There are many differences between Slavic and Christianity. The most important of them should be highlighted. They were designated by the Christian Church in the 17th century, becoming one of the main reasons for the persecution of the followers of the Old Slavic Orthodox faith - those who are usually called Old Believers. V sacred meaning had baptism with two fingers. The fact is that the sacrament of baptism also appeared long before Christianity, it was taught by the Magi. In baptism with two fingers middle finger symbolizes God, and the index symbolizes man. Thus, two-fingered denoted the oneness of man with God.
The custom to be baptized from right to left also came from Slavic Orthodoxy and survived in Orthodox Christianity. For the ancient Slavs, baptism from right to left meant the victory of light over darkness and truth over falsehood.
The symbol of faith for Christians is Jesus Christ himself, and for the Orthodox Slavs and Old Believers - the ancient equilateral cross, which was originally enclosed in a solar circle. Such a cross symbolized the path of Prav (in other words - Pravda), the starting point for which was the moment of sunrise.
True, the light of life and fate in Slavic Orthodoxy
The truth and light of life in the tradition of Slavic Orthodoxy were symbolized by odd numbers. From here arose to this day the existing tradition of giving an odd number of flowers for the holidays, and an even one - to bring, for which the light of life has already gone out.
In Slavic Orthodoxy, there was an idea of fate, embodied in faith in women in labor - the heavenly mistresses of the world and oldest goddesses fate. It also contained the concept of God's judgment, mentioned even in the "Lay of Igor's Host."
Christianity that came to Russia for centuries existed alongside Orthodoxy and became Orthodox Christianity. Realizing how strongly Christianity mixed with Slavic Orthodoxy, Patriarch Nikon decided to correct it according to the Greek canons. As a result, Nikon's reform led not only to the persecution of the Old Believers, but also to the destruction of the preserved heritage of Slavic Orthodoxy.
In Christianity, the Orthodox are not even mentioned. However, the bright appearance of Jesus Christ took root on Russian soil, turned into one of the most important components of Russian culture. In fact, Christianity and are just different ways to comprehend one God, and therefore they are equally worthy of respect. The difference between Slavic Orthodoxy lies in the fact that it stands closer to the spiritual sources of ancient Russian culture.
Christianity, like Buddhism and then Islam, created the ideal of a universal human behavior and existence, has created a holistic worldview and attitude. At the heart of Christianity is the doctrine of the God-man Jesus Christ, the son of God, who came to people with good deeds, commanded them the laws of a righteous life and accepted great suffering and martyrdom on the cross.
Christians believe that the world was created by one eternal God, and created without evil. The Resurrection of Christ marks for Christians the victory over death and the newfound possibility of eternal life with God. Christianity views history as a one-way, unique, “one-time” process directed by God: from the beginning (creation) to the end (the coming of the Messiah, the Last Judgment). The main idea of Christianity is the idea of sin and human salvation. People are sinful before God, and this is what makes them equal: Greeks and Jews, Romans and barbarians, slaves and free, rich and poor - all sinners, all "servants of God."
The Christian religion asserted that suffering in earthly life would bring salvation and heavenly bliss to a person in the afterlife, and in resisting evil it saw the way to moral perfection. She promised that the righteous will be rewarded and the future belongs to the lower classes. Christianity acquired the character of a universal, universal religion.
The main directions of Christianity are Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism.
Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church is closest to the traditions of early Christianity. For example, it preserves the principle of autocephaly - the independence of national churches. There are 15 of them in total. Distinctive feature Orthodoxy is that since the time of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, not a single dogma was added to this teaching, unlike Catholicism, and not one of them was abandoned, as was the case in Protestantism. In the Orthodox Church, ritual prevails over theology. The splendor and luxury of the church, the festivity of the liturgy are aimed at the perception of faith not so much by reason as by feeling. The idea of Orthodox conciliarity presupposes the unity of the laity and the clergy, adherence to tradition and the primacy of the collective principle.
The Orthodox Church claims that Christianity, unlike all other religions, is a divine revelation, which forms the basis of the Orthodox faith. It is based on a set of dogmas - immutable truths, which are also the result of divine revelation. The main such dogmas are the following: the dogma of the Trinity of God, the dogma of reincarnation and the dogma of atonement. The essence of the dogma of the Trinity of God is as follows: God is not only a personal being, but also a spiritual essence, he appears in three hypostases: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. All three persons constitute one Holy Trinity, inseparable in their essence, equal in divine dignity.
God the Father created heaven, earth, the visible and invisible world out of nothing. From the earth, God created the first man, Adam, and from his rib, the first woman, Eve. The purpose of man in the act of creation is to know, love and glorify God and through this attain bliss. God predetermined the salvation of people through his only begotten son, who is the second person of the Trinity, in human incarnation - Jesus Christ. The third person is the Holy Spirit. Together with the Father and the Son, he gave birth to the spiritual life of man, instilled in people the fear of God, bestowed piety and inspiration, the ability of knowledge and wisdom. The Orthodox teaching believes that in the afterlife, the souls of people, depending on how a person lived their earthly life, end up in heaven or hell.
One of the basic laws of Orthodoxy is the rule of reception, the acceptance of any norms by the whole church. No person, no organ of the Church, no matter how broad in composition it may be, can be completely infallible. In matters of faith, only the Church is infallible — the “body of Christ” —as a whole. In Orthodoxy, the traditions of the seven sacraments are strictly observed - baptism, communion, repentance, chrismation, marriage, sanctification and priesthood. The sacrament of baptism symbolizes the acceptance of a person into the bosom of the Christian church and through him the original sin is forgiven to the person, and all other sins to the adult. It is believed that only on the basis of the sacrament of communion (Eucharist) can a person maintain an inseparable connection with Jesus Christ. An indispensable attribute religious life an Orthodox Christian is to perform the sacrament of repentance (confession), which includes confession and forgiveness of sins.
Following the rite of baptism in Orthodoxy, the sacrament of chrismation is performed, the meaning of which, according to the Orthodox catechism, is "to preserve the spiritual purity received in baptism in order to grow and strengthen in spiritual life." Spiritual meaning the wedding ceremony consists in the fact that when the wedding is performed, God's grace is poured out on the future spouses, which ensures an inextricable symbolic union based on love, fidelity and mutual assistance to the grave. The sacrament of blessing (unction) is performed on a sick person, since blessing of oil has healing power, cleanses the patient from sins. The Orthodox Church attributes a special meaning to the sacrament of the priesthood. It occurs when a person is ordained to the priesthood, that is, to one degree or another of the priesthood. In Orthodoxy, the clergy is divided into black and white. The black is the monks, and the white is the clergy who do not take the vow of celibacy.
In addition to performing the sacraments, the Orthodox cult system includes prayers, worship of the cross, icons, relics, relics and saints. Fasts and holidays occupy an important place in the Orthodox cult, the main of which is Easter, established in memory of the resurrection of the son of God Jesus Christ crucified on the cross.
Catholicism. The basis of the faith of Catholicism is made up of the books of the New and Old Testaments (Holy Scripture), decisions of the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Church and judgments of the popes on ecclesiastical and temporal affairs (Holy Lead). The Catholic Church, in contrast to the Orthodox, has a single head - the Pope. The head of the church is considered the vicar of Christ on earth and the successor of the Apostle Peter. The Pope has a threefold function: the bishop of Rome, the shepherd of the Ecumenical Church and the head of the Vatican State. V catholic church all priests belong to one of the monastic orders and they are obliged to observe celibacy - the vow of celibacy.
The dogma of Catholicism, in many respects close to Orthodoxy, has some peculiarities. A peculiar understanding of the Trinity, enshrined in the form of the filioque dogma, was established in Catholicism: the procession of the Holy Spirit is recognized not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son. The Catholic Church formulated the dogma of purgatory - an intermediate place between heaven and hell, where the souls of sinners who have not received forgiveness in earthly life, but not burdened with mortal sins, dwell.
In general, Catholicism is quite condescending to a person, since it proceeds from the conviction that sinfulness is an integral part of human nature, only the Pope is sinless. Atonement for sins in Catholicism is possible through social activities. A huge role in the salvation of sinful people is played by the so-called treasury of good deeds, in abundance performed by Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints, which can only be disposed of by the Pope. So in the Middle Ages, the practice of indulgences appeared in Catholicism - the redemption of sins for money. Catholicism is characterized by a sublime veneration of the Mother of God - the Mother of Jesus Christ, which was expressed in the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, as well as in the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Mother of God. Catholicism, like Orthodoxy, recognizes the seven sacraments of Christianity. However, baptism here is carried out by pouring, and confirmation is separated from baptism and is carried out when the child reaches 7-8 years old. The main holiday in Catholicism - Christmas.
Despite the elaborate and pomp of the ritual, in Roman Christianity, theology still dominates the rite. Therefore, Catholicism is more individualistic than Orthodoxy. The Catholic Mass is more magnificent, festive in nature, it uses all types of art to influence the consciousness and feelings of believers.
Protestantism. Despite the presence in Protestantism of many churches and confessions, it is possible to distinguish common features of the doctrine, worship and organization. The Bible is recognized by most Protestants as the only source of doctrine. Protestantism orients a person towards personal communication with God. Hence the right of every person to read and discuss the Bible. Paying great attention to the human incarnation of Jesus Christ, most Protestants recognize Christmas as the main holiday. The main services are Bible reading, sermon, individual and collective prayers, and singing of religious hymns. As a rule, the cult of the Mother of God, saints, icons and relics is rejected. Basic organizational structure Protestantism is a community, and the hierarchy of clergy is not developed.
Protestantism can be divided into two main directions: liberal, which accepts criticism of the Bible, and fundamentalist, which insists on a literal understanding of the Bible texts. The liberal movement, the oldest in Protestantism, originated in the form of the teachings of Martin Luther at the beginning of the 16th century. Its supporters - Lutherans - recognize the dogmas defined at the I and II Ecumenical Councils as the Symbol of Faith. The main way of atonement for sins is repentance. Two Christian sacraments are recognized - baptism and communion. Lutheranism has preserved the liturgy, the church altar, and the vestments of the clergy. There is also an ordination (ordination), there is a bishop. The crucifix is accepted as the main symbol of the Lutherans, the icons are denied. The founder of the fundamentalist trend in Protestantism is John Calvin. Calvin recognized the Bible as the only holy book.
Denying the clergy, he affirmed the principle of worldly vocation and worldly asceticism (every believer is a priest). Calvinism presupposes salvation of the soul not so much by repentance as by active worldly activity, entrepreneurship. Calvinists deny the external attributes of the cult - the cross, icons, candles, and so on. The sacraments of baptism and communion are carried out symbolically with them. The main forms of worship are sermons, prayers, and the singing of psalms. Calvinism denies any form of church organization other than community.
Protestantism teaches that it is not so much rituals that are important, as the conscientious fulfillment of each of his duties, that is, in conscientious work, a person embodies Christian commandments. Protestantism affirms the equality of all believers before God and preaches salvation by faith already in earthly life, denies monasticism, as well as the celibacy of the clergy. Protestantism is characterized by the desire to separate the spheres of influence of the spiritual power of the church and the secular power of the state: God - God, and Caesar - Caesar.
The main tenet of Protestantism is that of justification by faith alone in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Other means of salvation are considered insignificant. According to this dogma, as a result of the Fall, original sin, a person has lost the ability to do good on his own, therefore salvation can come to him only as a result of divine intervention, salvation is a gift of divine grace.
All about Christianity.
Christianity got its name due to the fact that the personality of Jesus Christ stands at the center of its doctrine (although this term did not appear earlier than the end of the 2nd century). the original sin of people. Belief in the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the universal sinfulness of people is one of the main provisions of the Christian doctrine. Many researchers generally deny the historicity of Christ, while others believe that Jesus existed, not as a God-man, but as a simple Jewish preacher.
The Christian religion proclaims the principle of monotheism. At the same time, the main directions of Christianity adhere to the position of the divine trinity. According to this provision, although God is one, however, he appears in three hypostases (persons): God - the father, God - the son and God - the holy spirit.
Christians believe that it is God, the Son, in the image of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary through the immaculate conception, who is the savior of people who are mired in their sins. The idea of the salvation of people is also one of the central ones in Christianity. The provision on the resurrection of the crucified Christ and his ascension to heaven is also considered important in the Christian doctrine.
Many of the precepts of Christianity reflect universal human moral norms, while others are very specific. These special norms include the requirements of patience, obedience, forgiveness, respect for all authority.
The main provisions of Christianity are set forth in the "holy scriptures" - the Bible. The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The first part is taken from Judaism and is identical to the Tanakh. The second part - the New Testament - is specific to Christianity. It consists of 27 books: four books of the Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which narrate about the life of Christ and set out the foundations of his teaching, the book "Acts of the Apostles", reporting on the preaching work of Christ's disciples, the 21st Epistle of the Apostles , which are letters written by Paul and other disciples of Christ and addressed to the early Christian communities, and "The Revelations of John the Theologian" (Apocalypse), in which the author sets out the prophecy communicated to him by God about the future fate of the world and mankind.
"Holy Scripture" is supplemented by sacred tradition (the writings of the "church fathers" and the decrees of Christian councils), but it is not recognized by all directions of Christianity. There are currently five such directions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestanism, Nestorianism and Monorisism. True, the last two directions are much inferior in the number of their followers to the first three.
Consider Orthodoxy, and what features it has in common with Catholicism, and which are specific. Both of these directions conduct quite sharp border between the clergy, on the one hand, and the laity, on the other. For the clergy, there are certain rules of conduct, for the laity, others. The salvation of people, according to Orthodoxy and Catholicism, can be achieved only through the mediation of the clergy. Both Orthodox Christians and Catholics accept, along with the Bible, the "sacred tradition." Both directions recognize seven sacraments: baptism, anointing, communion, repentance, priesthood, marriage, and anointing of anolescence. Both Orthodox and Catholics venerate the Mother of God, angels, saints, they have a developed cult of relics and sacred relics, they practice monasticism.
There are many features in Orthodoxy that are different from Catholicism. One of the main dogmatic differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism is the issue of the procession of the Holy Spirit. In Orthodoxy, God - the holy spirit comes only from God the Father.
Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit comes not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son. The cult of the Mother of God is inherent in Catholicism. And in 1854. even a dogma was proclaimed that the Mother of God, like her son, was born through the virgin birth. Finally, in 1950, the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary to heaven was additionally adopted.
A distinctive feature of the Catholic doctrine is the idea that the saints form before God a stock of good deeds with which priests can forgive the sins of believers or the previously practiced ransom of sin (sale of indulgences).
Catholics believe that apart from heaven and hell, there is also purgatory, where the souls of believers are purified before going to heaven. Unlike Orthodoxy, which recognizes 7 ecumenical councils, Catholicism recognizes 21.
Catholics are not allowed to leave the clergy. Celibacy should be observed not only by monks, but also by the white clergy. Laymen in Catholicism can remarry only in the event of the death of their spouse (divorce is prohibited). The highest Catholic leadership has repeatedly expressed their hostility to abortion and even to the use of any contraceptive. Divine services are conducted in Catholic churches in most cases in Latin and are accompanied by both choral singing and organ music. The religious symbol of the Catholics is the four-pointed cross.
At the head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, revered by believers as the viceroy of Christ on earth and the successor of the Apostle Peter. The Pope's authority is absolute. The Pope, in accordance with the Lutheran agreements concluded in 1929 with the fascist dictator Mussolini, has its own sovereign state, the Vatican, which occupies a small part of the territory of the city of Rome. Several Uniate churches are under the care of the Vatican. These are groups that have deviated from some Eastern Christian churches. They entered into a union with the Roman Church, i.e. obeyed the Pope, adopted Catholic dogmas, but retained their rituals.
There are six groups of Uniates in total: Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics, Syro-Catholics, Copts-Catholics, Chaldeans and Myronites.
Unlike Orthodoxy and Catholicism, Protestanism does not represent a single direction of Christianity in doctrine and organization. This direction includes many churches and sects that differ significantly from each other in their dogma and have only some common features.
One of the most characteristic features of Protestanism is the presence in it of the provision that the most important condition for salvation is personal faith, and not the assistance of the clergy. It is also believed that a person is able to communicate with God without any intermediaries. In this regard, the clergy in Protestanism plays a small role in the life of the believer (in some trends, the clergy is completely absent).
The main authority for all Protestants is "scripture." As for the "sacred tradition" most of currents of Protestanism does not recognize him. In Protestanism there is no veneration of the Mother of God, angels, saints, there is also no cult of relics and saints, relics, monasticism is not practiced.
Protestanism has many common features with Orthodoxy. For example, lack of faith in purgatory, allowing the clergy to marry, allowing divorce among the laity, performing divine services at native language believers, the presence of independent national churches. Protestanism is subdivided into a number of currents, churches and sects.
Let's consider several main movements: Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Mennonism, Unitarianism.
Anglicanism, which arose in 1534 during the struggle of the English king with the Pope, bears noticeable traces of a compromise with Catholicism. Anglicans believe in the saving power of the church, although they believe that the main thing is personal faith. The idea of purgatory is not characteristic of the Anglican doctrine, some Anglicans admit the existence of something like that.
However, there are also purely Protestant features in Anglicanism. It lacks the cult of the Mother of God and the saints. Anglican priests can marry, laymen are allowed divorce. Divine services are performed in the native language. Formally, the king is considered the head of the Anglican Church in England, where it is the state, but in fact it is led by the prime minister.
Lutheranism, the first in the time of the emergence of the Reformation (founded in 1517 by Martin Luther), made more changes in its doctrine than Anglicanism. Thus, baptism is recognized by Lutherans, as well as by Catholics, as an indispensable condition for salvation. Lutheran services are accompanied by organ music. The cross is left as a Christian symbol in Lutheranism. But along with these "Catholic" features there are also "purely" Protestant ones. For example, Lutherans rejected the idea of the saving role of the church. Lutheranism unconditionally rejected the "sacred tradition." The election of the clergy has been introduced.
Calvinism, founded in the 30s of the XVI century. Jean Coven (Calvin), went even further away from Catholicism. Baptism is not considered by Calvinists to be a prerequisite for salvation. The cross is not considered an official symbol in Calvinism, and in churches there are not only icons, but also wall paintings. Also, the Calvinists refused to use candles and music during worship. And the divine service itself consists of reading the Bible and singing psalms.
Like most other Protestants, Calvinists do not believe in the church's ability to help the salvation of believers. Unlike Lutherans, who believe that salvation is achieved by personal faith, Calvinists argue that it is not faith that provides salvation, but, on the contrary, salvation (predetermined by God) gives the gift of faith. Calvinism also recognizes only “scripture”. There are three varieties of orthodox Calvinists — Reformers, Presbyterians, Congregationalists — differing from each other only in church order.
Mennonism, emerged in the 30s of the XVI century. named after its leader Menno Simons, is a "peaceful" offshoot of the revolutionary trend of the Reformation - Anabaptism, tk. they recognized all violence as sinful.
Mennonites perform baptism as an adult because believe that creative faith can only be in an adult. Rituals are also performed: communion and mutual washing of the feet. The unusual last rite for Christianity symbolizes the taming of a person's pride. Despite the equality of all baptized members of the community, Mennonites nevertheless admit the existence of the clergy.
Mennonites are also very characterized by ideas about the messiah (second coming) and about the future kingdom of God on earth. The doctrine of predestination is not recognized in Mennonism. Man, in their opinion, has free will.
Unitarianism, which also arose in the 16th century, rejects the dogma of the "divine" trinity (according to which one God appears in three hypostases). The Unitarians also do not accept the provisions on the universal fall, on the divinity of Christ, on his atoning sacrifice. God is viewed by the Unitarians as the world mind. This most sophisticated form of Christianity is sometimes considered to be something between religion and philosophy. The rationalism of the Unitarians still continues to irritate the supporters of Christian directions (the Unitarian Miguel Servetus was burned by Calvin at the stake for doubting the existence of the “divine” trinity).
Old Catholics are often considered Protestants. In their creed, they are very close to the Aglicans, with whom they maintain close ties.
The Methodism grouping, separated from the Church of England. The name comes from the fact that its supporters demanded a methodical adherence to the norms of Christian morality. The doctrine is also close to the Anglicans.
The Salvation Army, founded by W. Boots, is closely related to Methodism. Her creed is practically no different from the Methodist. The Salvation Army is organized in a military fashion. The members of this organization are widely practicing street preaching.
The Moravian Brothers - a sect of the pre-Reformation period (XV century) originated in the Czech Republic as a revolutionary movement. Persecution forced the brothers to move to Saxony. The German Count Zinzendorf, who allowed them to settle on their lands, forced the sectarians to accept the foundations of Lutheranism. In view of this, the doctrine of the Moravian brothers is now virtually identical to the Lutheran.
Even earlier, the Waldensian sect arose (XII century France) and it was named after its founder Pierre Wald. Just like the Moravian brothers, she was severely persecuted. The sect proclaimed a return to early Christianity. The Waldensians rejected the veneration of saints, icons, and abandoned the belief in purgatory.
An influential group in Protestanism is Baptism, founded in the 17th century. John Smith. The rite of baptism, like that of the Waldensians and many other sects, is performed in adulthood. Baptists have no clergy; they only gather for common prayer in houses of worship. Every Baptist considers it his duty to convert new people to his faith. There is a worldwide Baptist Alliance.
Reminiscent of the Baptist Quaker sect (the official name of the sect is "friends"), created in the 17th century. John Fox. Quakers abandoned not only the sacraments, but also the rituals. The clergy are not recognized. There are no houses of prayer, and prayers are performed in empty rooms. Quakers condemn all violence and are pacifists. But they come out only with verbal condemnation of wars. Two American denominations are also close to Baptism: the disciples of Christ and the Church of Christ. They are also baptized after adulthood. Do not accept the doctrine of predestination. Nor do they believe in original sin. These two organizations differ very little from each other.
From the Baptist milieu at the beginning of the 20th century, such sects as Pentecostals and fectionists (very similar to each other) emerged. And in the XIX century. V. Miller founded the sect of Adventists (from the Latin word - adventus - "coming", because they believe in the imminent coming of Christ). In turn, a branch of Adventism is the sect - Jehovah's Witnesses (founded in the 19th century by Charles Russell). Jehovah's Witnesses deny the "divine" trinity. And Christ, in their opinion, is only the best creation of Jehovah. This sect is characterized by the idea of Armageddon (i.e. the war between Christ and Satan). Strict discipline and conspiracy are maintained in Jehovah's communities. The Jehovah's Witnesses sect is dangerous to society, because calls all states the work of Satan, and encourages followers to resist authority.
In the 1970s, the Christian Science sect was founded. This sect denies medicine, because matter, in their opinion, does not really exist.
There is also a sect "Mormons", based on the book of the last commandments of Christ, allegedly written by the prophet Mormon (the Bible does not know such a prophet).
Nestorianism is an independent church, like the Monophysism described below. The Nestorians do not consider Jesus Christ as God, but only as a person in whom God has possessed. On other issues, Nestorianism takes positions close to Orthodoxy.
Monophysism differs from other branches of Christianity also in its interpretation of the question of the nature of Jesus Christ. Most Christians See in Christ dual nature(God and man), and monophysists recognize only one nature of Jesus Christ (God). On other issues, it is even closer to Orthodoxy than the Nestorians.
WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY.
So what is Christianity? In short, it is a religion based on the belief that God came into the world two thousand years ago. He was born, received the name Jesus, lived in Judea, preached, suffered and died on the cross as a man. His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead changed the fate of all mankind. His preaching marked the beginning of a new, European civilization. For Christians, the main miracle was not the word of Jesus, but He Himself. The main business of Jesus was His being: being with people, being on the cross.
Christians believe that the world was created by one eternal God, and created without evil. A man, endowed with free will by the plan of God, still in paradise fell under the temptation of Satan - one of the angels who rebelled against God's will - and committed an offense that fatally affected further destiny humanity. Man violated God's prohibition, he desired to become "like God" himself. This changed his very nature: having lost his good, immortal essence, man became accessible to suffering, illness and death, and in this Christians see the consequence of original sin, passed down from generation to generation.
The man was expelled from paradise with the parting words: "In the sweat of your brow you will eat bread ...". The offspring of the first people - Adam and Eve - inhabited the earth, but from the first days of history there was a gap between God and man. To return man to the true path, God revealed Himself to the people chosen by Him - the Jews. God more than once revealed himself to the prophets, made "covenants" (that is, alliances) with "His" people, gave him the Law, which contained the rules of a righteous life.
Holy Bible Jews are imbued with the expectation of the Messiah - the one who can deliver the world from evil, and people - from slavery to sin. For this, God sent His Son into the world, who, through suffering and death on the cross, atoned for the original sin of all mankind - past and future. The resurrection of Christ marks for Christians the victory over death and the newfound possibility of eternal life with God. “God became human, so that man might be deified,” said St. Athanasius the Great.
From that time on, the history of the New Testament with God began for Christians. This is the Testament of Love. His the most important difference from the Old (ie, the old, former) Testament consists in the very understanding of God, Who, in the words of the Apostle, “is Love”. Throughout the Old Testament, the basis of the relationship between God and man is the law. Christ says: "I give you a new commandment: love one another, as I have loved you"; He Himself was an example of perfect love.
Christianity, like no other religion, is founded on mystery. The mind does not contain the idea of one God, existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Mysterious manifestation divine love sending the Son of God to death. The secret is the union ("unmerged and indivisible") of the divine and human nature in Christ, the birth of the Son of God from the Virgin. The possibility of a resurrection after death is incomprehensible to the rational mind and the fact that the death of one person (and at the same time God) saves all of humanity from death. Inexplicably from the point of view of everyday logic, one of the main mysteries of Christianity is the sacrament based on the Eucharist (the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ), and the communion of believers through the eating of these divine gifts to God.
These mysteries can be comprehended only by believing, and faith, according to the definition of the Apostle Paul, “is the fulfillment of the expected and the confidence in the invisible” (Heb. 11.1). The Lord enlightens the mind of man and transforms his entire being, giving him the opportunity to directly see the spiritual reality, understanding and fulfilling the will of God. This experience of the saints and the righteous constitutes the Holy Tradition of Christians. The experience of the prophets of the Jewish people who communicated with God, and the experience of people who knew Christ in His earthly life, constituted the Holy Scriptures of Christians - the Bible (Greek “books”).
The Bible is not a statement of doctrine or the history of mankind; the Bible is a story of how God sought man.
Here is an episode from the very beginning of the Bible: after people committed the first sin, they “heard the voice of the Lord God ... and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God between the trees of paradise. And the Lord God called to Adam and said to him: Where are you? " (GEN. 3.8-9).
So, the Bible is God's speech to people, as well as a story about how people listened - or did not listen - to their Creator. This dialogue lasted over a thousand years. The religion of the Old Testament begins from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC (R. X.). Most of the books of the Old Testament were compiled from the 7th to the 3rd century. B.C. X.
By the beginning of the II century. according to R. X. the books of the New Testament were added to the Old Testament. These are the four Gospels (Greek "good news") - descriptions of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, made by his disciples, the apostles, as well as the books of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostles. The New Testament closes with the Revelation of John the Divine, which tells about the end of the world. This book is also often called the Apocalypse (Greek "revelation").
The books of the Old Testament are written in the Hebrew language - Hebrew. The books of the New Testament were mainly created already in Greek (more precisely, in its dialect - Koine).
More than 50 people in different times took part in the writing of the Bible. And yet the Bible turned out to be a single Book, and not just a collection of disparate sermons. Each of the authors testified about their experience of meeting with God, but Christians are firmly convinced that the One with whom they met was always one and the same. “God, who spoke many times and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, in the last days These things spoke to us in the Son ... Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever ”(Heb. 1.1, 13.8).
Another characteristic feature of Christianity as a religion is that it can only exist in the form of the Church. The Church is a community of people who believe in Christ: "... where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matthew 18.20).
However, the word "church" has different meanings. This is a community of believers united by a common place of residence, one clergyman, one temple. Such a community constitutes a parish. Church, especially in Orthodoxy, it is customary to call a temple, which in this case is perceived as the "house of God" - a place for the performance of sacraments, rituals, a place of joint prayer. Finally, the Church can be understood as a form of Christian faith. For two millennia, several different traditions (confessions) have developed and took shape in Christianity, each of which has its own Symbol of Faith (a short formula that has absorbed the main provisions of the doctrine), its own ceremony and ritual.
Therefore, we can talk about the Orthodox Church (Byzantine tradition), the Catholic Church (Roman tradition) and the Protestant Church (the tradition of the Reformation of the 16th century). In addition, there is the concept of the Earthly Church, which unites all believers in Christ, and the concept of the Heavenly Church - the ideal divine order of the world. There is another interpretation: the Heavenly Church is made up of saints and righteous people who have completed their earthly path; where the earthly Church follows the commandments of Christ, she constitutes unity with the heavenly.
Christianity >> 1.
After the feast of the Confidence of Thomas, where we saw the closest disciples of Christ gathered together and - after the new appearance of the Teacher - united by faith in His rising from the dead, the Church pays tribute to those who were much less noticeable. These are the secret followers of Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus, as well as women, now known to us under the name of the myrrh-bearers.
Let's go back to the events of the Passion of the Lord. On that day, only one of the Twelve stood at the cross of his Master; the other, on the contrary, denied Him, the third - and completely became a traitor. The rest fled. But not so did the myrrh-bearers and Joseph and Nicodemus.
Were they afraid? Men - no doubt. But Joseph overcomes his fear, goes to Pilate, asks for the body of the executed criminal. Nicodemus joins him, and they remove the body of the Teacher from the cross.
Were the myrrh-bearers afraid? We do not know for sure, but I think - no, we were not afraid. The worst thing in their lives had already happened - and it didn't matter what happened next. "Further", applied to those days, is a meaningless word. The sun went down - darkness fell.
But Christ's disciples, contrary to seemingly common sense, strive to properly prepare last way The one they loved. All these incense will not help the dead - but they do not reason, but follow the dictates of the heart.
On that day, they did not have time to do everything that was supposed to be done according to the Jewish custom - and now, as soon as the Sabbath day ends, they again hurry to the tomb. And - they receive a reward: they are the risen Christ.
It is difficult for us to imagine their joy and exultation - for this we need to experience what they experienced. However, it is worth at least mentally realizing: their feat (which they themselves would never have called such a word) and the reward received for it (which none of them considered themselves worthy) - all this would be impossible and unnecessary, if not for one thing: their love for Christ.
It would seem that all this is obvious and there is no need to talk about the same thing for the hundred and first time. But the Gospel is a book for all time, and it was given to us not only so that we know historical facts, but also so that we can try on what we read about.
What are we believers and church people like? Yes, everything seems to be good with us. We go to church, pray, fast, confess, take communion, take our children to Sunday school, sometimes even read the Gospel - everything is fine. We try to convert unbelieving relatives - and sometimes we succeed. We go on pilgrimages to holy places, and at a terrible hour we are ready to stand up to defend our shrines. We know that without God it is not up to the door, and therefore we strive to sanctify our whole life, we do not miss an opportunity to fall to the source of grace.
So, everything is fine with us: we go to the temple and pray to God. But wait a minute. After all, this was the case ten, and twenty, and twenty-five centuries ago. Pious Jews also went to the temple and prayed to God. They read the Scripture too,
they also made pilgrimages.
Moreover: after all, today's Jews, Muslims, and pagans also pray - and, perhaps, according to their faith, they receive what they ask for.
How are we different from them? By the fact that we are Orthodox? By the fact that “we rightly praise God” - and therefore we have the hope of salvation, and all the rest will burn in hell? If so, then, according to the words of the apostle Paul, we are the most unfortunate people on earth.
For Christ came in vain, died and rose again: nothing has changed in our life. We still love those who love us, we still pray to "our" God, we are still confident in God's chosen people.
Are we Orthodox? OK! We will continue to satisfy our religious needs, we will attack with righteous anger those who question this right of us. We will dream of Holy Russia, which in itself, thanks to mysterious genetic processes, guarantees us our Orthodoxy and rootedness in tradition. Good luck.
But something does not add up here. And the point is not even in theology, but in simple school grammar. If "Orthodox" is an adjective, then where is the noun? A bakery is a shop, a vegetable shop is a shop, a second is a dish. And the Orthodox?
Yes, there is such a word: Christian. For some of us, this word is almost a curse: we are Orthodox, and Christians are heretics: Catholics and Protestants.
But - there is no escape: if the Orthodox, then the Christian. And this word, which we do not love so much, is derived from another word that we mumble with ease during prayer - but it should be more precious to us than all others. - Christ!
Yes, it is Christ - God made man. It was He who cruelly denounced the Pharisees - the zealots of traditions, keepers of the traditions of the elders, "nationalists in the good sense of the word." It was He who proclaimed the principle: the Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. It was He who did not favor those who build the tombs of the prophets. It was He who commanded His disciples to love their enemies. It was He, crucified on the cross, beaten and bloody, showered with ridicule and mockery, praying for His executioners and judges to the Father: "Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing!"
And all this makes us very uncomfortable. Quite simply, uncomfortable. This Man is breaking our whole life - so cozy, so well-organized, so splendid. Why did He come? Why all this suffering? Why such outrageous submission? What is all this Tolstoyance for? After all, he himself said: My Father can even now provide me with more than twelve legions of angels! And he didn’t use it! And - unreasonable, irresponsible, non-pedagogical! - allowed to commit a terrible sin and blasphemy, which did not exist and, fortunately, will no longer be in world history: deicide!
(However, Dostoevsky is absolutely right: at any moment in human history, Christ is doomed to death. And if He came in our time, He would have been crucified with the same inevitability as two thousand years ago. Because, as the then high priest justly noted, “ it is better for one person to die than for the whole people to perish. ")
So this Man - that was His decision - died. However, having died, He was resurrected. And having resurrected, He completely politically incorrectly stepped on death, threw down the devil, devastated hell - in short, deprived all our enemies of the power. There are no more barriers between man and God - except for our own passions and sins, and even those Christ nailed to the Cross. And we are called to respond to the sacrificial love of Christ - to respond with love to Him and, no less important, love to those other - friends and enemies, believers and unbelievers - for whom He also died.
We know all this (at least in theory). And none of this knew (and if they did, they could not contain) those who stood at the Cross, compassionate with the suffering Teacher, those who removed His body from the Cross, those who buried Him. But they did not need to know anything: knowledge was replaced by love. And it was not love for tradition, not for religion, not for national shrines, not for an abstract almighty God - they loved the mocked and murdered Jesus of Nazareth, in whom the Son of God received his sight.
And to their love, to their loyalty, they received an answer that surpasses all understanding:
CHRIST IS RISEN!
To comply with ethical and moral standards in society, as well as to regulate relations between as an individual and the state or the highest form spirituality (Cosmic mind, God) the world religions were created. Over time, there have been schisms within every major religion. As a result of this split, Orthodoxy was formed.
Orthodoxy and Christianity
Many make the mistake of thinking that all Christians are Orthodox. Christianity and Orthodoxy are not the same thing. How do you differentiate between the two? What is their essence? Now let's try to figure it out.
Christianity is one that originated in the 1st century. BC NS. waiting for the coming of the Savior. Her formation was influenced by philosophical teachings of that time, Judaism (one God replaced polytheism) and endless military-political skirmishes.
Orthodoxy is just one of the branches of Christianity that originated in the 1st millennium AD. in the eastern Roman Empire and received its official status after the split of the common Christian church in 1054.
History of Christianity and Orthodoxy
The history of Orthodoxy (orthodoxy) began as early as the 1st century A.D. This was the so-called apostolic doctrine. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the faithful apostles began to preach the teachings to the masses, attracting new believers into their ranks.
In the II-III centuries, orthodoxy was engaged in an active confrontation between Gnosticism and Arianism. The first rejected the scriptures Old Testament and interpreted the New Testament in their own way. The latter, under the leadership of Presbyter Arius, did not recognize the consubstantiality of the Son of God (Jesus), considering him to be the mediator between God and people.
Seven Ecumenical Councils, convened with the support of the Byzantine emperors from 325 to 879, helped to remove the contradictions between the rapidly developing heretical teachings and Christianity. The axioms established by the Councils regarding the nature of Christ and the Mother of God, as well as the approval of the Symbol of Faith, helped to form a new trend in the most powerful Christian religion.
Not only heretical concepts contributed to the development of Orthodoxy. on the West and East influenced the formation of new directions in Christianity. The different political and social views of the two empires gave rise to a crack in a single common Christian church. Gradually, it began to disintegrate into Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic (later Orthodox). The final split between Orthodoxy and Catholicism occurred in 1054, when the Pope also excommunicated each other (anathema). The division of the common Christian church was completed in 1204, together with the fall of Constantinople.
The Russian land adopted Christianity in 988. Officially, there was still no division into the Roman one, but due to the political and economic interests of Prince Vladimir, the Byzantine direction - Orthodoxy - was spread on the territory of Russia.
The essence and foundations of Orthodoxy
The foundation of any religion is faith. Without it, the existence and development of divine teachings is impossible.
The essence of Orthodoxy is contained in the Symbol of Faith, adopted at the second Ecumenical Council. On the fourth, the Nicene Creed (12 dogmas) was approved as an axiom, not subject to any change.
The Orthodox believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Holy Trinity). is the creator of everything earthly and heavenly. The Son of God, incarnate from the Virgin Mary, is consubstantial and only begotten in relation to the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father through the Son and is revered no less than the Father and the Son. The Creed tells of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, pointing to eternal life after death.
All Orthodox Christians belong to one church. Baptism is an obligatory ritual. When you commit it, you are freed from original sin.
It is obligatory to observe the moral standards (commandments), which were transmitted by God through Moses and voiced by Jesus Christ. All "rules of conduct" are based on help, compassion, love and patience. Orthodoxy teaches to endure any hardships of life without complaint, to accept them as the love of God and tests for sins, in order to then go to heaven.
Orthodoxy and Catholicism (main differences)
Catholicism and Orthodoxy have a number of differences. Catholicism is a branch of Christian doctrine that arose, like Orthodoxy, in the 1st century. AD in the western Roman Empire. And Orthodoxy is in Christianity, which originated in the Eastern Roman Empire. Below is a comparative table:
Orthodoxy | Catholicism |
|
Relations with the authorities | The Orthodox Church, for two millennia, was in cooperation with the secular authorities, then in its submission, then in exile. | Endowing the Pope with both secular and religious authority. |
the Virgin Mary | The Mother of God is considered the bearer of original sin, because her nature is human. | The dogma of the integrity of the Virgin Mary (there is no original sin). |
Holy Spirit | The Holy Spirit goes from the Father through the Son | The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Son and the Father |
Relationship to a sinful soul after death | The soul makes "ordeals". Earthly life defines eternal life. | The existence of the Last Judgment and Purgatory, where the soul is purified. |
Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition | Holy Scripture is part of Holy Tradition | Equivalent. |
Baptism | Triple immersion (or pouring) into water with communion and chrismation. | Sprinkling and pouring. All ordinances after 7 years. |
6-8 final cross with the image of God the winner, legs nailed with two nails. | 4-point cross with God-martyr, legs nailed with one nail. |
|
United believers | All brothers. | Each person is unique. |
Relation to rituals and sacraments | The Lord does it through the priests. | Performed by a priest endowed with divine power. |
Nowadays, the question of reconciliation between the churches very often arises. But due to significant and minor differences (for example, Catholics and Orthodox Christians cannot agree on the use of yeast or yeast-free bread in the sacraments), reconciliation is constantly delayed. Reunification in the near future is out of the question.
The attitude of Orthodoxy to other religions
Orthodoxy is a trend that, having stood out from general Christianity as an independent religion, does not recognize other teachings, considering them false (heretical). There can be only one truly faithful religion.
Orthodoxy is a trend in religion that does not lose popularity, but, on the contrary, is gaining. And yet in modern world quietly coexists in the neighborhood with other religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Shinto and others.
Orthodoxy and modernity
Our time has given freedom and support to the church. Over the past 20 years, the number of believers, as well as those who consider themselves to be Orthodox, has increased. At the same time, the moral spirituality that this religion implies, on the contrary, has fallen. A huge number of people perform rituals and attend church mechanically, that is, without faith.
The number of churches and parish schools attended by believers has increased. An increase in external factors only partially affects internal state person.
The Metropolitan and other clergymen hope that, nevertheless, those who have consciously adopted Orthodox Christianity will be able to spiritually succeed.
Orthodoxy is not Christianity. How historical myths appeared
The Greek Catholic Orthodox (Right Faithful) Church (now the ROC) began to be called Pravoslavnaya only from September 8, 1943 (approved by Stalin's decree in 1945). What then was called Orthodoxy for several millennia?
“In our time, in modern Russian vernacular in the official, scientific and religious designation, the term“ Orthodoxy ”is applied to anything related to the ethnocultural tradition and it is necessarily associated with the Russian Orthodox Church and Christian religion (Judeo-Christian religion - ed.).
To a simple question: "What is Orthodoxy" any modern man without hesitation, will answer that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith that has been accepted Kievan Rus during the reign of Prince Vladimir, the Red Sun from the Byzantine Empire in 988 AD. And that Orthodoxy, i.e. the Christian faith has existed on Russian soil for over a thousand years. Scientists from historical science and Christian theologians in confirmation of their words, they declare that the most early use the words Orthodoxy on the territory of Russia is recorded in the "Word of Law and Grace" 1037 - 1050-ies of Metropolitan Hilarion.
But was it really so?
We advise you to carefully read the preamble to federal law on freedom of conscience and on religious associations, adopted on September 26, 1997. Note the following points in the preamble: “Recognizing the special role of orthodoxy in Russia ... and further respecting Christianity , Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions ... "
Thus, the concepts of Orthodoxy and Christianity are not identical and carry in themselves completely different concepts and meanings.
PravoSlavie. How historical myths appeared
It is worth pondering who participated in the seven councils of the Christian ( Judeo-Christian - ed.) churches? Orthodox holy fathers or still the Orthodox holy fathers, as indicated in the original Word of Law and Grace? Who and when made the decision to substitute one concept for another? And has there ever been a mention of Orthodoxy in the past?
The answer to this question was given by the Byzantine monk Belisarius 532 AD. Long before the baptism of Rus, this is what he wrote in his Chronicles about the Slavs and their rite of visiting the bath: “Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns are wild people, and their life is wild and ungodly, men and girls are locked together in a hot, flooded hut and exhausting their bodies…. "
We will not pay attention to the fact that for the monk Belisarius the usual visit of the Slavs to the baths seemed like something wild and incomprehensible, this is quite natural. Another thing is important for us. Pay attention to how he called the Slavs: Orthodox Slovenes and Rusyns.
For this one phrase alone, we must express our gratitude to him. Since with this phrase the Byzantine monk Belisarius confirms that the Slavs were Orthodox for many hundreds ( thousands - ed.) years before their conversion to Christianity ( Judeo-Christian - ed.) faith.
The Slavs were called Orthodox, for they RIGHT praised.
What is "RIGHT"?
Our ancestors believed that reality, space, is divided into three levels. And it is also very similar to the Indian separation system: Upper world, Middle world and Lower world.
In Russia, these three levels were called as follows:
> The highest level is the level of Government orRule.
> The second, middle level, isReality.
> And lower level- this isNav... Nav or Not-Reality, unmanifest.
> World RuleIs a world where everything is right orideal upper world.This is a world where ideal beings with higher consciousness live.
> Reality- this is ours, the manifest, obvious world, the world of people.
> And the world Navi or Not-Reveal, unmanifest, it is a negative, unmanifest or inferior, or posthumous world.
The Indian Vedas also speaks of the existence of three worlds:
> The Upper World is a world dominated by energy goodness.
> The middle world is embraced passion.
> The lower world is immersed in ignorance.
Christians do not have such a division. The Bible is silent about this.
Such a similar understanding of the world gives a similar motivation in life, i.e. it is necessary to strive for the world of Rule or Goodness. And in order to get into the world of Pravi, you need to do everything right, i.e. according to the law of God.
From the root "right" come such words as "truth". Truth- what gives the right. "Yes" is "to give", and "rule" is "higher." So, "truth" is what gives right. Control. Correction. Government. Right. Not right. Those. the roots of all these words are this "right". "Right" or "right", i.e. higher beginning. Those. the point is that the basis of the present government should be based on the concept of rule or higher reality. And real government should spiritually uplift those who follow the ruler who leads his charges on the path of rule.
> Details in the article:Philosophical and cultural similarities between Ancient Russia and Ancient India " .
Substitution of the name "Orthodoxy" not "Orthodoxy"
The question is, who and when on Russian soil decided to substitute the terms Orthodoxy for Orthodoxy?
This happened in the 17th century, when the Moscow Patriarch Nikon instituted a church reform. The main goal of this reform of Nikon was not to change the rituals of the Christian church, as it is interpreted now, where it all comes down to supposedly replacing the two-fingered sign of the cross for three-fingered and walking religious procession On the other side. The main goal of the reform was the elimination of dual faith on Russian soil.
In our time, few people know that before the beginning of the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Muscovy, there was a dual faith in the Russian lands. In other words, the common people professed not only orthodoxy, i.e. Christianity of the Greek rite, which came from Byzantium, but also the old pre-Christian faith of their ancestors ORTHODOXY... This was what worried Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his spiritual mentor Christian Patriarch Nikon the most, for Orthodox Old Believers lived by their own foundations and did not recognize any power over themselves.
Patriarch Nikon decided to put an end to the dual faith very in an original way... For this, under the guise of reform in the church, allegedly because of the discrepancy between the Greek and Slavic texts, he ordered to rewrite all liturgical books, replacing the phrases "Christian faithful faith" with " Orthodox faith Christian ". In the Chetiya Menaion that has survived to our times, we can see the old version of the entry “Christian Orthodox Faith”. This was Nikon's very interesting approach to reform.
Firstly, there was no need to rewrite many ancient Slavic books, as they said at that time, or chronicles, which described the victories and achievements of pre-Christian Orthodoxy.
Secondly, life in the times of dual faith and the very original meaning of Orthodoxy were erased from the memory of the people, for after such a church reform, any text from liturgical books or ancient chronicles could be interpreted as the blessed influence of Christianity on the Russian lands. In addition, the patriarch sent to Moscow churches a memo on the use of the three-finger sign of the cross instead of the two-finger sign.
Thus began the reform, as well as the protest against it, which led to church schism... Protest against church reforms Nikon was organized by the former comrades of the patriarch, the protopopes Avvakum Petrov and Ivan Neronov. They pointed out to the patriarch that the actions were unauthorized, and then in 1654 he arranged a Council at which, as a result of pressure on the participants, he sought to hold a book inquiry on ancient Greek and Slavic manuscripts. However, Nikon's alignment was not on the old rituals, but on the modern Greek practice of that time. All the actions of Patriarch Nikon led to the fact that the church split into two warring parts.
The parties to the old traditions accused Nikon of trilingual heresy and indulging in paganism, as Christians called Orthodoxy, that is, the old pre-Christian faith. The split swept across the country. This led to the fact that in 1667 a large Moscow council condemned and deposed Nikon, and anathematized all opponents of the reforms. Since then, the adherents of the new liturgical traditions began to be called Nikonians, and the adherents of the old rituals and traditions began to be called schismatics and persecuted. The confrontation between the Nikonians and the schismatics at times reached armed clashes until the tsarist troops came out on the side of the Nikonians. To avoid large-scale religious war part of the higher clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate condemned some of the provisions of Nikon's reforms.
In liturgical practices and state documents, the term Orthodoxy was again used. For example, let's turn to the spiritual regulations of Peter the Great: "... And like the Christian Sovereign, the guardian of the Orthodoxy and everyone in the Church of Holy piety ..."
As we can see, even in the 18th century, Peter the Great is called the Christian sovereign, Orthodoxy and piety of the guardian. But about Orthodoxy in this document not a word. Nor is it in the editions of the Spiritual Regulations of 1776-1856.
Formation of the Russian Orthodox Church
Based on this, the question arises, when did the term Orthodoxy become officially used by the Christian Church?
The fact is that v Russian Empire did not have Russian Orthodox Church. Christian church existed under a different name - "Russian Greek Catholic Church". Or as it was also called the "Russian Orthodox Church of the Greek Rite."
Christian church called The Russian Orthodox Church appeared during the reign of the Bolsheviks.
At the beginning of 1945, by order of Joseph Stalin, a local council of the Russian church was held in Moscow under the leadership of officials from the State Security of the USSR, and a new patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was elected.
It should be mentioned that many Christian priests, who did not recognize the power of the Bolsheviks, left Russia and beyond its borders continue to profess the Christianity of the Eastern Rite and call their church nothing else than Russian Ortodox Church or Russian Orthodox Church.
In order to finally move away from well-crafted historical myth and find out what the word Orthodoxy really meant in deep antiquity, let us turn to those people who still keep the old faith of their ancestors.
Having received his education in Soviet time, these pundits either do not know, or carefully try to hide from ordinary people that even in ancient times, long before the birth of Christianity on Slavic lands there was Orthodoxy. It covered not only the basic concept when our wise ancestors praised the Rule. And the deep essence of Orthodoxy was much larger and more voluminous than it seems today.
The figurative meaning of this word also included the concept of when our ancestors Praised... But it was not Roman law and not Greek, but ours, native Slavic.
It included:
> Family Law, based on ancient cultural traditions, horses and foundations of the Family;
> Community law, creating mutual understanding between different Slavic clans living together in one small settlement;
> Digging law that governed the interaction between communities living in large settlements, which were cities;
> A weighty law that determined the relationship between communities living in different cities and settlements within one Vesi, i.e. within the same area of settlement and residence;
> Veche law, which was adopted at a general gathering of all the people and respected by all kinds of the Slavic community.
Any Right from the Gentile to the Veche was arranged on the basis of the ancient Konov, the culture and foundations of the Genus, as well as on the basis of the commandments of the ancients Slavic gods and the instructions of the ancestors. This was our native Slavic Law.
Our wise ancestors commanded to preserve it, and we preserve it. Since ancient times, our ancestors praised the Rule and we continue to praise the Rule, and we keep our Slavic Law and pass it on from generation to generation.
Therefore, we and our ancestors were, are and will be Orthodox.
Spoofing on Wikipedia
Modern interpretation of the term ORTHODOX = Orthodox, appeared on Wikipedia only after this resource was funded by the UK government. In fact, Orthodoxy translates as rightbelief, Orthodox translates as orthodox.
Either, Wikipedia, continuing the idea of "identity" Orthodoxy = Orthodoxy, should call Muslims and Jews Orthodox (for the terms Orthodox Muslim or Orthodox Jew are found in all world literature) or still admit that Orthodoxy = Orthodoxy and does not in any way relate to Orthodoxy, as well as the Christian Church of the Eastern Rite, called the ROC since 1945.
Orthodoxy is not a religion, not Christianity, but faith
Any Indian follower Vedanta knows that his religion, along with the Aryans, came from Russia. And the modern Russian language is their ancient Sanskrit. It just changed in India to Hindi, but in Russia it remained the same. Therefore, Indian Vedism is not fully Russian Vedism.
Russian nicknames for the gods Vyshen (Rod) and Roof (Yar, Christ) became the names of Indian gods Vishnu and Krishna... The encyclopedia is slyly silent about this.
Witchcraft is the everyday understanding of Russian Vedism, which includes the elementary skills of magic and mysticism. "Fighting witches" in Western Europe in the XV-XVI centuries. was a struggle with the Slavs who prayed to the Vedic gods.
The Russian god corresponds to the Christian god-father Genus and not at all Jehovah-Yahweh-Sabaoth, who among the masons is the god of darkness and death of Russia Mary. Myself Jesus Christ is designated as Yar in many Christian icons. and his mother Maria- how Mara.
The word "devil" has the same root as Virgo. This is the prince of darkness, Masonic Hosts of hosts, which is otherwise called Satan... In the Vedic religion, there are also no "slaves of God". And only the desire of the West to belittle Russian Vedism and force the Russians to abandon their gods, in which the Russians believed for hundreds of thousands of years, led to the fact that Russian Christianity became more and more pro-Western, and the followers of Russian Vedism began to be considered "servants of the devil." In other words, in the West they turned all Russian concepts inside out.
After all, the concept "Orthodoxy" originally belonged to Russian Vedism and meant: "Praised to rule".
Therefore, early Christianity began to call itself "True believers", but this term then passed to Islam. As you know, Christianity has the epithet "Orthodox" only in Russian; on the rest, it calls itself "orthodox," that is, precisely "faithful."
In other words, today's Christianity secretly appropriated a Vedic name for itself, which is deeply rooted in the Russian consciousness.
The functions of Veles to a much greater extent than Saint Blasius were inherited by Saint Nicholas of Mirliki, nicknamed Nicholas the Wonderworker. (See the result of a study published in the book: Uspensky B.A.... Philological research in the field of Slavic antiquities .. - Moscow: Moscow State University, 1982 .)
By the way, many of his icons are inscribed in implicit letters: MARY LIK... Hence and original name areas in honor of the face of Mary: Marlician. So in fact this bishop was Nicholas of Marlicia. And his city, which was originally called “ Mary"(That is, the city of Mary), now called Bari... There was a phonetic replacement of sounds.
Bishop Nicholas of Mirliki - Nicholas the Wonderworker
However, now Christians do not remember these details, hushing up the Vedic roots of Christianity. For now Jesus in Christianity is interpreted as the God of Israel, although Judaism does not consider him a god. And that Jesus Christ, as well as his apostles are different faces of Yar, Christianity says nothing, although it is read on many icons. The name of the god Yar is also read on Shroud of Turin .
At one time, Vedism was very calm and brotherly related to Christianity, seeing in it just a local growth of Vedism, for which there is a name: paganism (that is, an ethnic variety), like Greek paganism with another name Yara - Ares, or Roman, with the name Yara - Mars, or with the Egyptian, where the name Yar or Ar was read in reverse side, Ra. In Christianity, Yar became Christ, and Vedic temples made icons and crosses of Christ.
And only over time, under the influence of political, or rather, geopolitical reasons, Christianity was opposed to Vedism, and then Christianity everywhere saw manifestations of "paganism" and waged a struggle with it not to the stomach, but to death. In other words, he betrayed his parents, his heavenly patrons, and began to preach humility and obedience.
> Details in the article:V.A. Chudinov - Proper education .
Cryptography on Russian and modern Christian icons
Thus Christianity within the framework of ALL RUSSIA was adopted not in 988, but in the interval between 1630 and 1635.
The study of Christian icons made it possible to identify sacred texts on them. The explicit inscriptions cannot be attributed to them. But they include one hundred percent implicit inscriptions associated with Russian Vedic gods, temples and priests (mimes).
On the old Christian icons of the Virgin with the baby Jesus there are Russian inscriptions in runes, saying that this is depicted Slavic Goddess Makosh with the baby God Yar. Jesus Christ was also called CHORUS OR MOUNTAINS. Moreover, the name CHOR on the mosaic depicting Christ in the Church of Christ Chora in Istanbul is written as "NHOR", that is, IHOR. The letter I was previously written as N. The name IGOR is almost identical to the name IKHOR OR KHOR, since the sounds X and G could pass into each other. By the way, it is possible that the respectful name HERO came from here, which later entered many languages practically unchanged.
And then it becomes clear the need to disguise Vedic inscriptions: their discovery on icons could entail the accusation of the icon painter of belonging to the Old Believers, and for this, according to Nikon's reform, could be punished by exile or the death penalty.
On the other hand, as is now becoming apparent, the absence of Vedic inscriptions made the icon a non-sacred artifact... In other words, not so much the presence of narrow noses, thin lips and large eyes made the image sacred, and just the connection with the god Yar in the first place and with the goddess Mara in the second, through the reference implicit inscriptions, added magical and wonderful properties to the icon. Therefore, icon painters, if they wanted to make an icon miraculous, and not a simple art product, were OBLIGED to supply any image with the words: LIK OF YAR, MIM YAR AND MAR, TEMPLE MARA, YARA TEMPLE, YARA RUS, etc.
Nowadays, when the persecution on religious charges has stopped, the icon painter no longer risks his life and property by putting implicit inscriptions on modern icon-painting works. Therefore, in a number of cases, namely in cases of mosaic icons, he no longer tries to hide such inscriptions as much as possible, but translates them into the category of semi-obvious ones.
Thus, in the Russian material, the reason was revealed why explicit inscriptions on icons passed into the category of semi-explicit and implicit: the ban on Russian Vedism, which followed from reforms of Patriarch Nikon ... However, this example provides a basis for suggesting the same motives for disguising explicit inscriptions on coins.
In more detail, this idea can be expressed as follows: once the body of a deceased priest (mime) was accompanied by a burial golden mask, on which there were all the corresponding inscriptions, however, made not very large and not very contrasting, so as not to destroy aesthetic perception masks. Later, instead of a mask, they began to use smaller objects - pendants and plaques, which also depicted the face of a deceased mime with corresponding discreet inscriptions. Even later, portraits of mimes migrated to coins. And this kind of image persisted as long as spiritual power was considered the most significant in society.
However, when the power became secular, passing to the military leaders - princes, leaders, kings, emperors, images of representatives of the authorities, not mimes, began to be minted on coins, while images of mimes migrated to icons. At the same time, the secular government, as a coarser one, began to mint its own inscriptions weighty, coarse, visibly, and obvious legends appeared on the coins. With the emergence of Christianity, such explicit inscriptions began to appear on icons, but they were already executed not in the runes of the Family, but in the Old Slavic Cyril script. In the West, the Latin script was used for this.
Thus, in the West there was a similar, but still a slightly different motive, according to which the implicit inscriptions of mimes did not become obvious: on the one hand, the aesthetic tradition, on the other hand, the secularization of power, that is, the transition of the function of managing society from priests to military leaders and officials.
This allows us to consider icons, as well as sacred sculptures of gods and saints as substitutes for those artifacts that previously acted as carriers of sacred properties: golden masks and plaques. On the other hand, icons existed before, but did not affect the sphere of finance, remaining entirely within religion. Therefore, their manufacture experienced a new heyday.
