Bible. About sacred scripture and sacred tradition

Holy Orthodox books are a kind of compass for the spiritual advancement of Christians in knowledge of the will of God. The Bible is the Holy Scripture given by the Creator to humanity. The historical merits of the texts of the Holy Scriptures lie in the fact that they were written by specific people who lived at a certain time, according to the knowledge bestowed by the Almighty Himself.

Great prophets, having the gift of communication with God, wrote down messages to humanity so that specific examples show the reality and power of the Lord.

Apostle John the Theologian

What the Bible Includes

The Bible includes 66 books:

• 39 messages of the Old Testament;
• 27 books of the New Testament.

These books are the basis of the biblical canon. Holy books in Orthodoxy are inspired by God, for they were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is a must-read and study for every Christian.

INThe Bible, Holy Scripture, the creator said “Do not be afraid!” 365 times. and the same number of “Rejoice!” The great promise from the Creator is given to thank the Creator every day, constantly being in joy.

Only by understanding the texts of the Holy Scriptures and finding confirmation in the stories of the saints can one learn what and how to rejoice and what to thank God for. Without knowing the origins of the creation of the world, it is impossible to fully believe in the reality of the events taking place in the New Testament.

About the Bible:

Why should an Orthodox believer read the Old Testament?

The Old Testament begins with the basics, a description of events from the creation of the world to 400 before the coming of Jesus Christ to earth. The Pentateuch (first 5 books) or Torah in Hebrew was written by the prophet Moses.

Prophet Moses

The first book of Genesis describes a long period from the first man, the global flood, God's creation of His Jewish people, the birth of Isaac, Jacob, the entry into Egypt and the exit from it after 400 years. Some people wonder how humanity learned about Adam if there was a global flood. The answer is found in the Holy Scripture itself, if you read it carefully, making sure to pray to the Almighty.

The Jews have preserved a good rule, coming from the first people, to know their ancestors up to the 14th generation. Noah's grandfather was still alive during Adam's last days. Of course, the little boy heard the story of the creation of the earth and the first people more than once, and then Noah passed it on to his sons. This is how you can historically prove the righteousness of every message conveyed by God to humanity through the prophets.

For 1500 years, from Abraham, the first Jew on earth, to Malachi, through life circumstances, God appeared to kings and shepherds, prophets and priests, warriors and judges.

An amazing fact is that written in different time different people Biblical sacred texts are consistent with each other, seem to be a continuation and addition of one another.

Exodus shows God's care for His people, who wandered in the desert for 40 years because of murmuring, but at the same time the Creator did not leave the Jews without His guidance for a moment.

The Jews moved through the desert under the guidance of a pillar, which was dusty during the day and fiery at night. It was the Holy Spirit who led God's people out of slavery. In the desert, on Mount Sinai, God gave his 10 commandments, which became the basis of all Christianity, law and guide.

Ten Commandments (tablets)

Based on historical facts, it is easy to trace the prototype of Jesus Christ, for example, at the moment when the people were attacked by snakes, the one who kept his eyes on the staff of Moses was saved, and so Orthodox people they will never perish if they constantly look to Christ.

The laws of blessing and cursing are recorded in Deuteronomy. A faithful God always does what he promises. (Deuteronomy 28)

The books of the Prophets describe the development of the Jewish people, their reign, and prophecies about the birth of the Messiah run through them as a red thread. Reading the book of the prophet Isaiah, one cannot shake the feeling of unreality, because he lived almost 600 years before the coming and death of Jesus, and he described in detail the birth of Christ, the killing of infants, and the crucifixion.

In chapter 42, through Isaiah, God makes a promise to always be there for His faithful children.

The 12 books of the minor prophets show the real communication of mortal people, faithful to God with their whole lives, with the Creator. They knew how to hear the Creator and were obedient in fulfilling His commands. Through faithful prophets, God spoke to the world.

King David was faithful to the Lord, for which he was awarded the title of a man after God's heart. Psalms, recorded from the songs of David and the prophets, formed the basis of many prayers. Every Orthodox Christian knows that in times of trial, Psalms 22, 50, 90 help to overcome fear and feel the Protection of God.

King David

Solomon was not David's eldest son, but it was him who the Creator chose to be king. Because Solomon did not ask God for wealth and glory, but only wisdom, the Creator granted him the richest reign on earth.

Psalms of David:

Ask God for wisdom to earthly life was filled with completeness:

• God's knowledge;
• fear of the Savior;
• family happiness;
• children's laughter;
• wealth;
• health.

The books of Daniel, Malachi, Ezra carry encrypted messages to humanity until the end of earthly existence; they echo the Revelation of John from the New Testament. After Malachi there is no record of God's messages.

For 400 years before the birth of Jesus, the Creator was silent, observing the observance of His laws by the chosen people.

Humanity at that time represented many peoples, they had their own gods, worship, rituals, which in the eyes of the Creator was an abomination.

Seeing the hardened hearts of the world's population, who try to earn forgiveness of sins by killing animals as sacrifices, God sends His Son, Jesus Christ, to the people. The Savior became the final sacrifice, for everyone who believes in Him will be saved. (John 10:9)

The New Testament - A Guide to Living with Christ

With the birth of the Savior, a new era in the history of mankind begins. The New Testament describes the main stages of Christ's stay on earth:

• conception;
• birth;
• life;
• miracles;
• death;
• resurrection;
• Ascension.

Jesus Christ is the heart of the entire Bible. There is no other way to gain eternal life except by faith in the Savior, for Jesus Himself called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14).

Each of the twelve apostles left a message to the world. Only four Gospels included in the New Testament are recognized as inspired and canonical.

Twelve disciples of Jesus Christ

The New Testament begins with the Gospels, the Good News conveyed through ordinary people who later became apostles. The Sermon on the Mount, known to all Christians, teaches believers how to become blessed in order to acquire the kingdom of God already on earth.

Only John was among the disciples who were constantly near the Teacher. Luke at one time healed people; all the information conveyed to him was collected during the time of Paul, after the crucifixion of the Savior. This message reflects the researcher's approach to historical events. Matthew was chosen as one of the 12 apostles instead of the traitor Judas Iscariot.

Important! Epistles that are not included in the New Testament due to doubts about their authenticity are called apocryphal. The most famous of them are the Gospels of Judas, Thomas, Mary Magdalene and others.

In the “Acts of the Holy Apostles,” transmitted by the Apostle Paul, who never saw Jesus the man, but who was given the grace to hear and see the bright Light of the Son of God, the life of Christians after the resurrection of Christ is described. The teaching books of the New Testament contain the messages of the apostles to specific people and entire churches.

By studying the Word of God, transmitted by His disciples, Orthodox people see before themselves an example to follow, to be transformed into the image of the Savior. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians contains a hymn of love (1 Cor. 13:4-8), reading each point of which you truly begin to understand what God's love is.

In Galatians 5:19-23, the Apostle Paul offers a test by which every Orthodox believer can determine whether he is walking according to the flesh or according to the spirit.

The Apostle James showed the power of the word and the unbridled tongue through which both blessing and curse flow.

The New Testament ends with the book of Revelations of the Apostle John, the only one of all twelve disciples of Jesus who died a natural death. At the age of 80, for his worship of Christ, John was created on the island of Patmos for heavy work, from where he was transferred to heaven to receive Revelation for humanity.

Attention! Revelation is the most difficult book to understand, its messages are revealed to selected Christians who have a personal relationship with the Holy Trinity.

Revelation of Saint John the Theologian

Many people say that they began to read the Holy Scriptures and did not understand anything. To avoid this mistake, reading the Bible should begin with the Gospels, giving priority to the message of John. Then read Acts and move on to the Epistles, after which you can begin reading the Old Testament.

It is impossible to understand some statements and instructions without examining the historical time and place of writing.

The science of Hermeneutics teaches us to consider each text from the point of view of its time.

The Apostle Paul wrote all his epistles during Christ’s campaigns, moving from city to city, and this is described in Acts. The Holy Fathers of the Church, based on research, give clear interpretations of the message, showing the inspiration of each text.

The Bible writes that the Scriptures were given to mankind to correct, teach, reprove and edify. (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, has been translated into many languages ​​and is God's most widely read message to mankind, revealing the character of the Most High and the way to Heaven through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments compiled a single book - the Holy Bible, which contains many recipes for knowing the Most High and examples from the lives of saints.

Holy Bible. Bible

Is Holy Scripture understandable to a Christian only through the interpretation of the Holy Fathers, or is it not a sin to study it independently? And today the Church is in search of an answer to this eternal question. Polemics on this issue in the 19th century were led, in particular, by theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church Ignatius Brianchaninov and Theophan the Recluse. In the works of the Holy Fathers, different, even opposing, opinions can be expressed regarding non-dogmatic issues. Priest Gleb Bobkov discusses the issue of Christians reading Holy Scripture.

***

“Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths”

Psalter, Psalm 118.

I want to start with the opinions of the Holy Fathers - Teachers of the Church.

From the works of the saint John Chrysostom:

The cooling of faith that has befallen us stems from the fact that we do not read Scripture in its entirety and select from it what seems clearer and more useful to us, without paying attention to the rest. And heresies themselves spread in this way - when they do not want to read the Scriptures in their entirety and believe that there are important passages and secondary passages.

And the opinion of a saint Anthony the Great:

Be diligent in reading the Scriptures, and they will pluck you from uncleanness.” And he: “If you constantly and diligently engage in reading the Scriptures and fulfilling the commandments, then God’s mercy will be with you.

And the words of the saint Ambrosia Mediolamsky:

We speak to Christ when we pray; we listen to Him when we read Holy Scripture.

From the above we see that the ancient saints saw the constant reading of Holy Scripture as the most important part of a Christian’s life, in addition to prayer and keeping the commandments.

But, for example, the opinion of the “Synodal theologian” Ignatius Brianchaninova:

The Holy Fathers teach how to approach the Gospel, how to read it, how to understand it correctly, what helps and what hinders understanding it. And therefore, first, spend more time reading the Holy Fathers. When they teach you to read the Gospel, then read the Gospel primarily. Do not consider reading the Gospel alone sufficient for yourself, without reading the Holy Fathers! This is a proud, dangerous thought. It is better to let the Holy Fathers lead you to the Gospel, like their beloved child, who has previously received upbringing and education through their writings.

_______________________________

Is this opinion correct? Do we need it? Or is this just an echo of the wars between Catholics and Protestants, the result of the Catholic division of the Church into teaching and teaching and the Protestant opinion “Sola Scriptura”?

It is known that the Holy Church must be guided by rules in its actions. And to this day, upon installation, bishops take an oath that they will fulfill the rules of the Holy Apostles, the seven ecumenical and nine local councils and the selected rules of the Holy Fathers. The circle of church statutory reading is determined primarily by the 85th rule of the Apostle Saints, and it is supplemented by the 2nd rule of the Sixth Ecumenical Council.

Regarding the interpretation of Holy Scripture, the Church has Rule 19 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which reads: “The heads of the churches must every day, especially on Sundays, teach the entire clergy and people the words of piety, choosing from the Divine Scripture the understanding and reasoning of truth, and without transgressing the already established limits and tradition of the God-bearing fathers; and If the word of Scripture is examined, then let it not be explained in any other way than as the luminaries and teachers of the Church have set forth in their writings, and let this be verified by this rather than by compiling one’s own words, so that, if one lacks skill in this, one does not deviate from what is proper. For, through the teaching of the above-mentioned fathers, people, receiving knowledge of what is good and worthy of election, and of what is unprofitable and worthy of disgust, correct their lives for the better, and do not suffer from the disease of ignorance, but, heeding the teaching, encourage themselves to move away from evil, and, through the fear of threatening punishments, they work out their salvation.”

Who is this rule addressed to? To the Primates of churches, that is, bishops. Where can this be seen from - from the interpretation Valsamona: “Bishops have been appointed teachers of churches. And therefore the rule says that they have every need to teach the people subordinate to them and always, and even more so in Sundays, in which everyone is usually present in the church, freed from the work of their hands. And, according to the definition of the rule, they should teach not something distant and not from themselves, but that very thing that was handed down by the Holy Fathers.”

________________________________________________

That is, this rule limits the “Lights and Teachers of the Church,” that is, bishops, in the freedom of interpretation of Holy Scripture. Does this rule limit the laity and clergy in reading Holy Scripture? Obviously, since it is addressed to the primates of churches, then no. It only establishes guidelines for the study and interpretation of Holy Scripture.

________________________________________________

Another natural limitation of Christian reading is our modern life itself, with its bustle and worries. Many people now notice that time is shrinking and there is simply not enough time for all the planned things. And here often, and for many, there is simply no time left for a thoughtful, thorough reading of the Holy Fathers. And it is important that people, when planning their time, look for and find it for reading the Holy Scripture, and first of all the Gospel.

John Chrysostom speaks:

As soon as someone touches the Gospel, he immediately improves his mind, and with just one glance at it he renounces (all) worldly things. If attentive reading is also added, then the soul, as if entering a mysterious sanctuary, is purified and becomes better, since God speaks with it through these Scriptures... Even if you do not understand what is contained in them, there is great sanctification from reading itself.

And holy Isaac the Syrian writes:

Continuous study of Scripture is light for the soul, because it reminds the soul to beware of passions, to remain in the love of God and in purity of prayer, and also outlines before us a peaceful path in the footsteps of the saints (Sk. 30).

So, seeing so many calls of the Holy Fathers for constant and unceasing study of the Holy Scriptures, and first of the Holy Scriptures of the Gospel, Christians should be diligent in reading the Scriptures. And when they say that Holy Scripture is difficult to understand and needs interpretation, then this opinion already has an answer John Chrysostom:

However, it is impossible for you not to understand everything equally; It was precisely for this reason that the grace of the Spirit arranged that these books were compiled by publicans, fishermen, shepherds of sheep and goats, simple and unlearned people, so that none of the ordinary people could resort to such an excuse, so that everyone could understand what was being said, so that even the artisan , and the servant, and the widowed woman, and the most uneducated of all people received benefit and edification... for not for vain glory, like the outside (wise men), but for the salvation of the listeners, those who in the beginning were worthy of the grace of the Spirit put it all together. (John Chrysostom, 44, 812-813).

And in his interpretation of the Holy Gospel of Matthew, he writes the following opinion: “In reality, we should not have any need for the help of the Scriptures, but should lead a life so pure that instead of books the grace of the Spirit would serve, and so that, as those written on with ink, so our hearts were written with the Spirit. But since we rejected such grace, we will use at least the second path. And that the first way was better, God showed this both in word and deed. In fact, God spoke with Noah, Abraham and his descendants, as well as with Job and Moses, not through writing, but directly, because he found their minds pure. When the entire Jewish people fell into the very depths of wickedness, then writings, tablets and instructions through them already appeared. And this happened not only with the saints in the Old Testament, but, as is known, in the new one as well. Likewise, God did not give the apostles anything written, but promised to give the grace of the Spirit instead of the scriptures. “He,” he told them, “will remember everything to you” (John 14:26). And so that you know that this way (of God’s communication with the saints) was much better, listen to what He says through the prophet: “I am making a new covenant with you, giving My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and they will all be taught by God. "(Jerem. 31, 31-34. John 6, 45). And Paul, pointing out this superiority, said that he received the law (written) not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the heart of flesh (2 Cor. 3:3). But since over time some deviated from the true teaching, others from purity of life and morality, the need for written instruction arose again. Think about what folly it will be if we, who were supposed to live in such purity as to have no need for Scripture, but instead of books give our hearts to the spirit, if we, having lost such dignity and having a need for Scripture, do not use it as we should, and this second medicine. If it is already worthy of reproach that we need Scripture and do not attract the grace of the Spirit to ourselves, then what, think, will be our guilt if we do not want to take advantage of this benefit, but despise Scripture as superfluous and unnecessary, and so how to incur even greater punishment?

Summarizing all of the above, one can easily come to the following conclusions:

1. For our salvation we need to read the Holy Scriptures.
2. Of the Holy Scriptures, the first to read is the Holy Gospel.
3. The ancient saints saw constant reading of Holy Scripture as the most important part of a Christian’s life, in addition to prayer and keeping the commandments.
4. Our impoverishment of faith and heresies stem from the fact that we do not read Scripture in its entirety.

I will conclude by saying Ambrosia Mediolamsky:

We must reason about God according to His own sayings, and not according to others.

The Holy Scriptures belong to those books that humanity has always read and will continue to read. Moreover, among these books it occupies a very special place due to its exceptional influence on the religious and cultural life of countless human generations, both past and present, and therefore the future. For believers, it is the word of God addressed to the world. Therefore, it is constantly read by all who seek to come into contact with the Divine Light and meditated on it by all who wish to deepen their religious knowledge. But at the same time, those who do not try to penetrate into the divine content of Holy Scripture and are content with its external, human shell continue to turn to it. The language of Scripture continues to attract poets, and its characters, images, and descriptions continue to inspire artists and writers today. At the moment, scientists and philosophers have turned their attention to the Holy Scriptures. It is in connection with the Holy Scriptures that those painful questions about the relationship between religious and scientific contemplation, which sooner or later every thinking person must face, arise with the greatest urgency. Therefore, the Holy Scripture, which has always been and continues to be a modern book, has even turned out to be a topical book in our era of upheavals and all kinds of searches.

But here it must be noted that, despite all its significance, the Holy Scriptures, precisely in our era of decline in church culture, began to be less read and disseminated among wide circles of believers. This is especially true for us, Orthodox Russian people. Of course, we have never stopped trying to live according to the Holy Scriptures, but in rare cases we live directly by them. Most often, we are content to listen to the Holy Scriptures in the temple and almost never turn to the sacred text itself in home reading. Nevertheless, the latter continues to remain that inexhaustible treasury, always accessible to everyone, from which any believer can continually draw for himself the innumerable spiritual riches necessary for his growth in the knowledge of God, in wisdom and in strength. Therefore, the Orthodox Church persistently calls everyone to read the Holy Scriptures and reflect on them, comprehending more and more fully the divinely revealed truths contained in them.

This essay, without claiming to be complete, aims to remind the Russian reader what the Holy Scripture is, according to the teachings of the Church of Christ, and also to outline how the perplexing questions raised in our time around the Holy Scripture are resolved for the believing consciousness, and to show how These are the spiritual benefits that reading and meditating on the Holy Scriptures give a Christian.

I. Holy Scripture, Its Origin, Nature and Meaning

About the Names of Holy Scripture. The Church's view of the origin, nature and meaning of the Holy Scriptures is revealed primarily in the names with which it is customary to call this book both in the Church and in the world. Name Sacred, or Divine Scripture taken from Holy Scripture itself, which more than once applies it to itself. Thus, the Apostle Paul writes to his disciple Timothy: “from childhood you have known the sacred scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (). This name, as well as these words of the Apostle Paul, explaining the meaning of the Holy Scriptures for everyone who believes in Christ, emphasize that the Holy Scriptures as Divine are opposed to all purely human writings, and that it comes, if not directly from God, then through the sending down of a special human writer gift, inspiration from above, that is, inspiration. It is he who makes Scripture “useful for teaching, reproof and correction,” since thanks to him Scripture does not contain any lies or delusions, but testifies only to the immutable Divine truth. This gift makes everyone who reads the Scriptures more and more perfect in righteousness and faith, turning him into a man of God, or, as one might say, sanctifying him... Next to this first name there is another name of the Holy Scripture: Bible. It is not found in Scripture itself, but arose from church usage. It comes from the Greek word bi blia, which was originally neuter, being the plural of the term meaning 'book'. Subsequently, it turned into a singular feminine word and began to be written with capital letters and applied exclusively to the Holy Scriptures, becoming a kind of own name: Bible. In this capacity it has passed into all languages ​​of the world. It wants to show that the Holy Scripture is a book par excellence, that is, it surpasses all other books in its significance due to its Divine origin and content. At the same time, it also emphasizes its essential unity: despite the fact that it includes numerous books of the most varied nature and content, written either in prose or in verse, representing either history, or collections of laws, or sermons, or lyrics , then even private correspondence, it is, nevertheless, a single whole due to the fact that all the heterogeneous elements included in its composition contain the revelation of the same basic truth: the truth about God, revealed in the world throughout its history and building our salvation... There is also a third name for Holy Scripture as a Divine book: this name is Covenant. Like the first name, it is taken from Scripture itself. It is a translation of the Greek word diathe ke, which in the 2nd century BC was transmitted in Alexandria, in the translation of the Jewish sacred books into Greek, the Hebrew word takes. The people of Israel firmly believed that several times during their history God had deliberately appeared to them and assumed various obligations towards them, such as multiplying them, protecting them, giving them a special position among the nations and a special blessing. In turn, Israel promised to be faithful to God and fulfill His commandments. That's why takes means primarily ‘contract, agreement, alliance’. But since the promises of God were directed to the future, and Israel was to inherit the benefits associated with them, the Greek translators in the 2nd century BC translated this term as diaphics- testament or testament. This last word became even more definite and exact value after the Apostle Paul, referring to death on the cross The Lord, indicated that it was the death of the Divine Testament that revealed to the children of God the right to eternal inheritance... Based on the prophet Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul, the Church divides the Bible into the Old and New Testaments, based on the writing of the sacred books included in its composition before or after the coming of Christ. But applying the name to the Holy Scriptures as to a book Covenant, The Church reminds us that this book, on the one hand, contains the story of how the promises given by God to man were communicated and how they received their fulfillment, and on the other hand, indicates the conditions for our inheritance of the promised benefits. This is the Church’s view of the origin, character and content of Holy Scripture, revealed in the names with which it designates it. Why does the Holy Scripture exist and why and how was it given to us?

On the Origin of Holy Scripture. The Holy Scripture arose for the reason that God, having created the world, does not abandon it, but provides for it, participates in its history and arranges its salvation. At the same time, God, relating to the world as a loving Father to His children, does not keep Himself at a distance from man, and man in ignorance of Himself, but constantly gives man the knowledge of God: He reveals to him both Himself and what constitutes the subject of His divine will. This is what is commonly called Divine Revelation. And since God reveals himself to man, the emergence of Holy Scripture becomes completely inevitable. For often, even when God speaks to one person or to one group of people, He is in reality speaking to all human generations and speaking to all times. Go and “tell the children of Israel,” God says to Moses on Mount Sinai (). “Go, teach all nations” (), says the Lord Jesus Christ, sending the Apostles to preach in the world. And since God wished to address some words of His Revelation to all people, in order for these words to be the best way preserved and transmitted, He providentially made them the subject of a special inspired record, which is the Holy Scripture. But before we talk about what the gift of inspiration given to the authors of sacred books carries and what it gives to their writings, let us ask ourselves how we know that among the countless books that exist in the world, only those that were included in the Bible are should be considered divinely inspired? What makes us believers see them as Holy Scripture?

We could, of course, refer here to the absolutely exceptional role and influence of the Bible in history. We could point out the power of the Holy Scriptures on human hearts. But is this enough and is it always convincing? We know from experience that often, even on ourselves, other books have a greater influence or effect than the Holy Scriptures. What should make us, ordinary believers, accept the entire Bible as a collection of inspired books? There can be only one answer: this is the testimony of the entire Church. The Church is the Body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit (see). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, guiding to all truth (see), due to which the Church that has received Him is the house of God, the pillar and affirmation of the truth (). It is given to her by the Spirit of God to judge the truth and doctrinal usefulness of religious books. Some books were rejected by the Church as containing false ideas about God and His actions in the world, others were recognized by her as useful, but only edifying, and still others, very few in number, were retained by her as inspired by God, because she saw that these books contain the truth entrusted to her in all its purity and completeness, that is, without any admixture of error or lies. The Church included these books in the so-called canon Holy Scripture. “Canon” in Greek means a standard, pattern, rule, law or decree that is binding on everyone. This word is used to designate a set of books of the Holy Scripture, since the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, especially singled out these books in a completely separate collection, which she approved and offered to believers as books that contain a sample true faith and piety, suitable for all times. New books cannot be added to the canon of Holy Scripture and nothing can be taken away from it, and all this is based on the voice of the Holy Tradition of the Church, which has rendered its final judgment on the canon. We know the history of the entry into the canon of some books of the Holy Scriptures, we know that sometimes this “canonization” of individual books was both lengthy and complex. But this was because the Church sometimes did not immediately realize and reveal the truth entrusted to it by God. The very fact of the history of the canon is a clear confirmation of the attestation of the Holy Scriptures by the Holy Tradition, that is, by the entire teaching Church. The truth of the church's testimony about the Bible and its contents is indirectly confirmed by the undeniable influence of the Bible on culture and its impact on individual human hearts. But this same church testimony is a guarantee that the Bible can, both in the past and in the future, have an impact and influence on the life of every individual believer, even if the latter does not always feel it. This impact and influence increases and strengthens as the believer enters into the fullness of church truth.

The place of Holy Scripture as a source of knowledge of God. This connection between Holy Tradition and Holy Scripture shows the place in the Church of Holy Scripture as a source of knowledge of God. It is not the first source of knowledge about God, neither chronologically (for before the existence of any Scripture, God was revealed to Abraham, and the Apostles preached Christ to the world before the compilation of the Gospels and Epistles), nor logically (for the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, establishes the canon of Holy Scripture and approves his). This reveals the entire inconsistency of Protestants and sectarians who reject the authority of the Church and its traditions and rely on Scripture alone, although it is attested by the very church authority that they reject. Holy Scripture is neither the only nor the self-sufficient source of knowledge of God. The Sacred Tradition of the Church is its living knowledge of God, its constant entry into the Truth under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, expressed in the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, in the works of the great fathers and teachers of the Church, in liturgical successions. It both testifies to the Holy Scripture and gives its correct understanding. Therefore, we can say that Holy Scripture is one of the monuments of Holy Tradition. Nevertheless, this is his most important monument due to the gift of inspiration that the authors of the sacred books were granted. What is this gift?

On the Nature of Holy Scripture. We can deduce the essential content of the gift of inspiration from the view of Holy Scripture itself on its authors. This view is most clearly expressed in where the Apostle Peter, speaking about the word contained in Scripture, identifies it with prophecy: “For prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (v. 21). The Old Testament Church also held the same view of the authors of the sacred books as prophets. Until now, the Jews include our so-called historical books, that is, the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2, 3 and 4 Kings, in the category of writings of the “early prophets”, which in the Hebrew Bible exist along with the writings of the “later prophets”, that is books inscribed with the names of the four great and twelve minor prophets, or “prophetic books”, according to the terminology adopted in the Christian Church. This same view of the Old Testament Church was reflected in the words of Christ, dividing the Holy Scriptures into the law, the prophets and the Psalms (see), as well as directly identifying all Scripture with the sayings of the prophets (see). What are the prophets with whom ancient tradition so persistently identifies the authors of the sacred books, and what conclusions follow from this regarding the nature of the Holy Scriptures?

A prophet, according to Scripture itself, is a person to whom, through the Spirit of God, Divine plans for the world become available in order to testify about them to people and proclaim to them the will of God. The prophets recognized these plans through visions, through insights, but most often through contemplation of the actions of God, revealed in the events of history directed by God. But in all these cases they were directly initiated into the Divine plans and received the power to be their heralds. It follows from this that all the sacred authors, like the prophets, by the will of God, directly contemplated the Divine secret secrets in order to tell them to the world. And their writing of books is the same prophetic preaching, the same testimony of Divine plans to people. It does not matter what facts or events the inspired writers or, what is the same, prophets wrote about: about the present, about the past or about the future. The only important thing is that the Holy Spirit, Who is the Creator of all history, initiated them into its hidden meaning. From here it becomes completely clear that the authors of historical books, who wrote in the 6th or 5th century BC about the sacred past of ancient Israel, turned out to be the same prophets as those unbookish prophets Gad, Nathan, Ahijah and others, through whom God once revealed to people the meaning of the events of this past. Also, the disciples and followers of the great prophets, the inspired editors of some prophetic books (and we clearly see from the sacred text itself that, for example, the book of the prophet Jeremiah was not all written by the prophet himself) are themselves the same prophets: the Spirit of God dedicated them to those the same secrets that were revealed to their teachers, in order to continue their prophetic work, at least through the written recording of their preaching. Turning to the New Testament, we must say that the sacred writers, who did not recognize Christ during His earthly life, were nevertheless later directly initiated by the Holy Spirit into the mysteries revealed in Christ. We have absolutely clear and direct evidence of this from the Apostle Paul (see; ; etc.). This is undoubtedly a prophetic phenomenon. Therefore, summing up everything that has been said about the nature of inspired Scripture as a type of prophetic preaching, we must conclude that if Scripture turns out to be the most authoritative source of doctrine in the Church, this is explained by the fact that it is a record of the direct revelation of Divine truths, which the compilers of Scripture contemplated in the Holy Spirit, and the same Spirit testified to the authenticity of their contemplations.

On the doctrinal authority of Holy Scripture in the Church. So, if the Holy Scripture, through its dependence on the Holy Tradition, does not constitute the only and self-sufficient source of our knowledge of God and about God, then it is, nevertheless, the only source of religious doctrine, about which we can say with all confidence that it is in no way sins against the fullness of the Divine Truth available to us. It is this that most fully and perfectly shows the image of God’s saving action in the world. Therefore, theology, which tries to substantiate its conclusions on the most solid authorities, referring to Sacred Tradition, constantly tests itself with the help of Scripture. In this, it only follows the above instruction of the Apostle Paul: all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof (that is, for irrefutable evidence) and for correction (). Moreover, it can be shown that all church prayers and all liturgical texts seem to be entirely woven from the words and sayings of the Holy Scripture, since in worship the Church wants to express the truths of Revelation in the same words in which they were captured by the inspired witnesses who directly contemplated them . And finally, for the same reason, the Church always strives to clothe in the words and expressions of Holy Scripture its confessions of faith and its dogmatic definitions. Thus, our Nicene Creed of Constantinople was composed of words that, all but one, were borrowed from Holy Scripture. Only one of its words is not found in the Holy Scriptures: Consubstantial, which is why disputes arose in the Church after the First Ecumenical Council, which lasted almost a century. These disputes ceased when, as a result of the exploits and labors of the great fathers of the Church, saints, and, it became obvious to everyone that, despite the fact that this word is not found in Scripture, nevertheless it corresponds to his entire teaching about the eternal relations of God Father and God the Son and about God's realization of our salvation in Christ.

So, thanks to the providential inspired recording of the Divine truths revealed to the world, Christ Church always has at his disposal all available infallible sources of knowledge of God. The authority of Scripture as a book compiled by prophets is the authority of direct, unfalse testimony. However, modernity has raised a whole series of doubts and disputes around this source of knowledge of God. We will now turn to their consideration.

II. Holy Scripture and the Confusions It Concerns

On the possibility of the very fact of Holy Scripture. The first and main bewilderment can be caused by the very fact of the existence of inspired Scripture. How is such Scripture possible? We saw above that the existence of Holy Scripture is due to the fact that God reveals himself and acts in the world. Therefore, doubts about the possibility of the fact of Holy Scripture ultimately come down to doubts about the existence of God and the truth of statements about God as Creator, Provider and Savior. To prove the possibility and truth of the Scriptures is to prove the truth of all these statements. In this area, evidence from reason does not prove, but the decisive thing is the experience of faith, which, like any experience, is given the power of direct vision. And in this regard, modern humanity, strange as it may seem at first glance, finds itself in more and more favorable conditions. For, if the 19th century was a century of doubt and departure from faith, if the beginning of the 20th century was an era of intense search for a worldview, then our era is increasingly defined as an era of conscious choice between God and the struggle with Him. Among those historical catastrophes and upheavals that have occurred in our days, humanity has felt, if it has not yet fully realized, that God is truly active in the world, and that this is the most vital truth. This can be seen from the fact that among people who are thoughtful, knowledgeable and generally trying to do something big and significant in this world, there are fewer and fewer people who are lukewarm and indifferent to God. Those who reject Him do so not for doctrinal reasons, but only because they fight with Him because of the place He occupies in the human heart, and those who accept Him accept Him not because of inherited habits and attitudes, but because they seek living fellowship with him. And undoubtedly, many of those who are destined to read these lines, many who have gone through various trials, dangers and troubles, Orthodox Russian people can confirm that they are really looking for communication with the One whom they have known in their lives. personal experience as the true Savior from sin and the Deliverer from all kinds of troubles, sorrows and trials revealed in their lives. The Holy Scriptures must therefore be read with the firm intention of finding through this reading the Living God acting in the world He created for the salvation of His creation. And anyone who begins to read the Scriptures in order to meet God and know Him more perfectly will never go unrewarded for his efforts. Sooner or later, he himself will be convinced from personal experience of the truth of the testimony of the Holy Scriptures about the Divine action revealed in the world: he will perfectly understand that the saving and providential influence of God on the world is not subject to any human or natural laws, which is why the biblical testimony about it is in no way may be the fruit of human invention, but it is a matter of direct revelation from above. This will constitute the best and most certain proof that in the Bible we are dealing with genuine Divine Scripture.

Let us now move on to two questions that sometimes confuse believers: the first concerns the relationship between the Bible and science, and the second concerns the very content of the Bible.

On the relationship between the Bible and science. Each of us has more than once heard statements according to which the facts given in the Bible do not correspond to the data and conclusions of modern science. In defense of the Bible, one can, of course, point to the temporary nature of scientific conclusions and theories, to the latest discoveries in various scientific fields, which seem to confirm some biblical facts. But first of all, we must keep in mind that biblical testimony is religious testimony: its subject is God and His action in the world. Science explores the world itself. Of course, it is certain that scientific knowledge and scientific discoveries are from God, in the sense that He providentially advances them further and further. But all this is not religious knowledge, which has God Himself as its subject and is possible only in the order of revelation. Religious and scientific knowledge belong to completely different areas. They have nowhere to meet and therefore there is simply no opportunity for them to contradict each other. Therefore, the discrepancies between the Bible and science are imaginary discrepancies.

This is true especially in the relationship of the Bible to the natural sciences. The latter have nature as their subject, that is, the physical world. Revelation concerns the relationship of the world with God, that is, what is beyond physical world : its invisible basis, its origin and its final destination. All this is not subject to scientific experience and, as such, constitutes the field of metaphysics, that is, the philosophical discipline that asks about what is beyond the boundaries of the natural world. But philosophy only asks about this area, while religion has Revelation about it. The revelation here was given by God because for man, for his eternal salvation, it is necessary to know where he came from and where he is destined. This revelation is captured in the Bible and therefore the latter, according to the apt words of the metropolitan (19th century), speaks not about how heaven is structured, but about how a person should ascend to it. And if we turn to what expresses the Bible’s basic view of the world and man, we will immediately be convinced that it is in no way subject to the judgment of natural science and, therefore, cannot contradict it. This is how the biblical view of the world and man is defined: 1) the world and man are the creation of God, and man was created in the image and likeness of God; 2) the world and man, as a result of the ancestral Fall, are in an improper, fallen state: they are subject to sin and death and therefore need salvation; 3) this salvation was given in Christ, and the power of Christ is already active in the world, but will be revealed in all its fullness only in the life of the next century. Natural science cannot make any judgments regarding the creation of the world and man, because it studies only the substance of which the already existing natural world and the human body are composed, and the metaphysical reason why this substance began to exist in time is simply inaccessible to its experience and thus outside the scope of her study. Of course, the question may arise about how we should understand the days of creation, but no matter how we understand them, the very truth about God as the Creator of everything can neither be confirmed by natural scientific experimental knowledge nor refuted by it. It is also obvious that the truths about the image of God in man, about the Fall, about the coming transformation of the world are not subject to verification by natural science, for all this is not the realm of the “visible” world, cognizable with the help of the five senses. In essence, natural science deals with only a very narrow sector of reality: the laws of world matter in its current state. Everything else, that is, precisely the area of ​​philosophy and religious revelation, is beyond his jurisdiction, because it is inaccessible. It is true that sometimes the invisible breaks into the realm of the visible, and the Bible insists on the fact of a miracle. The miracle for her lies in the abolition of natural laws in the world. She views a miracle precisely as a manifestation of the action of God the Savior in the world. It is known that science is ready to stop before a miracle and establish facts of violation of natural laws. However, she states that, despite the inability to explain them in her current condition, she hopes to find an explanation for them in the future. She, of course, will be able, through new discoveries, to increase the number of causes and circumstances known to the mind, the combination of which caused this or that miracle, but the invisible First Cause is forever hidden from her field of vision and therefore will always remain knowable only in the order of religious revelation. So, there cannot be and is not a conflict between the Bible and natural science. The same must be established in relation to the Bible and the historical sciences.

The Bible is criticized for the fact that the historical information it gives sometimes differs from what we know from history. The Bible allegedly often presents historical events differently, does not say much, or cites facts unconfirmed by historical science. Of course, we still have not found out much about the historical past of the peoples of the ancient East, who formed the environment in which the Bible arose. In this regard, the continuous archaeological discoveries in Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia are extremely valuable, shedding more and more new light on this past. But, however, we should never lose sight of the fact that the authors of the Bible, as religious witnesses, tried to see mainly the religious side of history, that is, God working through events and revealing himself in them. This explains all the so-called discrepancies between the Bible and history. Sacred writers, naturally, could remain silent about facts and events or about some of their aspects that were not of religious significance. After all, it is well known how often the testimony of different eyewitnesses of the same fact or incident does not coincide with each other, for everyone observes and judges from his own point of view, which does not coincide with the point of view of his neighbor. Therefore, it should be assumed that secular history often did not pay attention and did not testify to facts that were of no importance to statesmen, diplomats or military leaders, but were paramount from a religious point of view. In this regard, a classic example is how the witnesses of secular history passed by Christ and, one might say, did not notice Him. Contemporary historians and thinkers of the Greco-Roman world do not talk about Him at all, for they were in no way captivated by His appearance on the distant outskirts of the empire, in provincial Palestine. Information about Christ, although extremely distorted, began to appear in Greco-Roman authors only when Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. We must simply recognize in advance that in the absence of parallel historical documents, in many cases the Bible can only be verified in the light of the Bible itself. Therefore, all attempts by historical science leading to the restructuring of the traditional biblical scheme of the sequence of events are only scientific hypotheses, and not certification of unshakable historical truth. The Bible is also a document of history, but only the history of God's implementation of our salvation.

On the composition of the Bible (question about the Old Testament). We have come to a question that even believers sometimes ask - about the presence of certain parts in the Bible to which modern knowledge, divorced from doctrinal sources, often attaches only archaeological significance. Since the Bible (some people think) is a document of history, like a book written in history, should not some parts of it be considered as belonging exclusively to the historical past? These questions refer mainly to the Old Testament part of the canon. Here, of course, the fruit of modern political influences and prejudices that are by no means of a religious nature often comes into play. But, one way or another, in circles that consider themselves ecclesiastical, even a hostile attitude towards the Old Testament was expressed. And where similar attitude no, there is still confusion about Old Testament: Why do we need the Old Testament, since Christ came? What is his religious use when his spirit so often falls short of the spirit of the Gospel? Of course, the Old Testament only in the messianic places of some of its books reaches the New Testament heights, but, nevertheless, it is Holy Scripture, containing genuine Divine Revelation. Christ and the Apostles, as we see from the countless references to the Old Testament found in the New Testament books, constantly cited the words of the Old Testament as containing the word of God spoken for all times. And indeed, already in the Old Testament such primary truths were revealed to humanity as the truths about the creation of the world, about the image of God in man, about the Fall and the improper state of the natural world, which were accepted and confirmed almost without addition in the New Testament. It is the Old Testament that speaks of those promises of God that Christ fulfilled and by which the New Testament Church lives to this day and will live by them until the end of the age. The Old Testament provides divinely inspired examples of prayers of repentance, petition and praise, which humanity still prays to this day. The Old Testament most perfectly expressed those eternal questions addressed to God about the meaning of the suffering of the righteous in the world, which we also think about; True, we are now given the answer to them through the Cross of Christ the Savior, but it is precisely these Old Testament questions that help us realize all the riches of Revelation given to us in Christ. Thus we came to that main reason, according to which the Old Testament remains necessary for our salvation to this day: it leads us to Christ. The Apostle Paul, speaking about the Old Testament law and meaning by it the entire religious state of the Old Testament man, defines him as a teacher, or teacher to Christ. It is known that what is essential for salvation is not the knowledge about God that we receive by hearsay or from books, but the knowledge of God, which is the fruit of religious experience in a living meeting with God. And only having received the Old Testament revelation and having gone through the Old Testament religious experience, as through preliminary preparation, was humanity able to recognize and meet the Christ of God as its Savior and Lord. What constituted the path of humanity as a whole lies on the path of each individual person. Each of us must necessarily go through the Old Testament. In order for us, like the Apostles, to have our spiritual eyes opened, so that we truly know that Christ is the Son of God and our personal Savior, it is necessary that we also first go through that true knowledge of God that the patriarchs, prophets and other witnesses of God in the Old Testament. This necessity follows from the teaching of the Apostle Paul about the Old Testament as a teacher to Christ. Christ speaks about the same thing, emphasizing that the great New Testament truth about the Resurrection is available only to those who listen to Moses and the prophets (see). And He directly conditions faith in Himself by faith in the words of Moses (see). It follows from this that at some point in his spiritual growth Every person living in God in an unknown way passes through the Old Testament in order to move from it to the New Testament knowledge of God. How and when this happens is a mystery known only to God. Obviously, this transition occurs differently for each individual person. But one thing is certain: the Old Testament is inevitable in the matter of our personal salvation. Therefore, the Old Testament sacred books, in which the Old Testament religious experience we need are captured for us, find their natural place in the canon of Scripture, which contains the word that God was pleased to deliberately address to all humanity through His specially chosen inspired writers-prophets. How is this word perceived by believers and what does it bring to them?

III. Holy Scripture and Religious Life

Sacred Scripture and the prayer life of the Church. We saw above that the Church tries to base all its theological experience on the Holy Scriptures. But while doing theology, the Church also prays. We also noted that she also strives to clothe her prayers in words borrowed from Scripture. Moreover, she reads Scripture itself during her services. Here it is necessary to point out that during the annual liturgical cycle the Church reads the entire Four Gospels, the entire book of Acts and all the Apostolic Epistles; At the same time, she reads almost the entire book of Genesis and the prophet Isaiah, as well as significant passages from the rest of the Old Testament canon. As for the Psalter, this book is normally read in its entirety during each seventh (that is, weekly) circle as containing divinely inspired examples of our petitionary, repentant and doxological prayers. In addition, we note that church legislation requires clergy to preach the word of God daily in church. This shows that the ideal of church life includes unceasing listening to the Holy Scriptures in church and the same unceasing disclosure of its content in the living preaching word. But, at the same time, through the mouth of its teachers and pastors, the Church calls believers to constantly read the Holy Scriptures at home. These persistent pastoral calls, as well as the church rules on the daily preaching of the word of God, and the entire nature of the liturgical use of the Holy Scriptures, clearly show that the latter is spiritual food of absolutely exceptional importance for every believer. What can constant reading of the Holy Scriptures reveal to the spirit of each of us?

Sacred Scripture is first and foremost a record of sacred history. As such, it conveys to us those facts and events through which God revealed Himself in the world He created and fell away from Him and brought about its salvation. It speaks of how God spoke “many times and in various ways” from ancient times in the Old Testament prophets and how He then revealed, when the due dates arrived, the fullness of salvation in His Son (see). Therefore, first of all, the Holy Scriptures are given to us in order to constantly revive in our consciousness everything that God has done “for our sake and for our salvation.” However, constantly renewing in our memory the history of the implementation of our salvation, Scripture is not limited to one reminder of the past - although sacred, but still the past. We must not forget that our religious present is based on this past. Moreover, the entire eternity that opens before us is based on it. Speaking about the salvation of the world accomplished in history, Holy Scripture simultaneously reveals to us our own position before God, as it was created in Christ. It testifies to us that through the redemptive feat of the Lord Jesus Christ, we all became children of Abraham according to the promise, the chosen people, people taken by God as an inheritance. True, Christ also filled with new, that is, New Testament content, these Old Testament images that determine our attitude towards God, but fundamentally, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, they testify to the same abiding truth: God Himself, exclusively in His own initiative, he descended into the world for the sake of man who had fallen away from Him. Only after the coming of Christ is there no longer only Israel, but none of us, despite our sins, are rejected before Him. And, of course, understanding, even if only purely rationally, this truth through constant reading of the Holy Scriptures already instills in us the courage, hope and confidence we need to travel the path of our personal salvation.

Salvation is a gift that is not enough just to know, but which must be accepted and realized, that is, made into a living reality, for if the descent of God into the world and our redemption in Christ were not caused by any merit on our part, but are exclusively a matter of Divine love, then our assimilation of the fruits of Christ’s saving feat is left to our will. God, who created us without our consent, created us free, and therefore, without our consent, cannot make valid for each of us the salvation that He granted in Christ. We must therefore strive to acquire righteousness through prayer and struggle with our sinfulness. This is the path of our salvation. It must first of all be found, since each human person is assigned his own path to God. But, in addition, a person, due to his weakness and his sinfulness, is often mistaken about the correct path leading to the realization of the salvation given to him. The history of the Church knows not only heresies about God, about the God-man Christ, but also heresies about the essence and nature of salvation, as well as about the ways of acquiring it. Therefore, a person needs to have some kind of book for guidance in walking the path of salvation. Such a book is the same Holy Scripture, for in it, inspired by God, that is, in full accordance with the truth, the main milestones of the path to God for every human soul are attested: “that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work” (). It is in Scripture that each of us finds an indication of those virtues that he must seek and achieve, working on himself and asking for them from God. It is in Scripture that we find promises addressed to each of us about those gracious means that we can count on to realize our salvation. And those heroes of faith through whom God acted and built sacred history, those whose exploits are narrated by the Holy Scriptures, patriarchs, prophets, righteous men, apostles, etc., remain for us living images of the path of salvation and therefore are our eternal companions in walking before God.

However, God not only gives us correct instructions in Scripture regarding the way of our salvation. He Himself, through His Providence for us, leads us along this path. He gives us grace through the sacraments of the church, as well as in other ways known to Him alone. By cooperating with our freedom, He Himself directs us to receive this grace. In other words, although salvation has already been given in Christ, its construction by God continues now, in the life of each of us. Therefore, even now the same revelation and the same action of God continues through the events that were witnessed in Scripture. There, by the Spirit of God, through sacred history, Christ was, as it were, pre-incarnated; Now, through the Holy Spirit, Christ, who has already become incarnate and completed His saving work, enters into the life of the world as a whole and each of us individually. But the very principle of Revelation through events or, what is the same, through history, remains the same for us. Various images and, one might say, laws of this Revelation were established and recorded by the authors of the sacred books. Based on them and by analogy with what happened in the past, we can recognize the present and even the future. At the same time, Holy Scripture itself calls us to comprehend through the sacred past the same sacred present and sacred future. So, for example, the Apostle Paul, referring to the relationship between the two sons of Abraham, establishes the fact of the existence in the world of a law according to which “just as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now”; but, the Apostle continues, “what does Scripture say? Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will not be an heir along with the son of the free woman” (). In other words, the Apostle, on the basis of one long ago former fact shows that people who are free in spirit will always be persecuted in this world, but that, despite this, the final victory belongs to them. The same Apostle Paul, asking God about the fate of Israel who had fallen away from Him in the flesh and peering into sacred history, comprehends, on the one hand, that if God chose only Isaac and Jacob from the descendants of Abraham, then it is quite clear that He could leave in the New Testament almost the entire Jewish people (see), and that, on the other hand, if through the prophet Hosea He announced mercy to the Northern Kingdom, rejected because of its sins, then it is clear that in Christ He called the pagans who had previously been abandoned (see. ). Considering then the action of God through all of sacred history, the Apostle Paul predicts the conversion in the future to Christ of the same fallen Israel according to the flesh and proclaims general principle: “God imprisoned everyone in disobedience in order to have mercy on everyone. Oh, the abyss of wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God” (). We are all called upon, on the basis of the same Scripture, to continue these and similar insights of the Apostle Paul and other inspired writers. Through constant reading of the Holy Scriptures, a Christian learns to understand the will of God as revealed in his events. personal life and the lives of the whole world. The Holy Scriptures, once compiled by the prophets and apostles in the distant historical past, turned out to be given to all of Christ's humanity forever, as an instrument for recognizing times.

But that is not all. Holy Scripture can also turn out to be a tool for the ascent of a Christian person to the heights of spiritual experience. It contains a record of the word of God for transmission to all human generations. But more than just the verbal shell of Divine Revelation is transmitted. The most religious experience can be transmitted, that is, the direct knowledge that the prophets—the authors of the Holy Scriptures—had, as initiates into the mysteries of God. The Church, as Christ's conciliar humanity, has a grace-filled conciliar consciousness, in which direct contemplation of everything that has ever been given by God to man in the order of Revelation takes place. This direct, grace-filled contemplation by the Catholic Church of the entirety of Divine Revelation constitutes, as we have seen, the basis of Holy Tradition. The latter is therefore not, as is often believed, some kind of archive of documents, but a living, grace-filled memory of the Church. Thanks to the presence of this memory, in the consciousness of the Church the boundaries of time are erased; therefore, the past, the present, and the future form for her one ever-present present. By virtue of this miracle of grace-filled conciliarity, those same Divine realities that were once contemplated by all God’s witnesses, in particular the inspired compilers of the books of Holy Scripture, become immediately accessible to the Church. Therefore, as he becomes familiar with what constitutes the mystical depth of the Church, every Christian, at least if possible, receives direct access to those Divine truths that were once revealed to the spiritual gaze of the prophets and apostles, who recorded these insights in the Holy Scriptures. And, of course, constant reading of the latter is one of the surest means communion with both what constitutes the spiritual essence of the Church and the religious vision of the sacred writers.

But you can go even further. By leading us to Christ, reading the Holy Scriptures can in some cases enable the Christian to complete in the Holy Spirit the religious knowledge of the sacred authors. First of all, we see in Christ the fulfillment of the Old Testament messianic prophecies. But along with the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament there are also so-called prototypes of Christ. Their existence is noted in the New Testament writings. The latter, using examples of the interpretation of prototypes, show us how, in the light of the New Testament experience, the religious experience of the Old Testament writers is completed for believers. It is known that the New Testament books constantly refer to Christ not only the predictions of the Old Testament prophets, but also various events of the Old Testament law. All these religious facts, according to the teachings of the New Testament books, mysteriously predicted Christ, namely prefiguring His. With regard to the interpretation of types, the epistle to the Hebrews is especially characteristic. It shows that the Old Testament Aaronic priesthood and sacrifices received their fulfillment in the redemptive feat of Christ, who made a one-time perfect sacrifice and appeared for us as the True Intercessor before God. At the same time, the Apostle Paul in this letter says that the entire Old Testament sacrificial ritual and the entire Old Testament priesthood in relation to the sacrifice of Christ is a canopy, that is, a shadow of future benefits, and not the very image of things (). As the letter of the book of Leviticus, which contains the laws of the Old Testament priesthood and sacrifices, shows, its compilers did not even think of talking about Christ, whom they did not know, since He had not yet appeared in the world. Nevertheless, what they spoke about still represented Christ.

This is explained by the fact that it was partly involved in those religious benefits that were given to the world in their entirety in Christ. The Old Testament authors, without knowing it themselves, often mysteriously came into contact with the spiritual reality that God only slightly revealed in the Old Testament and which He gave in its entirety only through Christ. These partial revelations of the truth about the coming Christ and His exploits explain the presence of both types and messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. The Old Testament sacred writers therefore only partially penetrated this truth. But the New Testament authors, seeing in Christ “the very image of things,” understood that the Old Testament, in essence, speaks about Christ, and therefore clearly saw manifestations of the power of Christ where the very letter of the text did not allow and still does not allow this to be seen those who have not yet known Christ. But we have seen that, containing Divine Revelation, Holy Scripture has the wonderful property of introducing believers into the religious experience of its authors. Therefore, for believers, the Old Testament continually reveals the testimony of Christ. The Fathers of the Church undoubtedly had such a vision of Christ in all of Holy Scripture, as their interpretations of Scripture show. But for each of the modern readers of Scripture, the latter can become, by the will of God, the same always living and each time sounding new book about Christ.

Summing up all of the above about the meaning and effect of Scripture in the religious life of a Christian, we are convinced that reading it is something much more than ordinary religious reading. Of course, there were cases when people came to God through reading other religious books. But in all Scripture, for each of us, God Himself laid down the objective possibility of meeting Christ, and it will remain inherent in this book, even if it is not used by those for whom it is intended. Holy Scripture shows us Christ working throughout sacred history. In addition, starting from Scripture, we come to know Christ in the life of our contemporary world and in our personal lives. Therefore, the Bible, as a book about Christ, gives us the living Christ and continually improves us in His knowledge. This brings us back to the same words of the Apostle Paul about the purpose of Holy Scripture: “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Of course, every Christian’s reading into the Holy Scripture depends on his integration into the rest of the grace-filled reality of the Church. Holy Scripture is given to the Church, and in it it receives its revelation. But we must not forget that the religious state of the historical Church in each era depends on the religious life of its constituent members: “if one member suffers, all members suffer with it; If one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it” (). It is precisely because of this that we will be saved with the whole Church, and not each individual. Therefore, in our era of various upheavals and unrest, which have had such a profound impact on the life of the Church, God Himself undoubtedly shows us the path to the revival of Christ’s witness in the world and especially makes it the duty of every believer to penetrate into the meaning of the Holy Scriptures.

See 58th Apostolic Rule and 19th Rule of the VI Ecumenical Council.

Orthodoxy Titov Vladimir Eliseevich

"Holy Scripture" and "Sacred Tradition"

Orthodox theologians insist on the divinely inspired nature of their doctrine, convincing their followers that it was given to people by God himself in the form of revelation.

This divine revelation is disseminated and maintained among believers through two sources: “sacred scripture” and “sacred tradition.” Orthodoxy considers the first source of its doctrine to be “ Holy Bible", "books written by inspired men - in the Old Testament by the prophets, and in the New Testament by the apostles - and constituting the so-called Bible."

The second source is “sacred tradition,” by which ideologists of Orthodoxy understand “that when true believers who honor God by word and example pass on to each other and to their ancestors and descendants the teaching of faith (i.e., how to believe), the law of God (how to live), how to perform sacraments and sacred rites.”

What are these divinely inspired sources of the doctrine of Orthodoxy? “Holy Scripture” is the Bible, a collection of books of the Old and New Testaments, recognized by the church as inspired, that is, written by holy men under the inspiration and with the assistance of the spirit of God. It should be noted that Orthodox churches do not consider all parts of the Bible to be inspired or canonical. In the canon of inspired books, Orthodoxy includes 38 books of the Old Testament and all 27 books of the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the following books are considered canonical: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges (along with the book of Ruth), four books of Kings, two books of Chronicles, two books of Ezra, books of Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms , Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the book of the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the books of the Twelve Prophets.

The remaining books in the Bible are considered non-canonical by the Orthodox Church (for example, the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, Tobit, Judith, etc.). In addition, there are certain passages in the canonical books that are not recognized as inspired. For example, the prayer of King Manasseh at the end of 2 Chronicles, parts of the book of Esther not indicated by the verse count, the song of the three youths in the 3 chapter of the book of the prophet Daniel, the story of Susanna in the 13th chapter, the story of Bel and the dragon in 14 -chapter of the same book.

It must be said frankly that, from the point of view of an unbiased reader, the canonical and non-canonical books of the Bible differ little from each other in content. Some frivolity of the content of the story of Susanna and the elders cannot in any way be considered an obstacle to its inclusion in the canon, if we bear in mind the great sensuality and eroticism of the famous canonical Song of Songs. The main argument of Christian theologians against the inclusion of certain passages in the biblical canon is not objections to their content, but the fact that they are absent from the Hebrew text of the Bible and appear only in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the “70 interpreters”) and then in the Vulgate (medieval Latin translation). The Catholic Church and Orthodox churches consider non-canonical passages of the Bible to be beneficial for reading and include them in their editions of the Bible. Protestant churches adhere only to the canon.

The canon of the New Testament is as follows: four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John); Acts of the Apostles; seven conciliar epistles (one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Judas); fourteen epistles of Paul (Romans, two Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, two Thessalonians, two Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews); Revelation of John the Theologian.

Biblical scholarly criticism has established that the Old Testament portion of the Bible was created by various authors over several centuries. The most ancient parts of the Old Testament (the song of Deborah from the 5th chapter of the book of Judges, the funeral song of David for the death of Saul and his son Jonathan from the second book of Samuel) go back to the 13th century. BC e. At first they were passed on as oral tradition. The recording of such oral traditions began among the Jews at the turn of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. e., when they adopted the Phoenician writing. The first prophetic books included in the Bible appeared no earlier than the 8th century. BC e. (books of Hosea, Amos, Micah, First Isaiah). By the 6th century BC e. researchers attributed the books of Judges and Kings only in the middle of the 2nd century. BC e. The Psalter was compiled. And only by the beginning of the 1st century. BC e. The Old Testament part of the Bible was compiled approximately in the same form in which it has reached our time.

Analysis of the Old Testament by many generations of scholars leads to the firm conviction that the “holy spirit” had nothing to do with the creation of the Bible. It is enough to cite the example of the book of Genesis, which opens the famous Pentateuch of Moses. There are two clear sources in this book. The book, included in biblical criticism under the name Yahwist, was compiled by a follower of the god Yahweh, initially the god of the tribe of Judah, and then of all the Jewish tribes united around this tribe. The second book of Elohist was compiled by the followers of the gods Elohim (plural of the god Eloh). These primary sources provide similar, but at the same time differing in significant details, descriptions of the “creation” of the universe, the history of mankind and the Jewish people.

And regarding the New Testament - the part of the Bible created by Christians - scientific analysis also convinces us that here too we are dealing with a purely earthly document. For example, Christian theologians argue that the New Testament books came into being in the order in which they are listed in the canon of the New Testament (first - the Gospel, last - the Apocalypse). In fact, the order in which the New Testament books appeared is exactly the opposite. And the composition of the canon of the New Testament was approved only in 364 at the Council of Laodicea, that is, more than three centuries after the events that it describes.

And so, in order to elevate an earthly document - the Bible - to the rank of a divine document, Orthodox theologians are trying to support the authority of “sacred scripture” with the authority of “sacred tradition”.

Unlike Protestantism, which rejects the “sacred tradition,” and Catholicism, which adheres to the point of view of the incompleteness of the “sacred scripture,” Orthodoxy recognizes both sources of its doctrine as equal. “Sacred tradition is the same divine revelation, the same word of God, orally transmitted to the church by Jesus Christ, like sacred scripture, with the only difference that it is the word of God, orally transmitted to the church by Jesus Christ and the apostles, and sacred scripture is the word of God , enclosed in books by inspired men and handed down to the church in writing.”

Orthodox theologians believe that comprehension of the “deepest” secrets of “divine revelation” is possible only within the framework of a close combination and mutual agreement of the basic provisions of “sacred scripture” and “sacred tradition.” According to their point of view, “in order for the divine revelation to be preserved more accurately and unchangeably, the Holy Scriptures were given. scripture." And the need for tradition is evident from the fact that a minority of people (only the literate) can use books, but everyone can use tradition.

The main meaning of “sacred tradition,” from the point of view of Orthodox theologians, is that it is necessary for the correct understanding of “sacred scripture,” in which many thoughts are presented concisely and are incomprehensible without explanation. The apostolic disciples and their successors allegedly heard the detailed sermon of the apostles and knew how the apostles themselves understood the meaning of the teaching they set out in writing. Therefore, the interpretation of “sacred scripture” without reference to “sacred tradition,” Orthodox theologians warn believers, can and does lead to a distortion of the truths of faith, to heresy. Tradition, from the point of view of Orthodox theologians, is also necessary for the correct performance of sacraments and rituals in their original establishment, since often in the “holy scripture” there is no exact mention of how to perform them. And the “all-wise” apostles, of course, knew the formulas for performing the sacraments and rituals and reported this to their “grateful descendants” in tradition.

What is the second source of the doctrine of Orthodoxy, the so-called “sacred tradition”? The composition of the “sacred tradition” is diverse and complex; Orthodox theologians themselves count 9 parts in it. These are, firstly, the symbols of faith of the most ancient local churches (Jerusalem, Antioch, etc.); secondly, the so-called “apostolic rules”, they were not written by the apostles, but contain, according to Orthodox theologians, the practice of apostolic times, although they were collected together no earlier than the 4th century; thirdly, the definitions of faith and rules of the first seven ecumenical councils and three local ones, the authority of which was recognized by the sixth ecumenical council; fourthly, confessions of faith made by the church fathers (the creeds of Gregory of Neocaesarea, Basil the Great, the presentation of the Orthodox faith by Gregory Palma, etc.); fifthly, the acts of ecumenical and local councils; sixthly, ancient liturgies, many of which, according to the conviction of Orthodox theologians, go back to the apostles; seventh, acts of martyrs; eighth, the works of the fathers and teachers of the church (“Catechetical Sermon” by Gregory of Nyssa, “Theology” by John of Damascus, etc.); ninth, the ancient practice of the church concerning sacred times, places, rites, etc., partly reproduced in writing.

However, further in Christian theology strange things happen with the “sacred tradition”. We have already mentioned that one of the three main trends in Christianity - Protestantism - does not recognize the authority of “sacred tradition” at all. Protestant theologians consider "sacred tradition" to be a creation church leaders, not the holy spirit. And therefore, from their point of view, it cannot in any way be placed on a par with the Bible. There are also endless disputes about the composition of the “sacred tradition” between representatives of the other two main movements of Christianity - Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The Catholic Church includes in its “sacred tradition” the decisions of all ecumenical councils (after the 7th ecumenical council only the Catholic Church collected such) and the decisions of the popes. Orthodox churches strongly reject these additions. These disputes between representatives of the main currents of Christianity undermine the authority of the “sacred tradition” and devalue its significance. It is difficult for Orthodox theologians to support the authority of the Bible, the “holy scripture,” with the authority of “sacred tradition.” And then a new justification for the enduring significance of the Bible is put into play: the idea of ​​​​the inspiration of “holy scripture” is used. Let us also consider this argumentation of Orthodox theologians.

Whether the Orthodox clergy wants it or not, from the theological interpretation of the need for “sacred tradition” it is quite clear that theologians subconsciously feel the insufficiency, inferiority of “sacred scripture,” a source that, according to them, should provide an answer to all the queries of the inquisitive human mind. But even when they involuntarily let it slip, Orthodox theologians highly value “holy scripture” and try to confirm its truth by referring to its divinely revealed, “inspired” character. For theologians, “inspiration” is an undoubted proof of truth. Who, if not God, knows the truth?!

How do Orthodox theologians understand “inspiration”? Various points of view have been expressed on this matter in Christian theology, mainly they can be reduced to three. Some theologians (Athenagoras, Justin Martyr, Tertullian and theologians of the old Protestant school of the 17th century) believed that the authors of biblical books were only organs of the “holy spirit” that inspired them and communicated the “wisdom” of the revelation of God in an ecstatic state, without any participation of their own consciousness and will. According to this view, the responsibility for the biblical texts lies entirely with the “holy spirit,” and since he is a member of the holy trinity, naturally he could not be mistaken, and therefore not only all the legends in the Bible are true, but also every word, every letter.

Another direction in Christian theology (Origen, Epiphanius, Jerome, Basil the Great, Chrysostom) took a more cautious approach to determining the nature of the “inspiration” of the Bible. Representatives of this school of thought understood inspiration only as illumination and enlightenment emanating from the “holy spirit,” in which the consciousness and personal activity of the authors of biblical books were preserved intact. To the great regret of modern theologians, representatives of this trend did not express “a separate view on the inspiration of the sacred books, whether everything in them is inspired by God.”

And finally, we need to point out the third direction in the interpretation of the question of the “divine inspiration” of “sacred scripture”. When, as a result of the blows of scientific criticism of the Bible, it became clear that a rather small fraction of the truth in the content of the “holy scripture” remained, among theologians who wanted to save the Christian doctrine, a whole school of so-called modernists appeared, who began to limit the “inspiration” of the “holy” books of their general content, without recognizing individual details in the biblical texts.

Orthodox theologians gravitate most toward the second of these three points of view. The first direction in the interpretation of “divine inspiration” seems to them to be somewhat limited, since the authors of biblical books, speaking divine truth, “turn into mechanical tools, into automata, alien to personal understanding and attitude to the truths communicated.” The point, of course, is not that this understanding of “inspiration” is insufficient. It’s just that these days it is already difficult to prove that every word and every letter in the Bible is true; too many contradictions and absurdities have been discovered in the “holy scripture”.

As for the third direction with its extreme conclusions, it seems to Orthodox theologians to be too “revolutionary” and is rejected, since it “breaks the internal necessity, the connection between thought and word, between the subject of revelation and its external presentation and expression.” Orthodox theologians are frightened that such views “little by little reduce all scripture to human works, and its inspiration is recognized as an ignorant, outdated concept.”

Modern Orthodox theologians formulate their attitude to the nature of the “inspiration” of biblical books as follows: “Inspiration consists in the fact that St. The writers, whatever they wrote, wrote according to the direct inspiration and instruction of St. spirit, and received from it both a thought and a word, or an external form of expression (to the extent that it is inextricably linked with the very content of revelation), but without any constraint or violence of their natural abilities.”

However, the absence of any constraint and violence against the natural abilities of earthly authors greatly fails theologians. Reading the Bible can confuse anyone: it is full of contradictions. For example, according to the first chapter of the book of Genesis, man and woman were created by God at the same time, but the second chapter of this book claims that Adam was first molded from clay, and then Eve was created from his rib. It is impossible to understand how long the flood lasted. “The flood continued on the earth for forty days - this is one message in the Bible. “The waters increased on the earth for one hundred and fifty days,” says another verse of the “holy scripture.” Many are familiar with the biblical myth of the fight between David and Goliath. However, the same Bible in another place says: “Then Elchanan the son of Jagar-Orgim of Bethlehem killed Goliath the Gittite.” No less controversial is the New Testament, the part of the Bible that is revered only by Christians. It is enough to give the genealogy of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew, 42 generations passed from the patriarch Abraham to Jesus, and the Gospel of Luke counts 56 generations. Scientific criticism of the Bible shows what a huge number of such contradictions and historical incongruities there are in the so-called “holy scripture”.

How to explain the numerous contradictions of biblical texts, how to explain the irreconcilable contradiction of biblical legends and achievements modern natural science? After all, even according to the point of view of modern theologians, “truth is one and objective.” Armed with the above understanding of “divine inspiration,” Orthodox theologians are trying to fight against scientific criticism of the Bible.

It turns out that anything can be explained and justified. To do this, you just need to be sufficiently savvy in theology. It has already been said that, according to the point of view of Orthodoxy, “divine inspiration” when writing biblical books did not in the least hinder the natural abilities of the earthly authors of the “holy scriptures”. “But since human nature is imperfect, the participation of free human activity in the writing of the sacred books may introduce some imperfections into them. Therefore, the scriptures found in St. do not contradict the inspiration of God. books contain purely human thoughts and feelings, inaccuracies, disagreements, etc. Works of the priest. writers are perfect only to the extent necessary for divine purposes. Where imperfect human knowledge is sufficient for the cause of human salvation, God allowed imperfections to appear. The same can be said about the form in which God is presented. revelation".

This is a very important recognition of Orthodox theologians. We have already seen that when interpreting the need for “sacred tradition,” Orthodox theologians, although unwillingly, spoke about the inferiority of “sacred scripture,” in which supposedly “many thoughts are presented concisely and without explanation.” Here, the theologians themselves clearly and unequivocally speak out about the imperfection of “holy scripture” from the point of view of both the content of individual passages and the form of presentation. True, all these “imperfections” of the Bible are recognized with purely theological caution. The grossest chronological errors are called “inaccuracies,” glaring contradictions in biblical texts are called “disagreements,” and the complete irreconcilability of the biblical picture of the creation of the world with the achievements of modern natural science is modestly classified under the heading “and so on.” But in this case we are not interested in the caution of theologians, but in the fact of their recognition of the imperfection of “holy scripture”,

With the help of this understanding of “divine inspiration,” Orthodox theologians try to protect the Bible from the blows of scientific criticism. They understand perfectly well that in our days, when even a more or less educated person against the backdrop of the scientific picture of the world can see many flaws in biblical ideas, it is impossible to save the biblical text in its entirety. But the holy spirit, which “dictated” the biblical legends to the prophets and apostles, must be saved. A deity cannot tell lies. Therefore, Orthodox theologians “found in St. books, purely human thoughts and feelings, inaccuracies, disagreements, etc.,” that is, all kinds of errors, are attributed to the imperfection of the earthly authors of the Bible, to the imperfect human nature, which managed to leave its mark even on the “inspired” “holy scripture”. Because the responsibility for the imperfections of the “holy scripture” is shifted from the shoulders (so to speak) of the holy spirit to the conscience of the earthly authors of the Bible, the biblical contradictions themselves do not disappear.

Despite the forced recognition of the imperfection of the “holy scripture,” Orthodox theologians still value the significance of the Bible very highly. Biblical books, they say, “are more important than all books for man, as they communicate the will of God, which must be known to please God and save the soul. The Bible is a book of books."

In the second collection of “Theological Works,” published in 1961, a review by candidate of theology E. A. Karmanov appeared on the book of Catholic theologians E. Galbiati and A. Piazza “Difficult Pages of the Bible (Old Testament).” We will dwell on this review when we consider the issues of the relationship between Orthodoxy and science. Now I would like to consider several program provisions of E. A. Karmanov. He is very sympathetic to the rejection of “the literal meaning in favor of the spiritual and symbolic” when interpreting biblical texts. He believes that the contradiction between the two stories about the creation of the world is easily resolved, since the first story is written in a religious and moral sense, and the second in a psychological and didactic sense. Both stories, they say, do not pretend to be an objective presentation of facts; the order of events is not included in the range of the author’s statements. According to the author, the biblical description of the global flood does not at all assert its “universality” and applies only to Palestine, Egypt and their neighboring countries. In the famous Babylonian pandemonium, it turns out, one can see “a standard hyperbole like our skyscraper.” In conclusion, the author expresses the conviction that “ correct application historical-critical method, a painstaking and comprehensive study of the biblical text without hasty and unfounded conclusions give excellent results.” But who will determine whether the conclusions are hasty or unhurried, whether they are justified or unfounded? The author of the review found it possible to admit that the narrative of the book of Genesis about the creation of the world does not pretend to be an objective presentation of facts. But what about the contradictions in the gospels - these biographies of Jesus Christ? Perhaps the Gospel texts also do not pretend to be an objective presentation of facts? Perhaps they are only religious and edifying stories? Perhaps there was no immaculate conception of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion, his miraculous resurrection and ascension into heaven? Unpleasant questions for theologians. The path of symbolic interpretation of the Bible is very dangerous for them, but they are forced to step on it, driven by the blows of scientific criticism of the “holy scripture”.

The situation is no better with another source of doctrine - “sacred tradition”. Dogmas, decrees, canons of ecumenical councils, as we have already seen, were created over hundreds of years by different people in different settings. And here we also meet interesting facts, refuting the theological concept of “divine inspiration” of “sacred tradition”. Let us take, for example, the credo of Orthodoxy, its symbol of faith and the “secret of mysteries” of Christianity - the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

From the book Language and Religion. Lectures on philology and history of religions author Mechkovskaya Nina Borisovna

63. “Talmud”, the Sacred Tradition of Judaism The consequence of the principle of ipse dixit ‘he said it himself’, so organic for communication in the religions of Scripture (see §56), was that the circle of authors of Scripture was initially extremely limited. It included only the highest religious authorities, and

From the book Orthodox Dogmatic Theology author Pomazansky Protopresbyter Michael

Sacred Tradition Sacred Tradition in the original precise sense of the word is tradition coming from the ancient Church of the apostolic times: it was called in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. “Apostolic tradition.” It must be borne in mind that the ancient Church carefully guarded against

From the book Dogmatic Theology author Davydenkov Oleg

Section II Sacred Tradition 1. Sacred Scripture about Sacred Tradition Sacred Tradition is the general form of preservation and dissemination by the Church of its teachings. Or another formulation - the preservation and dissemination of Divine Revelation. This form itself

From the book Orthodoxy author Titov Vladimir Eliseevich

“Holy Scripture” and “Holy Tradition” Orthodox theologians insist on the divinely inspired nature of their doctrine, convincing their followers that it was given to people by God himself in the form of revelation. This divine revelation spreads and

From the book Catholicism author Rashkova Raisa Timofeevna

Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition Catholicism as one of the trends in Christianity finally took shape only after the division of the Western and Eastern churches in 1054. Therefore, its dogma and doctrine are both common with Orthodoxy (and then with Protestantism),

From the book Bibliological Dictionary author Men Alexander

TRADING SACRED AND SACRED SCRIPTURE There are many attempts to give precise definition Priest P., but none of them is considered exhaustive. The complexity of the task is apparently due to the fact that the concept of the Holy. P. as the Word of God revealed to the Church cannot be

From the book Ladder, or Spiritual Tablets author Climacus John

Holy Scripture Continuous teaching during the day in the word of God serves to avert sleepy evil dreams. One must learn from the Divine through labor rather than through naked words. .Listening to stories about the exploits of the holy fathers and their teaching arouses the soul to jealousy

From the book Dogmatic Theology author (Kastalsky-Borozdin) Archimandrite Alipiy

IV. SACRED TRADING The concept of “tradition” implies the successive transmission from generation to generation of any knowledge or teaching. The early Church was characterized by a very broad understanding of Sacred Tradition. The Apostle Paul unites all creeds in this concept,

From the book Catechism. Introduction to Dogmatic Theology. Lecture course. author Davydenkov Oleg

1. SACRED TRADITION “Under the name of Sacred Tradition we mean that when true believers and those who honor God by word and example pass on to one another, and ancestors to descendants, the teaching of faith, the law of God, sacraments and sacred rites.” The word “tradition” itself (Greek ?????????) means

From the book Saint Theophan the Recluse and his teaching on salvation author Tertyshnikov Georgy

3.6. Why should we observe the Holy Tradition even when we have the Holy Scriptures? The need to keep Tradition even when we possess the Holy Scriptures is due to three reasons. a) Holy Tradition also includes what, in principle, cannot

From the Book of Teachings author Kavsokalivit Porfiry

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, the works of the Holy Fathers In the Old Testament, God sent prophets to the earth, to whom he communicated His will, and the prophets, moved by the Holy Spirit, interpreted and communicated to people the law of God, “pre-describing the redemption that was to be” and

From the book Fundamentals of the Art of Holiness, Volume 1 author Barnabas Bishop

Holy Scripture Everything has its basis in the eternal book - Holy Scripture. The source of monastic life is the Holy Scripture, the Gospel. What does the Old Testament say? Get out of your land, from your kindred and from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you... (Genesis 12:1).

From the book 300 words of wisdom author Maksimov Georgy

A. Holy Scripture. If the Holy Scripture, or, as it is very often called, the Bible, as a source of knowledge of God has such an indisputable significance for us, then first of all the question arises: what is it in its essence? What is the Bible? A few words about

From the book Fundamentals of Orthodoxy author Nikulina Elena Nikolaevna

B. Sacred Tradition.* (* The section devoted to Sacred Tradition and patristics is available only in the form of outlines. - Note, compiler.) Another positive source of revelation is Sacred Tradition - the unwritten Word of God. Until now, we have spoken about the Word of the Living God,

From the author's book

Sacred Tradition 63. “If anyone wants to be protected from deception and remain sound in the faith, then he must protect his faith, firstly, by the authority of Holy Scripture, and secondly, by the Tradition of the Church. But perhaps someone will ask: the canon of Scripture is perfect and sufficient

From the author's book

The meaning of the concepts “Divine Revelation”, “Sacred Tradition”, “Holy Scripture”, “Bible”, “Old and New Testaments” The purpose of Divine economy, that is, God’s care for His creation, is the salvation of man and his union with the Creator. Certificate

Our knowledge of God is most strengthened by considering all the wisely constructed nature around us. God reveals himself even more in Divine revelation, which is given to us in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

The Holy Scriptures are books written by Prophets and Apostles with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, revealing to them the secrets of the future. These books are called the Bible.

The Bible is a historically established collection of books that covers - according to the Biblical account - an age of about five and a half thousand years. As a literary work, it has been collected for about two thousand years.

It is divided in volume into two unequal parts: the larger one - the ancient one, that is, the Old Testament, and the later one - the New Testament.

The history of the Old Testament prepared people for the coming of Christ for about two thousand years. The New Testament covers the earthly period of the life of the God-man Jesus Christ and his closest followers. For us Christians, of course, the history of the New Testament is more important.

The subjects of biblical books are very diverse. At the beginning it is devoted to the historical past from the point of view of the philosophy of history and Theology, the origin of the world, and the creation of man. This is what the oldest part of the Bible is dedicated to.

The books of the Bible are divided into four parts. The first of them talks about the law left by God to the people through the prophet Moses. These commandments are dedicated to the rules of life and faith.

The second part is historical, it describes all the events that took place over 1100 years - until the 2nd century. ad.

The third part of the books includes moral and edifying ones. They are based on instructive stories from the lives of people famous for certain deeds or a special way of thinking and behavior.

There are books of very high poetic and lyrical content - for example, the Psalter, Song of Songs. The Psalter is especially interesting. This is a book of the history of the soul, the inner life of man, covering the range internal states from spiritual soaring to deep despair due to one or another wrong action.

It should be noted that of all the Old Testament books, the Psalter was the main one for the formation of our Russian worldview. This book was educational - in the pre-Petrine era, all Russian children learned to read and write from it.

The fourth part of the books are prophetic books. Prophetic texts are not just reading, but revelation - very important for the life of each of us, since our inner world is always in motion, striving to achieve the pristine beauty of the human soul.

The story about the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the essence of his teaching is contained in the second part of the Bible - the New Testament. The New Testament consists of 27 books. These are, first of all, the four Gospels - a story about the life and three and a half years of preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then - books telling about His disciples - the books of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as books of His disciples themselves - the Epistles of the Apostles, and, finally, the book of the Apocalypse, telling about the final destinies of the world.

The moral law contained in the New Testament is more strict than that of the Old Testament. Here not only sinful deeds are condemned, but also thoughts. The goal of every person is to eradicate evil in himself. By defeating evil, man conquers death.

The main thing in the Christian faith is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered death and opened the way for all humanity to eternal life. It is this joyful feeling of liberation that permeates the New Testament narratives. The word “Gospel” itself is translated from Greek as “Good News.”

The Old Testament is the ancient union of God with man, in which God promised people a Divine Savior and, over many centuries, prepared them to receive Him.

The New Testament is that God really gave people a Divine Savior, in the person of His Only Begotten Son, who came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and suffered and crucified for us, was buried and resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.