself always by faith, and trust in God's mercy, Who is ever ready to forgive our sins after sincere prayer, and fear lest despair should fall upon your heart - that despair which declares itself by deep despondency and forced tears. What are your sins in comparison to God's mercy, whatever they be, if only you truly repent of them? But it often happens that when a man prays, he does not, in his heart, inwardly hope that his sins will be forgiven, counting them as though they were above God's mercy. Therefore, he certainly will not obtain forgiveness, even should he shed fountains of involuntary tears; and with a sorrowful, straightened heart he will depart from the Gracious God: which is only what he deserves. "Believe that ye receive them," says the Lord, "and ye shall have them." (Mk 11:24) Not to be sure of receiving what you ask God for, is a blasphemy against God. ( p. 66 )




10 - "The heart that doubts that God can grant what it asks for is punished for this doubt: it is painfully oppressed and contracted by doubt. Do not anger Almighty God even by a shade of doubt - especially you, who have already experienced many and many times, the omnipotence of God. Doubt is a blasphemy against God, and insolent lie of the heart or of the lying spirit that nestles in the heart, against the spirit of truth. Fear it as you would fear a venomous serpent, or no- what I would rather say, is, despise it, do not take the slightest heed of it." ( p. 8 )


35 - He instantly becomes jealous of the glory of His righteous, ever-miraculous, vivifying Mysteries, and in His justice punishes my soul with His Fatherly rod! O then my soul clearly hears the voice of its God: "My glory will I not give to another. As you do not ascribe to Me the glory due to Me, so evident to you in my Mysteries, I strike you inwardly with the rod of My truth so that you may thus know and heartily believe that I never will give My glory to another. I cleanse your sins and make your soul whiter than snow by My blood ... etc. ( p. 27-28 )

36 - The eyes of the Master in God's temple are turned upon each of us, His heart is turned to each of us! Is it possible to require greater nearness? The Master's very heart is turned to me. Sometimes you stand face to face with another man and converse with him, but his heart is not turned towards you, and is occupied with something else; whilst here God's heart is wholly turned to you, with all its love, all its mercy, and according to your faith. He is ready to pour all His bounties upon you. ( p. 126 )

[Matthew Panchisin]

Dear Theophilus,

Before you issue a forthcoming reply, I thought I might mention that I anticipate the application of words which will no doubt be presented immediately out of context since they are implicitly detached in reference to this subject matter. The initial premise is incorrect, hence any evidence issued to support the argument seems like rhetoric, albeit it sincere and presented with good intentions I think.

It seems to me that we need only to understand that most or many Protestant groups do not accept the Orthodox understanding of the Eucharist, to see clearly that the Russian Orthodox Church does not and could not have taught a theory of atonement very close to the inquirers own confession, minus the "L". One simply can not dismiss or reject that which is central to our faith and life and claim that we are very close. So in iconographers terms you are using a pallet, selecting colors and using your brush to paint in the air. One can not paint an icon in a space devoid of the substance that it is to be applied to.

The intentions of the (Saints) authors of the quotes that you have presented had not been to prove that the Russian Orthodox Church taught a theory of atonement very close to the inquirers own confession. One needs only to read some of Saint John of Kronstadts comments on Protestant communities regarding their rejection of the Theotokas and other Orthodox understandings to see that you are using his words and mis-applying them in a way that alters his intentions and understandings.



In Christ,

Matthew Panchisin

[AndyHolland]

Dear Matthew,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It is under consideration and a reply will be forth-coming, the Lord willing and time permitting!

13 - He (the Lord) does not always reign in my heart, in the inclinations of my heart and in my free-will. I frequently incline to evil and do evil, instead of the good offered to me. I often oppose Him and His laws. I am often incredulous, unbelieving, selfish, proud; I often despise others, envy others, am avaricious, covetous, sensual, gratifying my sinful flesh in every way; ambitious, impatient, irritable, slothful, doing few or no good works at all, and if any, more from a concurrence of favourable circumstances than from the free inclination and tendency of my heart; I do not pity those who suffer, as members of the one body of the Church - in a word, the Lord does not always reign in me by thoughts, feelings, and acts of faith, hope and love. ( p. 116 )
Thank God & St. John Kronstadt - I am not alone.

The above is a very honest way of putting things.

We can't be christian on the outside (whitewashed walls) and pagans on the inside (dead men's bones); worshipping God in a legalistic fashion as "saved" without going through struggle to fight our own sinfulness on the inside.

andy holland
sinner

[Ken McRae]

... the Russian Orthodox Church does not and could not have taught a theory of atonement very close to the inquirers own confession, minus the "L". One simply can not dismiss or reject that which is central to our faith and life and claim that we are very close.

Dear Matthew,

You raise many good points worthy of prayerful consideration. Thank you for your willingness to share the divine grace God has freely imparted to you, according to your faith.

As Fr. David has pointed out, the topic under discussion produced a schism in the Church, so it is a difflicult, if not (perhaps) even a dangerous one, to broach and attempt to explore in any depth, while wounds are still fresh on both sides, no doubt. As Fr. David states, and as clearly indicated by the Resolution, (the link for which I posted earlier,) the controversy in question directly concerns the dogma of redemption and the saving work of Christ upon the cross (which has a direct bearing upon the sinner's justification, the subject of J.A.'s immediate interest and concern). And thus, I recommended a controversial document for J.A.'s perusal, for according to the wisdom of St. Paul, in 1 Cor. 11:19, the Church's clear dogmatic statements of Orthodoxy are quite often forged in the furnace of debate and theological controversy.

Thus may we acquire, by the grace of Christ, some glimpses into these divine mysteries (concerning the sinner's propitiation and justification) by prayerfully and very closely observing the thoughts and exercises of contemporary Orthodoxy, concerning the recent Stavroclasmic heresy. Btw, J.A., "stavroclasm", according to the Orthodox theologian, Fr. Michael Pomazansky, is a heresy that developed in later Protestantism; which he says attacked the saving value or merit(s) of Christ's death upon the cross.

Now, according to the dogmatic Resolution recommended earlier, the recent Stavroclasmic controversy was (is?) steeped, to a large degree, in debate over the relative Orthodoxy of the "juridicial" view of redemption; which some contemporary Orthodox persons vehemently reject as a Western innovation, as appears crystal clear from the Resolution's Appendix. And the Resolution further indicates there are Orthodox "theologians", such as Archbishop Theophan of Poltava, Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev, and "the ever memorable" Fr. Seraphim Rose, to name a few, who defend it, i.e. the said "juridicial" view; and do so, obviously from a Patristic basis. So I commented that Metropolitan Anthony and his supporters present an imbalanced viewpoint, imo, and thus exaggerated the strength of their case, maybe just a little. In APPENDIX III of the Resolution, you'll find the following lengthy quote from Fr. Seraphim Rose, which partially illustrates the point I'm attempting to assert:-

Fr. Seraphim Rose on the Balanced Viewpoint of St. John of San Francisco :-

"From his theological writings, we see in Archbishop John someone quite different from Metropolitan Anthony. …He [Archbishop John] wrote also about one question: “For What Did Christ Pray in the Garden of Gethsemane?” Here we see how he was very expert in handling a subject that at that time was quite controversial. It had become controversial because his teacher Metropolitan Anthony had, in opposing what he called the scholastic interpretation of the “payment made to an angry God,” gone himself a little too far in the opposite direction, and therefore had placed an overemphasis on the meaning of the prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, as though this were the most important part of our redemption; and the Cross was somehow underemphasized.

"This often happens when one is involved in polemics, that is, with arguments with other theologians. Some go overboard on one side a little bit too much, and in counteracting that sometimes one goes a little too far on the other side. Archbishop John, however, had a very nice balance in this, which shows how sound his outlook was and how he did not go to any kind of extremes. He took the best part of Metropolitan Anthony’s teaching on this subject, about the compassionate love of Jesus Christ for all mankind, and at the same time he corrected some of the mistakes which Metropolitan Anthony had put into his article.

"For example, Metropolitan Anthony said that it was unworthy of us to think that Jesus Christ should be afraid of His coming sufferings, whereas as a matter of fact most of the Holy Fathers talk about precisely this point: that this proves the human nature of Jesus Christ, that He was afraid of the coming sufferings. So Archbishop John corrected this and also gave the best part of Metropolitan Anthony’s teaching on compassionate love. People were talking back and forth, some defending one point of view, some defending the other — and Archbishop John discussed it without making any controversy out of it at all. In fact, from reading his article you could never guess that there was any kind of controversy. This shows how very well balanced he was.

"Likewise there was this question of “Western influence,” which Metropolitan Anthony also talked about a great deal. It is very important for us to understand exactly what this means, because it is true that, for several hundred years in the Orthodox Church, there were borrowings from the West, from Roman Catholics, in theological writings. Some people talk a little too much about Western influence; they go overboard and want to throw out everything from the last seven hundred years. Of course this is wrong. But in Archbishop John we notice that, just as he was very balanced towards Metropolitan Anthony when some people were protesting against his teaching, he was also very balanced with regard to the question of Western influence.

"Once we ourselves asked Archbishop John about the question of Metropolitan Anthony’s teaching, and he had a way of moving his hand and saying, “It’s unimportant.” That is, this teaching has very important parts and if there are mistakes in it, that’s secondary, that’s unimportant."

( See APPENDIX III - Concerning Fr. Seraphim Rose’s Report on the New Interpretation of The Dogma of Redemption @ http://www.homb.org/st_annas/Articles/EparchialSynod/Redemption.htm#_ftnref93 , for the above quotation. )

And, thus, I implied it is "imbalanced", or inaccurate at best, to say that the Russian Orthodox Church has no idea what the West means; with regard to the "juridicial" view(s) of propitiation and justification. Surely it has some idea, given the historical facts. I say this not merely on the authority of the Orthodox fathers cited in the Resolution as defenders of the "juridicial" view, but on the basis of my own very weak and impoverished reading of both Patristic and contemporary Orthodox writings. I feel Fr. Seraphim Rose was quite correct in his observations above, concerning balanced viewpoint of St John of San Francisco, and the author(s) of the Resolution (in question) "appear" to agree with him as well, in part, chastiing Fr. Seraphim Rose for not adhering more closely to St. John's example of Christian moderation and a dispassionate balance with regard to his treatment of Metropolitan Anthony, and controversial defence of 'Western ideas' in Russian Orthodoxy.

Hey there J.A. ~

Are you still with us?

The Resolution states, in APPENDIX III, that Metropolitan Anthony "made it clear that he intended his Catechism as a supplement and corrective to Metropolitan Philaret’s earlier Catechism, not as a replacement." This is a very striking and significant admission, imo; perhaps I am incorrect, but this startling admission appears to claim that Metropolitan Anthony claimed that the Catechism of his own Church, "authorized" by the Holy Synod, actually taught, (in his opinion, mind you,) a "Westernized" dogma of redemption. Here is the passage in question:-

"Metropolitan Anthony had also made it clear that he intended his Catechism as a supplement and corrective to Metropolitan Philaret’s earlier Catechism, not as a replacement. Metropolitan Anthony then stated that he felt it would be best to postpone this decision, “while yet retaining this Towards an Orthodox Christian Catechism — in accordance with the opinion of Bishop Gabriel and the decision of the Religion Teachers’ Conference in Prague — as a school textbook, and to leave it to the discretion of the teachers whether to use it as a textbook.”

"In his Encyclical Letter of July 10/23, 1926, written in order to dispel various rumors which had begun to spread after the recent Bishops’ Sobor, Metropolitan Anthony also touched upon this subject:-

"Nor was there was any discussion at the Sobor of the Catechism compiled by me, and consequently, there could have been no resolution to declare it either incorrect or heretical. … [and since I declined having it declared the official textbook] this my work can be the subject of academic debates, but not of a Conciliar judgment; even more so since the opinions expounded in it and in my brochure The Dogma of Redemption, were many a time printed by me in Russia in our academic publications, while the brochure [The Dogma of Redemption] was printed in full at the beginning of 1917 in the journal Theological Herald, and in the fifth volume of my collected works published in Russia, and it was distributed to all the hierarchs and members of the Holy Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church."

( Again, see APPENDIX III - An Analysis of Fr. Seraphim Rose’s Report of 1973 @ http://www.homb.org/st_annas/Articles/EparchialSynod/Redemption.htm#_ftnref93 , for the above quotation.)

Father Andrew Phillips of England asserts that Metropolitan Anthony was "writing in reaction to the dreadful and blasphemous Roman Catholic satisfaction theory, which had completely taken over the Orthodox theology of the Redemption in Russia." Here is the precise passage from his online essay, in which this statement is presented:-

"Others have reproached Metropolitan Antony for the way in which he expressed his theological views on the Redemption, absurdly accusing him of ‘stavroclasm’. But, distorting his views, they have overlooked the fact that the author was writing in reaction to the dreadful and blasphemous Roman Catholic satisfaction theory, which had completely taken over the Orthodox theology of the Redemption in Russia at that time. The Metropolitan merely put the theological understanding of the Redemption of Christ in its Orthodox context, the compassionate love of God for humanity shown throughout Christ’s whole life, culminating in Gethsemane and then, above all, in the supreme sacrifice of the Cross. Indeed, it is compassionate love which was the leitmotif of the whole of the Metropolitan’s life and work." ( Fr. Andrew Phillips, in his Online Essay entitled A Contemporary Church Father, located @ http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/metantny.htm )

Returning to the Resolution, it further describes Saint Ilarion Troitsky, Archbishop of Vereya († 1929) as a supporter of Metropolitan Anthony's Dogma of Redemption, and quotes the following "resolute" words of his, to prove this assertion:-

"In the article Bethlehem and Golgotha Saint Ilarion declares with all resoluteness: “It is not possible to agree with the juridical theory of salvation, which disregards both the Incarnation and Resurrection, and which recognizes only Golgotha alone, with the sun darkened, with nature troubled, with the earth quaking, with the rocks rending. This is a theory foreign and un-churchly, which infiltrated ecclesiastical theology only two hundred years ago … ”

" ... to reduce Redemption to Deicide, in which the God-Man figures as little more than the passive Victim, in which He is the “Offered” and the “Received”, but in no wise the “Offerer” or the “Receiver”. In the teaching of Metropolitan Anthony the pre-eminent significance belongs not so much to the dogmatic sense (which was formulated to a sufficient degree already by Patristic antiquity, and is in need of nothing more than a refusal to understand it through the prism of Roman Catholic “Summas”), as to the ascetical and pastoral." ( See APPENDIX II on Hieromartyr Ilarion Troitsky, Archbishop of Vereya († 1929) @ http://www.homb.org/st_annas/Articles/EparchialSynod/Redemption.htm#_ftnref70 )

Thus may we see that the juridicial theory which St. Ilarion is speaking of, in the above words, is the one and same theory that Fr. Andrew describes as "the dreadful and blasphemous Roman Catholic satisfaction theory;" (or specifically the teaching of Sts. Augustine of Hippo and Anselm of Canterbury,) which the Resolution implicitly describes as essentially "Western Augustinianism", though modified or tailored in places to fit Russian Orthodoxy; and which completely dominated Russian Orthodox theology, according to Father Andrew, up to the time of Metropolitan Anthony's composing his corrective Catechism, and treatise on the Dogma of Redemption.

Concerning the highly venerable Archbishop Theophan of Poltava; the Resolution identifies him as one of the chief defenders of the "Westernized" dogma of redemption, and describes him as being "under the influence of Western Augustinianism." It further intimates that Frs. Seraphim Rose and Herman Podmoshensky were deeply, if not profoundly influenced by the mind and spirit of Archbishop Theophan, thus imbibing his "Western Augustinianism"; which influence is clearly detectable even in the earlier lives and writings of several contemporary Russian Orthodox saints, which predate Archbishop Theophan; such as Sts. John of Kronstadt and Tikhon of Zadonsk, imo, to name just a couple. This should be especially apparent from the long extract of texts which I posted from St. John of Kronstadt; and especially those few which have a clear and decisive bearing on the question of the freedom of the will, and its total inability, (in the fallen state and condition,) to seek God; apart from its being strengthened by the Holy Spirit first, and inclined by God's special grace toward such salvific and spiritual seeking. Go back and re-read selections 9-11 in the Expanded Version.

However, while the Resolution criticizes Archbishop Theophan for "not having taken into consideration the majority of Patristic opinions on this topic," in these very same words, it concedes that he did, in fact, build his house (case) on a Patristic foundation, however inadequately, according to their own meagre opinion(s). Here is the precise passage in question:-

"Concerning Metropolitan Anthony and Archbishop Theophan’s respective views on the topic of Ancestral Sin, Basil Lourie admits that, although Archbishop Theophan’s report contains many more patristic citations than does Metropolitan Anthony’s The Dogma of Redemption, and although Archbishop Theophan " " attacks with the complete armory of the academic scholarship of those days, nevertheless, not always he is right, whose argumentation is more convincing. Today we can state with full certainty that the “history of the dogma of Ancestral Sin”[58] which had been assimilated by Vladyka Theophan from his courses at the Theological Academy, was tendentious ( under the influence of Western Augustinianism ) and superficial (not having taken into consideration the majority of Patristic opinions on this topic, not excluding even those fathers whom Vladyka Theophan quotes, for example, St. Cyril of Alexandria." ( APPENDIX I on Basil [Fr. Gregory] Lourie’s Review of Archbishop Theophan’s Report [Vertograd-Inform, No. 6/51, June 1999] @ http://www.homb.org/st_annas/Articles/EparchialSynod/Redemption.htm#_ftnref57 )

Now, regarding the venerable Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev, who the Resolution identifies as another major opponent to Metropolitan Anthony's Dogma of Redemption, it might benefit you, J.A., to read something else on him, to counteract the Resolution's very poor caricature of him. Thus I'd recommend a short essay located online @ http://www.stjohnthebaptist.org.au/articles/way-seraphim.html , entitled Defender of Orthodoxy, Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev. Here's a short excerpt from it :-

" For his angelic purity, Vladika received from the Lord the gift to perceive the most subtle deviations from Orthodox Christian truth. He watched over Orthodox Christian life and was its conscience, as it were. Where he observed irregularity, he uncompromisingly exposed it, not fearing to suffer for the truth. As a result, he produced some priceless theological works.

" Vladika's major work was the refutation of the heresy of the Parisian theologian Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov, for which, in 1937, Vladika received a Master's Degree in theology. He was rushing to complete this work by a certain deadline when he became ill with a fever. He implored the Mother of God, to whose prayerful intercession he had resorted all his life, begging her to heal him. And what happened? Vladika's temperature immediately dropped and he was able to finish his work within the allotted time.

" Vladika poured out all his love for the Saviour in his theological works, fervently defending the truths of Orthodoxy. 'My books are my blood,' he declared. And truly, he lay down his life for Christ in the struggle with heretics, sparing neither his strength nor broken health. Vladika constantly worked at night. This upset his brother, Archimandrite Sergius, as it did me, in view of his weak health. Knowing this, Vladika wrote secretly. In the evening he would lie down and, when everyone else had fallen asleep, he would get up and continue writing, taking advantage of the nighttime quiet, considering it his pastoral duty to defend the truth. It is not by chance that the Lord called Vladika to the next world on the day when the holy Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy and its defenders." ( by Archimandrite Panteleimon [Staritsky] from "A Word in Remembrance," delivered on the first anniversary of Archbishop Seraphim's repose, 13/26 Feb. 1951 )

Incidentally, I'd really like to know if the 'Archimandrite Panteleimon' who wrote the above memorial (on Archbishop Seraphim) is the 'Archimandrite Panteleimon' of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, in Brookline? According to the website hosting the dogmatic Resolution (in question), HTM is currently under the jurisdiction of the Synod that produced it (the Resolution). Assuming the two Archimandrites in question are one and the same person, then it appears that his view or estimate of the spiritual stature of Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev completely contradicts the pathetic caricature presented in his Synod's dogmatic Resolution

Nevertheless, J.A., there's a sermon by Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev which you should read, as well, "Concerning the Joint Operation of Divine Justice and Divine Love in the Work of our Redemption." Here's a couple paragraphs to wet the appetite (followed by the link that'll take you to the online document for your continued perusal):-

"In the liturgical commemoration of Our Lord's Passion, we heard, beloved in Christ, these words in the troparion at the end of Matins: "Thou hast redeemed us from the curse of the Law by Thy precious Blood: nailed to the Cross and pierced by the spear, Thou hast poured forth immortality upon mankind. O our Saviour, glory to Thee." And, today, in place of the Cherubic Hymn during the Liturgy, we heard the sublime hymn: "Let all mortal flesh keep silent and in fear and trembling stand; let us take no thought for any earthly thing. For the King of kings and Lord of lords draws near to be sacrificed and given as food to the faithful." Here are two church hymns which elucidate for us one of the fundamental dogmatic questions: What was the compelling motive for the Saviour's death on the Cross? Was it the Lord's love towards us alone, or was it required by divine justice?

"There is a theological opinion which rejects a legal interpretation in the matter of our salvation. This opinion denies that for the redemption of the ancestral sin the sacrifice on the Cross was necessary in order to satisfy divine justice, inasmuch as the Lord does not need this, for He is love. If one holds the opinion that God is purely love, without bearing in mind that He is at the same time a righteous (just) Judge, then one can conclude that God will ultimately forgive everything; that there will come a time when all sinners, as well as the demons, will be forgiven, when eternal torment will cease and there will be everlasting blessedness for all rational beings. Such a viewpoint, however, contradicts the testimony of Divine Revelation that God will reward each man according to his deeds, and the unambiguous teaching of the Saviour concerning His dread judgment and the future unending life with eternal blessedness for the righteous and eternal torments for sinners and demons."

For the remainder of the above Sermon, please go to: =>> http://www.roca.org/oa/132/132b.htm !!!

[Ken McRae]

... the thoughts and exercises of contemporary Orthodoxy, concerning the recent Stavroclasmic heresy. Btw, J.A., "stavroclasm", according to the Orthodox theologian, Fr. Michael Pomazansky, is a heresy that developed in later Protestantism; which he says attacked the saving value or merit(s) of Christ's death upon the cross.

My use of the word "heresy" in the above passage is indeed an unfortunate, and thus regrettable choice, for which I apologize. And if this "uncanonical" Resolution (in question) convinced me of anything, it convinced me, more-or-less, that Metropolitan Anthony erred in judgment, by going too far in the opposite direction, (as Fr. Seraphim Rose expresses it,) in a noble effort to revive and restore his Church's Patristic heritage, but indeed stopped short of 'stavroclasm'.

[Ken McRae]

Concerning the highly venerable Archbishop Theophan of Poltava; the Resolution identifies him as one of the chief defenders of the "Westernized" dogma of redemption, and describes him as being "under the influence of Western Augustinianism." ... etc.

However, while the Resolution criticizes Archbishop Theophan for "not having taken into consideration the majority of Patristic opinions on this topic," in these very same words, it concedes that he did, in fact, build his house (case) on a Patristic foundation ... etc.

For those who have examined the Resolution, you will have, doubtless, noticed that it portrays Archbishop Theophan of Poltava in a very negative light, calling into question his ecclesiastical status and spiritual sanctity. Thus, it appears needful (to me at least) to counteract such a pathetic portrayal with one more abundantly befitting his blessed memory. It was an unfortunate oversight on my part not to do so in my last post, along with my recommendation(s) on Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev. However, it is better late than never, I feel, so with that in mind, I'd like to recommend the following online essay for your perusal:-

A Crowned Wrestler - Archbishop Theophan of Poltava
@ http://www.stjohnthebaptist.org.au/articles/way-theophan.html

The following excerpt is an indication of his true spiritual status and theological attainment(s):-

"Regarding the height of his spiritual life one may see from the memoirs of E.Y. Kontzevich: "I was told that in his student years he had labored in asceticism, slept on the floor and the like, and ruined his health; he had tuberculosis and poor digestion. Therefore in his mature years he was an opponent of excessive physical asceticism. His voice always remained very weak. He was of small stature, thin, and there was something special in him that evoked a feeling of reverent awe. Jokes or laughter in his presence were impossible, he was a very learned man ... a great expert in patrology and patristics. He himself being a practicer of mental prayer and having attained a high state in this practice, he knew as no one else the teaching of the Holy Fathers concerning this 'science of sciences'."

"So thoroughly was he steeped in the Patristic sources that when anyone came to him with a question , he tried to avoid saying anything of his own but always went straight to his bookshelves, to the writings of the Holy Fathers. There he invariably found a precise and fully satisfying answer. He was himself a walking encyclopedia of all the various branches of theology and in general, of whatever pertained to the inner spiritual life. His profound theological understanding was reflected in his sermons which spoke clearly of his close affinity with the Holy Fathers. The students loved and respected him greatly and it was a great loss when he was relieved of his post at the Academy to assume the duties of a ruling archpastor."

[Ken McRae]

Concerning the highly venerable Archbishop Theophan of Poltava; the Resolution identifies him as one of the chief defenders of the "Westernized" dogma of redemption, and describes him as being "under the influence of Western Augustinianism" ... which influence is clearly detectable even in the earlier lives and writings of several contemporary Russian Orthodox saints, which predate Archbishop Theophan; such as Sts. John of Kronstadt and Tikhon of Zadonsk ... etc.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783) :-

The following texts were all selected from an Anthology of the writings of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, (which was compiled by, and published under the official Imprimatur of, the Holy Synod itself of the Russian Orthodox Church,) entitled 'Journey to Heaven: Counsels on the Particular Duties of Every Christian'. The copy used for this selection is the third English edition published by Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville), with the Blessing of Archbishop Laurus of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery. This particular Anthology is a best selling Russian Orthodox classic, having passed through 49 Russian publications alone. It has received a massive Russian distribution and exposure, and is described on the back-cover as "especially beloved by the faithful." It is entirely reasonable to conclude, then, from the sheer popularity of this Russian classic and the number of times it's been reprinted in Russian, that it has exerted an immense influence upon the formation of the popular Russian mind and praxis.

Now, it is also possible to ascertain from these facts a rough estimate of the extent to which Russian Orthodoxy has been influenced by the juridicial view of redemption (and justification). Rather than offer my interpretation of these texts, though, I will let them speak for themselves. Special attention should be given, though, to St. Tikhon's emphasis upon the justice of God, and its satisfaction in the death of Christ. For Metropolitan Anthony and his defenders, this particular feature of St. Tikhon's teaching is the clear hallmark of a "Westernized" dogma of redemption. It should be clearly noted and observed, however, in St. Tikhon's defense, that he would never have accepted and taught a view of redemption not firmly rooted in the theology of St. John Chrysostom and Patristic Concensus. I'm firmly convinced of this! And thus I am equally convinced that he (and the Holy Synod that compiled this Anthology from his writings) would defend the Patristic character of the ideas expressed in the following selection of texts:-

Selected Texts from the Holy Synod's Anthology of St. Tikhon's Canon

01 - The great and incomprehensible God is offended and angered by sin, He Who created us from nothing and made us in His own image and likeness, He Who for our sake who are fallen, sent into the world His Only-Begotten Son; He that every day and hour does us good, He that feeds us, waters us, clothes us, gives us rest, and abounds in other innumerable blessings for us, He that will finally judge the sinner before the whole world. O how truly incomprehensible an evil is sin, for thereby the incomprehensible majesty of God is offended! (p. 63)

02 - He threatens sinners for this reason that He does not wish to destroy them. He manifests His wrath for this reason, that out of fear of it we should correct ourselves and escape eternal punishment. For if fear of an earthly king turns us away from much evil, how much more powerfully does the fear of the Heavenly King turn us away from every evil and raise us up to repentance, if we should often consider His righteous anger against sin and His terrible warnings. (p. 171)

03 - There is nothing more dangerous than to ignore what God threatens. Whoever is careless about Gehenna shall fall into Gehenna. Whoever is scornful of that death shall not escape eternal death. Whoever does not fear God's wrath and does not repent shall experience the wrath of God on his own person. "Our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29 )." "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31)." "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Gal. 6:7)." God is indeed merciful and loves mankind, but He is also just for He will render to each according to his deeds. (p. 172)

04 - Everything a man does in this age shall be made manifest at the just judgement of Christ, and he shall receive according to all he did, [for] according to the Word of Christ, "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again (Mt. 7:2)." The heathen, who do not know the true God and His holy Law, will be reproved there by natural law, by conscience alone. But Christians that do not correct themselves and will not repent shall be reproved by both conscience and the written Law of God. Then they shall see themselves how senselessly and wickedly they have acted. "It shall be more tolerable" for heathens who do not know the true God and His holy Law "at the day of judgement (Matt. 11:22)" than for Christians who have committed iniquities and did not repent. (p. 154)

05 - Let us fear destruction, then, and repent, and we shall escape it. The Ninevites feared utter destruction and repented, and they did not fall into destruction, but received mercy from God Who loves mankind. Let us also turn with all our heart to our God and repent and cease angering Him with our sins, that we might obtain mercy from Him. (p. 173)

06 - Look, O Christian, at that by which you were delivered from sin, the devil, hell, and eternal death. Not by any perishable substance, but by what? By the most precious and priceless Blood of Christ, the Son of God. (p. 99)

07 - Consider, O sinners, whether the very blood of Christ, shed for the sake of our salvation, and all His Suffering do not cry out to us. Let us repent and so let us not be deprived of eternal salvation, for without repentance there is no salvation for anyone, but nevertheless the wretched sinner still does not understand. (p. 43)

08 - O poor sinner, awaken and come to your senses. If you do not, the very Blood of Christ shed for your sake will cry out against you for retribution. Listen to what the prophet of God sings to you in the person of God, "I will reprove thee, and bring thy sins before thy face (Ps. 49:21); that is, all your evil deeds, words, thoughts, intentions and undertakings will follow you into the next world and will appear at the universal Judgement of Christ, and you shall receive your just reward for them. You do not now wish to repent to your benefit, and so be saved by the grace of Christ; then you shall repent, but too late and in vain. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Eph. 5:14)." (p. 44)

09 - The Gospel preaches that our sins are forgiven for Christ's name's sake and that Christ is our justification before God. In Thee, my Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, am I justified. Thou art my truth and enlightenment. (p . 26)

10 - Our ancestors sinned in paradise and died the death, and would be dead forever had not Christ the Son of God revived them with His blood. For "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8)." For His holy Blood, poured out for the entire world, is as effective now as it was since the beginning of the world to revive every sinner that believes in Him. (p. 64)

11 - Set your salvation on nothing else but on Christ Jesus alone, the Saviour of the world. If you truly believe that He suffered and died for you and is your Saviour, then love Him with all your heart, obey Him and please Him, as your Saviour, and lay and confirm all your hope of salvation on Him alone. We must unfailingly do good works as Christians, but we must ask and await salvation from Christ alone. (p. 44)

12 - Without lively faith and the fear of God it is impossible to live in a godly way. Living faith is inspired in the human heart by contemplation of the word of God and by the Holy Spirit. For this reason we should read and heed the word of God and pray that God Himself ignite the lamp of faith in our heart. (p. 15)

13 - Love the Word of God, that is the Scriptures, handed down to us by the prophets and apostles, as God Himself. For the word of God is the word of God's mouth. If you love God, then without fail you will love the word of God also. For the word of God is God's epistle or letter to us unworthy ones, and is His supreme gift to us for the sake of our salvation. If you love the Sender, then also love the letter which is sent from Him to you. For the word of God is given by God to me, to you, and to everyone, so that everyone who desires to be saved may receive salvation through it. (p. 18)

14 - When God created man He set a conscience within his soul so that he may be governed by it as by a rule, and so that he may be guided in what to do and what to avoid. Conscience is nothing other than natural or innate law, which is why it also agrees with the written law of God. For whatever the Law of God teaches, conscience teaches also, ... etc. Therefore everyone who sins against conscience also sins against the Law of God, and against the Lawgiver Himself, God. Whoever does not listen to his conscience listens neither to the Law of God nor to God Himself. Whoever does not obey his conscience obeys neither the Law of God nor God Himself. Whoever offends his own conscience offends God Himself. (p. 20-22)

15 - Conscience is in agreement with the Law of God, as we see. What the Law of God forbids, conscience also forbids. For what the Law of God reproves, is also reproved by conscience. The Law of God threatens a sinner with the judgement of God; the sinner hears the same in his own conscience. The Law singles out and praises the innocent man; he feels the same also in his own conscience. (p. 152)

16 - Conscience so heavily and cruelly torments a man for the sin that he committed, that a man often kills himself, not being able to bear the pangs of conscience. (p. 64)

17 - Let us examine then, beloved, our conscience and our life. To which side do we belong, to Christ's or to His enemy's? To the good, or to the evil? To the lot of the saved or to that of the lost? He that is not with Christ is the enemy of Christ. For Christ Himself said, "He that is not with Me is against Me (Matt 12:30)." (p. 32-33)

18 - Let us consider on whose side we find ourselves, on Satan's or on Christ's. One serves and belongs to him whose will he performs. He renounces Christ not only he who renounces His Holy Name and does not confess Him to be the Son of God and his Saviour, but also he who sins against conscience and recklessly breaks His holy commandments. This is the teaching of the Apostles. For the Apostle says, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, and the rest (Titus 1:16)." Do you see that people reject God in works too, and not just with their lips? Is anyone a prodigal, and does he commit adultery? He rejects Christ. Does anyone hate his neighbor and seek him out to harm him? He has apostatized from Christ. (p. 32)

19 - Whoever acts against conscience stubbornly and deliberately sins against the Law of God, and therefore sins grievously, for he does not wish to submit his will to the will of God. Therefore that man is not a true Christian, but a false one. For a true Christian does not wish to sin against conscience in anything, but takes care to keep his conscience pure of sin, and he would rather die than to sin against his conscience and provoke it. "Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19)." (p. 153)

20 - Do not do what conscience forbids you to do, for an unerring conscience forbids what the Law of God also forbids. For a good conscience is in agreement with the Law of God. The Law of God says, "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal (Ex. 20: 13, 15)," and so on. You also hear the same within your conscience, and it tells you the same thing. Avoid, then, doing what your conscience forbids, lest having wounded your conscience you wound your soul. (p. 23)

21 - All they that commit iniquity and act against their conscience do not keep their (baptismal) vows. These include ... all that do not fear God. They have all lied to God and have not kept their vows, and are outside of the Holy Church, though they may even go to churches and pray and receive the Mysteries and build churches and adorn them and display other signs of a Christian. Since they shall be powerfully put to the test at the Judgment of Christ ... avoid these deeds, Christian ... lest you be condemned with them to eternal fire by the just judgment of God. (p. 34)

22 - Just as one washed in a bath is again sullied with dirt and mud, so likewise a Christian washed in the laver of baptism is defiled again with iniquity. Just as one who out of filthy rags was clothed in purple and fine linen again takes off those beautiful garments and puts that foul rag on again, so everyone who commits iniquity after holy baptism does likewise. For out of the rags of sin he was also clothed in Christ's robe of justification, but having spurned that beautiful garment he again puts on the rag of sin. (p. 36)

23 - We establish a covenant between God and us. We, who have renounced Satan, promise to serve God and be faithful to Him. God accepts us in His supreme mercy and promises us an inheritance in everlasting life and the Kingdom, and washes us, who are defiled by sin, in the laver of baptism. He sanctifies and justifies us, as the priest says over everyone who is baptised, "Thou art washed, thou art sanctified, thou art justified (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11)." (p. 32)

24 - Let us correct ourselves that we may be Christians not only in name but also in truth. We become Christians by the grace of God; let us take care to have true Christianity within ourselves. We were baptized in the one Tri-hypostatic God and have received the gift of holiness and justification; let us take care to guard this heavenly treasure to the end. (p. 57)

25 - Through holy baptism we were delivered from every calamity and we received all true blessedness by the grace of God. Before baptism we were far from God, but through baptism we became close to God. Before baptism we were enemies to God, but through baptism we became reconciled to God, and God was reconciled to us. Before baptism we were children of God's wrath, but through baptism we were made vessels of God's mercy. Before baptism we were children of darkness and children of the devil, but through baptism we were made children of light and children of God. Before baptism we were defiled in sins, but through baptism we were washed, sanctified and justified.

Before baptism we were lost, but through baptism we were saved. Before baptism the doors to everlasting life and the Kingdom of Heaven were closed to us, but through baptism they were opened and those that preserve the grace of holy baptism enter in unhindered. We receive these and other benefits of God through holy baptism. We receive them freely without any merit on our part, solely from His love for man, for what can he deserve who is lost? ... etc. The Only-Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ our Saviour, earned this supreme mercy from God for all of us. He earned it through His most precious Blood and His death. (p. 29-30)

26 - The treasure of eternal salvation was bought for us by nothing else but by the very Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is far more precious than the whole world, more than heaven and earth and the fulness thereof, because it is eternal and full of every good thing, eternal and incomprehensible, and it was purchased at an immeasurable price: Christ, the Lord of Glory and God, obtained it for us by His own Blood. (p. 100)

27 - Let us recall how He Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment, put on the garment of corruption ... etc. How the Almighty became weak, and He that gives strength to all did labor ... etc. Let us recall how He ailed, suffered, sorrowed, wept, and was filled with horror ... etc. All these things the Son of God did for the sake of our salvation. (p. 42)

28 - The greatest and highest of all His blessings is that by His good will Christ, His Only-Begotten Son, came to us and redeemed us, by His precious Blood and suffering, from the devil, hell and death. In this work He showed us His unspeakable goodness to us. We must, then, always gaze with faith upon this great work of God so incomprehensible to the mind, and remember God Who so loved us unworthy ones. (p. 12)

29 - O how profusely has God's grace abounded! Poor and rejected sinners are made the children of God! The Apostle of Christ wonders at this and says, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God," and so we are. For what is more astonishing than that a sinner should become a child of God? God's love toward man has wrought this. What is more glorious than to be called and to really be a child of God? God's grace has bestowed this on man. It is glorious to be the child of an earthly king; it is incomparably more glorious to be the child of God the Heavenly King. This honor, glory, merit, nobility, and name is more excellent than all titles of this world. (p 45)

30 - The honor and nobility which God bestows on men who are true Christians is so great and so high that it is impossible not only to describe it or to explain it in words, but even to comprehend it with the mind. "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people (1 Pet. 2:9)", says the true Apostle of Christ. (p. 47)

31 - We receive this most exalted gift of God in Baptism, for then we men are born of God and receive this most glorious title. (p. 45)

32 - True Christians are spiritual members of the most heavenly Head, Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords ... etc. You are members of this most exalted Head. As the Head is glorified, so also do His members partake of His glory. This is the glory of true Christians, this is their nobility and merit. (p. 49)

33 - When you look upon the icons of the saints, call to mind that One is the Creator that created them and you, and that His purpose was the same for them as it is for you, that is, to save both them and you. They are glorified, and before you lies the same glory, only imitate their lives and you shall be saved." (p. 16-17)

34 - Look, O Christian, and you shall see the nobility and merit of Christians. They have communion with the great and incomprehensible God ... etc. What also could be more blessed than that soul in which God lives as in a temple? The paradise of sweetness and joy, the Kingdom of God is in it. O blessedness! O the worthiness! O the nobility of the Christian soul! God, a Being that is without beginning, without end, supremely good, and uncreated, wills to live in the holy Christian soul rather than in heaven or in any other temple! (p. 48)

35 - As the sun always shines, as fire always warms, so God is by nature good; He is and always does good, since "there is none good, but One, that is God (Matt. 19:17)." God even does good when He chastises us, for He chastises us so that He may correct us. He strikes us so that He may have mercy on us, He gives us sorrows so that He may truly console us. "For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth; and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Heb. 12:6)." (p. 1)

36 - In a word, every occasion and every thing can and must inspire you to a loving remembrance of the Lord your God, and must show you His love toward you, since even His chastisement comes from His love toward us; according to the Scripture, "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth (Heb. 12:6)." (p. 11)

37 - Endeavor to please God with faith and obedience, that is, do what He desires and what is pleasing to Him, and do not do what He does not desire and what is not pleasing to Him. Without obedience, whatever a man may do is not pleasing to God. (p. 13)

38 - Shun evil and do good for God's sake, and for no other reason than that God forbade the former and commanded the latter, for everything that is not done for God's sake is not pleasing to God. Let your aim in all your deeds, then, be the will of God, which does not desire evil, but desires good. (p. 24)

39 - Sinners! Let us fear the judgment of God and endeavour to have a contrite and humble heart, that we also may draw from the Gospel as from a saving font of living water of refreshment and consolation, and that we may water our souls and so receive everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (p. 28)

40 - I tremble and quake with fear when I hear and consider this saying, "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be (Apoc. 22:12)." Who is it that says this? God, great and terrible. Of what does He speak? About how He Himself will come to judge the world and render unto each according to his deeds. Poor sinners! What will you think when you hear this saying? God Himself is coming to judge and render to you according to your deeds. Be horrified to sin and commit iniquity. God Himself is coming to judge you, He is coming with might and great glory. (p. 174)

41 - The very mention of eternal misfortune or torment brings a man to trembling and horror. It truly so happens that people become attached to vanity, and they sin because they have forgotten about eternity. O eternal torment, how bitter is your very memory! It is a fearful and bitter thing to be deprived of God and eternal life! Remember these last things, then, and you will never sin. (p. 166)

42 - A man will truly be bound and restrained by fear of punishment as by a rope, and not be moved to any evil. He will truly not wish to sin when he sees before the eyes of his mind the eternal fire prepared for sin. Indeed, the memory of punishment will not permit him to fall into punishment, nor will the contemplation of Gehenna allow him to enter into Gehenna. (p. 171)

43 - We see the warnings recorded in Holy Scripture whereby God threatens unrepentant sinners with temporal and eternal punishment ... etc. ... the Lord God, has published His holy and just Law for all people that they should live according to its rule and correct themselves, and that they should avoid whatever it forbids, and they should do whatever it commands. And He has declared both temporal and eternal punishment for transgressors of the Law. (p. 170)

44 - A fearful thing for us is the curse of the Law, for we are all sinners; it subjects the sinner to both temporal and eternal punishment. The Gospel preaches that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become the curse for us. (p. 26)

45 - It is a fearful thing for us to be found at enmity with God. The Gospel preaches that Christ has reconciled us to God, and having come He preached peace to all near and far. (p. 26)

46 - The Gospel is not intended for those Christians who live recklessly and in iniquity, and do not recognize their sins, poverty and misfortune, and do not have a contrite heart. For of what use is oil to a rock? A plaster is applied to a wound, and healing is given to him who recognizes and admits his weakness. (p. 28)

47 - Accept and confess yourselves to be sinners before God. Your sins are also forgiven for Christ's name's sake. Repent of your sins and lament for God, for salvation is prepared for you, too, by God. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am the chief (1 Tim. 1:15)." The Holy Spirit speaks to you through His servant, "The sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit, a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise (Ps. 50:19)." This sacrifice is offered to God from a repentant and contrite heart and is more acceptable to Him than any other offering. God looks mercifully upon such a sacrifice and sends His grace down upon it. (p. 28)

48 - To whom is the Gospel preached? Christ answers us, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for Whose sake he hath annointed Me to preach to the poor, He hath sent Me to heal the broken hearted (Lk. 4:18)." In other words, to those people who, acknowledging their sins, see their poverty, misfortune, and wretchedness, and have a contrite heart with fear of God's judgement and sorrow, to them the Gospel is rightly preached as a healing plaster is applied to a wounded body. Hear, you sorrowful and contrite souls, hear the most most sweet voice of the Gospel! "The Son of Man is come to seek and save that which is lost!" This healing plaster of the Gospel most sweet is applied to your wounded souls. By this saving medicine heal your broken hearts ... etc. (p. 27-28)

49 - This, blessed Christians, is the most sweet voice of the Gospel: "Taste," then, "and see that the Lord is good (Ps 33:9)." "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-Begotten Son, that whosover believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned (Jn 3:16-18)." "Blessed be the Lord of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (Lk 1:68-69)." (p. 26)

50 - But the sinner, even though he hears this so plaintive and sweet voice of Christ in the Gospel, nevertheless, still does not understand. Christ promises not to remember his sins and transgressions when he turns to Him, but the sinner still does not understand. Christ calls him to Himself and promises him rest, but the sinner does not understand. (p. 43)

51 - Sinners that repent are still saved; both publicans and fornicators cleansed by repentance enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The compassionate God still calls to Himself all that have turned away, and He awaits them and promises them mercy. The loving Father still receives his prodigal sons come back from a far country and He opens the doors of His house and clothes them in the best robe, and gives them each a ring on their hand and shoes on their feet and commands all the saints to rejoice in them. (p. 38)

52 - Our Father awaits us with great zeal and desire, and with love He will see us returning from afar, and He will look upon us with compassionate eyes, and we shall be dear to Him, and He will fall on our neck running and embrace us and kiss us with His holy love. He will not reproach us, and He will no longer remember our sins and iniquities, and all the holy Angels and all His elect will begin to rejoice over us. (p. 39)

53 - God is compassionate, let us also be compassionate and show mercy to our unfortunate brethren. God hates sin, let us also hate every sin and turn away from it. God loves us, let us also love one another. God forgives us our transgressions when we repent, let us also forgive men their transgressions. (p. 46)

54 - Let us repent and turn away from the vanity of the world, and cleanse our hearts with repentance and contrition, that the love of God may abide in us. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 Jn 4:16)." (p. 7)

55 - Do not despair of whatever sins you may have committed since Baptism and find yourself in true repentance, but await God's mercy. However many and however great and burdensome your sins may be, with God there is greater mercy. Just as His majesty is, so likewise is His mercy. Only guard yourself from sinning henceforth, and walk according to the aforementioned points. (p. 39)

~ END OF SELECTED TEXTS ~

[J. A. McIntyre]

I'm happy to see we are enjoying the topic.

Peace.

[Ken McRae]

St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

01 - "Wherever I look with my spiritual vision, whether within me or upon me, or outside of me - everywhere, I see powerful reasons for thanking and praising the Lord. Especially when I look only within myself: then I see the strongest reason for doing so. The whole strength of my heart, all my spiritual light, comes from God; all my bodily strength, everything that serves to maintain my bodily life, comes from God. Everywhere I see the glory, the sole glory, of my God, and see nothing in myself of which I could boast as of my own. Glory to Him Who gives me strength! Glory to Him Who works through me, and within me. As I have nothing of my own, and have everything from God, down to the smallest good inclination of my heart, down to every holy and bright thought, whilst without God I am nothing - worse than this, I am all evil." (p. 160)

02 - "What shall I bring to Thee, Lord, for all Thy Mercies which Thou continually bestowest so bountifully upon me? My faith alone, for I have no works that shall justify me; I have done no good thing before Thee. But even my faith is also Thy gift. Receive Thine own of Thine own offered Thee, for everything is Thine, and we are all Thine. Thou art our most perfect Prototype." (My Life in Christ, p. 153)



St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

11 - It is impossible not to praise God when you remember that you were created from nothing, that you were predestined from the foundation of the world for eternal blessedness, quite without cause, not in accordance with your merits - when you remember what grace God has bestowed upon you for your salvation during all your life-time, what an innumerable multitude of sins are forgiven you, and this not once or twice but an incalculable number of times ... etc. (p. 96)

18 - I am so weak, that it is only by Christ's name that I live and obtain peace, that I rejoice and my heart expands, whilst without Him I am spiritually dead, I am troubled, and my heart is oppressed; without the Lord's Cross I should have been long since the victim of the most cruel distress and despair. Only Christ keeps me alive: and the Cross is my peace and my consolation. (p. 5)



St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783) :-

09 - The Gospel preaches that our sins are forgiven for Christ's name's sake and that Christ is our justification before God. In Thee, my Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, am I justified. Thou art my truth and enlightenment. (p . 26)

11 - Set your salvation on nothing else but on Christ Jesus alone, the Saviour of the world. If you truly believe that He suffered and died for you and is your Saviour, then love Him with all your heart, obey Him and please Him, as your Saviour, and lay and confirm all your hope of salvation on Him alone. We must unfailingly do good works as Christians, but we must ask and await salvation from Christ alone. (p. 44)

25 - Through holy baptism we were delivered from every calamity and we received all true blessedness by the grace of God. Before baptism we were far from God, but through baptism we became close to God. Before baptism we were enemies to God, but through baptism we became reconciled to God, and God was reconciled to us. Before baptism we were children of God's wrath, but through baptism we were made vessels of God's mercy. Before baptism we were children of darkness and children of the devil, but through baptism we were made children of light and children of God. Before baptism we were defiled in sins, but through baptism we were washed, sanctified and justified. Before baptism we were lost, but through baptism we were saved. Before baptism the doors to everlasting life and the Kingdom of Heaven were closed to us, but through baptism they were opened and those that preserve the grace of holy baptism enter in unhindered. We receive these and other benefits of God through holy baptism. We receive them freely without any merit on our part, solely from His love for man, for what can he deserve who is lost? ... etc. The Only-Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ our Saviour, earned this supreme mercy from God for all of us. He earned it through His most precious Blood and His death. (p. 29-30)



St. Innocent of Alaska (1797-1879)

25 - What is this help given by Jesus Christ to Christians? This help is the Grace of the Holy Spirit. God’s grace surrounds us, and with it the Lord draws us to Himself. All who wish can receive this help and become filled with it. The Holy Spirit, being God, equal to the Father and the Son, is the source of life and strength. He gives to believers wisdom, inner peace and inspiration, not according to their merits but for Jesus Christ’s sake.

St. Macarius of Optina (1788-1860)

33 - "When the enemy inserts despair into your heart, conjuring up in your mind thoughts of past sins so black that there can be no hope of pardon, refrain from weighing your own merits against your sins. Think only of the merits of Christ: the only merits that afford our salvation. Remember, too, that Mother Church prays for all sinners, at every Eucharist." (Russian Letters, p. 64)

St. Ambrosy of Optina (+1891)

On Salvation by Faith Alone at the End of Time

03 - "If you live to see that time, (i.e. "the last days",) rejoice, for at that time the faithful, not possessing other virtues will receive wreaths merely for standing in faith, according to the Word of the Lord "everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess before My Heavenly Father". Fear the Lord, my son! Dont lose the received wreath, not to be rejected by Christ into the utter darkness and eternal suffering. Bravely stand in faith, and if needed joyfully endure persecutions and other troubles, for then the Lord will stand by you ... and holy Martyrs and Confessors with joyfully watch at your struggle." ( St. Ambrose of Optina, Last Times and Now: A Collection of Writtings @ http://members.cox.net/orthodoxheritage/St.%20Ambrosy.htm )

Optina Elder St. Anatoly the Younger (+1922)

Prayer for the Orthodox Christians of the Latter Times

04 - For Daily Use: "Deliver me O Lord from the deceptions of the Godhating and evil antichrist, whose coming is at hand, and shelter me from his snares in the secret desert of Thy salvation. Grant me, O Lord, strength and courage to firmly confess Thy Most Holy Name, that I may not abandon You because of the devil's fear and that I may not deny Thee my Saviour and Redeemer, nor Thy Holy Church . But grant me O Lord cries and tears for my sins, and spare me O Lord in the hour of Thy dread judgement." Amen ( @ http://www.stjohnthebaptist.org.au/articles/anatoly-prayer.html )

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Theophilus,

Thank you for the recent post here. However, unless I missed a bit, it seems to be just a string of quotations. Could you expand on what you mean to suggest by assembling them so?

INXC, Matthew

[Ken McRae]

Dear Matthew,

Thank you for asking and please forgive my delay in replying. I felt bound in the spirit and unable to do so, until today. I can fully understand the way you must feel, and how these words must appear as just a string of quotes; but in truth, it is my belief that these words were meant for primarily one individual, and if the Lord is preparing his heart for an Orthodox revelation, as I suspect He is, then this string of quotes will prove to be much more than that (to this particular individual). I believe these words were penned by enlightened men of singular sobriety, and not given to idle thoughts and vain conversations. If they spoke or put pen to paper, it was because they were quickened by God.

If anyone wishes to take issue with the Orthodoxy of the thoughts expressed in the last series of extracts, let them do so. Otherwise, I believe these words are a faithful expression of the mind of the Fathers. Let this individual ponder them closely and prayerfully, and I firmly believe the Lord will quicken them to His heart. They are a pathway of salvation leading him into the Orthodox Faith and Church! But he must put hand to plough and prepare the ground of his heart before they will ever bear their proper fruit. Let him heed the words of Christ, concerning them to whom the Father will reveal the Truth, and let Him wait upon God. And while he waits, let him ponder and explore the mind of Christ expressed in this "string of quotes", but which appear to me more like a string of precious pearls! They are golden words, in my eyes, and glitter with a divine sparkle!

Let this individiual note in the words of the saints, that there is no justification outside the Church. It is a free gift received in holy baptism, and renewed by the mysteries of confession and holy communion. Christ is your Justification, and thus justification is not imputed to you until you are formally and really in Christ, or a member of His mystical and revealed body. At the same time, the saints talk about the drawing activity of the Spirit of Christ, and thus I believe the Spirit of Christ works outside the Church, drawing souls into the Church.

St. John of Kronstadt makes it clear that none can seek the Lord, genuinely, except the Spirit of Christ effectually draw him. Let him not despair of such assistance from God, but let him first set hand to plough, and plough deeply the field of his heart, and make of it fertile ground for the Orthodox Word, by removing from it all deadly hardness and poisinous weeds that will choke the life and spirit out of it!! He is deluded who thinks he will find the kingdom of heaven otherwise. Let him hear and react well to the call of the Ploughman!

EDIT:- P.S. If I could make one change to that string of pearls, though, I'd insert another quote from St. Innocent of Alaska, just after St. Tikhon:-



St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783):-

25 - Through holy baptism we were delivered from every calamity and we received all true blessedness by the grace of God. Before baptism we were far from God, but through baptism we became close to God. Before baptism we were enemies to God, but through baptism we became reconciled to God, and God was reconciled to us. Before baptism we were children of God's wrath, but through baptism we were made vessels of God's mercy. Before baptism we were children of darkness and children of the devil, but through baptism we were made children of light and children of God. Before baptism we were defiled in sins, but through baptism we were washed, sanctified and justified. Before baptism we were lost, but through baptism we were saved. Before baptism the doors to everlasting life and the Kingdom of Heaven were closed to us, but through baptism they were opened and those that preserve the grace of holy baptism enter in unhindered. We receive these and other benefits of God through holy baptism. We receive them freely without any merit on our part, solely from His love for man, for what can he deserve who is lost? ... etc. The Only-Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ our Saviour, earned this supreme mercy from God for all of us. He earned it through His most precious Blood and His death. (p. 29-30)

St. Innocent of Alaska (1797-1879)

15 - Jesus Christ redeemed us by His death, and, therefore, by the right of redemption we belong to Him and must do all that He wills.

25 - What is this help given by Jesus Christ to Christians? This help is the Grace of the Holy Spirit. God’s grace surrounds us, and with it the Lord draws us to Himself. All who wish can receive this help and become filled with it. The Holy Spirit, being God, equal to the Father and the Son, is the source of life and strength. He gives to believers wisdom, inner peace and inspiration, not according to their merits but for Jesus Christ’s sake.

[Ken McRae]

St. Macarius of Optina (1788-1860)

33 - "When the enemy inserts despair into your heart, conjuring up in your mind thoughts of past sins so black that there can be no hope of pardon, refrain from weighing your own merits against your sins. Think only of the merits of Christ: the only merits that afford our salvation. Remember, too, that Mother Church prays for all sinners, at every Eucharist." (Russian Letters, p. 64)

"He who trusts in his own works even with faith errs. After baptism it is without fail necessary to keep God's commandments, by which the grace given at baptism is preserved and, to the measure of one's proficiency in the commandments, is increased. Having transgressed the commandments, by repentance one again acquires grace. All this acts through faith, but without faith one could not perform deeds of repentance. In every case both faith and deeds are involved. But one must not think that one's deeds merit salvation: the merits of the Savior afford us this.

"One must do good deeds but not place hope in them. To place hope in one's deeds is a sign of self-reliance. The Lord does not always grant us strength to perform good deeds, but rather allows the passions to be strengthened in us so that we might acknowledge our weakness and humble ourselves before God, remembering God's commandment: Whenever you do what has been commanded you, say we are unprofitable servants, for we have done that which it was our duty to do (Luke 17:10)." ( Works are Necessary for One's Salvation - A Letter to a Layman - by St. Macarius of Optina (http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/stmacarios_works.aspx) )

[Ken McRae]

The Prophetic Insight of Holy Awa Pambo Concerning the Last Days (http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/the-insights-awa-pambo.html.html)

And I'll tell you this, my child, that the days will come when the Christians will add to and will take away from, and will alter the books of the Holy Evangelists, and of the Holy Apostles, and of the Divine Prophets, and of the Holy Fathers. They'll tone down the Holy Scriptures and will compose troparia, hymns, and writings technologically.

Their nous will be spilled out among them, and will become alienated from its Heavenly Prototype. For this reason the Holy Fathers had previously encouraged the monks of the desert to write down the lives of the Fathers not onto parchment, but onto paper, because the coming generation will change them to suit their own personal tastes. So you see, the evil that comes will be horrible.

Then the disciple said: So then, Geronda, the traditions are going to be changed and the practices of the Christians? Maybe there won't exist enough priests in the Church when these unfortunate times come?

And the Holy Father continued: In these times the love for God in most souls will grow cold and a great sadness will fall onto the world. One nation shall face-off against another. Peoples will move away from their own places. Rulers will be confused. The clergy will be thrown into anarchy, and the monks will be inclined more to negligence. The church leaders will consider useless anything concerned with salvation, as much for their own souls as for the souls of their flocks, and they will despise any such concern. All will show eagerness and energy for every matter regarding their dining table and their appetites. They'll be lazy in their prayers and casual in their criticisms.

As for the lives and teachings of the Holy Fathers, they'll not have any interest to imitate them, nor even to hear them. But rather they will complain and say that "if we had lived in those times, then we'd have behaved like that." And the Bishops shall give way to the powerful of the world, giving answers on different matters only after taking gifts from everywhere and consulting the rational logic of the academics. The poor man's rights will not be defended; they'll afflict widows and harass orphans. Debauchery will permeate these people. Most won't believe in God; they'll hate each other and devour one another like beasts. The one will steal from the other; they'll be drunk and will walk about as blind.

The disciple again asked: What can we do in such a state?

And Elder Pambo answered: My child, in these times whoever will save his soul and prompt others to be saved will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.




St. Ambrosy of Optina (+1891)

"If you live to see that time, (i.e. "the last days",) rejoice, for at that time the faithful, not possessing other virtues will receive wreaths merely for standing in faith, according to the Word of the Lord "everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess before My Heavenly Father". Fear the Lord, my son! Dont lose the received wreath, not to be rejected by Christ into the utter darkness and eternal suffering. Bravely stand in faith, and if needed joyfully endure persecutions and other troubles, for then the Lord will stand by you ... and holy Martyrs and Confessors with joyfully watch at your struggle." ( On Orthodox Faith at the End of Time (http://members.cox.net/orthodoxheritage/St.%20Ambrosy.htm) )

Optina Elder St. Anatoly the Younger (+1922)

"Deliver me O Lord from the deceptions of the Godhating and evil antichrist, whose coming is at hand, and shelter me from his snares in the secret desert of Thy salvation. Grant me, O Lord, strength and courage to firmly confess Thy Most Holy Name, that I may not abandon You because of the devil's fear and that I may not deny Thee my Saviour and Redeemer, nor Thy Holy Church . But grant me O Lord cries and tears for my sins, and spare me O Lord in the hour of Thy dread judgement." Amen ( A Prayer for the End Times (http://www.stjohnthebaptist.org.au/articles/anatoly-prayer.html) )