"Why Do Believers Quarrel?" Priest Daniel Sysoev

Priest

Daniel SYSOEV Talks on The First and Second Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians

I WHY DO BELIEVERS QUARREL?

Daniel Sysoev Inc.

New Jersey, 2016

Approved for publication by the Publications Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB Р15-505-0293 Priest Daniel Sysoev. Why Do Believers Quarrel? Talks on the First and Second Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. In 12 books. Book 1. — New Jersey, Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2016. — 224 pp.

ISBN 978-5-4279-0061-6

This edition is dedicated to the five-year anniversary of the author's martyric death.

How to avoid divisions in the Church while attuning the mind and heart to unity in Christ. Grace is to be sought from God, not from men. Can Christ really be divided? If Christ cannot be divided, how can His Body—the Church— be divided? Vainglory fuels quarrels, and man-worship in the Church leads to terrible consequences.

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© Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2016 © Yulia Sysoeva, 2016

CONTENTS Preamble by Fr. Daniel Sysoev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Call to Sanctity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 The Advantages of Sanctity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Schisms and Quarrels in the Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The Foolishness of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Understanding the Wisdom of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Carnal Christians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 How to Judge the Works of Believers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 How to Avoid Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

If you cannot be a fisher of men, catch fish to feed fishers of men.

Saint Macarius (Glukharev)

PREAMBLE BY FR. DANIEL SYSOEV

This epistle was written during Great Lent in the year 57 after the Nativity of Christ, in Ephesus, and was addressed to Corinth. The city of Corinth exists to this day on an isthmus between the Peloponnesus and Central Greece. In this city the apostle Paul founded a Christian church.

Corinth itself is an ancient city. According to legend it was founded 1400 years before the Nativity of Christ by a king of great renown, whose name was Sisyphus. You have heard of the “torment of Sisyphus”? For a long time the city was involved in various rebellions and wars, and was ravaged on multiple occasions. It was destroyed by the ancient Romans, then later the Romans themselves rebuilt it. Corinth, like Olympus and several other cities, was one of the chief centers for athletic games in Greece. At the same time Corinth was in every sense a trade center and a seaport. Corinth was renowned for its wealth, and its inhabitants—for their love of luxury and their depraved morals. For this reason whenever a person was accused of unseemly behavior he was often asked, “What are you, a Corinthian?”— implying that he had just left a brothel.

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I have been to the ruins of ancient Corinth, which have survived to this day—the ruins of a city of the greatest depravity, a seaport, a city of idolatry, a melting pot of all different nations, a city where athletic games were the chief focus (these phenomena were largely interrelated).

And in this city—a center for this kind of depravity—the apostle Paul preached for 18 months.

If you have read the Acts of the Apostles you will recall that after Paul was driven out of Thessalonica he went to Berea and founded a church there. When the apostle was driven out from there as well by the Jews who were persecuting him he went to Athens, and from Athens to Corinth. In Corinth he began to preach in the synagogue, but the Jews revolted against him.

The apostle Paul was on the verge of leaving the city, but the Lord said to him, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city (Acts 18:9—10).

At this same time he met Aquila and Priscilla. They lived together because they plied the same trade, the apostle Paul being a maker of tents. He made tents mostly for soldiers, who lived in them during campaigns, just as they 6

Preamble by Fr. Daniel Sysoev

do today. They mass-produced the tents, manufacturing them in batches. The apostle Paul established a church congregation right in their home, which adjoined the synagogue. There he established the first church in Corinth, and converted a great many people to Christ. There also he ordained several bishops and presbyters.

Incidentally, the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Romans was written from Corinth. Several of those who were converted in Corinth dispersed to other cities, including Rome, and became a part of the Roman Church. Thus, we may note that the 16th chapter of the epistle to the Romans consists entirely of salutations.

From Corinth the apostle Paul went to Ephesus, where he continued preaching the Gospel. The book of Acts tells us that he rented a gymnasium, in which he served the divine services. In this sense he was a prototype of those who preach in stadiums. He rented a gymnasium and preached there, and during that time he was approached by representatives of the Church of Corinth, who described to him the attitudes that had arisen in Corinth.

The Corinthians were too frivolous and rowdy a people. Their heads were in a whirl, and 7

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there was considerable confusion. Some said they were of Peter, others that they were of Paul, others that they were of Apollo, still others that they were of Christ, and so on. The Corinthians began to think that the Gospel message of freedom from the law meant they could do whatever they had a mind to do, fornicating with whomever they wished, behaving however they wished. One man even married his stepmother, his father’s wife. Furthermore, in Corinth disorderly conduct began occurring during the divine services. At that time the Liturgy was served after the meal, as the Lord had done at the Mystical Supper. The issue was that the rich were the first to eat the food they had brought, and were not sharing with the poor. Thus the Gospel commandment—that people share with each other out of love, showing their love for each other—was forgotten. On top of this the Church of Corinth had been seized by a fit of feminism.

The ladies declared that there was no point in wearing headscarves; hardly attractive, they felt.

The people began to misuse the gift of speaking in foreign tongues. It reached the point that many began to doubt the resurrection of the dead. The apostle Paul wrote the first epistle to 8

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the Corinthians specifically for the purpose of eradicating these abuses. In all the holy apostle Paul wrote four epistles to the Corinthians, but one of them has been lost.1

1

Cf. Ioannis Karavidopoulos, Introduction to the New Testament, pp. 217–218. Moscow: PSTGU Publishing, 2009.

Why Do Believers Quarrel?

THE CALL TO SANCTITY

The epistle to the Corinthians is addressed unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s (1 Cor. 1:2).

Paul and Sosthenes are addressing the Church of God in Corinth. Here we have a matter of great importance. Frequently Protestants and sectarians say that the Bible was written for everyone. This is something we do not find in the Bible. Observe: to whom is the epistle written?

It is written for the Church of God in Corinth, and also for all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, i.e., for the ecumenical Orthodox Church. The Bible is not addressed to people who are outside the Church. The Bible is the word of God, given to the people of God, the Church of God. Indeed, there is no reason to argue about the Bible with heretics. The Bible is the book of the Church, written for the Church. The text of the Bible itself declared this: unto the church of God which is at Corinth. The epistle is not addressed to all the inhabitants of Corinth, not to our Baptist friends, not to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but to the church of God 10

The Call to Sanctity

which is at Corinth, and to those in communion with them. The Church of Corinth exists to this day: it was and remains the Orthodox Church.

And the apostle Paul has as his successor the metropolitan of Corinth. Chrysostom says that the apostle “calls it, too, the Church of God; showing that it ought to be united. For if it be of God, it is united, and it is one, not in Corinth only, but also in all the world: for the Church’s name ( κκλησ α: properly “an assembly”) is not a name of separation, but of unity and concord” (1, Homily 1).

From the standpoint of the apostle Paul and Holy Scripture in general, the Church of God is united throughout the planet, but it manifests itself in every place. And since it manifests itself here it must also manifest its unity here. Hence, if various divisions and disagreements were to arise in Moscow (for example, if people began calling themselves Artemites, or Danielites, or something of the sort), this would be absolutely wrong, since the Church is united and must abide in unity.

To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:2). That is, God has sanctified us in Christ Jesus. God the Father wrested us from this world and made us perfect through Jesus 11

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Christ, having washed us by water and the Holy Spirit. What God had promised in times of old was brought to pass. God sanctified us in Jesus Christ, and it is for this reason that He makes us united. We are all sanctified by the Holy Spirit, washed in the same font, anointed with the same chrism. Did you know that we are anointed with the same chrism with which the Corinthians of old were anointed? Tradition states that chrism was first consecrated by the apostles themselves, who left consecrated chrism in the churches.

Later the bishops made new chrism, and added to it a little of the chrism of the apostles. And so it continues to this day: when chrism is made the remnants of the old chrism are poured out, then added back to the vessel in which the chrism is kept. The alabaster box2 that the patriarch has is fairly new, dating back only to the fourteenth century, sent from Constantinople, but in Constantinople there are alabaster boxes dating back to the time of the apostle Andrew. In this way we are literally anointed with the same chrism, both 2

From the Greek λάβαστρος — an alabaster vessel or flagon. In the Orthodox Church a vessel for storing chrism. Usually round, with a long, narrow neck, and without handles.

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in time and in space. This is an expression of the unity of the Church.

Next we read called to be saints; i.e., you are called to sanctity. Here you are, behaving outrageously, yet the Word of God says you are called to be saints. And you must be united with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s (1 Cor. 1:2). The apostle emphasizes that in every place you must be in unity with all men. There must be unity with all the saints, wherever they may be. The Orthodox Greek is a brother to me. And the Orthodox American, though we have no love for America—is he my brother? Yes, he is. Or the Orthodox Georgian, though Georgia has no love for Russia—is he my brother? Yes, he is. For us, any Orthodox Christian is our brother, wherever he is and whatever his nationality. And God has this wish for them: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:3). This wish could not have come at a better time, for the peace had been disturbed, threatening the unity of grace with destruction.

Hence, God wishes them grace and peace from God the Father and from the Son, Jesus Christ.

Grace brings peace.

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Saint Theophan quotes Theophylact of Bulgaria as follows: “Hence I desire that both these good things might be with you always, that you might not fall away either from grace or from peace through dissensions with one another. But how is it that you have assigned yourselves to various persons, to men, and from them you seek grace and good will, as though they were teachers?” [2]. Grace must not be sought from men.

Some say, “I need to find a special, grace-filled elder.” But is it really possible to find grace among men? Grace is sought from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son in the Holy Spirit!

The apostle says, I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:4). Here, as usual, the apostle begins with prayer, and not just any prayer, but one of thanksgiving. Such was his custom, and such was his manner of living: the apostle habitually gave thanks to God 14

The Advantages of Sanctity

for all things. When the apostle exhorted men: In every thing give thanks (1 Thess. 5:18), he was speaking of what he himself made a habit of doing. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. We ourselves are gradually losing the ability to give thanks. Frequently people do not even know how to give thanks to men, let alone to God. Yet an absence of gratitude is a sign of blackness of soul, hence the expression “the blackest ingratitude.”

Ingratitude blackens the soul. It is for this reason that the apostle begins by giving thanks to God for the Corinthians: I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4). It is as though the apostle were saying, “I thank God for you and in your behalf.

I thank God for you because I have received such wonderful children, and in your behalf because I am thanking God in your stead.” And at every Liturgy, wherever the apostle happened to be, he gave thanks to God for the Corinthians, and for the gifts that God had given them.

THE ADVANTAGES OF SANCTITY

It is a wonderful thing for a teacher when he realizes that he has an astonishingly gifted student. Naturally, a person must know how to 15

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give thanks for this to God. Some teachers are displeased at being surpassed by their own students. But a good teacher only rejoices at seeing his student surpass him. How the apostle rejoiced at his students’ spiritual growth, and that God had given them such tremendous grace in Christ Jesus! And the greatest grace He bestowed upon them was that He gave them faith. This is in fact a wondrous gift from God. Do you often thank God that you are believers? People often poke fun at the Jews, telling the story of the Jew who gave thanks to God every morning that he was born a Jew and not a woman. But all joking aside, giving thanks to God for having given us faith is our bound duty.

Look how many people in the world are ignorant of the faith! How many people live in darkness and the shadow of death, not seeing the light of God and not wishing to see it! But can we really become believers by our own efforts? No, for this is a gift of the Creator! It is a gift that is given to us through Jesus Christ.

And we must give thanks to God for this great gift of faith that has been given us, for the ability to believe in God, that God has opened our eyes, that we are not blind kittens, not knowing where we came from or where we are going, that we are 16

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children of God, sanctified by God, that in every thing ye are enriched by Him (1 Cor. 1:5).

In Christ there is a tremendous quantity of every kind of wealth. Christ possesses the fullness of knowledge, the fullness of the art of goodness, the fullness of power to gain the victory over evil. And this fullness of power that is in Christ as God is accessible to us. This is the wondrous gift of the Maker, the unfathomable gift of God. In every thing ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge (1 Cor. 1:5). That is, God has given you the grace-filled gift of the word, the ability to clearly convey the Word of God, to convey what God wants from us. This is truly a gift of grace. There are people who lack this gift. They are unable to convey the Gospel in ways people can understand. There are even priests of this sort. This is not a deficiency on their part. They simply do not have this particular gift of grace from the Holy Spirit. They have other gifts, but this gift has not been given them.

The Church of Corinth had been given the grace to clearly express the Word of God. It is for this that the apostle Paul gave thanks to God. He also thanked God that they had been enriched by all knowledge, i.e., they had been clearly taught the Gospel, and they had understood the 17

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unfathomable revelation of God that had been given to men through Christ. Theophan the Recluse interprets these words as follows: “Since the Corinthians were also committing errors in their use of the gift of the word, it is quite appropriate to suppose that it is this gift to which the apostle refers. The gift of the word, or the proper presentation of Christian teaching in the Church, is a gift of great value. It surpasses understanding, for by the one a person enriches only himself, while by the other he enriches others as well” [2].

There is the gift of knowledge, when the person himself understands, and then there is the gift of the word, when he is able to understandably convey to others what he has learned.

Theophan the Recluse says that this gift is of greater value than the gift of merely understanding. And the Corinthians possessed both these gifts. Nevertheless, the apostle now gradually begins to reproach them: how could you, having such a gift, and with such teachers, who explain everything plainly to you, spoon-feeding you everything—how could you allow such quarrels and divisions to arise among you?

Next he says, Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you (1 Cor. 1:6). Or, more simply 18

The Advantages of Sanctity

put, as the testimony of Christ was made firm in you, becoming steadfast in you; i.e., the news of Christ was made firm and reliable in you. Why? Because this was how the apostle Paul preached in Corinth: he usually described the meaning of the faith using simple language. He would say, “There is one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and enriches only He sent His Son, Who saved men from sin and the curse of death. His Son died upon a cross to deliver us from death, and rose from the dead in order to resurrect all men, and He will judge all men. Do you believe this?” “How can I believe that?” the person wonders. The apostle replies, “Well, look: here is a sick person. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ Crucified, and the sick man is healed.” This is how the apostle Paul preached. Not with flowery language, but by the manifestation of the Spirit and of power. This is a convincing argument, you must admit, and the Church uses it to this day.

So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:7). You do not need any new gifts. You have already been given the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Your Church is vastly rich, you have a huge wealth of talents, the apostle says. For this I give 19

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thanks to God. You have only to await the Revelation of Jesus Christ, His Second Coming. Preserve these gifts, put them to use, and await the Second Coming of Christ, so as to enter into His Kingdom.

Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8). More simply put, “Who will make you firm and blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do you see what will happen to Christians at the end of the world? What will the Last Judgment be like for Christians who have been faithful to God? The Day of Judgment is important for Christians faithful to God, as well, for this will be the day when their virtues will be made firm for all time, and the people themselves will lose the ability to be submerged in evil, to corrupt and decay. They will become firm by the power of Jesus Christ. Fantastic, is it not?! For a normal Christian this is truly a dream come true—for there to be no temptations, no wavering, no demonic whispering in his ear, no instigations, but to be firmly established in the Word of Christ. It is for this that the apostle gives thanks.

God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:9).

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The hope that the Lord will make the Corinthians firm is based on the fact that God is faithful.

He has called you, and will lead you to the end.

You are called through God into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ. Here the apostle repeats the thought of Christ Himself, Who said, No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him (Jn. 6:44). God the Father has called you (and all of us along with you) into the fellowship of the Son Jesus Christ. It is upon His faithfulness that our hope is built. This is very important to keep in mind when we fall into despair. People often ask, “And just how am I going to be saved? Where is my guarantee?� The apostle answers: God is faithful, by Whom we are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ. Why have we been vouchsafed fellowship with the Son of God? Because God has called us, and He is true to His word. And our faith is built upon His faithfulness. It is He that will deliver us from misfortune.

This is why a certain elder once said that it is not as easy as it looks for a Christian to perish.

Do you really think God has called you, washed you with the water of baptism, given you the Holy Spirit, allowed you to partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord, forgiven you your sins, 21

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and now He is just going let the devil have you for lunch? Not on your life! He will take care of you—whether it means smacking you upside the head or showing you His mercy, He will fight for you with everything He has. In this lies the faithfulness of God. Many mistakenly think that they need to clamber their way up on their own, that we make it to the top of the mountain by our own efforts. No, it is God who carries us. And in His faithfulness lies the pledge of the Christians’ salvation. And for this we must give thanks to God— for this wondrous, unfathomable faithfulness of the Creator. As Chrysostom so beautifully put it, “God is faithful, i.e. true. Now if true, what things He has promised He will also perform.

And He has promised that He will make us partakers of His only-begotten Son; for to this end also did He call us. For His gifts, and the calling of God, are without repentance (Rom. 11:29)” [1, Homily 1].

We even know of the Jews that their calling is by definition irrevocable. For this reason, when Jews repent and receive baptism the gifts of God descend upon them—those very gifts that were given to the whole people of God, though formerly they were only given to the people of Israel. Thus the Word of God is fulfilled in them.

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Naturally, God’s promise is invariable. “These things, by a kind of divine art he inserts thus early, lest after the vehemence of the reproofs they might fall into despair. For assuredly God’s part will ensue, if we be not quite impatient of His rein. As the Jews, being called, would not receive the blessings; but this was no longer of Him that called, but of their lack of sense. For He indeed was willing to give, but they, by refusing to receive, cast themselves away. For, had He called to a painful and toilsome undertaking, not even in that case were they pardonable in making excuse; however, they would have been able to say that so it was: but if the call be unto cleansing, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, and grace, and a free gift, and the good things in store, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard (1 Cor. 2:9), and it be God that calls, and calls by Himself; what pardon can they deserve, who come not running to Him? Let no one therefore accuse God; for unbelief comes not of Him that calls, but of those who start away from Him” [1, Homily 1].

Frequently people say, “So what if he refused to believe? He has an excuse.” John Chrysostom declares that there can be no excuse.

If a person is called and he refuses there is no 23

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excuse for him, because he has been called to such a wealth of gifts, yet he refuses! After all, to what do we call people? To forgiveness of sins, to a complete reexamination of the past.

This is the greatest of gifts! “But some man will say, [God] ought to bring men in, even against their will. Away with this. He does not use violence, nor compel; for who that bids to honors, and crowns, and banquets, and festivals, drags people, unwilling and bound? No one. For this is the part of one inflicting an insult. Unto hell He sends men against their will, but unto the kingdom He calls willing minds. To the fire He brings men bound and bewailing themselves: to the endless state of blessings not so. Else it is a reproach to the very blessings themselves, if their nature be not such as that men should run to them of their own accord and with many thanks� [1, Homily 1].

SCHISMS AND QUARRELS IN THE CHURCH

After the apostle Paul had thanked God for the inhabitants of Corinth, thereby praising them, he addresses the misfortunes that had moved him to write the epistle: Now I beseech you, 24

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brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (1 Cor. 1:10–17).

The first accusation that Paul levels at the Church of Corinth is that the Church has been divided into parties. What kind of parties were these? According to Chrysostom and other fathers of the Church, Paul is not referring to dogmatic differences of opinion. No, they preserved a common faith. But various groups formed around various teachers. As Theophan the Recluse says, various “instigators”—energetic, char25

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ismatic teachers—began assembling Christians beneath their banners, contrasting themselves with other Christians. Some cited the authority of the apostle Paul, others of the apostle Peter, others of the apostle Apollos, and still others claimed to be simply of Christ. This kind of division proceeds from men when people begin to say, “So-and-so is the most Orthodox person.

Anyone else needs to be carefully tested on his Orthodoxy.” This, sadly, is an all-too familiar scene. Since the time of the apostle Paul nothing has changed in the churches. The sickness that Satan sowed in Corinth is unfortunately sown by the same devil to this day: the sickness of people going to a person instead of to God. This kind of idolization of individuals in the Church leads to terrible consequences.

For this reason the apostle says this: Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—the word used here is parakalo, literally “I intercede,” or even “I demand for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ”—that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:10). In other words, the apostle is saying, “I beg you, not for my sake, but for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who 26

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died for us, for the sake of His blood, that you all say the same thing.”

What an interesting concept for the apostle to express—a concept not in the least progressive. The apostle forbids private theological opinions. The apostle forbids for there to be any divisions, differences of opinion, and the like in the churches, or for there to be any parties within the churches. The apostle begs in the name of Christ that this not be. As Chrysostom says, “not by chance nor unwittingly he [the apostle Paul] does this, but in order that by incessant application of that glorious Name he may foment their inflammation, and purge out the corruption of the disease” [1, Homily 1].

Reminding the Corinthians to whom they had come, the apostle Paul says, “Did you really come to apostles? Did you really come to men? Do you really come here for the sake of men? Do you really assemble in church for the sake of corruptible people? You must not assemble for the sake of corruptible people! It is the Lord Who made you, the Lord Who redeemed you, the Lord Who will judge you. And yet you give your attention to things of this earth.” How often we hear the same thing in our time! How many divisions over issues of no consequence do we see in the churches!

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The apostle exhorts: “You must speak the same thing. The tongue says what is in the soul and in the heart.” Remember how Christ said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Mt. 12:34). Thus, “the tongue speaks what is in the soul and the heart. Unite your thoughts and feelings, and your speech will be united as well. But speech spreads difference of opinion, and the evil of division spreads. It is this, first and foremost, that St. Paul cuts off, as if he were saying: cease speaking at variance with one another, and all of you speak the same thing, or else the division among you will increase. It is for this reason perhaps that he spoke of this at the outset, that in all probability the whole matter lay rather in light-minded quibbling than in serious divisions amongst themselves. For this reason the apostle follows this by saying that there be no divisions among you, meaning divisions into parties. ... When a garment is torn into pieces, the pieces are useless and the garment is ruined.

The same will befall you. The pieces into which you are divided will be of no use, and the whole will be destroyed” [2].

Imagine a piece of clothing that is torn to pieces: it becomes unfit for use. And if the Church is divided into pieces the Spirit of God departs 28

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from her. This is why the apostle says: see that you are not ruined, and that these divisions over matters of no consequence do not cause the downfall of the whole Church. In his final speech to the bishops of Ephesus the apostle Paul said that in their midst would appear teachers who would teach perversely, hoping to draw people away after them. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:29—30). This is truly a terrible disease, when such people draw others after them. When people say, “I belong to this party,” or “I belong to that parish,” this is a terrible thing indeed. It is a division among the churches. All temples are of God, and all the Christians of the world are of God. All Christian temples are pleasing to God, because in them the Father is blessed, the Son is hymned, the Holy Spirit is glorified, the teaching is preserved undistorted, and God Himself acts in the holy sacraments. Unfortunately, as then in Corinth, so also today in Moscow we hear of divisions where even priests begin to say, “This is the only place you should come; you must not go there.” Or, “This is a good church; it has no tax ID number. But that church is bad; it has a tax 29

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ID number.”3 Christians are pitted against each other. It is just this sort of monstrous division, hateful in the sight of God, that causes the body of the Church to be torn apart. All heresies begin in just this way.

Do you know how the Old Believer schism began? It began with people being offended. There used to be an organization called the “Zealots of Piety,” which included a certain Nikon, then metropolitan of Novgorod, one Protopope Avvakum, Ivan Neronov, Lazar, Daniil, and a number of other activists. They made it their business to cleanse the divine services of recent superfluous additions, false teachings that had crept into the liturgical books (which did indeed exist), and to increase public piety. Then, through the efforts of this organization, by political means Nikon was successfully promoted to the post of patriarch. Avvakum had expected that Nikon would be merely a nominal patriarch, with himself as the power behind the throne, but things did not go as planned.

3

Translator’s note: Certain religious factions in Russia associate tax identification numbers and modern passports (mentioned later) with the mark of the beast in the book of Revelation.

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And then the real injury occurred. Protopope Avvakum complained: “That dog Nikon dared to shut me out of the patriarchal mansion.

I wanted to come and go as I pleased, but that dog would not let me.” And so they concluded that piety in Rus’ had been compromised. This was precisely their logic: I have been personally insulted; ergo, piety in Rus’ has been compromised. And so began the very schisms and divisions of which the apostle had forewarned.

Personal dislikes gave rise to division, personal dislikes separated millions of people from the Church, tens of thousands of whom committed suicide in the most hideous fashion, burning themselves alive in their homes, burying themselves alive in the earth, and starving themselves to death.

All this occurs because people do not heed the apostle Paul, who says, Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:10).

Rendered into modern language, “Have the same thoughts. I beg you to be connected in the same mind and the same opinion.” What does “connected” mean? Imagine you are setting up 31

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a computer: each piece of equipment needs to be properly connected to the other, so that no internal conflicts arise. Or how is this table made?

It needs to be connected, with the table leg attached to the table top, and preferably with the table in a horizontal position, and not askew.

People become connected in the same way, by rubbing up against each other in the churches.

Each has his own unique talents, and the apostle says, “I wish that you all might all become attuned and connected to one another through your talents.” Not for each to march to his own drummer, but for each to attune his talent to that of his neighbor.

How is this accomplished? In the same mind and in the same judgment—so that this shared way of thinking might be Jesus Christ’s way of thinking, God’s way of thinking. Not that people might be connected in a human way of thinking, because becoming connected in human fashion is impossible. Just try getting two egoists to work with each other: either one will break the other, or they will eat each other alive, or else they will go running off in different directions. Chrysostom has this to say: “There is also such a thing as harmony of opinions, where there is not yet harmony of sentiment; for instance, when ha32

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ving the same faith we are not joined together in love: for thus, in opinions we are one, (for we think the same things,) but in sentiment not so.

And such was the case at that time [in Corinth]; this person choosing one [leader], and that, another. For this reason [Paul] says it is necessary to agree both in mind and in judgment.

For it was not from any difference in faith that the schisms arose, but from the division of their judgment through human contentiousness” [1, Homily 1].

Do you see the reason? It is human contentiousness, i.e., vainglory, that provokes differences of opinion in the churches. Where people are concerned with their own glory, parties are sure to form. Our patriarch has been denouncing this very phenomenon for the past ten years— people who declare themselves elders, begin to prophecy, and say, “Listen to us, don’t listen to them,” etc. Out of vainglory a person attempts to subject people to his will, forgetting that all this is fundamentally opposed to the Gospel.

The apostle goes on to say, For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you (1 Cor. 1:11). Here Paul is acting very shrewdly. Chloe was one of the most famous 33

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Christian women—to use a modern term, a businesswoman. Christian women back then did not think themselves bound to live according to the Domostroi. This Chloe, according to tradition, had a large international trade network, and for this reason her relatives would periodically go on business trips to various places, including Ephesus. And the apostle says, “Someone from Chloe’s household has told me that there are contentions among you.” Why did the apostle Paul not give the person’s name? So that no one would say, “How dare you go and tell Paul? We’re all quite peaceable here.” No, the apostle Paul says, “One of the household—I will not say who— has reported that there are contentions among you.” As Saint Chrysostom says, “Consider also his prudence in not speaking of any distinct person, but of the entire family; so as not to make them hostile towards the informer: for in this way he both protects him, and fearlessly opens the accusation! For he had an eye to the benefit not of the one side only, but of the other also” [1, Homily 1].

That there are contentions—literally, zeal, provocative quarrels, with intent to win the debate and defend one’s own opinion, making a scene and hurling insults. Now this I say, that every one of 34

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you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ (1 Cor. 1:12). “I have my own party, and mine is better than yours! My teacher adheres to Paul himself, but yours ...”

Incidentally, similar arguments arose in Constantinople in the 11th century. Do you recall the feast of the ecumenical hierarchs—Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom? Some said, “Basil is the last word; Gregory is nonsense.” Others said, “Gregory is the last word! You can have your Basil and your John!” Still others said, “No, the real teacher is John Chrysostom.” And over these arguments, the chronicler relates, people even came to blows. It is to avoid this very thing that the apostle says, “Look at the scandalous behavior among you! The Church is divided, and the names of the apostles used as a pretext. But how can this be? How can one set the apostles on a level with Christ?” This is the more true since it was not the apostles who did this, but rather, as Theophan put it, “instigators,” vainglorious men of ambition, boasters who were rending the Church of God, hiding behind the names of the apostles.

Of this Theophan rightly says, “This means that the Corinthians were exercising their wisdom only in artfully presenting the opposing aspects 35

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of the particular person in whose camp they placed themselves. In this they demonstrated their wisdom and boasted of it. Just as in paganism the sages spent their time in trifles, so the men of learning who joined Christianity took it into their heads to spend their time in subjects having no bearing on the matter of salvation” [2].

This is pertinent to the question of the tax ID number. What does one’s passport have to do with salvation? Do we read “I believe in my passport” in the Symbol of Faith? Or, “I believe in the destructiveness of the tax ID number”? Did one of the Ecumenical Councils write about this, perhaps? Or one of the holy fathers? They did not, now did they? Or, for example, the Greeks today say, “Oh, those accursed heretics! They serve on the New Calendar!” Well, and what if they do serve on the new calendar? What does the New Calendar or the old calendar have to do with our salvation? Or the Old Believers say, “You must serve using seven prospohora; anyone who serves using five prosphora is accursed!” Is it really the number of prosphora that has led us to salvation? This is insanity! Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, says the apostle (Col. 2:16). Yet we see schisms oc36

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curring over completely insignificant matters.

Does the grace of the feast of Nativity change depending on whether a person celebrates it on December 25 or January 7? One could certainly say that technically the New Calendar is not as good, since the whole order of the Typicon is disrupted, and everything has to be rearranged.

Yes, it is unattractive. But nothing more. It is unattractive, but it does not divide the Church.

Yet this leads to insanity: proponents of the Old Calendar break off communion with the New Calendarists! This is simply blasphemous—to go and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit for the sake of the Old Calendar! Zealots attempted to rebaptize Father Paisios of the Holy Mountain (though Father Paisios was baptized by an actual saint) just because he remained in communion with a New Calendarist church.

The apostle goes on to speak quite severely: Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1:13). Here a fundamental question arises: can Christ really be divided? If Christ cannot be divided, how can His Body, the Church, be divided? How dare you divide the Body of Christ, and how dare you tear the living fabric of the Lord’s Body? Who gave you this right? Saint Theophan writes, “These 37

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questions alone were sufficient to lay low the webs of the Corinthian sages: ‘The apostle does not demonstrate, but merely poses the question, signifying the patent absurdity of the idea they express’” [2].

You say that “so-and-so is best, or so-and-so,” but who is better than Christ? People argue, for instance, which church is the best to attend, but the most important thing in the church is the Holy Chalice of the Lord. Tell me, please, which chalice is best—the one on Athos, or the one in St. Thomas Church on Kantemirovskaya Street, or the one in Tsaritsino? Christ is not divided! The Holy Chalice of the Lord is absolutely the same in every place! The apostle says, Was Paul crucified for you? “Did I die for you?” he asks. Certain people call themselves ‘Artemites,’ or ‘Kotchekovites.’ But did Kotchetkov die for anyone? Or did Father Artemy, or anyone else? This is insanity— to be divided over various names. It is absolutely impermissible. Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? In whose name were we baptized? In the name of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, at the institution of Christ!

Saint Theophan further develops this thought, quoting Chrysostom: “Some also find here the following thought: ‘Did Christ rend 38

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and divide the Church among men, taking one part for Himself and giving them the other?’ By thus saying that we are united under the one Christ the Lord, and hence it is absurd to elect a person as our head, the apostle now wishes to say that we have all spiritual good things from Him directly” [2].

What is the chief problem we encounter at confession? People come to the priest and say, “Father, I have sinned by such-and-such, but you have to understand I was such-and-such.” They begin making excuses during their confession to the priest. But why does the priest need to hear this? The priest does not work for the Federal Bureau of Security, or even for the Chief Intelligence Directorate. He does not care in the least about the details of your sins. To whom must you confess? The priest makes a point of saying, “Behold, Christ standeth invisibly before thee and receiveth thy confession.” For the same reason the Gospel and the cross are lying there, and the icon stands before us. And when people come to confess to the priest this approach gives rise to partisanship.

The priest is a servant, the builder of the house of the sacraments of God. He is a witness, through whom Christ absolves sins. To this day 39

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everything proceeds directly from Christ. For this reason, for instance, whether a confession is heard by Seraphim of Sarov or Sergius of Radonezh, or by so sinful a priest as Father Daniel, there is no difference. For it is not Daniel, or Seraphim, or Sergius who is hearing the confession, but Christ the Savior Himself, and it is He that mediates for us before the Father and forgives our sins. But our favorite question is, “Where can I find a priest who will tell me everything?” Read the Word of God; it says it all. Do we not recognize ourselves in these Corinthians by now? In the Word of God we see ourselves as in a mirror.

An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas (Mt. 12:39).

The apostle goes on to say, I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name (1 Cor. 1:14–15). What does this mean, in mine own name? Naturally, even then the Corinthians did not think that the apostle Paul was baptizing in his own name. This meant that the Corinthian Christians were capable of saying, “Paul himself baptized so-and-so. Now that is a super-baptism!

Stephen’s baptism is nothing. Paul himself performed this baptism; he’ll have even more grace!”

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To this day I hear similar talk: “I went to see such and such an elder, and made confession to him.

Such grace! Nothing like the parish, with its drunken old priests.� As though this depended on man, not on God, to Whom we turn in every circumstance. For this reason the apostle says, I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius.

This is a very important fact. Saint Theophan says, “He gives thanks to God that he baptized no one else, not because he did not consider baptism important or because he was inclined to belittle the power of baptism, but because in this way he had escaped even innocently giving cause for division or increasing the talk that was then dividing the faithful. It must be assumed that one of the reasons for which someone might prefer to be led by one person rather than another was that he had been baptized by him. If a faction arose that considered the apostle its leader in spite of the fact that he had baptized hardly anyone, what would have occurred if he had baptized all of those whom he had converted? He therefore gives thanks to God that he baptized no one, and thus gave no cause for anyone to turn their attention away from Christ the Lord.

He led all to the Lord and rejoiced when anyone could join him in saying, yet not I [live], but 41

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Christ liveth in me (Gal. 2:20). Seeing that those baptized set their baptizers above the Lord in Whose name they were baptized, he gives thanks to God that he had no part in this direction of their minds that was displeasing to the Lord. If it had been otherwise, he seems to say, then had there been no end to my sorrow and the pain of my heart, that albeit guiltlessly I had become the cause of him focusing his attention more upon another than upon the Lord” [2].

For this reason Chrysostom says, “Tell me not, says he, who baptized, but into whose name.

For not he that baptizes, but he who is invoked in the Baptism, is the subject of enquiry. For this is He who forgives our sins. ... For baptism truly is a great thing: but its greatness is not the work of the person baptizing, but of Him who is invoked in the baptism: since to baptize is nothing as regards man’s labor, but is much less than preaching the Gospel. Yea, again I say, great indeed is baptism, and without baptism it is impossible to obtain the kingdom. Still a man of no singular excellence is able to baptize, but to preach the Gospel there is need of great labor” [1, Homily 1].

The apostle continues, And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other (1 Cor. 1:16). That is to say, he 42

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listed everyone whom he had baptized: Crispus, who became a bishop in Egypt, and Gaius, with whom he stayed. Gaius was the most hospitable of all, and any Christian who came went first to Gaius, who was so pious that he like Abraham would gather all strangers to himself. He later became bishop of Ephesus, and the apostle John even addressed his epistle to him. Stephanas was the first Christian whom he baptized in Achaia; i.e., he was the first of the inhabitants of Achaia, Corinth, and Athens to convert to Christ, and he became a bishop in Corinth. Thus, the apostle Paul considered this his chief duty, while his helpers performed the baptisms. He did not ordinarily go about alone, but was generally accompanied by Luke, or Timothy, or Silvanus, who would baptize while he preached. He was not trying to make a name for himself.

Interestingly, the apostle notes why this occurred: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (1 Cor. 1:17).

Hard words indeed: Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Wonderful and great is the work of baptism, but still greater is the work of preaching the Gospel. Any priest can baptize, but not everyone can preach the Gospel. For this 43

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reason John Chrysostom says of those appointed to baptize, “For even now, we commit this matter to the simpler sort of presbyters, but the word of doctrine unto the wiser: for there is the labor and the sweat. Wherefore he says himself, Let the Elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and in teaching (1 Tim. 5:17)” [1, Homily 1].

Any successor of the apostles has the ability to don the crown, but not all are capable of reaching the point of bestowing the crown, for a special honor is conferred upon such a person. Chrysostom speaks of this in detail, saying that “the more laborious part, and that which needed much toil and a soul of iron, and that on which all depended, was this. And therefore it was that Paul had it put into his hand. And why, not being sent to baptize, did he baptize? Not in contention with Him that sent him, but in this instance laboring beyond his task” [1, Homily 1]. That is, to all the apostles the Lord said, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Mt. 28:19). Hence, the apostle did not violate this command, but his chief aim was specifically to proclaim the Gospel, to preach, to convert people to Christ. For naturally anyone can baptize.

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“For he says not, ‘I was forbidden,’ but, ‘I was not sent for this, but for that which was of the greatest necessity.’ For preaching the Gospel is a work perhaps for one or two; but baptizing, for everyone endowed with the priesthood.

For a man being instructed and convinced, to take and baptize him is what any one whatever might do: for the rest, it is all effected by the will of the person drawing near, and the grace of God. But when unbelievers are to be instructed, there must be great labor, great wisdom. And at that time there was danger also annexed. In the former case the whole thing is done, and he is convinced, who is on the point of initiation: and it is no great thing when a man is convinced, to baptize him. But in the later case the labor is great, to change the deliberate will, to alter the turn of mind, and to tear up error by the roots, and to plant the truth in its place. ... For even now, we commit this matter to the simpler sort of presbyters, but the word of doctrine unto the wiser: for there is the labor and the sweat.

Wherefore he says himself, Let the Elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and in teaching (1 Tim. 5:17).

For as to teach the wrestlers in the games is the part of a spirited and skilful trainer, but to place 45

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the crown on the conquerors head may be that of one who cannot even wrestle, (although it be the crown which adds splendor to the conqueror,) so also in baptism. It is impossible to be saved without it, yet it is no great thing which the baptizer does, finding the will ready prepared [1, Homily 1].

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The apostle goes on to tell how the Lord sent him to preach the Gospel: ... not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (1 Cor. 1:17)—not in wisdom of words, but that the cross of Christ might not be made desolate. He issues a rebuke of outward wisdom, because the root of all this pridefulness is that in coming to Christianity from paganism the people did not change their worldview. He says that the Lord simply commanded him to proclaim the Word of God just as it was given to him.

Here the fact is that when we begin attempting to prove the preaching of the Gospel by drawing logical conclusions this helps to dispel errors, but it cannot convert. This is a very important point. What converts is the pure, whole 46

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preaching of the Gospel. Without debate. These are the facts. Deal with it. I am a witness, I have spoken, and it is up to you to hear me or to ignore me. For this purpose Christ sent the apostle: not with wisdom of words, not with flowery logical arguments, but simply to preach the Gospel. Saint Theophan clarifies this as follows: “Wisdom of words means words adorned by the art of eloquence and seasoned with every possible reasoning of the mind [2].

The person does not simply interpret the word of God, but says, “Well, suppose we think logically: it can be interpreted this way, or perhaps that way.” One deacon of my acquaintance said, “Our task as missionaries is to raise the question of whether the Hexaemeron (the six days of creation) may be interpreted not literally, but in a way that the evolutionists find acceptable.” This is precisely what it means to preach “with wisdom of words,” and it then leads to the desolation of the cross. This means of preaching has one enormous advantage: the person is charmed by these words, and develops a respect for the Gospel and for Christians. Of course, he does not himself become a Christian, but he does develop a respect for Christianity. Today also certain missionaries say, “I do not want to 47

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drag anyone into church to be baptized. I want people to start thinking about eternity.” And for this they need the Word “with wisdom of words.”

But here the cross proves unnecessary, or, as it has been so bluntly put, is made desolate. Christ has come down from the cross. How often many people say, “We need to preach in a way that does not scare people away from the Gospel”—i.e., so that modern man can understand it, so that it becomes something modern man can accept. This is that very “wisdom of words” which the apostle Paul renounced at the outset.

Theophan goes on to say, “I am sent, the apostle says, to preach the Gospel without these tools of human wisdom, sent to present nothing but the bare truth of the cross of Christ, to say: God became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, and saved us; believe this and you shall be saved. So I have always done and continue to do: I do not speak with honeyed words, I do not paint pathetic verbal pictures of the death on the cross, I do not invent any intellectual considerations of the necessity and suitability of such a death for the work of our salvation. In every place I preach only this bare truth: that God died on the cross and saved us. Believe this and you shall be saved” [2].

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Why did the apostle do this specifically?

Because, as he goes on to say, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).

A simple phrase, without embellishment, without pathos, and it scorches like a flame. Regarding our practical methods, with missionaries walking the streets, one priest wrote that in any undertaking the most important thing is to do no harm. For there is a danger that you may preach to a person, only to have him turn away from Christ and blaspheme Him. For some reason, however, the apostle was not concerned by this. Our task is not to consider whether or not a person will receive our preaching, but to offer it and to bear witness; to go through the planet with a fine-toothed comb and comb out all who are prepared to receive salvation. And those who refuse will refuse.

The Lord said that He divides the whole world. He did not promise that all would believe. Christ did not promise that around His name there would be peace. On the contrary, He said there would be unceasing war. And such is indeed the case. Around the name of Christ war is raging in the most literal sense, and it will continue until the very end, until Christ has cast 49

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all his enemies beneath the footstool of His feet.

For this reason the apostle simply preaches.

Theophan also says, “I leave this very truth to act upon the hearts and minds, without the aid of any human means. And this truth finds its own. It is the same as if one were to hold a magnet over particles of various metals” [2].

Imagine a mixture of copper, iron, cobalt, and lead shavings. If we hold a magnet over them the iron jumps up, while the other metals remain. It is the same with the truth. When you inform people of the truth, those who are of the truth will hear you, and those who are not will remain. It is a choice—the same choice of which we hear from the prophet Isaiah. Is hearing really possible for people whose heart has grown fat, whose ears have been stopped, and whose eyes have been shut? Thus, “of all these the magnet will choose and draw to itself the iron shavings. Thus, when I stretch forth the word of the good news before a whole assembly of people, my word itself finds its own, and those who are of the truth will turn of their own accord and cleave to it. The fact that my word has this effect must be ascribed not to my speech, but to the truth itself, bare and unembellished: God died upon the cross and saved us. If I were to embellish it the same thing would 50

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occur as occurs when the magnet is wrapped in something that hinders it from affecting the iron. If I were to wrap the message of the cross in fanciful words and the judgments of human wisdom I would thereby block its path to action upon simple hearts. I would render it powerless thereby, and I would have converted no one� [2].

Suppose the magnet is placed in a piece of wood. It is now useless; it will no longer attract.

The same is true here: if the preaching of the cross becomes overgrown with flowery language it ceases to be effective. Our task is simple: I have told you, and you can believe it or not, as you please. “And this is quite natural. Suppose we divide the hearers into two halves: those who are party to human wisdom and those are not. For the first the preaching of the cross, however embellished, however couched in interpretations, can never be sufficient. To labor at this preaching in their behalf is merely to waste time and effort. If there is any chance for any of them to be saved, it is only by offering them the bare truth of the cross. For in embellishments and interpretations they will always find numerous objections against this truth, which will prevent it from becoming established in their minds and passing on to their hearts, there to lay the foundation of 51

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faith. Thus, for the educated, embellishments and interpretations are no aid to the preaching of the cross, but rather a hindrance. They are likewise a hindrance to the uneducated, since for the unaccustomed mind they confuse the truth in artful words and subtleties that are inaccessible to the simple” [2].

A woman once cried out to Chrysostom, “Your tongue is of gold, but speak to us just a bit more plainly!” Then he left off his oratorical devices and began to speak far more simply, and for this reason he is included in the golden treasury of model sermons. “And for this reason likewise, that artfulness of speech and deft turns of thought always arouse suspicion: ‘Enough; is this really the truth being offered? If it be so, speak forthrightly and simply. To what purpose is this artfulness?’ Such is the law of the hearts of the simple. Thus, embellishing preaching and entangling it in interpretations would render the cross of Christ of no effect. Saint Paul was not commanded to alloy his preaching of the Gospel with this wisdom of words. And he did not.

These words of the apostle were most instructive for those who, placing too high a value on human wisdom, had spread so much false talk in Corinth. He said, as it were, to each of them, 52

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‘Why are you proud of what you ought to be ashamed? For if this wisdom is at enmity with the cross and opposed to the Gospel, it is not something of which to boast, but of which to be ashamed’ (St. Chrysostom). And to this day one of the most powerful proofs of the truth of the Gospel is that it overcame the world by its artless simplicity” [2].

This is what is most remarkable: the Gospel overcame the world by its simplicity. Whether read the works of a saint who lived in the second, the nineteenth, or the twentieth century, it is exactly the same. There is a great book that caused a tremendous upheaval in the consciousness of the simple Russian folk. It is called Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven, by Saint Innocent of Moscow. It was actually written in the Aleut language, and only later translated into Russian. It is so very simply written: in reading it the concepts are the simplest of the simple, with no wise words. Everything is simple and goes straight to the heart. And Saint Chrysostom speaks of the same: “For this was the cause why the apostles were not wise; not through any weakness of the Gift, but lest the Gospel preached suffer harm. The sort of people therefore above mentioned were not those employed in advocat53

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ing the Word: rather they were among its defamers. The unlearned men were the establishers of it. ... It is plain that the Gospel was a result not of human wisdom, but of the grace of God. ... And when they say that the apostles were rude, let us follow up the remark and say that they were also untaught, and unlettered, and poor, and vile, and stupid, and obscure. It is not a slander on the apostles to say so, but it is even a glory that, being such, they should have outshone the whole world. For these untrained, and rude, and illiterate men, as completely vanquished the wise, and powerful, and the tyrants, and those who flourished in wealth and glory and all outward good things, as though they had not been men at all: from whence it is manifest that great is the power of the cross; and that these things were done by no human strength. For the results do not keep the course of nature, rather what was done was above all nature� [1, Homily 1].

The apostle contrasts human divisions, built upon human invention and fantasy, upon human pseudo-wisdom, with the simple wisdom of the Gospel. Frequently when obliged to work through various difficult issues, whether churchrelated or personal, when you mention the Gospel you immediately hear, “Oh, it can’t be that 54

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simple!” “Well, that is what God says! If you do not like it, that is your problem.” And when a person does as God says, things generally have a way of working out.

Further on we read, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and 55

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God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:17–31).

The apostle now moves on to juxtapose the revelation brought by the apostles with the wisdom of men. Here the question arises: how is one to spread the good news, to spread the Gospel? It has often been said that we need to become easy for the world to understand, to present logic in such a way that people will find the Gospel pleasing, so that people can accept it. But the apostle says simply, “This is not how I have acted. I have preached the Gospel not in wisdom of words, not in flowery orations. I was afraid to make the cross of Christ of no effect, for the power of the cross lies specifically in that the cross acts on its own. The good news of salvation acts on its own, independent of the form in which it is presented.” It is precisely in this that the marvelous might of the Gospel lies: that in 56

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its pure form it possesses such power that it subjugates all nations to itself. Hence it is said that he was sent to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, because the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:17—18). The Greek word used here is moria. The Russian translation uses the slightly slavicised word yurodstvo, which means “foolishness,” or, if translated literally, “raving madness.” The preaching of the cross is raving madness to those that are perishing, but for those who are being saved it is the power of God. The preaching of the cross itself divides the world of men, and to attempt to somehow gloss it over is a foolish and useless endeavor, for here the choice is simple: either a person believes in God or he does not. If a person is perishing he rejects the cross and considers it foolishness, and no arguments of yours will ever convince him to acknowledge the cross.

The missionary efforts of the Nestorians in China are a classic example. There is a seventhcentury Chinese text that is one of the first theological tracts of the Nestorians. They described Jesus Christ, explaining that He is the Son of God who lived in the man Jesus. He came to earth and preached, taught people to respect 57

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their parents, to respect the civil authorities; He taught men the heights of greatness—and ascended into heaven. Note what was left out: His death and Resurrection. For to the Chinese mind, as to every other mind, the preaching of the cross is outrageous. The result was that by the 9th century there were no Nestorians left in China. At first Nestorianism was a resounding success, but then it melded with paganism, and that was the end of it.

Theophan the Recluse repeats after Paul, “The preaching of the cross in and of itself is the power of God for those that are saved.” Quite literally, in a person who is being saved the unimaginable, absolute power of God acts through the preaching of the cross. In other words, a person experiences this power when he hears the message of God, Who became incarnate, died, and rose from the dead. His heart responds to this, and he knows that this is power, if he is destined for salvation. But if he is perishing—e.g., a militant atheist—this preaching will seem foolish to him regardless. It is useless. He is perishing, and for him the matter is closed. Theophan makes a very interesting point: “Those perishing and those saved are as though determined—the former to destruction, and the latter to salvation—so 58

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that however you may fight the one perishing will perish, while the one being saved will be saved, however much he may stray at times from the salvific path. In observing people one is inclined to think that there is surely something fateful in men’s paths. But faith bears witness that a man’s life is entirely the product of his own free will: if he perishes it is he who destroys himself, and if saved he is not drawn to salvation against his will.

By his way of life a man may indeed render himself incapable of receiving the preaching of the cross, while by the same means he may render himself capable of gladly receiving it. The former perishes, while the latter is saved. Though the course of life with all its encounters is not within our will, our moral stance is always within our will” [2].

This stance, being within our will, within our power, within our authority, determines whether we perish or are saved. How does the same preaching act? “The holy apostle takes both the one person and the other as they appeared when faced with his preaching. He delivers his preaching in the synagogue, in the Areopagus, or in a private home: some mock him, others ask questions, and still others, silently concealing this preaching in their hearts, secretly come to 59

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the home of the apostle and are completely converted� [2].

This is how division occurs. Its cause is actually mysterious. We know from our faith that the cause lies in the human heart that does not accept the message of salvation, and does not accept the grace of God. Why does it not accept it?

Do you recall what Christ said? And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God (Jn. 3:19—21). If a person is inclined toward doing good he will accept Christ. If a person is inclined toward doing evil he will not accept Christ. This is the stance of the heart.

For this reason it was said, “Who attracted the latter? And who repulsed the former? We can say that we do not know, but we can add this: it was not God who repulsed the former, since He desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Nor did He alone attract the former, for if He had begun to attract all men then all would have been saved. This we confess. Though there is something incompre60

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hensible in this, yet it cannot be doubted that there is nothing contrary to the goodness of God and to truth. In his preaching the apostle is simply stating a fact, his conclusion from observing conversions” [2].

I can say that I have made this very observation. Sometimes you can fight for a person with everything you have, and it slides off him like water off a duck’s back. To another you speak two or three words, and he changes. We do not know why. But the preaching of the cross truly separates people. For those who are perishing it is insanity, while for those who are saved it is the power of God. The chief thing that the apostle wanted to say here is that the preaching of the cross itself performs its work. The preaching of the cross acts on its own. This preaching acts by an inner power. Holy Scripture possesses its own very powerful action. Our task is simply to present it while doing our best not to harm it.

To present it as precisely as possible, just as it was given by God, using language a person can understand, and that is all; that is enough.

People are constantly trying to draw us into arguments: “Prove this, prove that.” In my experience, however, I have noted that when you become sidetracked into proving things, you lose.

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But if you say, “My dear fellow, this is simply the way it is. God said so. You can believe it or not as you please. If you do not believe it, you will go to hell. That is your own affair. If you believe, you will be saved.” “You are manipulating me!” they promptly tell you. “I am certainly not manipulating you! You can believe it or not as you please.

The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” It is even more laughable and tragic when instead of directly speaking the word of God people begin to propose, “Let’s be more loving.

Let’s picture God as more loving, and say that even those who reject the cross will be also be saved. Do you really think a person who does not accept baptism will perish? That is completely incompatible with God’s mercy!” To this we reply, “The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. God said so. If you do not like it, it means you will go to hell. For what? For daring to distort the word of God.” Such impudence! Such insolence! Such brazenness! To take the explicit word of God and turn it inside out!

This is precisely why they will go to hell: for distorting the word of God by their own evil will.

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Here Saint Theophan concludes with these words: “It is impossible not to see that he [the apostle] looks upon human wisdom with considerable disapproval, and by those that perish he means primarily those familiar with this wisdom, those who adhere to it, and those who hold it alone to be their reliable guide.”

Whoever holds science to be a reliable guide, or philosophy to be a reliable guide, is a person who is perishing. “In outward life this wisdom certainly reins supreme, and does no harm, but when a person brings it into the matter of salvation in this capacity he invariably ruins everything. God determines the means of salvation, and it must be submissively accepted as it is offered. Our wisdom, without submission to the command of God, hinders one from accepting saving faith at the outset, and if it later interferes after one has submissively accepted faith it always makes a muddle of things. The path of salvation is decidedly incompatible with human wisdom.

This wisdom can understand nothing of the preaching of the cross, the preaching of which is the beginning and the end of all things” [2].

But is this not happening today? What is being attacked? The preaching of the cross. The Muslims hate the crucifix, and even want to have 63

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the cross removed from passports. The pagans hold the crucifixion of Christ to be a tragic mistake. Until recently the Baptists feared the cross like a demon fears incense. The Jehovah’s Witnesses also hate it to this day. Heretics within the Church today say, “The cross certainly had a didactic value, a moral value, but that is not what matters most. After all, who today really believes that it was a redemption, a ransom for our sins?!

Such unfitting legalism with regard to God!” The entire attack is directed at the preaching of the cross. Yet the preaching of the cross is what is most important in Christianity!

For this reason Chrysostom says, “To the sick and gasping even wholesome meats are unpleasant, friends and relations burdensome; who are often times not even recognized, but are rather accounted intruders. Much like this often is the case of those who are perishing in their souls.

For the things which tend to salvation they know not; and those who are careful about them they consider to be troublesome. Now this ensues not from the nature of the matter [of salvation], but from their disease. And just what the insane do, hating those who take care of them, and besides reviling them, the same is the case with unbelievers also. ... For these then let us weep; 64

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for the word of the cross is to them foolishness, being itself Wisdom and Power. For, says [Paul], the word of the cross to them that perish is foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18).

“For since it was likely that they, the Cross being derided by the Greeks, would resist and contend by aid of that wisdom, which came (forsooth) of themselves, as being disturbed by the expression of the Greeks; Paul comforting them says, think it not strange and unaccountable, which is taking place. This is the nature of the thing, that its power is not recognized by them that perish. For they are beside themselves, and behave as madmen; and so they rail and are disgusted at the medicines which bring health.

“But what do you say, O man? Christ became a slave for you, having taken the form of a slave, and was crucified, and rose again. And when you ought for this reason to adore Him risen and admire His lovingkindness; because what neither father, nor friend, nor son, did for you, all this the Lord wrought for you, the enemy and offender—when, I say, you ought to admire Him for these things, do you call that foolishness, which is full of so great wisdom? Well, it is nothing wonderful; for it is a mark of them that perish not to recognize the things which lead to salvation. Be 65

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not troubled, therefore, for it is no strange nor unaccountable event, that things truly great are mocked at by those who are beside themselves.

Now such as are in this mind you cannot convince by human wisdom. Nay, if you want so to convince them, you do but the contrary. For the things which transcend reasoning require faith alone. Thus, should we set about convincing men by reasonings, how God became man, and entered into the Virgin’s womb, and not commit the matter unto faith, they will but deride the more. Therefore they who inquire by reasonings, it is they who perish” [1, Homily 1].

The apostle goes on to say, citing the words of the prophet Isaiah (Is. 29:14), For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent (1 Cor. 1:19).

God says, “All these sages with their predictions, these political consultants, these renowned experts, these scientists—all their wisdom will I destroy.” They construct their theories, and God does the opposite of what they expect. They paint their pictures of what is to come, and God says, “I will do otherwise!” Not for nothing is it said in Russia, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.”

God says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, 66

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and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” All this worldly philosophizing, all this knowledge, these theories that man constructs—why argue with them?

Saint Theophan quotes the words of Basil the Great: “Never oppose the learned of the world. Leave the learned to disprove themselves.” That is, wait a while, and they will disprove themselves. Explaining this, Theophan says, “Wisdom will be put to shame thereby, and reason will conceal itself, and be humiliated, and will hide its face. Wisdom will be put to shame because all its methods will be shown to be utterly unsuitable” [2].

How has philosophy attempted to save us?

Whenever a philosophy is applied in practice, for some reason they all lead straight to the Gulag or to Auschwitz. A society ruled by science is guaranteed to end in a concentration camp.

There was a scientific theory of racism, and it ended in a concentration camp, which, thank God, was destroyed in 1945. There was a scientific theory of communism, and we see where it led. Each time a philosophy arose it began pushing everything toward death. And this is unavoidable. God promised exactly this. This promise of God, given through Isaiah, is fulfilled to this day.

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“Wisdom will be put to shame because all its methods will be shown to be utterly unsuitable, and reason will conceal itself because it will not understand how and what I have done. Such are the providential judgments of God as a rule, and they were borne out on many occasions in the history of the Israelites. Saint Paul cites this passage not as a prophecy, but as a law of the providential actions of God. It is as though he were saying: there is nothing wonderful in that it pleased God to do this. Such is the law of God’s Providence, that none may comprehend the twists of His judgments. Likewise none may comprehend why He accomplished our salvation by the cross, and commanded that it not be preached with wisdom of words. Consequently there is no sense dragging in your wisdom, then complaining that it can make no sense of this, and thereby justifying your unbelief and counting as foolishness the means of salvation offered by God. “Throughout history it has been thus: that what God has arranged has seemed to the wise and to men to be pointless and inconsistent with the natural order of things, while in fact it has proven to be most expedient, and thereby has put human wisdom to shame. And so it is with 68

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the preaching of the cross! The wise look upon it and say: what means of salvation is this? How can one save and be saved by this? Yet in fact this very thing proves to be the most effectual means of salvation, and those who receive it with faith are saved, and vividly experience its saving power.

By it the Lord has destroyed the wisdom of the wise and the mind of the intelligent has He rejected, repulsing it, leaving him no recourse but to run and hide” [2].

What kind of arguments have we seen? Philosophers begin to theorize, and then a Christian comes along and says, “Here is a possessed person. Let’s see you drive the demon out of him with your philosophy! Now, if we baptize him, the demon will run away on his own. You can talk a mile a minute, saying whatever you please, but can you heal with philosophy? No, you cannot.

So be quiet!” For this reason the apostle goes on to say, Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (1 Cor. 1:20). That is, where is the wise man, the learned man, the debater of this age? Has not God rendered irrational the wisdom of this world?

If Christianity were foolishness (and from the standpoint of any ordinary wisdom, both 69

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modern and ancient, Christianity is classic insanity), we would be faced with a slight problem: there are more Christians on the earth that anyone else. These “foolish” Christians have built the vastest civilization known to man. Christians have succeeded in changing the world, Christians have changed inwardly, and they have succeeded in conquering the passions. A person is immersed in water, and he emerges changed.

His sins are actually forgiven, and evil actually ceases to work in Christians. It is quite evident that power is at work. And where, pray tell, is your philosophy? Where are your opponents, “the disputers of this world”? Quoting Chrysostom, Saint Theophan says, “The apostle wished to say that whatever the rank of the man who boasts of human wisdom, the cross has put them all to shame. Through it God has taught them wisdom, i.e., ‘shown that [wisdom] is foolish and unfit for the work of faith.’ Since men thought highly of it He directly rebuked it. What sort of wisdom is this that is unable not only to find, but even to recognize what is most to our benefit? He rebuked its foolishness because it had already rebuked itself for this” [2].

The apostle goes on to explain, For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not 70

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God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Cor. 1:21).

If the world were truly wise, through examining the universe it ought to come to the knowledge of the one true God. Through this it ought to attain to the knowledge of God, to attain salvation. Yet this has not happened. All the wisdom of the world has been shown to be an empty shell. It has not known God. Scientists spend billions of dollars on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (NASA has established a vast program for locating extraterrestrial life). Yet under their very noses lies an alphabetical record: DNA. If you see a text written down using an alphabet, what does that tell you? It tells you that the text had an author, does it not? This is simple logic. But no; they say that DNA occurred by accident! The probability of the occurrence of life, as Fred Hall put it, is the same as that of a hurricane going through a junkyard and constructing a brand-new Boeing airplane. Yet science maintains that life occurred by accident! And so God sees this and says that all this wisdom of men has rejected even the patently obvious traces of the presence of God. Well, if it has, it has, and that is that. And so it pleased God to save the faithful by the foolishness of preaching.

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Theophan goes on to say this of the apostle: “His point is that God saves the faithful by means of the highest wisdom—wisdom before which the greatest mind becomes mindless, understanding nothing of it. As we call a great light a blinding light, so the highest wisdom is wisdom that takes the mind captive. It is by this preaching of wisdom that God has been pleased to save those who now believe. For when the mind of a person has been taken captive by this wisdom, he is left with no other means to accept it but faith” [2].

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:22—24).

In other words, we simply proclaim one Christ, Who was crucified on the cross, but the Jews want signs and constant miracles. One would think the Lord had given signs: He rose from the dead, worked miracles during His life, and works them to this day. But this is not enough for the Jews. The Jews need for miracles to be useful.

They need miracles that bring plenty of power and money. They want God to be at their beck and call, as in The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, 72

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working signs on demand for their political gain.

And what does the Greek need? He needs to be given an elegant, well thought-out philosophical school of thought, and for everything to be logical, eloquent, beautifully presented in some attractive form. Then, perhaps, he will listen to your preaching. The apostle reiterates the words of his opponents, who said to him, “Go and put everything elegantly, give supporting examples, make it attractive to people, so there will be no need for them to change their lifestyle. Present it in such a way that the world will find Christianity attractive. Your approach will get you nowhere.

If you preach explicitly you are bound to fail.”

And the apostle certainly failed miserably in his mission—he converted the entire world!

Here the apostle Paul notes that God deliberately designed the preaching in such a way that it would appear to everyone to be madness, completely scandalous (literally a stumblingblock, meaning a stone over which one trips), an outrage. To this day if you talk with Jews they say, “Really, how can you? The Almighty God, crucified on a cross?! That’s going too far!” You tell certain pagan sages that God created the world, that He became a man from the Virgin, that He died upon a cross and rose from the dead, and 73

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they say, “But those are just fairytales! Mythology! Please don’t tell me you believe that! Be honest: you’re pulling the wool over people’s eyes.

So tell me, what are your methods for pulling the wool over their eyes?” So say the wise men of this age. What answer can you give? “No, that is actually the way it is, and if you don’t believe it that’s your problem.” Our proof is based on simple testimony. The Lord commanded His missionaries to be witnesses.

Thus, unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24).

Those who have been called by God Himself, who have believed in God (both those who were formerly Jews and those who were formerly pagans), believe in Christ Crucified. We understand that it is He Who is the power of God—the very power by which God created the world. We understand that all things are created by Him, and in Him there is power to regenerate and restore us. We know this not in theory, but in practice. We know that He Himself is the wisdom of God—the very wisdom of which Solomon spoke, that took part in the creation of the universe, that ruled the world, and that holds the fullness of the intelligence of the Father. In Him we un74

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cover layers of knowledge of which man has never even dreamed! But this is only for those who are called.

Quoting Blessed Theophylact, Saint Theophan says, “Wisdom and unruliness, power and infirmity—these are one and the same thing: unruliness and infirmity to unbelievers, but wisdom and power to them that believe. For even the sun is light to them that see, but darkness to them that are blind. But it does not cause darkness; rather, illness withholds the brightness of the rays. In the same way the decay of unbelief prevents the light of the knowledge of God from illumining the soul” [2].

Then follow the words of Chrysostom: “Vast is the import of the things here spoken! For he means to say how by contraries God has overcome, and how the Gospel is not of man. What he says is something of this sort. When, says he, we say unto the Jews, “Believe;” they answer, “Raise the dead,” “Heal the demoniacs,” “Show unto us signs.” But instead thereof what say we? That He was crucified, and died, Who is preached. And this is enough, not only to fail in drawing over the unwilling, but even to drive away those even who are willing. Nevertheless, it drives not away, but attracts and holds fast and overcomes” [2].

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Suppose we walk through a church. What do we see? All around us are signs of death: the sign of death on the chest of the priest, depictions of dead people everywhere ... But for us these are signs of life! The Church also sings, “For behold, through the Cross joy hath come to all the world!” The shameful instrument of execution has been shown to be a joy for the whole universe. Outrageous, if you think about it! And for the Jews it is indeed an outrage, a “stumblingblock,” and for the Greeks foolishness, but for us it is the power of God and the wisdom of God. “The pagans, for their part, demand of us eloquence and artful argumentation, but to them also we preach the cross. To the Jews this appears to be impotence, and to the Greeks, foolishness.

If we offer them not only not that which they required of us, but precisely the opposite—for the intellect sees the cross not only as not a sign, but something contrary to a sign; not only not a sign of power, but a sign of impotence; not only not an expression of wisdom, but a proof of foolishness—if those who demand signs and wisdom not only do not receive what they demand, but even hear from us the opposite of what they demand, and are convinced by it nonetheless, is this not 76

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the work of the unspeakable power of Him Who is preached?� [2].

If people believe in the cross (and there are not one or two people who believe in it, but billions), is this not a sign of the captivating, unthinkable power of Him Whom they preach? “The apostles conquered not only by signs, but by what would seem to be contrary to signs.

Christ did the same with the blind man: wishing to grant him healing He destroyed his blindness using that which causes blindness, and put clay upon his eyes (Jn. 9:15). Just as He healed the blind man with clay, so also He drew the universe to Him by the cross, using what to all appearances increased the stumblingblock, rather than eliminating it. So He did at the creation of the world, establishing opposites by means of each other: He encompassed the sea with sand, using what is weak to restrain what is strong. Through the prophets He made iron to float upon the water using a small piece of wood (2 Kings 6:6). So also He established the universe by means of the cross. Thus, to convince using what is opposite is a sign of great power and wisdom. The cross would seem to cause a stumblingblock, yet it not only does not cause men to stumble, but even draws them.

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Picturing all this and wondering at it, Paul says, Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:25)� [2].

What appears the greatest foolishness with God proves wiser than what is of men, and what seems the greatest weakness with God proves mightier that what is of men.

Saint Theophan says, quoting Chrysostom, “In speaking of the outrage and infirmity of the cross the apostle does not mean that this was actually the case, but rather that it seemed to be.

For he is speaking in terms of the opinion of his opponents. What the philosophers could not do by their reasoning is done by what appears to be foolishness. Who then is wiser? He who convinces many, or he who convinces no one? However Plato tried to prove that the soul is immortal, he said nothing that was plain and convinced no one! Conversely, through unlearned men the cross convinced and converted the whole world, convincing them not of trifling matters, but of the teaching concerning God, concerning true piety, the life of the Gospel and the judgment to come. It made all to be lovers of wisdom, both farmers and unlearned men. Thus, the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness 78

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of God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:25) How is it stronger? In that it spread throughout the world, overcoming all by its power, and at a time when a countless multitude of people were striving to blot out the name of the Crucified One it accomplished the opposite. This name was glorified and became ever greater, while they perished and disappeared: the living who rose up against Him Who was given over to death could accomplish nothing. By the grace of God publicans and fisherman accomplished what philosophers, rhetorists, rulers, and indeed all the world, despite their innumerable efforts, could not even begin to imagine. What did the cross not accomplish? It introduced the teaching of the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, disdain for the good things of this life, and hope of good things to come. It made men to be angels. By it all men in every place were made to be lovers of knowledge and capable of every virtue� [2].

Is this not a manifestation of mighty power— a monstrous, unimaginable power, which appears insane and unwise, but proves to be most powerful and most wise?

The apostle goes on to develop this idea, pointing to those who have been converted: For 79

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ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called (1 Cor. 1:26).

Yes, there have been and still are scientists who believe in God. There have been and still are rulers who believe in God. There have been and still are noble people who believe in God. But they have been few. They trusted in their wisdom, in their own abilities, but were unable to accomplish anything.

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence (1 Cor. 1:27–29).

God deliberately chooses the weak, the infirm, the powerless, the insignificant. Occasionally we are told, “Let us preach only to the elite, to highbrow intellectuals! We will convert them, and everyone else will follow them.” But God says, “I will not do that. I will address everyone, and will accomplish the victory through the poor, those of humble birth, the uneducated, so that no flesh shall be able to boast before God.” 80

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Theophan the Recluse goes on to say, “One thing follows another. Since it pleased God to bring about salvation by the cross, which to all appearances was infirm, inglorious, and devoid of anything wise, hardly anyone of the wise, the glorious, and the strong of this world goes forth to preach it. Rather, those who go are predominantly unwise, weak, and ignoble. Look around at all the brethren who believe, and you will see that this is so. But this is no disgrace either to the cross or to you. For God so willed that it should be thus. He has called you. This calling and this choosing is an honor to you, the highest of all earthly glories” [2].

Think about it: which is the greater honor?

To be the president of the United States, or to be the King of Heaven? The president of the United States is elected for a maximum of eight years, but the King of Heaven remains for eternity.

“But the honor of the cross lies in that once you believe you do not remain as you were, but are transfigured in spirit, and you obtain advantages compared to which all the advantages of the world are as nothing. In a word, this calling means all that are called. ... The cross made men to disdain everything that a person appears 81

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to be outwardly, and, conversely, to strive zealously for perfection in the spirit, which is true nobility, and true dominion, and true wisdom, putting to shame outward wisdom, power, and nobility” [2].

God deliberately calls the weak and infirm and makes them strong and mighty. You recall that no one could withstand the apostles? Yet just imagine taking twelve fishermen, without any universities, without state funding, without grants—just taking them and sending them out to convert the planet. Imagine picking twelve men off the streets and saying, “Here’s a challenge for you: convert the planet Earth to Orthodoxy!” Yet this is precisely what God did.

He took perfectly ordinary people and said, “Go do it!” They went and, more importantly, they did it. They converted an entire empire to Orthodoxy, along with enormous countries beyond the borders of the empire. They had no authority, no influence, no connections, no money, no nothing. Only the Holy Spirit, nothing more. God did this deliberately, so that there would be no doubt that this was the work of God’s hands alone. God said, “I wished to do it, so I did it!”

Why then did this occur this way?

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“God chose the first in order to put to shame and lay low the last. But how? If God had chosen the first and left them as they were, there would have been no shame in this for the last.

But He left the first as they had been outwardly, filled them with perfections in the spirit, so exalted and so sharply outstanding that the last could not help but notice them and could not help but realize that these perfections were incomparably greater than those they themselves possessed. They could not help but realize that those whom they had disregarded as insignificant had become incomparably greater than they, and in this lay their shame. When meeting them the noble saw in the abased an exalted nobility of character, sensitivities, and disposition, which they themselves lacked, and which their birth according to the flesh did not give them.

The strong saw in the weak self control, inviolate against every passion, and tranquility of spirit, unshaken by any outward adverse circumstances. They saw power and tranquility to which they themselves were strangers, and which their outward power did not give them.

“The wise saw in the simple a bright understanding of everything—of God, and of the world, and especially of man, his purpose on 83

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earth, what awaits him beyond the grave, and what to do so as to pass over thence not to torment, but to bliss. They saw concepts next to which their own, arrived at with such effort, were nothing in their meagerness, their simplemindedness, their obtuseness, and their ambiguousness. Seeing all this, people who were prominent according to the flesh could not help but feel themselves put to shame. Experience has repeatedly shown that, upon sensing themselves put to shame, they cast off everything they had considered of value, converted to the faith, and humbly entered into the community of those whom they had formerly disregarded as insignificant. God so arranged things because it is impossible to distract minds from things fleshly and visible by any other means than by so strikingly presenting them with the advantages that spiritual perfections possess, despite being outwardly inconspicuous and stripped of fleshly advantages� [2].

Take the example of Venerable Arsenius the Great. Aresenius the Great was a deacon in the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople and a university professor, who had tutored two emperors, Arcadius and Honorius. Later he forsook everything and withdrew into a desolate wilderness 84

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to live with completely uneducated desert-dwellers. When his whereabouts were discovered he was asked, “You are a man of phenomenal education and an educator of emperors! Why have you withdrawn to these people who do not even know the alphabet?” To this he replied, “But they do know the alphabet! If only I could learn its letters!” This was the alphabet of spiritual perfection, the alphabet of the true life that they knew, the subtle techniques of the spiritual life that they lived out.

Thus, all this was done that no man might boast before God. “For there is nothing of which to boast. People who are prominent according to the flesh have nothing of which to boast, for they have nothing spiritual, and their outward ostentatiousness is denounced and put to shame as being of no value. People who are not prominent according to the flesh, having been called to spiritual perfections, are outwardly left to their former humble lot, but their inner being, however exalted, is palpably perceived by the gift of grace which they have done nothing to merit. Thus, the salvation accomplished by God through faith in the preaching of the cross leads directly to causing no flesh to boast before God” [2].

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Remember how we read in Isaiah what God will do with those who are arrogant and proud?

For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low (Is. 2:12).

The Lord has made it so that this does not exist in the Church: the moment a person wishes to become proud, he falls away from communion with the Church. But a person who understands that he has nothing knows that the unimaginable gifts that he has are gifts from God, and he has nothing of which to boast. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:30–31).

This occurred through our begetting by God. This whole unimaginable affair occurred through Jesus Christ. He became everything for us. He laid low pride, arrogance, and boastfulness, and showed that it is impossible for us to be saved by our own efforts. No ascetic labors are sufficient for us to earn our own salvation.

Salvation is a gift from God, and so we are saved by grace. We are created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has foreordained us to per86

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form. Good works must be performed, but salvation comes not from them, but from God. This is a gift, and for this reason it is said, But of Him are ye [i.e., you have been begotten of God in the Holy Spirit] in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30).

The wisdom of this world has been cast away, but God bestows His wisdom upon us in Christ Jesus. Instead of the wisdom of this world people are filled with Divine wisdom, so that a person knows what is taking place in the heart of another, he knows the future, he knows the secrets of a man, and he knows what actually has been, will be, and now is. He even learns what God is like within, if you can imagine this. Ask any philosopher to tell you about the inner life of God. He does not know. But we do: it is a life in Trinity. There is the mystery of the Trinity, which is revealed to us. We know the interrelationship of the Persons of the Trinity, we know how They live, how They glorify one another—all this is revealed to us.

Ask a scientist how God created the world, and he will give you fifty different theories. But we know how God created the world out of nonexistence in six days by His might and power.

Ask a scientist where man came from. “Oh, 87

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perhaps from monkeys, or from pigs, or maybe from bears, or from something else.” But we know that the body is made of the dust of the earth, and the soul was instilled by the breath of God. What will happen to man later? “Who knows?” And a slew of hypotheses follow. But we know that the soul is immortal, and that it goes to paradise or to hades. Then the body will be resurrected, and there will be recompense: the righteous will go to the new heaven and the new earth, while the sinners will be cast into the fiery abyss. Do you see the tremendous wisdom that is revealed to us? We know the present, the past, and the future. God has revealed all of this to us!

And Christ has become righteousness for us from God, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).

How then do we become righteous? Why, it is God Who justifies us, i.e., makes us righteous!

We are united with Christ, and the righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness. We conquer sin because the righteousness of Christ conquers it in us. Not by our own efforts do we conquer, but rather the power of God goes and burns the sin out of us! Christ has become sanc88

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tification from God for us; He has permeated us with His divine power, and led us beyond the bounds of all things. He has become our ransom, our redemption: He paid the price for us, giving His blood for us, and hence we owe nothing to the righteousness of God. Why did all this occur? So that what was written by the prophets might be fulfilled.

“He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Let him glory in the Lord ... not with the tongue only, but with constant warmth of heart let him confess that if there is anything in the spirit, it is from the Lord and of the Lord, and that if there is any hope of preserving what one possesses and of acquiring still more, that hope is based on the Lord. To glory in the Lord, then, is the same as to glorify the Lord for His mercies, confessing our hope that they will be prolonged” [2].

We must glorify Him, we must speak of Him aloud, boasting as the boasters do on every corner. We must say, “God has saved us! Do you know what a good God we have? He has saved us by the cross! If you do not believe me, try it, and He will save you as well!” It is with this message that the Christians went about and conquered the entire world. Go, then, and conquer!

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UNDERSTANDING THE WISDOM OF GOD

And I, brethren, writes the apostle Paul, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:1–5).

Here the apostle continues to examine the correlation between the wisdom of earth and that of heaven. He shows that earthly wisdom is a smokescreen concealing heavenly wisdom from us. And he gives us the example of this heavenly wisdom as he himself brought it to the Corinthians.

Let us turn to the original text: And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God (1 Cor. 2:1).

In other words, when the apostle came he decided not to show off his skills as an orator, presenting an elegant system of proofs. He came 90

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simply to declare the testimony of God. What is this “testimony of God”? It means to simply and clearly convey what God conveyed and what God revealed.

God revealed to us His will for salvation through the cross and the redemptive sacrifice of the Lord, and the apostle Paul simply, unwaveringly conveys this will of God without any contrivances whatsoever. Saint Theophan confirms this: “But as God appointed His messenger, so I too had it in my heart to declare to you the testimony of God—bare, just as it is, in simple language” [2].

Why did the apostle Paul make this decision? He knew that he was going to a city with a high level of education, where he would encounter people of many different nationalities and countries. For this reason he came to them in simplicity, resolving to speak with equal simplicity—not like some, who gear their speeches toward an audience of intellectuals. Why? For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).

The apostle says that in addressing the Corinthians his chief goal was to speak of Jesus Christ alone, and to say nothing of anything besides Jesus Christ Crucified.

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With good reason did the angel who met the women at the Tomb say to them that he knew they were seeking not Jesus the Wonderworker, not Jesus the Great Prophet, not Jesus Who Raised the Dead. No. He said, “You seek Jesus Who was crucified!” And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him (Mk. 16:5–6). That is, even to the angels the greatest honor of Christ was to be called “the Crucified One.” Incidentally, it is very interesting to note that in the early 20th century a movement arose among the Russian intelligentsia in opposition to gloomy, Golgothian Christianity.” They avowed that what was needed was joyous, bright, merry Christianity. These Christian activists proposed that instead of the “gloomy symbol of death” (as they called the holy cross) people wear a small icon of the Resurrection.

But this was not how the apostle Paul acted.

He said that he wished to know no one among the Corinthians save Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah, the Crucified. That is, all his conversation was of Jesus Christ. Thus, for the apostle 92

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everything comes down to the crucifixion of Christ. This does not mean that he did not discuss the creation of the world, or the resurrection of the dead. No. But all this had at its head the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

And this is indeed the case. Orthodox Christians know that God is a Trinity, and that God the Trinity is revealed to us through the death and resurrection of Christ. We know that God created the world, but we know that the purpose of the world’s creation was the deification of man, which was achieved upon the Cross, during Christ’s sacrifice thereon. You and I know that God ruled the nations, and made a covenant with Israel. We know that He sent the prophets. But the purpose of the preaching of all the prophets was the news of God the Savior, and salvation was accomplished upon the Cross. In other words, the entire world is inclined toward the Triduum—the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ—as its center. This is precisely that of which we always sing, on the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, “Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.” The three days of the Savior— the Triduum of Christ—is the heart of the whole world, and it is for this that the whole world lives.

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And it is no accident that the chief blow is aimed at this very heart, nor is it any accident that the devil fears nothing so much as the sign of the cross.

The devil fears the cross because upon the cross his power crumbled. It is for this reason that it is considered the primary alienating factor in Christianity. Muslims, Jews, Sectarians— all of them hate the cross, and this is no coincidence. It is not their own evil will, but that of him who stands behind them—the evil will of Satan, who hates the cross with a passion.

And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:3—5).

Note how the apostle says here, “When I was preaching to you I was terribly afraid. I was in fear, I trembled when going to preach to you.

And for this reason my preaching was weak, i.e., I did not make flowery speeches.” One needs a calm setting to prepare a university lecture.

A person who is constantly under the threat of death has no energy for practicing his oratorical talents, and certainly no time for giving lectures!

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Here is what Saint John Chrysostom says concerning this: “‘How do you say? Did Paul also fear dangers?’ He did fear, and dreaded them excessively; for though he was Paul, yet he was a man” [1, Homily 6].

But it was in this that the power of God was manifested—that through the preaching of a weak, trembling man the nations were converted!

A historical text from the 1st–2nd centuries, The Life of Saint Thecla, relates that when the saint first saw the apostle she was surprised and upset—a little Jewish man with a long nose. He is depicted in just this way on the icons: a typical Jewish nose, bald patches, crooked legs, and red eyes. An intense brilliance that illuminated Paul when he saw her left her blind. After she received baptism her sight was restored, but his eyes remained just as red. He spoke very quickly, and was spry in his movements. It is said that his tunic—something like our cassock—was very threadbare and patched, as was his cloak. A thoroughly unprepossessing person. But when he began to speak, his speech entranced his listeners.

As the life of Saint Thecla relates, the words of the apostle were like a heavenly song, filled with manifestations of the Spirit and of power—i.e., 95

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they were the words of the Holy Spirit Himself!

What was outward belied what was within.

We are perhaps accustomed to think that the saints were people unlike us—that they went gracefully about, floating half a meter off the ground, and that they ate and drank nothing at all. In real life, however, the saints were not like this. Outwardly they remained perfectly ordinary people, albeit filled with the Holy Spirit and with Divine life. And in this ordinariness of theirs lay concealed the unimaginable power of God. This is no coincidence!

It is precisely that of which the apostle speaks in another epistle: we carry our treasures in clay vessels, so that the superiority of power might belong to God, and not to us. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Cor. 4:7).

And as Chrysostom explains, “this is no charge against Paul, but infirmity of human nature; and it is to the praise of his fixed purpose of mind that when he even dreaded death and stripes, he did nothing wrong because of this fear. So that they who assert that he feared not stripes, not only do not honor him, but rather abridge greatly his praises. For if he feared not, what endurance or what self-restraint was there 96

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in bearing the dangers? I, for my part, on this account admire him; because being in fear, and not simply in fear, but even in trembling at his perils, he so ran as ever to keep his crown; and gave not in for any danger, in his task of purging out the world, and everywhere both by sea and land sowing the Gospel” [2].

My preaching, says the apostle Paul, was not in enticing words (literally “convincing words”).

In other words, his preaching was not like the preaching of those who demonstrate, convince, and prove using logic. It was not “seasoned” with turns of phrase, devices, and the kind of argumentation that human wisdom ordinarily employs to convince those who argue: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Cor. 2:4).

What did the apostle Paul declare in every place? That he preached Christ Crucified, and that he worked wonders and signs by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is an interesting argument from the 10th century that was addressed to the Muslims.

The Muslims asked Saint Samonas of Gaza, “How can you prove the authenticity of your faith?”

He replied, “Suppose a person comes to you 97

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and says that the great God, the Creator of the Universe, became a man with flesh and blood, a man who sweated, who needed to sleep ... Is this impossible to imagine? One who was given over to a shameful death upon the cross, entirely covered with blood ... He was taken down and laid in a tomb. But He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will come again to judge each of us. Who would believe it? I understand that it is hard for you to believe. But if you call a blind man to you, take the sign of this Man, and trace the cross upon his eyes, he will be healed. If you take a paralyzed man and baptize him he will rise from his bed. If you take a dead man and invoke the name of this Man, he will arise, resurrected.

Is this not a convincing argument?”

This is precisely the approach that the apostle Paul employed. He preached the Gospel just as it is. Many were troubled by the film The Passion of the Christ because it depicted the Lord’s death too graphically. Here one may take issue not with the fact that the Lord’s Passion was depicted at. all, but with another aspect: the Lord cannot be portrayed by a corruptible man. This is indeed an issue. The graphic violence itself is actually far closer to the truth than glossed-over concepts. For this reason it was also quite natural 98

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for the holy fathers to indicate just how terrible the Lord’s sufferings truly were.

For this reason, for example, in the prophecy of Isaiah we find these words: Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? (Is. 63:2). Literally, “Why is your clothing red, and your garment like that of one who has been pressing wine?”

Do you know how grapes are pressed? They are trampled underfoot, pressing out the red juice of the grapes. Later it is left to ferment, and it becomes wine. Chrysostom explains this passage as follows: “Why is the Blood of the Lord compared with grapes? Because Christ was trodden underfoot like grapes.4 He was disfigured, scourged so severely that the Blood we drink at Holy Communion is pressed out.” Do you see? This was actually a truly, truly dreadful thing, one that we often simply forget. It is for this reason that the saints and the apostle Paul constantly saw before them the reality, the horrible reality, of the crucifixion.

And he depicts it in all its unsightliness. And in this, His seemingly terrible abasement, the Holy Spirit appeared, and power was revealed!

4

Jesus Christ Himself compares Himself to the grapevine (cf. Jn. 15:1) — Editor.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY1

Saint John Chrysostom. Homilies on First Corinthians. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 12. Translated by Talbot W. Chambers. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889.

2. Saint Theophan the Recluse. Collected Works, vol. 6 of 31. Moscow, 2008 [Russian].

3. Saint Gregory Palamas. The Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts. Academic Project, 2011 [Russian].

4. Saint Cyprian of Carthage. On the Unity of the Church. From Anti-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5. Translated

by Robert Ernest Wallis. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.

5. Saint Basil the Great. Nine Homilies on the Hexaemeron. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series. Translated by Blomfield Jackson. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.

1.

1

Translator’s note: This bibliography has been revised to reflect the English sources used in producing this translation. Scriptural texts are from the King James Version, with rare exceptions when another version better matched the original Russian, and with the exception of the psalms, taken from The Psalter According to the Seventy, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. All texts here listed from Christian Literature Publishing Co. are taken from www.NewAdvent.org, revised for that site by Kevin Knight and used with permission, with occasional minor revisions by Dcn. Nathan Wiliams.

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Saint Basil the Great, archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. The Great Asceticon, vol. 2. Moscow, 2008 [Russian].

Saint John Chrysostom. The Sacrament of the Cup of Christ. Moscow, 2009 [Russian].

Saint John of the Ladder. The Ladder, revised second edition. Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, 1991.

Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus. Works. Moscow, 2005 [Russian].

Prayer Book, fourth edition revised, second printing, with corrections. Jordanville, NY: St. Job of Pochaev Printing Shop, 1996 Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Explanation of the Gospel of John. Moscow, 2011 [Russian].

Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Catechetical Lectures.

Translated by Edwin Hamilton Gifford. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 7.

Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894.

Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and Macarius of Corinth. A Most Edifying Book on Unceasing Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Akhtyr Monastery, 2004 [Russian].

Saint John Chrysostom. Homilies on Ephesians.

Translated by Alexander Gross. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 13. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889.

Saint John Cassian. Conferences. Translated by C.S. Gibson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,

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Second Series, Vol. 11. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894.

Athanasius the Great. Life of Saint Anthony. Translated by H. Ellershaw. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892.

Saint Theophylact of Bulgaria. Commentaries on the Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles. Moscow, 2014 [Russian].

Saint Symeon the New Theologian. Sermon on the Three Forms of Attention and Prayer. From The Philokalia (Russian edition), vol. 5, pp. 463–464. Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, 1992.

Blessed Augustine. City of God. Translated by Marcus Dods. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 2. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887.

Works of our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, vol. 2, book 1. Kiev, 2012 [Russian].

Works of our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, vol. 10, book 2. Kiev, 2012 [Russian].

Saint Theophan the Recluse. Collected Works, vol. 7 of 31. Moscow, 2008 [Russian].

The Order of Confession: priest’s prayer of absolution at the sacrament of confession. From The Book of Needs. Moscow, 2013 [Russian].

Saint Theophan the Recluse. Collected Works, vol. 22 of 31. Moscow, 2008 [Russian].

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25. Saint Basil the Great. Ascetic Sermons. Moscow, 2001 [Russian].

26. Saint Vincent of Lerins. Commonitory for the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies, 53. Translated

by E.A. Heurtley. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 11. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894.

27. Saint Philaret (Drozdov). Sermons and Talks, vol. 3.

Moscow, 2012 [Russian].

28. Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk. The Enlightener, sermon 12. Joseph of Volokolamsk Monastery, 2006.

29. Saint John Chrysostom. Discourses Against Judaizing Christians. From The Fathers of the Church, vol. 68. CUA Press, Washington D.C., 2010.

30. Saint Theophan the Recluse. Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians of the Holy Apostle Paul. From Compiled Works, in 25 volumes. Moscow: Pravilo Very, 2004–2010 [Russian].

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Why Do Believers Quarrel?

Talks on the First and Second Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians In 12 books Book 1 Translator and Editor-in-chief Deacon Nathan Williams Cover Igor Yermolaev Proofreader Deacon Anthony Williams

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