Tenets. Religious dogmas

Basic provisions christian church- dogmas - defined in the 12 members of the Creed. Among them, the most important dogmas are: the dogma about the essence of God, about the trinity of God, about the incarnation, atonement, ascension, resurrection, etc.

The First Ecumenical Council (Nicaea, 325) was convened to discuss the views of the Alexandrian presbyter (elder) Arius, who taught that God the Son is not consubstantial with God the Father, and to create dogmas (fundamental tenets of doctrine) obligatory for confession by all who consider themselves Christian. The teachings of Arius were condemned, he himself was declared a heretic and excommunicated from the church. The Council dogmatically established that God is the unity of three hypostases (persons), in which the Son, eternally born from the Father, is consubstantial with him.

At the Second Ecumenical Council - Constantinople (Constantinople, 381) - a single “Creed” was compiled - a confession containing all the main dogmas of Christianity and consisting of twelve members (its first five members were approved at the Council of Nicaea, and in The final version of the “Creed” is called Nicene-Constantinopolitan).

The “Creed” reads: “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, of everything visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, light from light. from the true God, the true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things came into being, for the sake of us men, and for the sake of our salvation, who came down from heaven and became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, who suffered, and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the life-giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father, worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke through the prophets. To one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. We confess one baptism for the remission of sins. Tea of the Resurrection of the Dead and the life of the next century. Amen".

The council also condemned numerous heretical teachings that interpreted the Divine essence differently, for example, the Eunomians, who denied the divinity of Christ and considered him only the highest of the beings created by God.

There were seven Ecumenical Councils in total. The Seventh Ecumenical Council (Second Nicaea) took place in 787. At it, decisions were made that were supposed to put an end to iconoclasm, which provoked discord in the church. The enumeration of 12 paragraphs of the “Creed” is the main prayer in Orthodoxy: “I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only Begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages...”

Let's look at the basic creeds mentioned in this prayer. Orthodox Christians believe in God as the creator of the world (the first hypostasis of the Holy Trinity), in the Son of God - Jesus Christ (the second hypostasis of the Holy Trinity), who is incarnate, i.e., while remaining God, at the same time became a man, born of the Virgin Mary. Christians believe that through his suffering and death, Jesus Christ atoned for human sins (primarily Original Sin) and rose again. After the resurrection, Christ ascended to heaven in the unity of body and spirit, and in the future Christians await His second coming, at which He will judge the living and the dead and His Kingdom will be established. Christians also believe in the Holy Spirit (the third hypostasis of the Divine Trinity), which comes from God the Father. The Church in Orthodoxy is considered a mediator between God and man, and therefore has saving power. At the end of time, after the second coming of Christ, believers await the resurrection of all the dead to eternal life.

The Trinity is one of the main tenets of Christianity. The essence of the concept of the Trinity is that God is one in essence, but exists in three forms: God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. The term appeared at the end of the 2nd century AD, the doctrine of the Trinity was developed in the 3rd century AD. and immediately caused a heated, lengthy debate in the Christian church. Disputes about the essence of the Trinity led to many interpretations and served as one of the reasons for the division of churches.

ABC of faith- Fundamentals of the Orthodox faith. Symbols, fundamental concepts, Sacraments, services, all this is shown in detail and clearly commented on in this educational film. "ABC" will be indispensable for those who take their first steps in the temple and are looking for answers to questions: how to light candles, make the sign of the cross, write notes; how the temple is structured and what happens during services and Sacraments. But the film will be no less interesting to those who already live church life. The chapter "Divine Services" examines in detail main service- Liturgy. The filming of the bishop's Liturgy in the altar is unique.
God's law- Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy

Orthodox interpretation of the Bible:

Explanatory Bible or a commentary on all books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments - Alexander Lopukhin
Interpretations of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria on the books of Holy Scripture

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The Church's concern for the purity of Christian teaching - about the essence of Orthodox dogma

From the first days of its existence, the Holy Church of Christ tirelessly took care that its children, its members, stood firmly in pure truth. “There is no greater joy for me than to hear that my children walk in the truth,” writes St. ap. John the Theologian (3 John, v. 4). “I wrote briefly to assure you, consoling and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand,” writes St. ap. Peter (1 Pet. 5:12).

St. ap. Paul tells about himself that he, having been preaching for 14 years, went to Jerusalem, by revelation, with Barnabas and Titus and proposed there, and especially to the most famous, the gospel preached by him, whether he had not labored and labored in vain (Gal. 2: 2). “I command you to keep the commandment purely and blamelessly... Follow the pattern of sound doctrine,” he repeatedly instructs his disciple Timothy (1 Tim. 6:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:13).

The true path of faith, always carefully guarded in the history of the Church, has been called straight, right, Orthodoxy (orthodoxy) from time immemorial. The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to present himself before God as “a workman worthy that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (a straight cutter, 2 Tim. 2:15). Early Christian writing constantly speaks of observing the “rule of faith,” “rule of truth.” The very term “Orthodoxy” was widely used even in the era before the ecumenical councils, in the terminology of the ecumenical councils themselves and among Church Fathers both eastern and western.

Along with the direct, right path of faith, there have always been dissenters (in the words of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer), a world of greater or lesser errors among Christians, and even entire incorrect systems that sought to invade the environment of the Orthodox. The search for truth has caused divisions among Christians.

Getting acquainted with the history of the Church, as well as observing modern times, we see that errors that are hostile to Orthodox truth have appeared and are appearing under the influence of other religions, under the influence of philosophy, due to the weakness and attractions of fallen nature, which seeks rights and justification for these weaknesses and attractions.

Misconceptions take root and become persistent most often because of the pride of people, of those who defend, because of the pride of thought.

In order to protect the right path of faith, the Church had to forge strict forms for expressing the truth of faith, to build a fortress of truth to repel influences alien to the Church. The definitions of truth declared by the Church have been called dogmas since the days of the apostles. In the Acts of the Apostles we read about St. Paul and Timothy: “As they went through the cities, they told the faithful to observe the decrees made by the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem” (Acts 16:4; here we mean the decrees of the Apostolic Council, described in Chapter 15 of the Book of Acts). The ancient Greeks and Romans called “dogma” orders that were subject to strict execution. In the Christian understanding, “dogmas” are the opposite of “opinions”—unstable personal considerations.

Sources of dogmas

What are the dogmas based on? – It is clear that dogmas are based not on the rational considerations of individuals, even if these were the fathers and teachers of the Church, but on the teaching of Holy Scripture and on the Apostolic Holy Tradition. The truths of faith contained in them provide the fullness of the teaching of faith, called by the ancient fathers of the Church the “conciliar faith,” the “catholic teaching” of the Church. The truths of Scripture and Tradition harmoniously merging into one whole define the “conciliar consciousness” of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

Holy Bible

The name Holy Scripture refers to books written by Sts. Prophets and apostles under the influence of the Holy Spirit and therefore called inspired. They are divided into the books of the Old and New Testaments.

The Church recognizes 38 books of the Old Testament; combining some of them into one book, following the example of the Old Testament Church, she reduces their number to 22 books, according to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. These books, which were included in the Jewish canon at one time, are called “canonical.” They are joined by a group of “non-canonical” books, that is, those not included in the Jewish canon, written after the conclusion of the canon of Old Testament holy books. The Church also accepts these latest books as useful and edifying. She appointed them in ancient times for edifying reading not only in homes, but also in churches, which is why they were called “church.” The Church contains them in the same codex of the Bible with the canonical books. Some of them are so close in dignity to the inspired ones that, for example, in Apostolic Canon 85, the three books of Maccabees and the book of Jesus son of Sirach are listed along with the canonical books and it is said about all of them together that they are “honored and holy,” but this only says about the respect of the ancient Church for them, but the difference between them has always been preserved.

New Testament canonical books Holy Bible acknowledges 27. Since the holy books of the New Testament were written in different years apostolic time and were sent by the apostles to different points in Europe and Asia, and some of them did not have a specific destination in one or another geographical point, then collecting them in one code could not be an easy matter, and it was necessary to strictly take care that in their circle There were no so-called apocryphal books, most of which were compiled in heretical circles. Therefore, the fathers and teachers of the Church in the first centuries of Christianity were especially careful when recognizing books, even if they bore the names of the apostles.

Often the Fathers of the Church included some books in their lists with reservations, with doubts, and therefore did not provide a complete list of sacred books. This exemplifies their caution in a holy cause; they did not rely on themselves, but waited for the common voice of the Church. The Carthage Local Council of 318 lists all the books of the New Testament without exception. St. Athanasius the Great without a doubt names all the books of the New Testament and in one of his works ends the list with the following words: “here are the number and name of the canonical books of the New Testament! These are, as it were, the beginnings, anchors and pillars of our faith, because they were written and transmitted by the apostles themselves Christ the Savior, who were with Him and were taught by Him." Also St. Cyril of Jerusalem lists the New Testament books without the slightest remark about any difference between them in the Church. The same complete enumeration is found in Western Church writers, for example. at Augustine's. Thus, by the conciliar voice of the entire Church, the complete canon of New Testament books of Holy Scripture was established.

Sacred Tradition

Sacred Tradition in the original precise sense of the word, there is a tradition coming from the ancient Church of the apostolic times: it was called in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. "Apostolic tradition."

It must be kept in mind that ancient church carefully guarded the inner life of the Church from the uninitiated, its sacred sacraments were secrets protected from non-Christians. When they were performed - at baptism, at the Eucharist - no outsiders were present, their order was not written down, but was transmitted orally; and this secretly preserved contained the essential side of faith. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (4th century) presents this to us especially clearly. Giving lessons to persons who have not yet finally decided to become Christians, the saint prefaces the teachings with the following words: “When the catechumen teaching is pronounced, if the catechumen asks you what the teachers said, then do not retell anything to those standing outside. For this is the mystery and hope of the future age. Observe the secret of the Giver. Yes, someone will tell you something: what harm will it do if I also find out? And the sick ask for wine, but if it is given untimely, it produces bad consequences: the patient dies, and the doctor is slandered." Then he adds: “... we conclude the entire teaching of faith in a few verses, which must be remembered word for word, repeating among each other, not writing it down on paper, but inscribing it in memory in the heart, being careful that none of the catechumens hear what was conveyed to you. .." And in the preconciliatory words he wrote down, to those approaching Baptism and to those present at the same time, he gives the following warning: “This catechumen, offering for reading to those approaching Baptism and the faithful who have already accepted it, do not give it to either the catechumens or others to anyone who has not already become a Christian, otherwise you will give an answer to the Lord. And if you write down this announcement, then add a warning to it."

St. Basil the Great (4th century) gives a clear concept of the Holy Apostolic Tradition in the following words: “Of the dogmas and preachings observed in the Church, we have some in in writing, and some received from the apostolic tradition, by succession in secret. Both have the same power for piety, and no one, even those who have little knowledge of church institutions, will contradict this. For if we dare to reject unwritten customs as unimportant, then we will certainly damage the Gospel in the most important way, and we will leave the apostolic preaching as an empty name without content. For example, let us first mention the first and most general thing: so that those who trust in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be overshadowed by the image of the cross, who taught the Scriptures? Or what Scripture taught us to turn to the East in prayer? Which saint left us the words of invocation in the breaking of the bread of the Eucharist and the Cup of Blessing in writing? For we are not content with those words that the Apostle and the Gospel mention, but before and after them we pronounce others, as having great power for the sacrament, having received them from the unwritten teaching. According to what Scripture do we bless the water of baptism, the anointing oil, and the person being baptized? Is it not according to an unspoken secret legend? What else? The very anointing with oil, which written word taught us? Where does the threefold immersion of a person and other things related to baptism come from, denying Satan and his angels, from what Scripture is it taken? Is it not from this unpromulgated and ineffable teaching, which our Fathers preserved in a silence inaccessible to curiosity and prying out, that they were thoroughly taught to guard the sanctity of the sacraments by silence? For what decency would it be to proclaim in writing the teaching of something that it is not permissible for those who have not been baptized to look upon?”

From these words of Basil the Great we conclude: firstly, that the Holy Doctrinal Tradition is something that can be traced back to the beginning of the Church, and secondly, that it is carefully preserved and unanimously recognized by the fathers and teachers of the Church, in the era of the great Fathers of the Church and the beginning of the Ecumenical Councils.

Although St. Vasily gives here a number of examples of oral Tradition, but here he himself takes a step towards recording this oral word. By the era of freedom and triumph of the Church in the 4th century, the entire tradition received a written record and is now preserved in the monuments of the Church, constituting an addition to the Holy Scriptures.

We find the sacred ancient Tradition: in the oldest monument Church - "Rules of the Holy Apostles;" in the creeds of the ancients local churches; in ancient Liturgies; in the most ancient acts concerning Christian martyrs. These acts of martyrdom did not come into use by believers until after their preliminary consideration and approval by the local bishop, and were read at public meetings of Christians, also under the supervision of the heads of churches. We see confession in them Holy Trinity, the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, examples of the calling of saints and faith in the conscious life of those reposed in Christ, etc.; in the ancient records of the history of the Church, especially in the history of Eusebius Pamphilus, where many ancient ritual and dogmatic traditions are collected, for example, about the canon of sacred books of the Old and New Testaments; in the works of the ancient fathers and teachers of the Church.

The Apostolic Tradition preserved and protected by the Church, by the very fact that it is preserved by the Church, becomes the Tradition of the Church itself, it belongs to it, is testified by it and, in parallel to the Holy Scripture, is called by it “Holy Tradition.”

The testimony of Holy Tradition is necessary to be sure that all the books of Holy Scripture have been handed down to us from apostolic times and come from the apostles. It is needed:

1. for the correct understanding of certain passages of Holy Scripture and for opposition to heretical reinterpretations of it;

2. to establish dogmas Christian faith due to the fact that some truths of faith are expressed quite definitely in Scripture, while others are not entirely clear and precise and therefore require confirmation by the Holy Apostolic Tradition.

3. In addition to all this, Holy Tradition is valuable because from it we see how the entire structure of the church system, canons of worship and rituals is rooted and based in the structure of life of the ancient Church.

Conciliar consciousness of the Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church of Christ is the body of Christ, a spiritual organism whose Head is Christ. It has one spirit, one common faith, one and general, conciliar, catholic consciousness, guided by the Holy Spirit, but affirmed in its judgments on specific, definite foundations of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Apostolic Tradition. This catholic consciousness is always inherent in the Church, but it is expressed in a more definite way at the ecumenical councils of the Church. From deep Christian antiquity, local councils of individual Orthodox churches were convened twice a year, according to the 37th canon of St. Apostles. Also, many times in the history of the Church there have been councils of regional bishops, broader in scope than individual churches, and, finally, councils of bishops of the entire Orthodox Church, East and West. The Church recognizes seven such councils – Ecumenical Councils.

The Ecumenical Councils precisely formulated and approved a number of fundamental truths of the Christian Orthodox faith, protecting the ancient teachings of the Church from the distortions of heretics. The Ecumenical Councils also formulated and obligated for universal uniform execution numerous laws and rules of general church and private Christian life, called church canons. Ecumenical councils finally approved the dogmatic definitions of a number of local councils, as well as dogmatic expositions compiled by some Church Fathers (for example, the confession of faith of St. Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea, the rule of St. Basil the Great, etc.).

It must be remembered that the councils of the Church made their dogmatic definitions after a careful, exhaustive and complete consideration of all places of Holy Scripture relating to the question posed, testifying at the same time that the universal Church understood the given instructions of Holy Scripture in this way. Thus, the creeds of the councils express the harmony of Holy Scripture and the conciliar Tradition of the Church. For this reason, these definitions themselves became, in turn, a genuine, inviolable, authoritative basis on the data of Holy Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition, the universal and Sacred Tradition of the Church.

Of course, many truths of faith are so clear directly from Holy Scripture that they have not been subject to heretical reinterpretations and there are no special definitions of councils about them. Other truths were established by councils.

Among the dogmatic conciliar definitions, the ecumenical councils themselves recognize the Nicene-Ceregrad Council as paramount and fundamental. symbol of faith, forbidding anything to be changed in him, not only in his thoughts, but also in his words, to either add or subtract (decree of the 3rd Ecumenical Council, repeated by the 4th, 6th, and 7th Councils).

Definitions of faith of a number of local councils, as well as some statements of the faith of St. The Fathers of the Church, recognized as guiding for the entire Church, are listed in the second rule of the sixth ecumenical (Trula) Council. They are given in the "Book of Rules of the Holy Apostle, Holy Ecumenical and Local Councils and the Holy Father."

Dogma and canon

In church terminology, it is customary to call dogmas the truths of Christian teaching, the truths of faith, and canons - prescriptions relating to the church system, church administration, the duties of the church hierarchy, clergy and the duties of every Christian, arising from the moral foundations of the Gospel and Apostolic teachings. Canon is a Greek word with a literal meaning: a straight pole, a measure of exact direction.

Mikhail Pomazansky, protopresbyter

Dogmatic theology. – Wedge:

Christian Life Foundation, 2001

Before we begin this complex but quite interesting topic, let’s first understand what dogma is. This word s means “decision,” “opinion,” or “ruling.” Basically, the term “dogma” is predominantly used in Christianity, it means something unchangeable and indisputable, defined and approved by the Church and not subject to any criticism or doubt. Dogma refers to theological, revealed truth, which contains the doctrine of God and His economy.

What is dogma

Christian dogmas are considered and established at (meetings of the highest clergy), of which there have been only seven in more than two thousand years. Conscious departure, a different interpretation or rejection of dogmas is called heresy, which often became the cause of religious conflicts. Dogmatic teachings include such disciplines as the Law of God and the Catechism. They contain basic religious tenets, which we will talk about a little later.

Dogmas were established back in apostolic times; Christ revealed to people all the necessary creeds for the salvation of a person’s soul. Dogmas cannot arise suddenly and be innovations. Divine teaching is not so theoretical as it is practical, and therefore incomprehensible to a mind that has not been cleansed of sinful passions.

Tenets of Christianity

As mentioned above, the dogmatic basis of Christianity was formed in the era of the Ecumenical Councils as a response to the spread various kinds heretical movements, especially in the 3rd-4th centuries. Each established dogma put a barrier, cut off false understandings and directions of heretical teachings.

Continuing the topic “What is dogma?”, it should be noted that the essence of all divine teachings was already contained in the Holy Scriptures, and at first there was no need to elevate them into the framework of a dogmatic system. But then the human mind nevertheless showed a need for a clear and logical interpretation of a teaching that was still dogmatically unformed and in some places difficult to perceive. In the first centuries this led to the creation of philosophical and theological schools.

The emergence of schools and books

Two of them mainly stood out: Alexandria and Antioch. It was in them that the first heresies began to arise. To detect and then eradicate, Ecumenical Councils began to be convened, at which heretical statements were exposed and doctrinal truths were established Christian Revelation in the form of brief definitions.

Time passed, and already in the 4th century St. Cyril of Jerusalem created the “Catechetical Teaching”, where he revealed the true meaning of the Creed and the main sacraments of the Christian Church.

Literally some time later the “Great Catechetical Word” of St. Gregory of Nyssa, which outlined the important experience of his dogmatic research.

By the 5th century, bishop and theologian Theodoret of Cyrus compiled a textbook, Abridgement of Divine Dogmas. Around the same time, in the West he wrote a book, “Manual for Lavretius,” which is very reminiscent of the Catechism.

Experience

However, one of best works The first millennium is considered to be the treatise “The Source of Knowledge” by John of Damascus, especially the third part of this textbook entitled “An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.”

In the 4th century, the Eastern Fathers of the Church began to call dogmas not all the truths contained in Revelation, but only those that relate to the realm of faith. Thus, St. Gregory of Nyssa divided his own theological teaching into precise dogmas and a moral part. However, the Gospel is not a collection of moralistic precepts. Even the highest morality does not give strength to fulfill its instructions. Only with the assistance of God’s grace can a person become truly spiritually and morally better and begin to do good. “Without Me you can do nothing,” said Christ.

Dogmas of the Orthodox Christian faith

The main dogma of Orthodoxy comes down to the veneration of the One Trinity: - Mind, God the Son - Word and God the Holy Spirit - Spirit. And Twos: Jesus Christ-God and man. This is taught by the basic religious dogmas for which it is a law that is not subject to any doubt. There are twelve of them in total.

Dogmas of the religion of Orthodox Christianity:

About the Holy Trinity.
About the Fall.
About the Redemption of mankind from sin.
About the Incarnation of Christ.
About the Resurrection of Christ.
About the Ascension of Christ.
About the Second Coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment.
About unity, conciliarity and continuity of teaching and priesthood in it.
About the general resurrection of people and the future life.
About the two natures of Christ.
About two wills and actions in Christ.
About icon veneration.

Conclusion

The simplest manifestation of faith is prayer, and even the shortest and simplest prayer presupposes dogmatic content. Deep and heartfelt trust in the Lord is protected by dogmas, just as wine is protected by the walls of a cup. And if you think that the cup is not yet wine and its walls are something superfluous, then you can immediately be left without wine.

Perhaps now there will be no difficulty in the question of what dogma is. However, the main thing is to understand that the Lord demands from every person: “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.” Where “deny yourself” means “deny your sinfulness and your Self.” A person can achieve this if, in the name of Christ, he begins to crucify sin in himself and around himself, and dies to sin and death in order to come to life for his sinless Savior and enter His Heavenly Kingdom.

Tenets- the indisputable truths of Christianity, given through, stored and interpreted, universally binding for all Christians (some dogmas were formulated and revealed on).

The properties of dogmas are:
- creed,
- divine revelation,
– ,
- universally binding.

Dogmas defined by the Ecumenical Councils:
– Dogmas briefly set out in the document adopted by the 318 holy fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (Nicaea) and the 150 holy fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council (Constantinople).
– Dogma of the 630 Holy Fathers of the IV Ecumenical Council (Chalcedon). About two natures in the one Person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
– Dogma of the 170 Holy Fathers of the VI Ecumenical Council (Constantinople). About two wills and actions in our Lord Jesus Christ.
– Dogma 367 of the Holy Fathers of the VII Ecumenical Council (Nicaea). About icon veneration.

Among the dogmas that were not discussed at the Ecumenical Councils, one can name: the dogma of, the dogma of the resurrection, the dogma of atonement, the dogma of the Church, the dogma of the ever-virginity of the Mother of God, etc.

Dogmas are the doctrinal definition of the Orthodox Church, introducing the human mind into the knowledge of God. “All dogmas either speak about God, or about visible and invisible creations, or about the providence and judgment revealed in them,” points out St. . Dogma is God-revealed truth that surpasses reason, which, according to the word of St. , unexplored depth. Being the result of Divine Revelation, dogmas are indisputable and unchangeable definitions of the saving Christian faith.

The dogmatic conciliar definitions of Orthodoxy are designated by the Greek word “oros” (oros). Literally it means “limit”, “border”. Using dogmas, it determines the human mind in true knowledge of God and limits it from possible errors. The formulation of dogmatic definitions in the history of the Church, as a rule, is associated with a response to heretical distortions of the meaning of Christianity. Acceptance of dogmas does not mean the introduction of new truths. Dogmas always reveal the original, unified and integral teaching of the Church in relation to new issues and circumstances.

The presence of a strict and distinct religious consciousness - characteristic Orthodoxy. This feature of church teaching dates back to the times of the apostolic preaching. It was the apostles who first used the word “dogma” in the meaning of a doctrinal definition. “As they passed through the cities, they conveyed to the faithful to observe the definitions (Greek - ta dogmata) established by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem,” testifies St. Evangelist Luke (). In the letters to the Colossians () and Ephesians () the Apostle Paul uses the word “dogma” in the meaning of Christian teaching in its entirety. In the same sense, the word “dogma” was used in the 2nd, 3rd and early 4th centuries, used by saints. The most ancient, predating the period of the Ecumenical Councils, dogmatic monument of Orthodoxy is the symbol of faith of St. (The Wonderworker), written by him around 260-265.

Since the 4th century, the word “dogma” takes on a more specific meaning. The continuous systematization of Christian doctrine leads to the separation of doctrinal and moral truths. Dogma is identified with doctrinal truths among saints, and at the border of the 4th-5th centuries. and y. In the era of the Ecumenical Councils, the meaning of dogma is finally determined. Dogmas began to be understood as doctrinal truths that were discussed and approved at the Ecumenical Councils.

“Only the malice of heretics forces us to do things that are prohibited, to climb to unattainable heights, to talk about unspeakable subjects, to undertake forbidden research. We should be content to do with sincere faith what is prescribed for us, namely: to worship God the Father, to honor God the Son with Him, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But now we are forced to use our weak word to reveal unspeakable secrets. The delusions of others force us to take the dangerous path of explaining in human language those Mysteries that should be preserved with reverent faith in the depths of our souls.”
St. (O. 2:2).

Dogmas are unshakable axioms, and arguing with them is to your own detriment. These axioms are everywhere: in mathematics, in medicine, in technology, in physics. “If you try to challenge the law of gravity by jumping from a plane without a parachute, you will end up breaking your own neck, not the law of gravity.”
Deacon Andrey

Translation from Serbian by Sergei Fonov

Rev. Justin Popovich

§ 1. The concept of dogma

The very term “dogmatics” contains the subject of dogmatics and the concept of it, which themselves suggest a logical definition: dogmatics is the science of the dogmas of the Christian faith. But since in different Christian denominations dogmas can be understood and interpreted differently, the Orthodox Church, expounding and interpreting divinely revealed dogmas in the evangelical, apostolic and ecumenical spirit, calls its dogma Orthodox, thereby distinguishing it and protecting it from non-evangelical, non-apostolic, non-ecumenical, non-Orthodox understandings of the dogmas of salvation. Consequently, Orthodox dogmatics is a science that systematically and in the spirit of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church expounds and interprets the dogmas of the Christian faith.

§ 2. The concept of dogmas

Dogmas are God-revealed eternal truths of faith, contained in Holy Revelation and preserved, explained and communicated by the Church as Divine, life-giving and unchangeable rules of salvation. The word “dogma” itself has Greek origin, it is formed from the verb dokein (to think, to believe, (in the 3rd person dedoktai - decided, to consider, to believe) in its form dedogmai defined) and etymologically means a thought that has received its definition and is approved as an indisputable logical truth in any there was no sphere of human activity: philosophical, religious, legislative. Ancient Greek and Roman writers use the word “dogma” in a philosophical, moral, legislative sense with the meaning of “teaching”, “rule”, which, due to its undeniable truth, for many acquired the meaning of a logically and factually obligatory truth, commandment, law, prescription (command).

IN Old Testament the word “dogma” means, on the one hand, political orders, state decrees and laws (see: Dan. 2, 13; 3, 10; 6, 8–9; Esther 3, 9), and on the other, the commandments of Moses law (see: Ezek. 20, 24) or regulations relating to religious life in general (see: 2 Mac. 10, 8; 15, 36).

In the New Testament, the word “dogma” is used five times in a double sense: politically - and means royal decrees and commands (see: Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7) - and religiously, reflecting the requirements of the Mosaic Law, which had in due time, binding force for every Jew (see: Col. 2, 14), as well as New Testament decrees, binding for all members of Christ’s Church. For in the Acts of the Holy Apostles it is said that the apostles Paul and Timothy commanded the faithful to observe the decrees decreed by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (Acts 16:4). Drawing a distinction between the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law and the New Testament truths and dogmas, the Apostle Paul says that the Lord Jesus Christ abolished the law of the commandments (of Moses) with dogmas (cf. Eph. 2:15).

Consequently, since apostolic times there has been formed ecclesiastical significance the word “dogma” as the Divine, indisputable, absolute and universally binding truth of faith. The great zealot of the God-given, apostolic Tradition, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, calls the basic truths of faith contained in the Symbol of the Church of Jerusalem necessary dogmas, dogmas of piety, and the feat of faith by which they are acquired, he calls the dogmatic image of faith. He calls the entire New Testament teaching about God dogmas about God, and considers the personal and life-giving assimilation of these dogmas to be active faith a necessary condition salvation, concluding: “The greatest benefit is the study of dogmas.” Having listed all the New Testament truths about God, the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, about good and evil and in general about the economy of salvation, Saint Gregory the Theologian calls on the catechumens to affirm their good, their salvation, their new life “on the basis of these dogmas.” Saint Gregory of Nyssa divides all Christian teaching into two parts: the moral part and the exact dogmas. Saint John Chrysostom understands the Christian doctrine by dogmas, and Vincent of Lerins calls the universal faith the universal dogma. At the Ecumenical Councils, the word “dogma” was used in the meaning of “the truth of Christian doctrine,” and the holy fathers at the Councils called their definitions of faith dogmas, while all other decisions and regulations were called canons and rules. This is partly reflected in the fact that the Church gives the name dogmatist to those liturgical stichera that contain the doctrine of the Most Holy Theotokos, the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the two natures in one Person of the God-Man.

Thus, in the language of the Church, dogmas in the strict sense of the word are called only those revealed truths that relate to faith, in contrast to divinely revealed truths of a moral, ritual and canonical nature, but one should never lose sight of the fact that all of them, in the end, , form one indivisible whole.

§ 3. Properties of dogmas

What makes dogmas eternal Divine truths and characterizes them as such are their special properties: revelation of God, churchliness, universal bindingness and immutability.

a) Divine revelation is the main property that makes dogmas dogmas, for it affirms their Divine origin. According to this, dogmas are not only truths of faith, but truths of faith revealed by God Himself. Their divine origin makes them irrefutably true, eternal, saving, incomprehensible, super-intelligent. If God Himself had not revealed the dogmas, neither rational humanity as a whole, much less the mind of an individual person, would ever have been able to reach them through any effort. Consequently, dogmas are the subject of faith; they are accepted by faith as supra-rational divine truths, which the Church emphasizes by beginning the Creed with the word “I believe...”. Having Divine origin, dogmas contain divinely revealed truths about the Trinity Divinity and His relationship to the world and man, that is, about God as Creator, about God as Provider, about God as Redeemer, about God as Sanctifier and about God as Judge. And in all this, only God knows Himself, therefore only He can reveal Himself and His truths (see: Matthew 11:27). He does this through His incarnate Only Begotten Son (see: John 1:18, 14), in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9), and thereby all the fullness of the Divine truths that He reveals according to His Divine favor to those who believe in Him, live by Him and for His sake. Due to the fact that these dogmatic truths are the truths of Christ, they are Divine, eternal, unchangeable and absolutely reliable (see: John 14, 6; 1, 17; 8, 12; 12, 35, 46). They are the perfect and complete Revelation of God, that is, the last word that God directly proclaims to people through His Only Begotten Son (see: Heb. 1:1).

Divine origin distinguishes Christian dogmas as eternal Divine truths from the dogmas of non-Christian religions and philosophical teachings as human, relative, transitory truths. Outside of Christ's Revelation there are no eternal, Divine dogmatic truths and there cannot be. Divine dogmas are given once and for all in Holy Revelation, and the Church as such preserves and confesses them. Bearing in mind the Divine origin of dogmas and everything that follows from this, the Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church call dogmas the dogmas of God, the dogmas of Christ, the dogmas of the Lord, the dogmas of the Gospel, the Divine dogmas, the apostolic dogmas, the dogmas of truth, the dogmas of heavenly philosophy. Saint Basil the Great writes: “Of the dogmas and sermons preserved in the Church, some we have from written teaching (that is, Holy Scripture), and others that have come to us from the Apostolic Tradition, we have received mysteriously, but both have the same power for piety."

b) Churchness is the second distinctive property of each dogma. Due to the fact that dogmas are the work of Revelation, they are also the work of the Church. For the Church is the Body of Revelation. Undoubtedly, Divine Revelation contains all the dogmatic truths of faith, but since Revelation resides only in the Church, the verbal formulation and interpretation of holy dogmas belongs to the Church as the Theanthropic Body of Christ, living and acting by the Holy Spirit. In this activity she is infallible, for her Head is the sinless Lord Jesus Christ, and her soul is the Holy Spirit of truth, guiding into all truth (cf. Eph. 1:23; 5:23; Col. 1:18, 24; John 16:13). It is obvious that churchliness as a property of dogmas is organically and logically determined by their revelation to God and vice versa. However, no human logic can draw a dividing line between revelation and churchliness as properties of dogmas, just as it cannot be drawn between Revelation and the Church. For Revelation is Revelation by the Church and in the Church, just as the Church is the Church by Revelation and in Revelation. By the immutability of their natures, they are internally inextricably connected and interdependent. Outside the Church there can be no dogmas, for outside it there can be no true Divine Revelation. Dogma is dogma only by the Church, in the Church, through the Church. Since the Church is the only guardian and interpreter of the Holy Revelation appointed by God, she is also the only authorized judge who, by Divine gift and right, infallibly distinguishes true Revelation from false, determines the canonicity of the holy books and proclaims revealed truths as dogmas. Outside of it, without it, bypassing it, the eternal truths of Revelation themselves, losing their Divine truth, constancy and immutability, become the prey of self-willed human morals. We see an example of this in heretics, who are usually distinguished by the fact that they interpret the eternal and supramental truths of Revelation according to their own understanding, not at all guided by the holy, conciliar, apostolic, universal reason of the Church. The Lord Jesus Christ made the Church His Theanthropic Body, filled it forever with the Spirit of Truth and determined for it to be the pillar and foundation of the truth (cf.: 1 Tim. 3, 15; see: John 16, 13; 8, 32, 34, 36) , so that through all centuries she will serve as a fearless guardian and infallible interpreter of the eternal, Divine truths of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. As such, she can neither sin, nor deceive, nor be mistaken. Her word in all matters of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition is the word of God Himself. In it and by it the Lord Jesus Christ speaks by His Holy Spirit, guiding believers to all the truth of Holy Revelation. The first proof of this is contained in the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, when the Church, represented by its representatives, guided by the Holy Spirit, promulgates dogmatic decrees that are binding on all members of the Church, with the words: For it was good for the Holy Spirit and for us (Acts 15:28; cf.: 16 , 4).

In accordance with this divinely revealed, apostolic principle, all the Holy Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church took place, infallibly interpreting and proclaiming the Divine dogmas of the Holy Revelation. Since the Church has such God-given power and the right to establish holy dogmas, the holy fathers call the dogmas dogmas of the Church, church dogmas. Consequently, only one who believes and accepts all the dogmas of faith can be a member of the Church as the Church contains and explains them; and the one who opposes this, rejecting them or distorting them, is cut off by the Church from her Theanthropic Body and excommunicated. Having listed all the dogmas of the previous Ecumenical Councils, the Holy Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council decree: “If anyone of all does not contain and accept the above-mentioned dogmas of piety, and does not think and preach like this, but attempts to go against them: let him be anathema... from the Christian class, as an alien, let him be excluded and cast out" (Rule 1 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council).

c) The universality of dogmas, commanded by the holy fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, is a natural consequence of their Divine origin and necessity for the salvation of every member of the Church. Revealed by the Trisolar Deity, approved and promulgated by the Church of Christ as eternal, Divine truths, immutable for salvation, the dogmas are thereby obligatory for everyone who wants to be saved. Renunciation of them is a renunciation of the Savior and His redemptive feat of salvation [of the human race]. The assimilation of dogmas by faith as eternal, saving and life-giving truths of God brings salvation and eternal life to every person. In their divinely revealed purity and truth, dogmas are necessary for salvation; anyone who attempts to replace or alter them incurs a terrible apostolic anathema: If we, or an angel from heaven, bring you good news, let him be anathema (Gal. 1:8; cf. 1 John 2:21-22). By the authority given to her by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (see: John 20:21–23; Matt. 18:17–18), the Church has acted and always does this (see: Canon 1 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council). From everyone who approaches it, it requires confession of all Divine dogmas of faith; and if he tolerates various sinners within himself, trying to correct and save them, then in accordance with the commandments of the Savior (see: Matt. 18, 17-18; 10, 32-33; Mark 8, 38; Luke 9, 26; 12:9; cf. 2 Tim. 2:12), excommunicates those who oppose the holy dogmas or pervert them.

Acceptance of dogmas is a universally binding, indispensable condition for salvation also because the moral life of people depends on it. Having assimilated by faith the eternal dogmatic truths of Revelation, man, through the gospel deeds of prayer, fasting, love, hope, meekness, humility, mercy, love of truth and the Holy Sacraments, transforms them into his nature, gradually growing in the age of God in order to come to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4 , 13; cf.: Col. 2, 19). Since holy dogmas are eternal and saving Divine truths by the life-giving power of the Trinity Divinity, from Whom they are taught, then they contain all the power of new life according to Christ, all the power of grace-filled gospel morality. They are truly the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Due to the fact that these are the words of Christ, they are spirit and life (John 6:63). Without believing in them, no one can either know the eternal meaning of this temporary life, or be rewarded with blessed immortality and eternal life (see: John 6:69; 14:6; 1 John 5:20). Only when, through the feat of active faith, a person assimilates the eternal dogmatic truths of Christ, only then does he become a branch on the Divine vine - Christ, and the juices of eternal, Divine life begin to flow through him, strengthening him to bear much fruit for eternal life (see: John 15, 2–7). This is the only path along which a person fertilizes his nature, which has been deprived of fruitfulness by sin, with immortality and eternity. There is no other way. A person is capable of growing into the height of Divine perfections (see: Matt. 5:48) if, by the feat of selfless faith, he makes himself a sharer of the root of Divine, Christ truths (cf.: Rom. 11:17).

In reality, dogmas are Divine commandments, Divine rules of new life in the Holy Spirit: after all, with their imperishable light they illuminate the believer’s entire path from the dark cave of the flesh into the heavenly azure of Christ’s eternity. It follows that Orthodox ethics is nothing more than dogmatics embodied in life. New life in Christ everything is woven from the dogmatic truths of Holy Revelation. For the Church is the Body in which divine dogmatic truths flow like blood, reviving with eternal life all parts of the divine-human organism. In the mysterious, grace-filled Body of the Church, everything - by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit - is connected into one miraculous Divine-human whole. Whoever, through the Orthodox feat of faith, integrates himself into the Theanthropic Body of Christ's Church, will feel with his whole being that dogmas are holy, life-giving forces, gradually regenerating him from mortal to immortal, from temporary to eternal. At the same time, he will begin to realize with all his soul that life-giving dogmatic truths are absolutely necessary in the sphere human life and thinking and that therefore the Church is absolutely right in excommunicating those who reject dogmas or those who distort and reinterpret them. Rejection or distortion of dogmas is tantamount to spiritual suicide, for such a person cuts himself off from the life-giving Body of the Church, thereby interrupting the vital connection between himself and the grace-filled forces of the Church, which alone can fill a person with eternal, Divine life and transfer him from death to this eternal life. The indispensability of holy dogmas justifies all the zeal of the Church regarding the truths of the faith and explains all its God-wise determination in excommunicating those who reject or pervert the Divine dogmas. If the Church became indifferent to this, it would cease to be the Church, since it would thereby confirm that it does not realize the indispensability, life-giving and saving power of the eternal, Divine truths contained in the holy dogmas of Revelation.

Dogmas are generally binding truths of faith also because they are God-given norms of correct religious thinking and correct religious feeling. Relying on them, every Christian can elevate his thoughts and feelings to unattainable divine perfections. Outside of them, he constantly drowns in the quicksand of human relativism until it completely swallows him. Nowhere - neither on earth nor in heaven - is there greater freedom and more favorable opportunities for the immortal activity of human thought and feeling, as in the Divine, dogmatic truths of the Church, for they introduce man into the Kingdom of the Trinity Divinity, in which everything is infinite, eternal and immeasurable . Is there anywhere greater freedom than in the inexhaustible depths and at the boundless heights? God's Spirit? The Apostle, who says: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, proclaims eternal truth (2 Cor. 3:17; cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-12; Rom. 8:16).

d) Immutability as a property of dogmas follows from their divine revelation, churchliness and necessity for human life and salvation. As God-given rules of faith, on the assimilation of which the salvation of people depends, dogmas are unchangeable and inviolable, therefore the Ecumenical Church of Christ anathema protects their immutability from those who encroach on it (see: Rule 1 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council). Just as God does not change, so His truths are immutable. Since dogmas are eternal, Divine truths, they do not change and cannot change, for they are from God, with whom there is no change or shadow of turning (James 1:17). The dogmas taught to the Church by God Himself, formulated and approved by the Church, are alien to any evolution, multiplication or reduction. “The dogmas of God are unchangeable,” says Saint Basil the Great. “The dogmas of heavenly philosophy,” writes Vikenty Lerinsky, “cannot be subject to any change, reduction or distortion, unlike earthly decrees, which can only be improved by constant amendments and notes.”

From the indicated properties that characterize dogmas as eternal, Divine truths, it follows that dogmas are the truths of Revelation, given by God to the Church as Divine, unchangeable and obligatory for all true rules of faith, without which and outside of which there is neither salvation nor knowledge of eternal life, no meaning in life.

§ 4. Dogmas and Holy Revelation

Divine Revelation is the only source of dogma. The Trinity Deity revealed Himself and His truths to people, so that they, having a correct idea of Him and correct faith in Him, and also living by Him and His Divine truths, would find salvation for themselves from evil and sin and eternal life. God taught this Revelation gradually, through the saints Old Testament patriarchs and the prophets, in order to finally announce it completely and complete it with His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In many parts and in many ways, God of old, who was spoken by the Father as a prophet, in these last days spoke to us in the Son, Who set the heir to all, and in Him created the eyelids. In announcing His Revelation, God did not inflict any violence on the human mind and feelings, for He announced such Divine truths that people would never have comprehended either by the impulse of their thoughts or by the strength of their own sensations. By His Holy Spirit, God taught people what no human eye could ever see, no ear hear, no heart feel - he revealed the wisdom hidden in the mystery of His Most Holy Being (see: 1 Cor. 2, 9, 10, 7 ). This God's wisdom - eternal, infinite, surpassing reason - could be taught to people only through God's direct Revelation (cf. Eph. 3:3; Gal. 1:12). And what is most amazing is that it is not expressed in words, but is revealed incarnate in the Person of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ - therefore Revelation reveals and preaches Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24; cf. Rom. 1:16 ), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). Consequently, the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is one in nature, in perfection, in completeness, for He in His Theanthropic Person really reveals God and all God’s truths contained within the boundaries human body and in the temporal and spatial category of human life (see: Col. 2, 9; John 14, 9; 1 John 1, 1–2). The Word became flesh (John 1:14), and with Him all Divine truths, for in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9). Having become flesh, He announced to us, revealed, showed God, which no one, neither before nor after Him, could or can do. Therefore, the apostle truly preaches the gospel: no one has ever seen God; The Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed (John 1:18; cf.: 6:46; 5:37; 12:45). The Savior Himself testifies to this: No one knows the Son except the Father; no one knows the Father except the Son, and whatever the Son wills to reveal (Matt. 11:27; cf. John 3:34–35; 6:46; Matthew 16, 17).

Such a Revelation, Divine in everything, perfect, surpassing reason, serves as the only source of holy Divine dogmas. “We are not given the power to affirm anything we want,” testifies Saint Gregory of Nyssa, “in every dogma we are guided by the Holy Scripture as a rule and law... Therefore, we refuse to postulate our dogmas, guided by the rules of dialectical art, on the basis of conclusions and decomposition of concepts, built by knowledge - after all, such an image of presentation is unreliable and suspicious when verifying the truth. For everyone understands that dialectical pomp has the same power for both one and the other - both for the overthrow of truth and for the condemnation of lies." Since the Trinity Lord, having taught Revelation orally and in writing, handed it over to His Church for safekeeping, explanation and preaching, Divine Revelation is the source of holy dogmas in its two forms: Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. The Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition in their Divine purity and completeness are preserved, explained and preached by the One Holy Catholic Apostolic infallible Orthodox Church of Christ. That's how they talk about it in modern times Orthodox first hierarchs: " Orthodox Christian must accept as true and undoubted that all members of the faith of the Catholic and Orthodox Church were betrayed to it by our Lord Jesus Christ through His Apostles, explained and approved by the Ecumenical Councils, and believe in them, as the Apostle commands: Therefore, brethren, stand and hold traditions, which you will learn either by word or by our message (2 Sol. 2:15). From this it is clear that members of the faith receive their importance and firmness partly from the Holy Scriptures, partly from Church Tradition and the teachings of the Holy Councils and Holy Fathers... that is, dogmas are of two kinds: some are handed down in writing and are contained in the books of Holy Scripture, while others are handed down orally the apostles; and these were explained by the Holy Councils and Holy Fathers. Our faith is based on these two kinds of dogmas... Although the Church is a creation of God, made up of men, its head is Christ Himself, the true God, and the Holy Spirit, Who constantly teaches her and makes her, as the Apostle says, the bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:27) and a pillar and ground of the truth (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15). And its dogmas and teachings do not come from people, but from God. Therefore, when we say that we believe in the Church, we mean that we believe in the Scriptures, given to her by God, and in her God-inspired dogmas... This very thing encourages us to believe not only in the Holy Gospel, accepted by the Church, which Christ commanded, saying: believe in Gospel (Mark 1:15), but also in all other Scriptures and Council definitions." “We believe,” testify the Orthodox patriarchs in the “Message of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on the Orthodox Faith,” that the Divine and Sacred Scriptures are inspired by God; therefore, we must believe it unquestioningly, and, moreover, not in our own way, but exactly as it was explained and conveyed by the Ecumenical (Catholic) Church. For the superstition of heretics accepts the Divine Scripture, but only misrepresents it... Therefore, we believe that the testimony of the Catholic Church has no less power than the Divine Scripture. Since the author of both is one and the same Holy Spirit, it makes no difference whether one learns from Scripture or from the Universal Church. A person who speaks from himself can sin, deceive and be deceived, but the Universal Church, since she has never spoken and does not speak from herself, but from the Spirit of God (Whom she continually has and will have as her Teacher until the ages), in no way cannot sin, nor deceive, nor be deceived, but, like Divine Scripture, is infallible and has everlasting importance.”

Bibliography

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