Category: Christianity

  • Peace that comes from heaven

    By Taras Dmytryk, Lviv, Ukraine

    When we speak of the peace that comes down from heaven, we consider this peace to be the grace of God, given to us by God himself. “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27), says Christ.

    However, how can we understand other words of Christ: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace. I have not brought peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34)?

    In my personal conviction, these words refer primarily to the disciples of Christ who, under the cover of his name and teachings, instead of peace, bring a sword into the world, that is, wars, blood, murders.

    In recent decades, we have observed how the regime of the Russian dictator Putin, under the cover of the ideology of the “Russian world”, actively promoted by the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill, regularly carries out military aggression against neighboring states. And it committed its largest and bloodiest aggressions precisely against two Orthodox Christian countries: in 2008 against Georgia, in 2014 against Ukraine, and even later in 2022 it began a large-scale military invasion of Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine. And for the third year, Ukrainians have been living under constant shelling, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died, including 548 children.

    How did the Russian Church start war propaganda and justifying massacres in the name of the illusory idea of the “Russian world”?

    The beginning of this story lies in the distant 1943, when Joseph Stalin, having exterminated hundreds of real clergy (bishops, priests, deacons) – martyrs and confessors, created an appearance, a phantom of the Church, putting at its head clergy-collaborators obedient to the communist regime. Later, these clergymen-collaborators hid behind the ideas of the struggle for peace and participated in international meetings, where they promoted ideas beneficial to the Soviet government. It was at that time that a sad joke appeared in the Church that there would be no Third World War, but that there would be such a struggle for peace that not a stone would be left on stone. Metropolitan Nikodym Rotov, the spiritual father and head of the current Patriarch of Moscow Kirill Gundyaev, was also a member of this group of clergymen-collaborators. But if Nikodym Rotov acted under the cover of the ideas of the struggle for peace, Kirill Gundyaev today openly preaches the idea of a “holy war”, “all the soldiers who died in this war go to heaven”, etc. The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Finland, Leo, has openly said about the current state of Russian Orthodoxy:

    “The family of Orthodox Churches is currently going through a crisis and is strongly divided. Our modern era has given rise to a new totalitarian myth and ideology under the guise of Orthodoxy, which in reality do not represent Christianity at all.

    A few years ago, I still recognized some remnants of Orthodoxy within the Moscow Patriarchate, but they have now been replaced by a mixture of Russian messianism, Orthodox fascism and ethnophilia. The latter heresy mentioned was condemned by the Council of Constantinople 152 years ago.

    Today, Russia considers itself the only force of Good in the world, whose task is to oppose the West that has sunk into Evil. This, in turn, represents the Manichean heresy, in which the world is divided into opposites: light and darkness, Good and Evil, etc.,” Metropolitan Leo stressed before the Council of the Church of Finland. (Orthodox Times)

    So what should our Churches do to avoid the state in which the Moscow Patriarchate currently finds itself? Indeed, what our group EIIR-Synaxis has been doing for more than 50 years, the aim of which is to create friendly relations between representatives of different Christian Churches, in listening to each other and respecting others in their diversity.

    This war could not have taken place if the Moscow Patriarchate had respected the right of others to be different. Mordvin ethnic Vladimir Gundyaev became Russian Patriarch Kirill and he feels like a Russian. This is the right of his personal choice. But why does he not respect the right of Ukrainians or Georgians to remain themselves? Today, Russia attacks Ukraine and other states of the post-Soviet space on three fronts: the Russian army, the Moscow Patriarchate and the propaganda of the ideas of the “Russian world”, born in the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990s.

    It should be noted that the Kremlin greatly overestimated the influence of the ideas of the “Russian world”, from which the inhabitants of the eastern regions of Ukraine quickly recovered, who saw that the “Russian world” is not literature, music and fine arts, but above all it is the bombings, especially also the churches and monasteries of the Moscow Patriarchate, the murders of civilians, the repression of the civilian population in the occupied territories, which they allegedly came to “liberate”. The Russian army showed its true face in Ukraine: executions of civilians, robberies and looting. In particular, during the short occupation, Russian soldiers ransacked the Roman Catholic seminary in Vorzel near Kiev, where they even stole washing machines and toilets and took them home through Belarus on their tanks. Abuse of prisoners of war, abduction of children and violations of all possible rules of war prompted the International Tribunal in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for war criminals Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov and others.

    The war waged by Russia against Ukraine left behind a great collective trauma in Ukrainian society. This trauma will be healed for at least three generations:

    – The first generation who directly survived the war and were physically injured or hurt;

    – The second generation is the children of people who survived the war;

    – The third generation – grandchildren, who will learn the truth from their parents and grandparents about the traumas experienced during the war.

    Today, Ukrainian society is making its existential choice in favor of European values, rapidly freeing itself from pro-Russian influences. First of all, Ukraine is rapidly freeing itself from the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate, which preaches the “Russian world” instead of preaching the peace of Christ. This collective post-war trauma will contribute to the formation of its own identity, distinct from the Russian one.

    Post-war Europe managed to establish a dialogue after the Second World War, aimed at promoting peace on the European continent. The Christian Churches did not remain aloof from these processes. As early as 1970, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Emilianos Timiadis and the Spanish Catholic priest Julián García Hernando initiated regular international interfaith meetings between representatives of various Christian Churches. And our French-speaking ecumenical group has been nourishing the idea of ​​reconciliation and restoration of the unity of the Church for more than 50 years. It is hard work that requires a lot of effort from us, but we are here today so that no one will ever dare to call for war in the name of Christ.

    N.B.: Sunday, July 7, 24, within the framework of the 39th “SYNAXE” MEETING, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mt. 5:9). Brâncoveanu Monastery, Romania (July 3-9, 2024), A round table took place on the trauma of the war in Ukraine. For Taras Dmytryk, the peace that comes from above is a grace given by God. But how can we put the beatitude of peace in connection with this other word of Jesus: “do not think that I have come to bring peace,” he asks? The ideology of the “Russian World” justifies these wars and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church openly defends the idea of “holy war,” with Russia considering itself the force of good against the darkness of the West. (On the “Russian World”, see: https://desk-russie.eu/2024/05/12/le-monde-russe.html?amp=1).

  • The Conference of European Churches: The responsibility for what is happening is not only the political leaders

    The Conference of European Churches (CEC) issued a statement condemning Russia’s attack on the Ohmatdet Children’s Hospital in Kyiv. Its chairman at the moment is the archbishop of Thyatira and Great Britain Nikitas (Ecumenical Patriarchate).

    The text states that “… CEC unequivocally condemns the horrific attack by Russian forces against the Okhmatdet Children’s Hospital in Kyiv. This horrific act, directed against the most vulnerable members of society, constitutes a war crime and a grave violation of international law and humanitarian principles. The attack is a stark reminder of the horrors of this war and the suffering of Ukrainians.

    As a church assembly, we condemn all forms of violence and aggression. Christ’s teaching calls us to love our neighbors, protect the innocent and strive for peace. The brutal attack on a children’s hospital stands in stark contrast to these core values. As part of CEC’s Pathways to Peace initiative, we emphasize the urgent need for a ceasefire in the face of such atrocities. The path to a lasting and just peace requires an end to violent aggression with the withdrawal of the invading army and compliance with international law and human rights. This is the path to sustainable peace.

    We call on politicians and church leaders to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its actions. The responsibility lies not only with political leaders, but also with religious communities who must speak out against injustice and work for healing and support for those affected. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations rightly holds the Russian Orthodox Church responsible, as it categorically supports the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, incites inter-ethnic and inter-confessional enmity, and preaches the godless ideology of the “Russian World”.

    We encourage all European governments to provide the necessary aid and support to Ukraine, ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches those in need and that lasting peace is established.

    In these difficult times, we stand with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in praying for an end to violence and the dawn of peace. May God’s grace and compassion guide us all in our efforts to support and uplift those suffering in this conflict.”

    The Conference of European Churches was the first religious Christian organization to respond to the outbreak of the war in 2022. Then-CEC president Dr. Christian Krieger addressed Russian Patriarch Kirill, saying: “Your silence disappoints and frightens.”

    CEC was established in 1959, during the Cold War, and has its headquarters in Geneva, as well as representative offices in Brussels and Strasbourg. 126 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic churches from all European countries are members of the organization, as well as 43 organizations that have the status of associate members. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the CEC, but since 1964 it has actively cooperated with the organization. In 1997-1998 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Georgian Orthodox Church, by decision of their synods, have canceled their membership in this organization, as well as in the World Council of Churches.

  • The icon of the Ascension of the Lord

    By Prof. Leonid Ouspensky

    The Feast of the Ascension of the Lord is a feast that concludes the work of our salvation. All the events connected with this work – the birth of Christ, His sufferings, death and resurrection – end with His ascension.

    Expressing this meaning of the holiday, on the domes of ancient temples, icon painters often depicted the Ascension, completing their decoration with it.

    At first glance, it seems that the Orthodox icons of this holiday do not fully correspond to their name. A central place in them is given to the group of the Mother of God, the Angels and the Apostles, while the main acting person – the Savior himself, who ascends, is depicted almost always smaller and as if in the background in relation to the other persons. But it is precisely in this external inconsistency that the Orthodox icons of the Ascension correspond to the Holy Scriptures. In fact, when we read in the Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles the account of the Lord’s Ascension, we are left with the same impression: only a few words are devoted to the very fact of the Ascension, and all the attention in the story of the Evangelists is focused on something completely different – on the last commands of the Savior, which establish and define the influence and importance of the Church in the world, its relationship and relation to God. We find a more detailed description of the Ascension in the book of Acts. This description together with the account of the Gospel of Luke gives us those factual data, albeit incomplete, which lie at the basis of the Orthodox iconography of Christ’s Ascension. The center of gravity in the narration of the Holy Scriptures, and together with it in the Orthodox iconography, falls not on the fact of the Ascension itself, but on the meaning and consequences it has for the Church and the world.

    According to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures (Acts 1:12), the Lord’s Ascension took place on the Olivet, i.e. The Mount of Olives. Therefore, on the icon, the event is depicted either on the very top of the mountain or in a mountainous landscape. To show that the mountain is olive, olive trees are sometimes painted. In accordance with the liturgy of the holiday, the Savior is depicted ascending in glory (“You have ascended in glory, Christ our God …” – from the troparion of the holiday), sometimes – sitting on a richly decorated throne (“When God was carried on the throne of glory…” (Stichira, voice 1 of the praisers).

    His glory is depicted iconographically in the form of a halo – oval or round, consisting of several concentric circles, symbolizing the spiritual sky. This symbolism shows that the ascending Savior is beyond the dimensions of earthly existence, and thus the Ascension acquires a timeless character, which in turn gives a very special meaning to the details, removing them from the narrow framework of the historical event. Halos are supported by Angels (their number varies). They, like the halo, express the Divine glory and majesty*.

    * The role of the Angels here is different and changes depending on the liturgical texts on which the image of the icon is based. So, for example, on some icons, the Angels do not wear a halo, but are turned with a prayerful gesture to the Savior, expressing their amazement at seeing “how human nature rises together with Him” ​​(according to the canon of the feast, canto 3). On other icons they are depicted blowing trumpets, in accordance with the words of the antiphon: “God ascended with a shout, the Lord ascended with the sound of a trumpet” (Antiphon, verse 4, Ps 46:6). Sometimes in the upper part of the icon, on the halo, the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven are depicted, which open before the ascending King of glory, according to the words of Ps. 23, repeated in the liturgy: “Lift up, you upper gates, lift up, eternal gates, and the King of glory shall come in.” All these details depicted on the icon indicate the fulfillment of the prophecy of St. King David about the Ascension of the Lord.

    In the foreground of the icon, the Mother of God is depicted in the center between two groups of Apostles and two Angels. Here the role of the Angels is already different: they are heralds of the Divine providence, as we know from the book Acts of the Holy Apostles (Acts 1:10-11).

    The Mother of God was present at the Ascension of the Lord, which is categorically confirmed by St. Tradition, through liturgical texts, for example, in the Virgin’s Troparion of the ninth canto from the canon of the feast: “Rejoice, Mother of God, Mother of Christ the God, whom you gave birth to and whom, watching together with the Apostles, ascend today, you have glorified”. St. The Mother of God has a very special place in the Ascension icon. Depicted just below the ascending Saviour, She becomes, as it were, the center of the entire composition. Her silhouette, extremely clean, light and clear, stands out sharply against the background of the white robes of the Angels. Her austere, motionless figure contrasts even more strongly with the animatedly gesticulating Apostles on either side of Her. The distinctiveness of Her image is often emphasized by the pedestal on which She stands, which further accentuates Her central place.

    This whole group, together with the Holy Mother of God, represents the Church acquired through the blood of Christ the Savior. Left by Him on the earth on the day of the Ascension, she will, through the promised descent of the Holy Spirit in the upcoming feast of Holy Pentecost, receive the fullness of her being. The connection of the Ascension with Pentecost is revealed in the words of the Savior: “If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; if I go away, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). This connection between the Ascension of the Savior’s deified human flesh and the coming Pentecost, which is the beginning of the deification of man through the descent of St. The spirit is also emphasized by the whole service of the holiday. The foregrounding in the icon of this group, depicting the Church, is a visual expression of that importance that is assigned to its foundation according to the Holy Scriptures in the last commandments of the Savior.

    That the whole Church is meant here in the person of its representatives, and not only the persons historically present at the Ascension, can be seen from the presence of St. Apostle Paul (to the right of the viewer, next to the Virgin Mary), who historically could not is present at the Ascension together with the other apostles, as well as from the special place of the Mother of God in the icon of the feast. She Who received God into Herself and became the temple of the incarnate Word, here personifies the Church – the body of Christ, the Head of which is the ascended Christ (“And He set Him over all Head of the Church, which is His body, fullness of Him who fulfills all in all” – Eph. 1:22-23).

    That is precisely why, as the personification of the Church, the Holy Mother of God is depicted on the icon immediately below the ascending Christ, and in this way, as if they complement each other.

    The gesture of Her hands corresponds to this meaning of Hers. On some icons, it is a gesture of Oranta – an ancient prayer gesture with raised hands, expressing her role and the role of the Church embodied by her in relation to God, a prayerful appeal to Him, intercession for the world. On other icons, it is a gesture of confession, expressing the role of the Church in relation to the world. In this case, the Holy Mother of God holds her hands in front of her, palms facing forward, as the martyrs-confessors are depicted in the iconography. Her strict immobility seems to want to show the immutability of God-revealed truth, whose guardian is the Church.

    The movements of the entire group from the foreground of the icon, the gestures of the angels and the apostles, the direction of their gazes, the poses – everything is turned upwards, towards the Source of the life of the Church, its Head residing in the heavens. Thus, the image conveys the call with which the Church addresses its children on this day: “Come, let us stand up and lift up our eyes and thoughts, gather our feelings …, stand mentally on the Mount of Olives and look towards The deliverer Who floats on the clouds…” (Ikos on the Kondak, voice six.). With these words, the Church calls the faithful to join the Apostles in their urge to the ascended Christ, as St. Leo the Great says: “Christ’s Ascension is also our ascension, because where the Head is crowned with glory, there is hope for the body as well.” (St. Leo the Great, Word 73 (Word 61. dedicated to the Feast of the Ascension)

    The Savior, ascending, leaving the earthly world with His Body, does not leave it with His Divinity, does not separate from His possession – the Church, which He acquired with His blood – “in no way separates, but abides unyieldingly” with it (Kondak on the holiday). “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Mat.28:20), He says. These words of the Savior refer both to the entire history of the Church and to each individual moment of its existence, as well as to the life of each of its members until the very Second Coming of the Lord. The icon conveys this connection of His with the Church by depicting Him always blessing with the right hand (very rarely He is depicted blessing with both hands), and usually in the left hand holding a Gospel or a scroll – a symbol of teaching and preaching. He ascends while blessing, and not after having blessed His disciples, according to the words of the Gospel: (“And when He had blessed them, He departed from them and ascended into heaven” Luke. 24:50:51) and this blessing of His remains unchangeable upon the Church after His Ascension. By depicting Him blessing, the icon clearly shows us that even after the Ascension He remains a source of blessing to the Apostles, and through them to their successors and all those whom they will bless.

    As we have said, in His left hand the Savior holds a Gospel or a scroll. With this, the icon shows us that the Lord who resides in the heavens leaves behind Him not only a source of blessing, but also of knowledge – gracious knowledge, which He transmits to the Church through the Holy Spirit.

    The inner connection of Christ with the Church is expressed on the icon through the entire construction of the composition, connecting the earthly group with its heavenly Head. Besides what has been said so far, the movements of the whole group, its orientation towards the Saviour, as well as His gesture addressed to it, express their inner relationship and the inseparable common life of the Head with the Body. The two parts of the icon, the upper and the lower, the heavenly and the earthly, are inseparable from each other and without each other lose their meaning.

    But the icon of the Ascension has another meaning. The two Angels, standing behind the Virgin Mary and pointing to the Savior, announce to the Apostles that the ascended Christ will come again in glory: “This Jesus, who ascended from you to heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go to heaven” (Acts 1:11). In the Acts of the Apostles, as St. John Chrysostom says, “two Angels are mentioned, because indeed there were two Angels, and they were so many, because only the testimony of two is unquestionable (2 Cor.13:1) (St. John Chrysostom , Word on the Acts of the Apostle, par. 3).

    Depicting the fact of the Ascension of the Savior and the teaching of the Church, the icon of the Ascension is at the same time a prophetic icon, an icon of the Second and glorious Coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore, on the icons of the Last Judgment He is depicted as on the icons of the Ascension, but no longer as a Redeemer, but as a Judge of the universe. In this prophetic sense, the group of Apostles with the Mother of God (in the center of the icon) depict the Church awaiting the Second Coming of Christ. And so, as we said, the icon of the Ascension is prophetic, it is an icon of the Second Coming, because it reveals before us a spectacular picture, beginning with the Old Testament and reaching the end of world history.

    We should note that despite the multifaceted content of the Ascension icon, its distinctive feature is the extraordinary tightness and monumentality of its composition.

    The iconography of this holiday, as adopted by the Orthodox Church, is one of the most ancient iconographies of church holidays. The earliest, but already established, images of the Ascension date back to the V-VI century (the Ampoules from Monza and the Ravula Gospel). The iconography of this holiday has remained unchanged to this day, except for some minor details.

    Source: From the book “Theology of the Icon” of Leonid Uspensky, translated from Russian (with abbreviations) [in Russian: Богословие иконы православной церкви / Л.А. Успенский. – Переславль: Изд-во Братства во имя святого князя Александра Невского, 1997. – 656, XVI с. : ил.].

    Illustration: Ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:1-12, Mark 16:19-20, Luke. 24:50-53). One of the most ancient images of the Ascension of Christ, in the Syrian Gospel of the monk Ravbula (Rabbula Gospels) – 6th century, Antioch Church.

  • Former Schihegumen Sergiy (Romanov) wants to be pardoned and sent to the front in Ukraine

    The former abbot of the Middle Ural women’s monastery Fr. Sergius (Nikolai Romanov), who is serving a seven-year sentence, begs Putin for clemency. In the appeal, the former abbot says he helped build twenty churches and five monasteries in the Sverdlovsk region, and since 2014 has brought families with children “from the war zone in Ukraine.” The former schihegumen noted that he asked to be sent to the war in Ukraine as a medical worker or construction worker, but was denied because of his advanced age. For this reason, he now “takes spiritual care of the heroes of the special military operation” and assures that he is a patriot and loyal to the authorities. Now he is resuming his request to be sent to the “special military operation zone,” as Russia calls the war against Ukraine, which is eligible for release from prison under the country’s new laws.

    The former abbot Sergiy (Romanov) was arrested at the end of 2020 in his monastery by a special forces raid. His case gained widespread public attention because of his fame as an ultra-conservative “confessor of the faith” who was an alternative to the ever-compromising official church authority. He became especially popular during the pandemic, when he denied the existence of the disease, boycotted sanitary measures and preached that this position was tantamount to a profession of faith. Such views were then inherent in many religious people, but he had influence and popularity among circles of the so-called Russian elite.

    Video sermons with curses against church authority and accusations of a conspiracy by the authorities drew attention to him. In them he called the power “satanic” and “antichrist”. The priest was accused and convicted of “inciting a minor to commit suicide” because of his sermon, during which he asked parishioners if they were ready to die for Russia and for their children. According to other articles, the former abbot became accused after refusing to allow representatives of the Ekaterinburg Diocese to take an inventory of the monastery’s property. In January 2023, the court announced the final sentence – seven years in a penal colony.

    Before the pandemic, schihegumen Sergiy (Romanov) was known as the leader of the so-called “sect of Tsarebozhniks”, whose most popular member was the Russian MP Natalia Poklonskaya. She did much to promote him in the media as a “miracle worker”, “confessor” and “exorcist”. Later, Natalia Poklonskaya got married and changed her attitude towards him, saying that she was in a sect. In the women’s monastery, which he led, gathered “tsarebozhniki” (Russian monarchists, who raised the last Russian emperor into a cult), Cossacks, politicians and businessmen, former prisoners.

    The former abbot had accepted the priesthood, although before his conversion to the faith he had been in prison for murder. According to church canons, this is inadmissible – the person who took human life can repent and even become a saint, but the canons categorically forbid him to perform the Eucharist.

  • “Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full” II

    By prof. A. P. Lopukhin 

    But does not the dignity of the Holy Spirit be degraded when it is said that the Spirit announces only what he hears from God the Father and God the Son? “Hearing the speech” of the other Persons of the Holy Trinity does not exclude the Spirit’s own participation in the Divine Council. Moreover, the fact that the Spirit will reveal all truth warrants the conclusion that He is one in essence with the Father and the Son.

    Another question that may arise: Does not the words, “All that the Father hath are Mine,” imply that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son, as He proceeds from the Father? No, the proceeding of the Spirit from the Father could not be meant by Christ here, for in this whole section from verse 7 onwards He speaks of the activity of the Spirit, and not of His personal attributes as a divine Hypostasis, He does not mean the relations of the Persons of the Holy Trinity between them, and their relation to the work of the salvation of mankind.

    16:16. A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I am going to the Father.

    The Lord returns to the question of His going to the Father, which had so frightened the apostles, and comforts them that they will soon see Him again. As in John. 14:18 – 19, here we are talking about the appearance of the Lord to the apostles at the resurrection.

    16:17. Then some of His disciples said to one another: what is this that says to us: a little while, and you will not see Me, and again: after a little while, and you will see Me, and that I am going to the Father?

    “some more”. The disciples could not put together in their mind all that Christ had said about His future meeting with them. He then declared that it would be a long time before he saw them, that they would have to go through a path of suffering (John 16:2), then he said that he would come to them soon, as soon as he had prepared for them a dwelling in heaven (John 14:3), so they could assume that the separation would last only a few hours. The apostles were already confused by this expression “yet a little while.”

    “I go to the Father.” In addition, His words: “I am going to the Father” also disturbed them. Some of them were probably inclined to see in them a hint of Christ’s coming glorious ascension into heaven, similar to that which was conferred upon the prophet Elijah, who was taken from the earth in a “chariot of fire and horses of fire” (2 Kings 2: 11). But then it seemed incomprehensible what His recent return Christ was talking about. Will His stay in heaven be short? But this contradicted what the Lord said to the apostles earlier (John 13:36 – 14:3). They may also have thought that Christ would appear to them at His last coming when He would come to judge the world (Matt. 19:28). But this “a little more” confused all their ideas.

    16:18. And they said to themselves: what is this that says: a little while? We don’t know what he’s talking about.

    16:19. Jesus understood, therefore, that they wanted to ask Him, and said to them: is this why you ask one another, when I said: a little while, and you will not see Me, and again: in a little while, and you will see Me?

    16:20. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and wail, and the world shall rejoice; you will be grieved, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

    “your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” Christ answers the disciples’ bewilderment about the meaning of His words: “a little while longer, and you will not see Me, and again after a little while, and you will see Me.” The Lord repeats again that sorrow and weeping for His death (in verse 20 the verb θρηνεῖν means weeping for the dead, cf. Matt. 2:18) will quickly be replaced among the disciples by joy – of course, because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The world will rejoice, thinking that it has conquered Christ, and this joy of the world will sadden even more the disciples of Christ, already crushed by the death of the Master. But both joys will be very short-lived. The turnaround will come quickly and unexpectedly.

    16:21. A woman, when she gives birth, is in pain, because her hour has come; but, after she has given birth to the child, for joy she no longer remembers the pain, because a man has been born into the world.

    “a woman when she gives birth.” The disciples’ grief will be sudden, like a woman who unexpectedly feels the onset of painful labor pains while in the middle of a holiday or work! But Christ wants to present not only the unexpectedness of His resurrection to the disciples, but also its especially joyful character. The joy of the disciples when they see the resurrected Christ can be compared to the fullness of joy experienced by a woman who has just given birth. She immediately forgets the pains of childbirth and is filled with joy when she sees her child. Some interpreters continue the comparison begun by the Savior. They compare Him to a newborn child who has entered into a new life at the resurrection, as a new Adam (1 Cor. 15:45).

    16:22. So you are now grieved; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take away from you;

    The Lord describes the consequences of His new coming to the disciples after the resurrection – their joy at meeting Him will be permanent.

    16:23. and on that day you will not ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

    “him day”. (cf. John 14:20), i.e. during the conversations with the resurrected Lord.

    “you shall ask Me nothing.” We know that even after the resurrection, the disciples asked the Lord about things that particularly concerned them (for example, about how the kingdom of Israel would be organized; Acts 1:6). Therefore, the expression οὐκ ἐρωτήσεις is rather understood in the sense of “you shall not continually ask questions about every word of mine which you do not understand, and even continually repeat the same questions, as in this conversation of ours” (verse 18). The state of the apostles, which was then like inexperienced children, questioning the elders about everything, will change after they see the resurrected Christ – they will mature and become adults.

    “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” Here is another indication of the new position of the apostles in relation to God after the resurrection of Christ. Before that, the weight of the thought of the fate of the Son of God filled them with fear before the Lord’s right hand, which so terribly punishes the innocent Christ for the sins of humanity. And after the resurrection, they will begin to look at this right hand as containing all the mercies for those redeemed by Christ’s sufferings.

    16:24. Until now you have asked nothing in My name; ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

     “Until now”, i.e. before Christ ascended to the Father and received eternal glory and in His humanity, the apostles did not ask anything in His name (cf. John 14:13), i.e. in their prayers they they turned directly to the God of their fathers, without relying on the name of their Master and Lord Jesus Christ. After Christ’s glorification, it will be especially joyful for them that in their prayers they will invoke the name of Christ, who is so close to them, and in this His closeness they will find a guarantee that their prayers will not remain unfulfilled.

    16:25. These things I spoke to you in parables; but the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in parables, but will openly make known to you about the Father.

    16:26. That day you will ask in My name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you; 16:27. for the Father Himself loves you, because you loved Me and believed that I came forth from God.

    “These things I have spoken unto you in parables.” The farewell speech of the Lord is drawing to a close. The Lord says that everything He has said so far in this discourse (for example, John 13:32; 14:2, etc.) is in the form of parables, and His disciples, after hearing them, turned to Christ with questions and perplexities. (cf. Matt. 13:36). However, the time will soon come when the Lord will “directly” communicate to the apostles what they need to know, so that Christ does not need to accompany His speech with special explanations. But what time is Christ referring to here? Is it the relatively short period from His resurrection to His ascension into heaven, or the entire time of His Church’s existence on earth? Since this speech refers primarily to the apostles (who at this stage knew everything vaguely, as if under a veil), it is better to see in Christ’s promise an indication only of His personal treatment of the apostles after His resurrection, when He will ” open their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

    “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father for you.” This does not mean that the intercession of Christ for the apostles will cease: love, as the apostle says, never ceases (1 Corinthians 13:8) and always continues to intercede for the beloved. But the Lord wants to say that the apostles themselves will find themselves in a new close relationship with God, because because of their love for Christ and their faith in Him, they will be honored with the Father’s love.

    16:28. I proceeded from the Father and came into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father.

    16:29. His disciples said to him: behold, now you speak openly, and you do not tell any parable.

    16:30. Now we understand that you know everything, and you don’t need anyone to ask you. Therefore we believe that you came from God.

    “I came from the Father…and I go to the Father.” In order to explain to the disciples the purpose of His departure from them, the Lord once again repeats that as He came forth from the Father, so He must return to Him. But now he says it short and clear. The disciples are satisfied with the clarity of these words of their Master, such clarity as they needed. This ability of Christ to penetrate into the innermost corners of the human heart prompts the disciples to confess once more their faith that He really came forth from God and therefore has divine knowledge. He does not need to wait for their questions to find out who needs to know what from Him.

    16:31. Jesus answered them: do you believe now?

    “do you believe now?”. In response to this confession, the Lord accepted their faith as a fact (instead of: “Do you now believe?” it is better to translate: “yes, now you believe”).

    16:32. Behold, the hour is coming, and it has already come, for you to run away, everyone to your homes, and leave Me alone; but I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

    you “run away”. The Lord says that this faith in the apostles will soon weaken to such an extent that they will abandon their Master (cf. Mark 14:27 and 50).

    “The Father is with Me.” “However – Christ notes, as if to reassure the apostles for the coming time, when they will consider all Christ’s work lost, – I will not be alone, the Father is always with Me”.

    16:33. I have told you this so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have sorrows; but take heart: I have overcome the world.

    This is the conclusion of the discourses of chapters 15 and 16 (chapter 14 has its own special conclusion in verse 31). For this reason, the Lord spoke the additional speeches in chapters 15 – 16, so that the apostles would have “peace in Him”, i.e. the peace that He has and with which He goes to suffering (cf. John 14:27). And this peace must be based on the same thing with the apostles as it was with Christ, namely that Christ is certain of His victory over the world hostile to Him, which already, one might say, lies at His feet as defeated (cf. John 13:31). In the same way, the disciples must draw strength from the thought of their Master’s victory to endure the trials ahead (cf. verse 21).

    Some modern exegetes consider chapters 15 and 16 to have been inserted by a later author. The main basis for this opinion is that in John 14:31 the Lord invites the apostles to “get up and go” from the upper room, thus recognizing the farewell discourse as finished. But critics are in vain embarrassed by this circumstance. As it was said above (see the interpretation of John 14:31), the Lord was able to continue His conversation with the disciples, seeing that they were not able to follow His invitation, could not, because of their great sorrow, get up from their seats.

    Likewise, the other ground relied upon by the critics for not recognizing the authenticity of these chapters is of little force. Namely, they say that these chapters partly repeat what is already known from John 13:31 – 14:31 (Heitmuller). But what wonder is there in the fact that the Lord, comforting His disciples, sometimes repeats the same thoughts? It is obvious that they needed such a repetition because they did not get things clear enough the first time.

    Source in Russian: Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 7 volumes / Ed. prof. A. P. Lopukhin. – Ed. 4th. – Moscow: Dar, 2009, 1232 pp.

  • Peace in the Bible: a gift from on high

    by Martin Hoegger, www.hoegger.org

    During the recent ecumenical meeting of “Synaxe” in the monastery of Brâncoveanu, near Sibiu in Romania, on the theme “Blessed are the peacemakers”, a biblical journey on peace in the Bible was proposed. The Bible offers essential stories about peace. Reading it together in the spirit of “Lectio divina” also gives us a taste of peace.

    Jean-Philippe Calame, chaplain at the Grandchamp community in Switzerland, gave a study on peace in the Bible, beginning with the words of the apostle Paul: “the peace of God surpasses all that can be conceived”. God is goodness, and he only wants to pass on the peace that he lives in himself, as the communion of the Father and the Son.

    God has prepared peace for those he loves (1 Cor 2:9). This peace does not come to us without him. It is only through the restoration of our relationship with Him that we can experience it.

    Peace is essentially a gift that comes from God. It is in history, but not of history. Jesus alone is God’s completed peace. Politics alone cannot create it. He alone can give it.

    Stories of peace in the Bible

    The quest for peace requires asceticism. The Bible provides us with essential, irreplaceable and alternative narratives to guide us.

    In the story of Cain and Abel, God says to the elder brother: “Evil is at your door. It’s up to you to overcome it”. When a human being allows himself to be won over by violence, he sets in motion a process that is beyond him. This story teaches us that we must begin by listening to God, who is knocking at the door of our hearts, and putting aside the voice of seduction.

    Remarkably, in 1 Samuel 24, David chooses to spare Saul, his persecutor, because he remembers that God has anointed him. Since Jesus gave his life for everyone, we can no longer lay hands on anyone. In Luke 12:13-14, Jesus refuses to get involved in a question of inheritance. He calls for each person to take responsibility.

    Jesus also provoked his listeners by saying: “I have not come to bring peace”. Why does the relationship with him take precedence over all other relationships? Because it is “in Christ” that the true quality of human relationships can be deciphered. The peacemaker is prepared to recognize Jesus who brought peace by giving his very life on the cross. In the name of Christ, the peacemaker makes himself available to live peace with everyone.

    He is a realist not only in the sense that he knows the real conditions of the situations he witnesses, but he is also a realist in the sense that he is aware of the reality of God’s reign and unceasing work. That’s why he engages in fervent intercession and looks on everyone with hope. With this vision and this mission, in the company of every human being, he offers his presence in the places where there is brokenness, to become “the repairer of the breaches” (see Isaiah 58, 6-14).

    Peace and justice

    Professor Pierre-Yves Brandt, from the Faculty of Theology in Lausanne, offered a meditation, emphasizing that peace is impossible where injustice reigns. He meditated on the prophet Amos, who denounces injustice in the name of the Word of God (8:4-12).

    Shalom” – the peace given by God – creates order in the world. Abraham is an example of a gentle man who experiences the bliss of gentleness. He calmed a conflict between his shepherds and Lot’s shepherds. The gentle person is also a peacemaker. Between Christian denominations, we also need these peacemakers, men and women who do not occupy all the space but give others the opportunity to respond to the call they have received.

    Lectio divina

    At every Synaxe meeting, “lectio divina”, a spiritual approach to the Scriptures, is offered. Reference to the Word of God is central, because through it Christ speaks to us. The aim of lectio is to meet him and say “you” to him in prayer. And it is he who unites us. This year, a booklet on the first letter of John guided the meditation. 

    In this letter, the author wants to strengthen our communion with Jesus Christ, as well as our communion with one another. “God is light” (1:5), and the immediate consequence of this is that we must walk in his light, loving one another… and confessing our faults when we fail to do so.

    The word “peace” does not appear in this letter. However, the life, communion and joy promised to those who receive Christ are signs of the biblical “Shalom”, the eschatological gift of peace already experienced by believers (cf. 1 John 1:1-5).

    Peace in liturgical life

    One of the places to receive the biblical message is the liturgy. Archimandrite Philadelphos Kafalis (Brussels, Ecumenical Patriarchate) discusses peace in liturgical life from an Orthodox perspective. The liturgy asks for peace from on high for the Church and the salvation of the world: “In peace, let us pray to the Lord”!  True peace is lived in God and comes from him.

    The sacraments are a window on the Kingdom of God that brings peace with its unifying power. In all the sacraments, we ask for peace of mind. In fact, it is Christ himself who is found in the sacraments and who gives peace.  Transformed, believers bring this peace to the world after the liturgy.

    For other articles on this theme, see:  https://www.hoegger.org/article/blessed-are-the-peacemakers/

  • Two witnesses to the peace: Francis of Assisi and Silouane of Mount Athos

    During the recent ecumenical meeting of “Synaxis” in Romania, on the theme “Blessed are the peacemakers”, the witness of certain figures was explored in greater depth. Here are two inspiring witnesses for today’s Church, one from the West, the other from the East. 

    by Martin Hoegger, www.hoegger.org

    Maurizio Bevilacqua, a Claretian and specialist in consecrated life (Rome), reflects on forgiveness and peace in the light of Francis of Assisi’s famous “Canticle of Brother Sun”. He notes that it is easy to give this text an aesthetic or romantic interpretation, but this does not correspond to Francis’ intention. In fact, in 1225, when he wrote this song, Francis was almost blind and ill, and died the following year.

    In fact, we need to highlight the centrality of Francis’ spiritual quest. For him, the experience of fraternity and living together is fundamental: in Christ, we are all brothers and sisters, all equal.

    Towards the end of his life, he suffered greatly from the lack of love between the governor (the “podestat”) of the city of Assisi and the bishop. “It is a great shame that no one is trying to restore peace and harmony between them,” he wrote. It was then, two months before his death, that he added the stanza on forgiveness:

    “Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.”

    M. Bevilacqua gives an interpretation of this verse. If Francis left the world, it was to be fraternal towards everyone. He could not accept that the State and the Church should hate each other.

    Francis is convinced that reconciliation requires above all the ability to forgive. But he does not hide the fact that forgiveness can involve tribulations. The path of the Gospel has never been a guarantee of tranquility and human success.

    Why did Francis want to introduce the theme of forgiveness into this hymn? To perceive a profound harmony between the praise of creatures and the praise of forgiveness! He calls for a universal brotherhood that excludes no one and includes creation.

    Sister Magdalen, from the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist (Essex, England), introduced us to the spirituality of Saint Silouane, a monk from Mount Athos who died in 1938, and who lived the beatitude of peace by teaching and living love of enemies.

    Saint Sophrony, a disciple of Saint Silouane, reminds us that “those who truly preach the peace of Christ must never lose sight of Golgotha… This is why the true Church that lives love of enemies will always be persecuted.”

    It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us to love our enemies and to pray for them so that they may be saved. Silouane prayed every night. His main prayer was that all the peoples of the world would welcome the Holy Spirit and be saved. He concentrated on what was essential: salvation.

    He knew that even in a Christian community there can be hostility. To have peace in our souls, we have to get used to loving the person who has offended us and praying for him or her immediately.

    As a novice, Silouane saw Christ in a vision, who taught him to love his enemies. From then on, he wanted to imitate Christ, who prayed for those who had crucified him.

    For Silouane, love of enemies is the criterion for verifying the reality and depth of our love for God. He who refuses to love his enemies will not know the Lord.

    Love of enemies is also an ecclesiological criterion: the persecuted Church that prays for its enemies is the true Church, rather than the Church that organizes uprisings and even wars against the enemies of the truth.

    Silouane shows us that, whatever the external situation, inner peace is preserved if we cling to God’s will.

    However, peace is not always possible because of the human tendency for domination or revenge. But those who believe in the Resurrection never give up their work for peace. 

    Silouane sees a link between peace, love of enemies and humility. “The soul of the humble man is like the sea; if you throw a stone into the sea, it clouds the surface of the waters for a moment, then sinks into the depths. If we lose our peace, we must repent to find it again. 

    Silouane proposes a rich theology of “synergy”: grace increases when we bless those who curse us, but he is also aware that we can only love our enemies by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

    S. Magdalen ends her rich presentation with this prayer by Silouane, which expresses his spirituality very well:

    “Lord, teach us by your Holy Spirit to love our enemies and to pray for them with tears. Lord, pour out the Holy Spirit over the earth so that all peoples may know you and learn of your love. Lord, as you prayed for your enemies, so teach us too, through the Holy Spirit, to love our enemies”.

    For other articles on this theme, see: https://www.hoegger.org/article/blessed-are-the-peacemakers/

    Illustration: Francis of Assisi and Silouane of Mount Athos.

  • Peace of heart in the Christian tradition

    The Churches have a rich tradition of peace. They all remind us that peace is not first and foremost a program, something external, but begins within us. A peaceful heart is a peacemaker. During the recent ecumenical meeting of “Synaxe” in Romania, this theme was explored in greater depth.

    by Martin Hoegger, www.hoegger.org

    Dom Johan Geysens, from the Benedictine monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium, talks about peace of heart in the Christian tradition, with some important spiritual figures. In his “Life of Saint Benedict”, Gregory the Great says that he “dwelt with himself”. That’s why he feared no one.

    In his Imitation of Jesus Christ, T. A. Kempis emphasizes inner peace in response to external demands. “It is by resisting the passions and not by giving in to them that we find true inner peace… it is the way of the cross that leads to continual mortification”, he writes. The necessary condition for finding peace is therefore interior conversion: “Leave yourself and you will enjoy great interior peace”!

    Among the Spanish mystics, Teresa of Avila warned of the importance of vigilance against intrusive thoughts: “Let nothing trouble you, nor afflict you”. For John of the Cross, peace is not possible in the night of the soul.

    Peace is lived in the contradictions of this world, not outside. Thus, Thérèse of Lisieux testifies to an experience of solidarity with sinners, and Thomas Merton with the concerns of modern man. Today, Christians must also work for universal peace, fighting against situations of violence and injustice that affect the poor most of all. They are called to embody God’s peace, this “eschatological gift that calls for our collaboration”.

    Romanian witnesses to the peace of Christ

    Romanian Metropolitan Serafim reminds us that in Orthodoxy, the Hesychast tradition also emphasizes interiorization. All prayer must be prayer of the heart, not just the so-called “Jesus’ prayer”. Meditation must descend into our hearts through asceticism and prayer. Without them, we cannot acquire peace of heart.

    He illustrated his remarks by presenting some of the great Romanian witnesses of monasticism. The Brâncoveanu monastery was revived thanks to Father Arseni Boca, a priest gifted in several arts, particularly painting. He created a spiritual movement with Dumitru Stanilonae, a great Romanian theologian of the 20ᵉ century. Together, they re-translated and enriched the Philocaly, a collection of Church Fathers, adding several Fathers and commenting on them. They published four volumes until the start of the Communist regime in 1948. Both were then thrown into prison. In 1959, 5,000 monks were expelled from the monasteries and more than 2,000 ecclesiastics from different churches were imprisoned.

    How can we keep our heart in peace in these circumstances? It’s God’s grace, but it also requires constant attention. Two apparently contradictory maxims form the basis of this spirituality: “all is grace”, and “give your blood to acquire grace”! Asceticism and prayer must be held together.

    Arseni Boca had the gift of preaching and clairvoyance. Crowds came to him, and many miracles were attributed to him. He emphasized also the importance of the Christian family. Today, pilgrimages to his tomb never cease.

    Serafim Popescu was known for his great kindness and simplicity of heart. Theofil Paraïan, born blind and a disciple of Serafim, was ordained a priest despite his disability. A great confessor and lecturer after the fall of communism, he was invited by all the universities.

    Father Cleopa knew the psalter by heart, as well as many of the writings of the Fathers of the Church, which he quoted during his sermons. He spent nine years in prison. Father Yohanikè published hundreds of interviews with monks and nuns containing great wisdom.

    After the fall of communism, more than 2,000 new churches were built, as well as more than 100 monasteries. But this extraordinary revival has dried up. Monastic life has less appeal than it did at the end of communism. There are also fewer vocations to the priesthood.

    Archbishop Serafim is grateful to God because he has known more than 50 spiritual fathers and mothers and has been marked for life by their company and visits to monasteries.

    True and false ecumenism

    Bela Visky is a Protestant pastor and professor of theology in Cluj. He belongs to the Hungarian minority, which numbers one million in Romania, and talks to us about the question of how different religious communities live together.

    Referring to a commentary by Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the Beatitude of the Peacemakers, he states that the Christian must actively procure peace, not just passively live it. The Christian welcomes others by wishing them peace and prefers to suffer than to cause others to suffer. This is how the various religious communities should relate to each other.

    In Transylvania, Protestants have a proud tradition of tolerance. Today, there are two kinds of ecumenism. One is genuine, the other is not. False ecumenism had the blessing of the dictator during communism. It was purely external and a means of propaganda. The current mistrust of some Christians towards ecumenism is rooted in a reaction to this false ecumenism.

    True ecumenism is internal and comes from the experience of persecution during communism, where real friendships were made in prisons. For example, Nicolae Steinhardt’s friendship with Lutherans and Greek Catholics. B. Visky recommends reading Nicolae Steinhardt’s “Diary of Bliss”, in which this Jewish convert to Orthodoxy recounts his joy at the presence of Christ in prison with Christians from other Churches. 

    His generation of pastors is the heir to these two contradictory types of ecumenism. In general, the churches live in parallel, except during the Week of Prayer for Unity. When he asks his students the question: “Is ecumenism optional or is it part of the DNA of the structure of Christian existence”, the answers will vary greatly depending on the student’s convictions.

    For other articles on this theme, see: https://www.hoegger.org/article/blessed-are-the-peacemakers/

    Picture: The Emmaus meal, from the monastery of Brâncoveanu

  • Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full

    By prof. A.P. Lopukhin

    John, chapter 16. 1 – 33. The end of Christ’s farewell discourse with the apostles: about the coming persecution; the going of Christ to the Father; the work of the Holy Spirit; the happy outcome of the trials to which the apostles will be subjected; hearing their prayers; the scattering of Christ’s disciples.

    In the first 11 verses, which form the end of the second consolatory speech, Christ warns the apostles of the persecutions that await them, and then, announcing again His departure to the Father, promises that the Comforter will come to the apostles, who will rebuke the world that is at war against Christ and the apostles.

    16:1. I have told you this so that you will not be deceived.

    “This,” i.e., of the persecutions awaiting the apostles (John 15:18ff.)

    “lest you be deceived.” Knowing about upcoming suffering is helpful because the expected doesn’t hit us as much as the unexpected.

    16:2. They will drive you out of the synagogues; even a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing God a service.

    “cast out of the synagogues” – cf. the interpretation of John 9:22, 34. In the eyes of the Jews, the apostles appear as apostates from the father’s faith.

    “anyone who kills you.” From this it is clear that the apostles will be outlawed, so that anyone who meets them will have the right to put them to death. Subsequently, it was explicitly established in the Talmud (treatise of Bemidbar Rabba, reference to Holzmann, 329,1) that whoever kills an unrighteous person thereby offers a sacrifice to God.

    16:3. And so they will do to you, because they knew neither the Father nor Me.

    Christ repeats (cf. John 15:21) that the reason for such a hostile attitude towards the apostles will be that they, the Jews, do not properly know either the Father or Christ.

    16:4. But I have told you this, so when the hour comes, remember that I told you; and I did not speak this to you at first, because I was with you.

    The Lord did not tell the apostles about the sufferings that awaited them at the beginning of their following of Christ. The reason for this is that He Himself was constantly with them. In case of troubles that could befall the apostles, Christ was always able to comfort them. But now He was separating from the apostles, and they were to know all that awaited them.

    Hence, there is reason to conclude that the evangelist Matthew placed in the words of Christ to the apostles, when he sent them to preach (Matthew 10:16 – 31), predictions about the sufferings that awaited them, not because the Lord then revealed to the disciples the fate that awaited them, but because he wanted to unite in one section all the instructions of Christ to the disciples as preachers of the Gospel.

    16:5. And now I go to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me: where are you going?

    16:6. But because I told you this, your heart was filled with sadness.

    The Lord’s words about His departure deeply struck the disciples, but they felt sorry for themselves more than for their Master. They thought what would happen to them, but they did not ask themselves what fate awaited Christ. It was as if they had forgotten about Thomas’s question, oppressed by the grief of Christ’s departure (cf. John 14:5).

    16:7. But I tell you the truth: it is better for you that I go away; for if I do not depart, the Comforter will not come to you; if I depart, I will send Him to you;

    16:8. and He, coming, will reprove the world for sin, for righteousness, and for judgment:

    “it’s better for you”. The Lord condescends to this state of the disciples and wishes to dispel their oppressive sorrow by telling them that the Comforter will come to them.

    “will rebuke the world.” Christ had previously spoken of this Comforter and of His work among the apostles and other believers (John 14:16), but now He speaks of His importance to the unbelieving world. After all, the interpreters differ on the question before whom the Holy Spirit will appear as a rebuke or witness for Christ – whether before the world or only before the believers. Some say that the Lord is speaking here that through the work of the Holy Spirit the truth of Christ and the unrighteousness of the world will become clear, but only to the minds of believers.

    “To them shall be revealed all the sin of the world, all its iniquity, and that destruction to which it is condemned… And what could the Spirit reveal to the spiritually deaf and blind, what could He tell to the dead? But He was able to teach through them those who could perceive Him…” (K. Silchenkov).

    We cannot agree with such an interpretation, because firstly, the Lord above (John 15:26) has already said that the Spirit will testify about Christ to the world, and secondly, it would be strange to suppose that the world, which is was so loved by the Father (John 3:16, 17) and for whose salvation the Son of God came (John 1:29; 4:42), will be deprived of the influence of the Holy Spirit.

    Some claim that the world did not heed the rebuke, which is, however, noted here as a fact (“he will rebuke,” v. 8). We must say that the Greek verb used here, ἐλέγχειν (“to reprove”) does not mean “bring a person to a full awareness of his guilt”, but only “bring strong evidence, which, however, can be ignored by the majority of listeners” (cf. John 8 :46, 3:20, 3:20, 3:20, 3:20, 3:20, 3:20). :46, 3:20, 7:7). In view of this, it is better to adhere to the opinion that this is mainly about the attitude of the Comforter to the unbelieving and hostile to Christ world, before which the Comforter will appear as a witness.

    What will the Comforter denounce or testify about? Of sin in general, of truth in general, of judgment in general (all Greek nouns standing here – ἀμαρτία, δικαιοσύνη, κρίσις – stand without an article and therefore mean something abstract). The world does not properly understand these three things. He does evil, and yet he is sure that it is not evil, but good, that he does not sin. He mixes good with evil and considers immorality as a natural phenomenon, showing that he has no concept of justice or righteousness at all, does not even believe in its existence. Finally, he does not believe in the divine court, where everyone’s fate must be decided according to his deeds. Here are these truths foreign to the understanding of the world, the Comforter Spirit must clarify to the world and prove that sin, and truth, and judgment exist.

    16:9. for sin that they do not believe in Me;

    How will the Spirit explain this to the world? Sin is revealed through the unbelief that the world has shown in relation to Christ (instead of: “that they do not believe” it is more correct to translate: “because they do not believe”: the particle ὁτι, according to the context has here the meaning of cause). In nothing is sin so clearly revealed as in the world’s unbelief in Christ (cf. John 3:20; 15:22). The world hates Christ not because there was anything in Him worthy of hatred, but because sinfulness, having conquered people, makes them not accept the high demands that Christ has for them (cf. John 5:44).

    16:10. for righteousness, that I go to My Father, and ye shall see Me no more;

    The Holy Spirit will also testify to the existence of righteousness, again in relation to Christ. The ascension of Christ to the Father is evidence that righteousness is an attribute of God, rewarding great works with exaltation, but it also exists as an attribute or work of Christ, Who by His exaltation will prove that He is righteous and holy (1 Jn. 2:1, 29; Acts 3:14; 1 Pet. 3:18), although He was a sinner (John 9:24). The Holy Spirit, especially through the preachers of Christ, will reveal the meaning of the separation of Christ from the apostles, who now perceived this separation as a sad and not a joyful event. But after the Comforter Spirit descends upon them, they will understand and begin to explain to others the true meaning of this withdrawal of Christ, which is proof of the existence of righteousness. Apostle Peter mostly spoke in this way to the Jews about Christ’s ascension (Acts 2:36; 3:15).

    16:11. and for judgment, that the prince of this world is condemned.

    Finally, the Holy Spirit will explain to the world that there is a judgment – with the example of the condemnation of the culprit of Christ’s death (John 13:2, 27) – the devil, the prince of this sinful world. Since the Lord regards His death as already accomplished, so also for the condemnation of the devil pronounced upon him by Divine justice for this bloody and unrighteous deed (he has put to death the One Who, being sinless, he had no right to deprive of life – cf . Rom. 6:23), He also speaks of a fait accompli (“condemned”).

    In the early Church, the condemnation of the devil was manifested in the cases of the expulsion of demons by the apostles, who performed these miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, in the apostolic epistles the devil is presented as having already been expelled from the society of people who have believed in Christ: he only walks around the Church, like a roaring hungry lion (1 Pet. 5:8), spreads his nets again outside the Church, for to capture those believers who can go beyond the bounds of the Church (1 Tim. 3:7). In a word, the condemnation of the devil, the victory over him, was for the minds of believers a fact that happened, and they convinced the whole world of it.

    16:12. I have much more to tell you; but now you can’t bear it.

    Verses 12 to 33 contain Christ’s third consolation speech. Here He speaks to the apostles, on the one hand, about the future sending of the Holy Spirit, who will instruct them in all truth, and, on the other hand, about His coming or returning to them after His resurrection, when they will learn many things from Him , which until then they did not know. If they now felt strong in faith because of what they had already heard from Christ, He tells them that the strength of their faith was not yet so great as to save them from fear at the sight of what was to come. with their Master. Christ concludes His discourse by exhorting the disciples to bear the coming trial with courage.

    “a lot”. Christ cannot tell the disciples all that he had to impart to them: in their present state it is difficult for them to perceive the “much” that Christ had. It is very likely that it included what the Lord revealed to them during the forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3) and which then became a major part of Christian tradition.

    16:13. And when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak of himself, but what he hears he will speak, and he will tell you the future.

    “all truth.” Above Christ spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit for the world. Now He speaks of the importance of the Spirit for the personal lives of Christ’s disciples. Here the activity of the Spirit will bear so much fruit that it will abundantly satisfy the thirst for the knowledge of truth, which it was impossible for the disciples to quench after the departure of their Master. The Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of truth (cf. John 14:17 and 25:26), will give them full knowledge of all truth, or rather all (πᾶσα) truth, which was previously communicated to them by Christ alone in general.

    “will guide you.” However, these words do not mean that the students will learn the entire content of the teaching about God, that there will be no flaws in their knowledge. Christ says only that the Spirit will give them this, and whether they will accept all that is offered to them will depend on whether they yield to the leading of the Spirit. The Spirit will be their guide in learning the truth (instead of ὁδηγήσει in some ancient codices it reads ὁδηγός ἔσται).

    “for He will not speak of Himself.” The property of the Spirit, by virtue of which He is the source of revelation, is based on the fact that He will as little as Christ (John 7:17; 14:10) speak “of Himself,” i.e. .He will not start anything new in teaching the disciples the truth, but like Christ (John 3:32; 8:26; 12:49) he will speak only what he receives or “hears” (ἀκούει υ Tischendorf, 8- o edition) from the Father (in the Russian translation “he will hear”, future tense).

    “and will tell you the future.” The special activity of the Spirit will be to reveal the eschatological teachings. At times Christ’s disciples might be discouraged by the victories which evil often wins in the world, and then the Spirit would open before them the veil of the future and encourage them by painting before their spiritual eyes a picture of the future final victory of good.

    16:14. He will glorify Me, because he will take from Mine and announce it to you.

    Christ repeats again that the Spirit will not establish a new Church, but will only “glorify Christ”, i.e. will lead to the desired revelation of what, after the withdrawal of Christ, remained unrevealed and unfinished in Christ’s Church.

    From this it appears how groundless are the opinions of the possibility of the recent opening of some new Church or Kingdom of the Spirit, which is to take the place of the Kingdom of the Son or His Church.

    16:15. All that the Father hath is Mine; therefore I said that he will take from Mine and announce it to you.

    For verse 13 says that the Spirit will declare what he hears from the Father, and verse 14 says that he will take from the Son (“of Mine”, i.e., what I have) to removes this apparent contradiction, Christ notes that all things belong to the Son that belong to the Father (John 17:10; cf. Luke 15:31).

    Source in Russian: Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 7 volumes / Ed. prof. A. P. Lopukhin. – Ed. 4th. – Moscow: Dar, 2009, 1232 pp.

    (to be continued)

  • The Romanian Church will canonize 16 new saints, three of whom are theology professors

    The Holy Synod of the Romanian Patriarchate approved the proposals for the canonization of sixteen new saints, most of them confessors, martyrs and ascetics of the 20th century.

    The 16 new saints include:

    •Archimandrite Sofian Boghiu, abbot of St Anthimos Monastery in Bucharest, with the title Confessor Saint Sofian of St Anthimos Monastery, commemorated on September 16;

    •Father Dumitru Stăniloae, theology professor in Sibiu and Bucharest, with the title the Holy Confessor Priest Dumitru Stăniloae, commemorated on October 4;

    •Father Constantin Sârbu, with the title the Holy Priest-Martyr Constantine Sârbu, commemorated on October 23;

    •Protosyncellus Arsenie Boca, with the title Confessor Saint Arsenius of Prislop, commemorated on November 28;

    •Father Ilie Lăcătușu, with the title the Holy Confessor Priest Elijah Lăcătușu, commemorated on July 22;

    •Hieroschemamonk Paisie Olaru, confessor of Sihăstria Monastery, with the title Saint Paisius of Sihăstria, commemorated on December 2;

    •Archimandrite Cleopa Ilie, abbot of Sihăstria Monastery, with the title Saint Cleopas of Sihăstria, commemorated on December 2;

    •Archimandrite Dometie Manolache, with the title Saint Dometius the Merciful of Râmeț, commemorated on July 6;

    •Archimandrite Serafim Popescu, abbot of Sâmbăta de Sus Monastery, with the title Saint Seraphim the Enduring of Sâmbăta de Sus, commemorated on December 20;

    •Father Liviu Galaction Munteanu, theology professor in Cluj-Napoca, with the title the Holy Priest-Martyr Liviu Galaction of Cluj, commemorated on March 8;

    •Archimandrite Gherasim Iscu, abbot of Tismana Monastery, with the title Venerable Martyr Gerasimus of Tismana, commemorated on December 26;

    •Archimandrite Visarion Toia, abbot of Lainici Monastery, with the title Venerable Martyr Bessarion of Lainici, commemorated on November 10;

    •Protosyncellus Calistrat Bobu, confessor at Timișeni Monastery and Vasiova Monastery, with the title Saint Callistratus of Timișeni and Vasiova, commemorated on May 10;

    •Father Ilarion Felea, theology professor in Arad, with the title the Holy Priest-Martyr Hilarion Felea, commemorated on September 18;

    •Protosyncellys Iraclie Flocea, exarch of the monasteries of the Archdiocese of Chișinău, with the title Saint Heraclius of Bessarabia, commemorated on August 3;

    •Archpriest Alexandru Baltaga with the title the Holy Priest-Martyr Alexander of Bessarabia, commemorated on August 8.

    Among the new saints there are three professors of theology who will be honored as martyrs – the famous throughout the Orthodox world Fr. Dumitru Staniloae (1903 – 1993), who will be honored on October 4, Fr. Hilarion Felea (1903 – 1961), professor of theology in the city of Arad, whose memory will be celebrated on September 18, and Fr. Liviu Galaction Munteanu (1898 – 1961), professor of theology in Cluj-Napoca (March 8).

    In hagiology section will also be included Archim Cleopas (Ilie) – abbot of the “Sikhastiria” monastery, whose memory will be celebrated on December 2, as well as another brother of this monastery – Hieroshimonk Paisius (Olaru), whose memory will also be celebrated on December 2.

    The liturgical texts in their memory are about to be completed, and the canonization itself will take place at the next meeting of the Holy Synod.

    Source: Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate

    Illustrative Photo: The historical church “Dormition of the Virgin” at the monastery of Brâncoveanu, Sâmbăta de Sus/Sibiu, Romania