APPROVED FOR DISTRIBUTION BY THE PUBLISHING COUNCIL OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

(Minutes of the meeting of the Board for Scientific and Theological Review and Expert Assessment of the Publishing Council No. 6 dated April 5, 2017)

IS R17-706-0220

© Illustrations by Luvik Glazer-Naud? E from Die Bibel - 365 Geschichten by Dr. Martin Polster

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Archangel Gabriel informs Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist

A long time ago, more than two thousand years before our time, there lived a pious priest named Zechariah. His country was called Judea, and it was located in the eastern Mediterranean. It was ruled in those years by King Herod, nicknamed the Great.

Zechariah was already very old, as was his wife Elisabeth. They lived peacefully and loved each other very much. In everything they tried to do as God commands people in His commandments. But they did not have children, and they were very sad because of this.

In those days, spouses who could not have children were considered by the Jews to be punished by God for their sins. Zechariah prayed many times with tears that the merciful Lord would take pity on them and give them a son or daughter. However, his prayers remained unanswered for a long time.

And then one day Zechariah was serving in the main and only temple of the Jews, which was located in Jerusalem. He had to pour and pour on the burning coals of the altar of God sacrificial incense - myrrh, incense and others. Fragrant smoke from them rose into the sky, and together with the smoke, Zechariah's prayer for the people ascended to the Lord.

All the priests of the temple performed such services one by one, by lot. This time it was Zechariah's turn. He was to consecrate the temple with his prayer and sacrificial incense. The people at this time prayed outside the temple, as was the custom among the Jews.

And then the trumpets sounded, Zechariah solemnly moved to the temple sanctuary. Two other priests were walking beside him, one carrying a bowl of incense, and the other a brazier with hot coals. Going to the altar, they placed a brazier and a bowl on it, and departed. Zechariah was left alone in the temple.

Prayerfully, he overturned the bowl over the brazier. A cloud of thick gray smoke rose into the sky. Zechariah at this time continued to pray. He asked the Lord to bless the entire Jewish people, to give the Jews peace and His generous mercies.

Saying prayer words, Zachariah turned around and saw that near the altar, behind a cloud of smoke, someone was standing. He was a beautiful youth in a shining white robe. Zechariah was embarrassed, his heart sank with sudden fear. But the bright youth reassured him:

“Don't be afraid, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard by the Lord. Your wife Elisabeth will have a son whom you will call John. And you will have joy and joy. Many will rejoice at his birth. He will be great before God, because the Holy Spirit will dwell in him even in the womb.

He will turn many people from your people to the Lord, return them to the righteous path followed by your forefathers. He will prepare people for the coming of the Savior.

Zachariah listened and couldn't believe.

- How do I know that you are telling the truth? He wondered. “I’m old, and my wife is old. How can we have a son?

“I am Archangel Gabriel,” the youth replied. - I stand before the throne of God and I was sent from God to announce to you that which will certainly be fulfilled. But for the fact that you did not believe my words, you will be dumb. You will not be able to speak until all that has been said comes true.

The angel disappeared.

Meanwhile, the people stood at the entrance to the temple, waiting for Zechariah. People were amazed that the priest hesitated for so long to leave.

- Why isn't he coming? - asked some.

“Something must have happened,” others wondered.

Finally Zachariah left the temple. He could not speak, he just waved his hands and made signs, trying to explain what had happened to him. People in fear and confusion realized that in the temple he had a vision.

After that day, Zechariah served for some time in the temple. And when the days of his priestly service were over, he returned to his home.

The Archangel brings the Good News to the Virgin Mary. Mary is visiting Elizabeth

Zachariah's wife had a young relative, Mary. Her parents made a vow to dedicate their only daughter to God. Therefore, from an early age, Mary lived at the temple of God in Jerusalem, her father and mother gave her there for upbringing.

Quiet, meek and loving, Mary spent her days in prayer, doing handicrafts and thinking only about how to please the Lord.

Together with her, other girls were brought up at the church. When one of them turned fourteen, the high priest announced that the girl should return home and get married. The Jews considered this age to be of majority, and the fourteen-year-old girl was already ready for marriage.

But Maria refused to marry. She told the priests that she wanted to stay at the temple for the rest of her life and devote herself to the Lord. By that time, Mary's parents had already died, and the priests had to arrange her fate themselves. Under the inspiration of God, they decided to betrothal Mary to the old widower Joseph, who was eighty years old.

Joseph was a distant relative of Mary. He, like Mary, descended from the ancient king and prophet David. Joseph was obliged to keep Mary's chastity, to protect her and take care of her.

Submissive to the will of the priests, the girl went with the elder to Nazareth. It was a small, poor town in the Galilee area. There was the house of Joseph, where he was engaged in carpentry all his life.

After settling in the house of Joseph, Mary led the same pure and secluded life as in the Jerusalem temple. She prayed, read the Holy Scriptures and worked - spinning, weaving, embroidering.

Once, when the girl fervently prayed to the Lord, the Archangel Gabriel suddenly appeared before Her. The one that appeared in the temple of Zechariah.

He told her brightly and affably:

- Rejoice, blessed one! The Lord is with You! God blessed You above all virgins and wives.

Maria was greatly embarrassed by such a greeting. She guessed that the Angel of the Lord was in front of her, but did not understand what his strange words meant.

“Don't be afraid, Maria,” the Angel continued. - With your meekness, humility and prayers, You attracted the grace of the Lord. You will have a son, whom You will name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. He will inherit the throne of King David and will reign over the entire world. And His kingdom will have no end.

Maria was perplexed in awe.

“How will it be,” she asked, “after all, I don’t have a husband?

- The Holy Spirit of the Lord will descend on You, - answered the Archangel, - and the power of the Most High will overshadow. Therefore, Thy son will also be called the Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth, who was childless until old age, will also soon have a son, because this is the will of the Lord. God promised her a son, and His word is never powerless and fruitless.

Maria bowed her head and said quietly:

- I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done according to Thy word, and His holy will be done!

A few days later, she went to visit Elizabeth - in the city where she lived with her husband.

Maria entered their house and greeted the hostess warmly. Elisabeth was very happy with her guest. On an inspiration from above, she exclaimed:

- Maria! Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the Child that God gives You. And why am I so happy now that the Mother of my Lord has come to me? When I heard Your voice, the baby leaped in my womb, and my heart was filled with joy. Blessed are you, who believed that everything God predicted to you will be fulfilled.

Mary humbly accepted these prophetic words of old Elizabeth into Her heart. In joy She turned to God:

- My soul praises, thanks and praises the Lord, and rejoices in Him, My Savior. He saw My humility, His servants, and sent Me great honor, because from now on I will be glorified by all nations. May the Lord's mercy always be on those who love Him. May the name of the One be holy who, by His power, overthrows the arrogant proud and exalts the humble from the thrones. Who gives grace to the meek, and lets those who boast of their riches with nothing ...

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned home to Nazareth.

The birth of John the Baptist

The time has come, and old Elizabeth gave birth to a son. All her friends and relatives rejoiced with her in this mercy of the Lord.

On the eighth day from birth, the Jewish custom ordered to perform a sacred rite on the boy and give him a name. The relatives gathered in the house and the priest wanted to name the baby in honor of the father Zachariah. But Elizabeth did not agree. She said that the child should be named John. Everyone was surprised and began to tell her that neither her nor her husband's family had anyone with that name. Elizabeth stood her ground.

Then everyone went to the mute Zechariah to ask him. He asked by signs to give him a wax tablet, on which they usually wrote, and inscribed on it the name - John. At that moment, the muteness left him, and he was able to speak. From such an obvious miracle, all the guests were confused.

Zechariah, having regained the gift of speech, began to prophesy. The Holy Spirit Himself spoke through his lips:

- Blessed be the Lord God! He visited his people and granted them the salvation that He proclaimed through the ancient prophets. He kept the oath, which he made to our forefather Abraham, that he would deliver us from all enemies and show mercy on us. And you, Child of God, will become a prophet of the Most High. You will walk ahead of the Lord and prepare His way. You will enlighten the dark and unreasonable. They will learn from you: their salvation is that the Lord, by His mercy, would forgive them all their sins ...

For a long time after that day, there was talk and talk throughout Judea about what had happened in the house of Zechariah. People marveled and said:

Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem for the census

Mary, meanwhile, told Joseph what the Archangel Gabriel had announced to Her. She said that She would have a son and that this would be an unusual Person. And at night the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said:

- Joseph is from the clan of David! Your intended bride Mary will have a Son of the Holy Spirit. You will call Him Jesus, which means Savior. For He will save people from their sins. This will fulfill the ancient prediction that the Lord spoke through the prophet.

From that time on, Joseph began to protect Mary even more and began to treat Her with reverence. After all, She was to become the Mother of the Lord, the Son of God, the Savior of the entire human race.

In those days, Judea was one of the provinces of the huge Roman Empire and was subject to the Roman rulers. And so in all the boundaries of the state announced the order of the emperor Augustus. He ordered to conduct a census of his subjects in all lands of the empire, including Judea.

Every Jew had to come to the city where his family came from. There, the scribes had to give their name, as well as the names of all members of their family.

Joseph, like Mary, came from the family of King David. And David's hometown was poor little Bethlehem, located not far from Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary went there.

They reached the town at the end of the day and spent a long time looking for a place to stay for the night. Bethlehem was overflowing with people from all over Judea for the census.

Only late in the evening did Joseph and Mary find shelter. They settled in a cave near the city, which served as a cattle shed.

There sheep bleated, cows sighed, and a little donkey stepped over its hooves. But Joseph and Mary were glad to have such a refuge. They knew that the Lord was taking care of them and sent them this warm cave. In it they found peace and rest.

Joseph laid his cloak on the floor of the cave. And Mary, praying to God and feeling the approach of childbirth, lay down.

Shepherds worship the newborn Son of God. Magi are coming to Baby Jesus

At night, in a field outside the city of Bethlehem, shepherds sat by the fire, they guarded the flock. Suddenly, an unearthly light shone brighter than the flame before them, and in this radiance the Angel of the Lord appeared. The shepherds were so frightened that they fell to the ground with fear and covered themselves with their hands and cloaks.

- Do not be afraid! - said the Angel to them. - The Lord sent me to inform you of the great joy for all people. On this night in the city of David, the Savior of the human race, the Lord Jesus Christ, was born. Here's a guide: in a cave near the city, you will find a swaddled Infant lying in a cattle feeder.

As the Angel spoke this, the glow around him grew brighter. The light rose upward, illuminating the sky, and the shepherds saw countless other Angels there. The heavenly angelic host glorified God with mellifluous singing: "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will in people."

Finally, God's messenger disappeared and the heavenly vision was gone. When the shepherds recovered from their fear, they got up and went to look for a cave to bow to the Child.

That night Mary really gave birth to a Son - God gave her and all people great joy. Baby Jesus was born in a cave, in a cattle shed - like a common man. Mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him on the hay in the manger, that is, in the trough from which the cows usually ate. The child smiled quietly, and Joseph and Mary admired, looking at Him.

Suddenly the shepherds entered the cave. They looked at the Baby and fell to their knees. In joyful tenderness, the shepherds bowed to the earth to the newly born Lord.

At the same time, three more people were hurrying to the newborn Son of God. They were sages from a distant eastern country. They had a lot of knowledge that they got from books. The sages knew the world by exploring nature, observing the stars. People called them magi, that is, wizards, magicians, because they divined and predicted from the stars.

One of the Magi - Melchior - was already a gray-haired old man. The other, with light curls, beardless and rosy-cheeked, is the young man Kaspar. The third was named Balthazar. He was a middle-aged man, black-haired, thin and very dark.

By studying the movement of the stars, the Magi learned the fate of people and the world. And then one day a new, very large and bright star appeared in the sky in the east. The sages were amazed and began to look in the books for what this could mean. It turned out that such an unusual star indicates the birth of the greatest man, the King of the Jews.

“If at the birth of this Man,” the wise men reasoned, “a new, previously unseen star appeared, then He is really great in the eyes of God. Or maybe this one who was born is God Himself. We should go to Him with gifts and worship Him.

The wise men already knew that the King of the Jews was to be born in Judea, and the main city of Judea was Jerusalem. Therefore, quickly getting ready for the journey, the Magi set off there.

“In Judea, we will surely find out in which city this Great King was born,” they said to each other.

The Magi bring gifts to Baby Jesus

Eastern sages came to Jerusalem and began to ask where the King of the Jews was born.

“We saw in the east a new, extraordinary star that announces the birth of the King of the Jews,” they said to everyone. “And so they came to worship Him.

King Herod, who ruled Judea at that time, was an evil and cruel tyrant. He heard rumors about what the Magi were asking about in the city, and he was terribly frightened. Herod thought that this unknown King of the Jews, who was born somewhere, would soon grow up and take the royal throne from him.

In great anxiety, Herod summoned the Jewish high priests and the Jerusalem learned scribes to his palace. He asked them:

- Where should Christ, the King of the Jews, be born? What do the sacred books say about this?

The chief priests and scribes showed him a place in the Holy Scriptures. There were recorded the words of the prophet Micah that the leader who would save the people of God would be born in Bethlehem.

Hearing this, Herod ordered to call the Magi to him. He gave his order in secret so that the high priests would not know. After all, they could convict him that he turns to sages-foreigners for advice. The Magi were from a pagan people who did not know the One God, but worshiped many to false gods... But God forbade the Jews to seek wisdom from the Gentiles.

Herod asked the Magi who came to him about the appearance of the star and what it foreshadowed. Then he sent them to Bethlehem.

“When you find out everything about the born King,” he said to the wise men at last, “return to Jerusalem to inform me. I also want to go and worship Him.

The Magi believed Herod and on the same day, in the evening, went to Bethlehem. When they left the hotel, the first thing they did was look at the darkening sky. The star that they had seen all this time in the east was still in place. But when the Magi set out, the star moved. Now she hung in front of them and moved with them, showing the way. The three travelers were very surprised and delighted. They followed the star to Bethlehem.

The star stopped over the house where the Child Jesus was. By that time, Joseph and Mary with the Son had left the cave. People who came to the census were already leaving Bethlehem, and inns in the city were vacated.

The Magi entered the house and saw the Baby. A quiet light spread around Him. It was the light of God's grace, the light of God's love for people. The born Son of God himself was the embodiment of this love for all living on earth.

The pagan sages knelt down before Him. They worshiped the newborn Jesus as King and God, and then placed their gifts beside Him.

One of the Magi presented Jesus with myrrh - a precious fragrant oil. It was a gift to the Christ Child as a person who was born on earth and must die, like all people. At that time, the dead were anointed with fragrant oils in preparation for burial.

Another sorcerer brought gold as a gift to Jesus - as the true King of the Jews. The third placed incense in front of the Infant, which is used in divine services.

It was a gift to Jesus as God, because the smoke from burning incense rises to the Lord along with people's prayers.

With these gifts the wise men testified to their wisdom. But this wisdom was no longer pagan, because it came to them from God. It was the Holy Spirit who inspired them that the Son who was born to Mary is simultaneously a man, and God, and a King over all people.

King Herod orders to kill babies. Joseph and Mary with Jesus flee to Egypt

The Magi bowed to the Son of God and set off on the return journey. At night, in their sleep, they received a warning from God: they should not say anything to Herod about the Child. Therefore, the wise men went to their country, bypassing Jerusalem.

On the same night, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream:

- Get up, take the Baby and run with His Mother to Egypt. King Herod will seek the Born to kill Him. Stay in Egypt until I come to you again.

Joseph immediately began to obey this command of the Lord. In the morning he bought a donkey, put Mary and the Child on it, and went with them to Egypt.

The path to this country was long and difficult. The fugitives were surrounded by a deserted sandy desert, in which there was nowhere to hide from the scorching sun and night cold. In addition, many deadly dangers awaited them on the road: beasts of prey and robbers.

One evening, passing through the gorge, the fugitives stumbled upon a band of sleeping robbers. Two of them woke up. One robber wanted to wake everyone else up, but another, named Titus, stopped him. In the dim light of the fire, he saw the Child and was amazed.

“If God Himself were incarnate on earth,” he whispered, “he would take on the appearance of such a beautiful baby. I’ll give you forty coins, ”he said to his comrade,“ just don’t hinder these travelers from going on.

And he held out his belt to the second robber, in which the money was sewn up.

The fugitives quietly walked past the sleeping people. The Holy Virgin Mary said in a low voice, addressing Titus:

- The Lord God will protect you with His right hand and grant you absolution.

This trip to Egypt was foretold by the ancient prophets. The prophet Isaiah announced that the idols, who were revered in Egypt as gods, would stagger on their pedestals and collapse from the power of the Lord. And his prophecy came true exactly.

After a hard road through the desert, the tired travelers finally reached the first Egyptian city - Hermopolis. There one could find shelter and take a break from the exhausting journey.

There was a pagan temple with stone idols in the city. One of these false Egyptian gods was considered the main one. Dwelt in it evil spirit who spoke to the priests.

When the travelers entered the city, a strange uneasiness took possession of all its inhabitants. They asked the priest to find out from the idol what was the cause of their anxiety.

The idol was forced to tell the truth:

- A Deity unknown to you has come here. This God is true, and no one but Him is worthy of divine honor.

When Mary with Joseph and the Child passed by this pagan temple, all the idols in it fell from their pedestals and shattered.

The miracle was immediately reported to the governor of the city, Aphrodite. All the priests were in strong fear... They were waiting for punishment for the broken idols.

Aphroditius, without delay, came to the temple with a large retinue. He examined the crushed idols, and then silently left. On the street, among the worried townspeople, he saw Mary with the Baby in her arms. Aphrodite came closer and looked at Jesus. The ruler of Hermopolis said to the retinue that surrounded him:

“If this Infant was not a Deity, then the idols would not have fallen or shattered. Now they lie and silently testify that the true God is here.

Meanwhile, King Herod did not wait for the return of the Magi. The thought of the King of the Jews who was born in Bethlehem did not give him rest day or night. Every minute, Herod waited for the Magi to return and finally tell if they had seen the Child.

The Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem were irreconcilable in their hostility to the teachings of Christ. Does this mean that Jesus was not a Jew? Is it ethical to question the virgin Mary's virgin birth?

Jesus Christ often called himself the Son of Man. The nationality of the parents, according to the theologians, will shed light on the Savior's belonging to a particular ethnic group.

By following the Bible, all of humanity descended from Adam. Later, people themselves divided themselves into races, nationalities. And Christ during his lifetime, taking into account the Gospels of the Apostles, did not comment on his nationality in any way.

The country of Judea, where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born, in those ancient times was a province of Rome. Emperor Augustus ordered a population census. He wanted to find out how many people were in each of the cities of Judea.

Mary and Joseph, the parents of Christ, lived in the city of Nazareth. But they had to return to the homeland of their ancestors, to Bethlehem, to add their names to the lists. Once in Bethlehem, the couple could not find shelter - so many people came to the census. They decided to stay outside the city, in a cave that served as a refuge for shepherds during bad weather.

At night, Mary gave birth to a son. Having wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes, she put him to bed where the cattle feed is put - in the nursery.

The shepherds were the first to know about the birth of the Messiah. They were herding flocks in the vicinity of Bethlehem when an angel appeared to them. He broadcast that the savior of mankind was born. This is a joy for all people, and the sign for identifying a baby will be that he is lying in a manger.

The shepherds immediately went to Bethlehem and came across a cave, in which they saw the future Savior. They told Mary and Joseph about the angel's words. On the 8th day, the couple gave the child a name - Jesus, which means "savior" or "God saves."

Was Jesus Christ a Jew? Was the paternal or maternal nationality determined at the time?

Star of bethlehem

On the very night when Christ was born, a bright, unusual star appeared in the sky. The Magi, who studied the movements of heavenly bodies, went after her. They knew that the appearance of such a star speaks of the birth of the Messiah.

The Magi began their journey from an eastern country (Babylonia or Persia). The star, moving across the sky, showed the wise men the way.

Meanwhile, the numerous people who came to Bethlehem for the census dispersed. And Jesus' parents returned to the city. Above the place where the baby was, the star stopped, and the Magi entered the house to present the gifts to the future Messiah.

They offered gold as a tribute to the future king. They gave incense, like God (incense was then used in worship). And myrrh (the fragrant oil with which they rubbed the dead), as to a mortal man.

King Herod

The local king Herod the Great, subordinate to Rome, knew about a great prophecy - a bright star in the sky marks the birth of a new king of the Jews. He summoned the Magi, priests, soothsayers to him. Herod wanted to know where the baby Messiah was.

With deceitful speeches, cunning, he tried to find out the whereabouts of Christ. Unable to get an answer, King Herod decided to exterminate all the babies in the area. 14 thousand children under the age of 2 were killed in and around Bethlehem.

However, ancient historians, including Josephus Flavius, do not mention this bloody event. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the number of children killed was much smaller.

It is believed that after such a villainy, the anger of God punished the king. He died a painful death, eaten alive by worms in his luxurious palace. After his terrible death, power passed to the three sons of Herod. The lands were also divided. The regions of Perea and Galileo went to Herod the Younger. Christ spent about 30 years in these lands.

Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, beheaded John the Baptist to please his wife Herodias. The sons of Herod the Great did not receive the royal title. Judea was ruled by a Roman governor. Herod Antipas and other local rulers obeyed him.

Mother of the Savior

The parents of the Virgin Mary were childless for a long time. At that time it was considered a sin, such a union was a sign of the wrath of God.

Joachim and Anna lived in the city of Nazareth. They prayed and believed that they would definitely have a child. Decades later, an angel appeared to them and proclaimed that the couple would soon become parents.

According to legend, the Virgin Mary was born on September 21. The happy parents swore that this child would belong to God. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was raised until the age of 14 Christ, in the temple... From a young age she saw angels. According to legend, the archangel Gabriel took care of and guarded the future Mother of God.

Mary's parents had died by the time the Virgin had to leave the temple. The priests could not keep her. But they were also sorry to let the orphan go. Then the priests betrothed her to the carpenter Joseph. He was more of the Virgo's guardian than her husband. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, remained a virgin.

What was the nationality of the Virgin? Her parents were natives of Galilee. This means that the Virgin Mary was not a Jew, but a Galilean. On a confessional basis, she belonged to the law of Moses. Her life in the temple also points to Moses' upbringing in the faith. So who was Jesus Christ? The nationality of the mother, who lived in pagan Galilee, remains unknown. The mixed population of the region was dominated by the Scythians. It is possible that Christ inherited his appearance from his mother.

Savior's father

Theologians have been controversial since ancient times about whether Joseph should be considered the biological father of Christ? He had a fatherly attitude to Mary, knew that she was innocent. Therefore, the news of her pregnancy shocked the carpenter Joseph. The Law of Moses severely punished women for adultery. Joseph had to stone his young wife.

He prayed for a long time and decided to let Mary go, not to keep her near him. But an angel appeared to Joseph, announcing an ancient prophecy. The carpenter realized what a great responsibility he had for the safety of the mother and child.

Joseph is Jewish by nationality. Can he be considered a biological father if Mary had an immaculate conception? Who is the Father of Jesus Christ?

There is a version that the Roman soldier Pantira became the biological father of the Messiah. In addition, there is a possibility that Christ was of Aramaic origin. This assumption is due to the fact that the Savior preached in the Aramaic language. However, at that time, this language was spoken throughout the Middle East.

The Jews of Jerusalem had no doubt that the real father of Jesus Christ existed somewhere. But all versions are too dubious to be true.

The face of Christ

The document of those times, describing the appearance of Christ, is called "The Message of Leptula." This is a report to the Roman Senate written by the proconsul of Palestine, Leptulus. He claims that Christ was of average height with a noble face and a good figure. He has expressive blue-green eyes. Hair, the color of ripe walnut, parted in the middle. The lines of the mouth and nose are flawless. In conversation, he is serious and modest. Teaches softly, in a friendly manner. Terrible in anger. Sometimes he cries, but never laughs. The face is wrinkle-free, calm and strong.

At the Seventh Ecumenical Council (VIII century), the official image of Jesus Christ was approved. On the icons, the Savior should be painted in accordance with his human appearance. After the Council, painstaking work began. It consisted in the reconstruction of a verbal portrait, on the basis of which a recognizable image of Jesus Christ was created.

Anthropologists assure that icon painting uses not the Semitic, but the Greco-Syrian type of appearance: a thin, straight nose and deep-set, large eyes.

In early Christian icon painting, they knew how to accurately convey the individual, ethnic features of the portrait. The earliest depiction of Christ was found on an icon dated to the beginning of the 6th century. It is kept at Sinai, in the monastery of St. Catherine. The face of the icon is similar to the canonized face of the Savior. Apparently, the early Christians ranked Christ as a European type.

Nationality of Christ

There are still people who claim that Jesus Christ is a Jew, and a huge number of works have been published on the topic of the Savior's non-Jewish origins.

At the beginning of the 1st century AD, as Hebraic scholars found out, Palestine split into 3 regions, which differed in their confessional and ethnic characteristics.

1. Judea, headed by the city of Jerusalem, was inhabited by Orthodox Jews. They obeyed the law of Moses.
2. Samaria was closer to the Mediterranean Sea. Jews and Samaritans were longtime enemies. Even mixed marriages between them were forbidden. In Samaria, there were no more than 15% of the Jews of the total population.
3. Galilee consisted of a mixed population, some of whom remained faithful to Judaism.

Some theologians claim that Jesus Christ was a typical Jew. His nationality is beyond doubt, since he did not deny the entire system of Judaism. And only he did not agree with some of the postulates of the Mosaic Law. Then why did Christ react so calmly to the fact that the Jews of Jerusalem called him a Samaritan? This word was an insult to a true Jew.

God or man?

So who's right? Those who claim that Jesus Christ is God? But then what nationality can you demand from God? He's out of ethnicity. If God is the basis of everything, including people, there is no need to talk about nationality at all.

And if Jesus Christ is a man? Who is his biological father? Why did he get Greek name Christ, which means "anointed one"?

Jesus never claimed to be God. But he is not a man in the usual sense of the word. Its dual nature was to find a human body and a divine essence within this body. Therefore, as a man, Christ could feel hunger, pain, anger. And as a vessel of God - to work miracles, filling the space around you with love. Christ said that he does not heal from himself, but only with the help of a divine gift.

Jesus worshiped and prayed to the Father. He completely surrendered himself to His will in last years life and urged the people to believe in the One God in heaven.

As the Son of Man, he was crucified in the name of the salvation of people. As the Son of God, he was resurrected and incarnated in the trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Miracles of Jesus Christ

About 40 miracles are described in the Gospels. The first took place in the city of Cana, where Christ and his mother and the apostles were invited to a wedding. He turned water into wine.

Christ performed the second miracle by curing a patient whose illness lasted 38 years. The Jews of Jerusalem were angry with the Savior - he broke the Sabbath rule. It was on this day that Christ worked himself (healed the patient) and made another work (the patient himself carried his bed).

The Savior raised the dead girl, Lazarus and the widow's son back to life. Healed the possessed man and tamed the storm in the Lake of Galilee. Christ filled the people with five loaves of bread after the sermon - there were about 5 thousand of them, not counting the children and women. He walked on water, healed ten lepers and the blind men of Jericho.

The miracles of Jesus Christ prove his divine nature. He had power over demons, disease, death. But he never performed miracles for his glory or for collecting offerings. Even during interrogation by Herod, Christ did not show a sign as evidence of his power. He did not try to defend himself, but asked only for sincere faith.

Resurrection of Jesus Christ

It was the resurrection of the Savior that became the basis for a new faith - Christianity. The facts about him are reliable: they appeared at a time when eyewitnesses of the events were still alive. All recorded episodes have slight discrepancies, but do not contradict each other as a whole.

The empty tomb of Christ testifies that the body was taken away (enemies, friends) or Jesus rose from the dead.

If the body was taken by the enemies, they would not fail to mock the disciples, thus stopping the newly born faith. Friends, however, had little faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they were disappointed and depressed by his tragic death.

The honorary Roman citizen and Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus mentions in his book the spread of Christianity. He confirms that on the third day Christ appeared to his living disciples.

Even modern scholars do not deny that Jesus appeared to some of his followers after death. But they attribute this to hallucinations or other phenomena, without questioning the authenticity of the evidence.

The appearance of Christ after death, an empty tomb, the rapid development of a new faith are proof of his resurrection. There are none known fact denying this information.

Appointment by God

From the very first Ecumenical Councils, the Church unites the human and divine nature of the Savior. He is one of the 3 hypostases of the One God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This form of Christianity was recorded and declared the official version at the Council of Nicaea (in 325), Constantinople (in 381), Ephesus (in 431) and Chalcedon (in 451).

However, the controversy about the Savior did not stop. Some Christians asserted that Jesus Christ is God; others asserted that he is only the Son of God and is completely subordinate to his will. The basic idea of ​​the Trinity of God is often compared to paganism. Therefore, disputes about the essence of Christ, as well as about his nationality, do not subside to this day.

The cross of Jesus Christ is a symbol of martyrdom in the name of atonement for human sins. Does a discussion about the Savior's nationality make sense if faith in him is able to unite different ethnic groups? All people on the planet are children of God. The human nature of Christ stands above national characteristics and classifications.

The person of Christ contains one of the most amazing mysteries of Christianity - the secret god-man... In all eras, it was easier for the world to accept the opposite idea - a man-god. But Christ does not become God. In Christ, God incarnates in a human body (becomes human) out of love for people, while, in no way detracting from either the Divine or human nature, Jesus Christ - real god and a real person.

The birth of the Messiah was preceded by a miraculous event: “The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to the Virgin, betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; and the name of the Virgin is Mary. " The angel told her the will of the creator: "You will conceive in your womb, and you will bear a Son, and you will call His name: Jesus." Mary said to the angel: "How will it be when I don't know my husband?" The angel answered her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore, the Holy One being born will be called the Son of God."

The Holy Spirit filled with Himself the humanity of a Jewish girl who was betrothed to the carpenter Joseph from the city of Nazareth, a husband from the family of David. This family originated from the righteous king David, who ruled Israel in the era of its greatest power.

Joseph, having received in prophetic dream warning from an angel, accepted the will of God and since then protected the virginity of Mary. Christians believe that she remained a virgin after the birth of the Son.

Mary became the Mother of Christ. The Gospels emphasize His human nature. However, the same Gospels call Jesus the Son of the Most High, the Son of God. For Christians, this serves as an indication of the fullness of the incarnation of God in Christ. The Orthodox tradition calls Mary the Mother of God, thereby affirming the reality of a miracle that united the finite with the infinite, the perishable with the eternal, the earthly with the heavenly.

The Savior takes on the "form of a slave," a man and an outwardly humiliated, dependent commoner from a people enslaved by foreigners. The Savior, when he is born, does not even have a place in a human dwelling. In those days, fulfilling the decree of the Roman emperor Augustus on the census of the population of Judea, each family had to come to the city where its head came from. Many families came from the clan of David, whose city was considered Bethlehem, so local hotels were overcrowded. Mary and Joseph, who came to Bethlehem, were able to find shelter only in a cave that served as a stable, where Mary gave birth to a Son. The first to know about the birth of the Savior were also ordinary people - shepherds. It was they, and not the sages and priests, who were rewarded with the news of Him from above and hastened to worship Him.

The ruler of Judea, Herod the Great, learned from the Magi (astrologers) who came to Jerusalem about the birth of the Messiah, the King of the Jews - this was indicated by a mysterious star. Herod, who seized the throne contrary to the custom and will of the people, saw in the Divine Child a threat to his power. The high priests informed the ruler that the prophecies speak of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. Herod sent the Magi there to find out everything and report to him. But, having brought their gifts to the Savior - gold as a king, incense (resin for fragrant incense) as God, myrrh (fragrant ointment for rubbing the body of the deceased) as a mortal person, the Magi received in a dream the command not to return to Herod and went home in a different way. The enraged Herod gave a monstrous order: to destroy all babies under the age of two in Bethlehem and its environs. Rescuing Jesus, his mother and Joseph flee to Egypt - the land of the former slavery of the Jews.

There is almost no information about the childhood and adolescence of Christ.

At the age of 30, Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River from the righteous and ascetic John who lived in the desert, nicknamed the Baptist. This is how the Jews (and many other nations) designate the ritual of immersion in water, which marks the cleansing of the soul from sin, similar to the cleansing of the body with water.

After baptism, Jesus retired into the desert, which the Jews considered the abode of death and evil forces: there is no water, and therefore there is no life. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert without eating. Fasting has long been known as a means of subordinating the flesh to the spirit, and the spirit to God, and thus as a victory over evil. The Son of God set an example of such a victory. At the end of the fast, the open ministry of Jesus Christ began. He went on a journey through Palestine, "preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God."

In preaching, Christ often used parables - figurative stories in which the listener could recognize himself. Gospel parables are not just everyday illustrations of some moral truths, but an appeal to a person's conscience: do you understand what is happening to you?

A parable is an allegorical story, in which there is implicitly a key to solving some mystery or a lesson. The parable does not impose an opinion or assessment, it is generally incompatible with passive perception, in its center is a riddle that requires thought, efforts of the mind and heart. A parable is a language with the help of which things familiar to all reveal the secrets of an unknown world..

The coming of the Messiah into the world was accompanied by extraordinary events, and his earthly life was also filled with them. Jesus performed many healings, but not in order to gain popularity among the people with the glory of a healer. In the most extraordinary cases (healing of lepers, resurrection from the dead), he explicitly forbade talking about what he had done. Jesus did not come to heal carnal diseases, but to strike the root of every disease — spiritual evil. But out of mercy and compassion, He could not refuse the suffering. Rumor ran ahead of him, healings became part of his preaching.

In those days, personal sins or the sins of ancestors were considered the true cause of illness. “Your sins are forgiven you,” Jesus said to the paralytic, blind, and lepers, and people were healed, at the same time accepting the preaching of Christ.

The Jews, who fell under the rule of Rome, were waiting for the Messiah as a hero who would protect and establish the true faith for all time. This made it all the more difficult to recognize the Messiah in the itinerant preacher from the semi-pagan Galilee.

The first to renounce Christ were those who, by the standards of this world, constituted the elite of society. They belonged to different religious and political movements. One of these leading currents was Pharisees.They considered themselves to be the keepers of genuine national and religious traditions. The ideological opponents of the Pharisees were sadducees Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who were at enmity with each other, were distinguished by contempt for the ignorant common people. The appearance of the preacher, who was considered the son of a carpenter from provincial Galilee, was met with hostility. The Pharisees and Sadducees turned out to be the main persecutors of Christ, and subsequently of Christians. They stubbornly "looked for where to catch him", not stopping before slander, bribery, perjury. Jesus foresaw this and warned his disciples several times that he would be betrayed, suffer torture, be killed, and on the third day he would be resurrected. However, those who recognized him as the Messiah do not hear Him.

Christ enters Jerusalem. The evening meal that Jesus had with his disciples on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover went down in the history of Christianity as The last supper- the last meal of Jesus and His disciples, which took place on the eve of the crucifixion and death of the Savior on the cross. At the Last Supper, Jesus tasted the Passover lamb and wine for the last time, washed the feet of His disciples, gave a new commandment to mutual love, established the Sacrament of the Eucharist (otherwise the Sacrament of Communion, in which the believer, under the guise of bread and wine, partakes of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ Himself for the remission of sins and into Eternal Life), predicted the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter and talked with the apostles.

Evangelicals focus on the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. In the Epistles of the Apostles, the death and resurrection of Christ is much more important than all of His previous life. And in the Gospels themselves, the story of the events of the Easter cycle occupies a place completely incomparable with the description of the previous years of the life of Christ.

The suffering of Christ begins from the moment when He and the apostles go to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was outside the city, to spend the last hours of his life in prayer to the Father. Christ prayed, and the apostles fell asleep at that time. During prayer, blood, like drops of sweat, ran down the face of Christ. This phenomenon is known to physicians. If a person is experiencing a state of extreme mental stress, then sometimes (extremely rarely) this happens. In such a state, a person loses too much strength. It is during prayer that Christ is taken into custody.

Jesus, betrayed by his disciple Judas, was captured by the guards Sanhedrin- The Council of Elders, which ruled over Judea, headed by the high priest. The Sanhedrin sat in Jerusalem and consisted of 71 judges. Jesus was brought to the house of the high priest and was in a hurry to judge, using false testimony and slander. The Roman procurator Pontius Pilate did not see for Jesus the guilt that the Sanhedrin laid on him: the corruption of the people, the call to refuse to pay taxes to Caesar, the claim to power over the Jewish people. However, the high priest Caiaphas insisted on execution. And in the end, Pilate agreed.

The high priests and ministers pronounced the judgment on Christ: "according to our law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God." This means that even those who did not at all sympathize with the preaching of Christ, noted that He equated Himself with God, that is, He asserted His divine dignity. In the eyes of the faithful Jews, who profess the strict unity of God, this really looked like blasphemy.

Calvary- a low hill outside the walls of Jerusalem (now in the city itself and all built up with temples) - was a traditional place of public executions. It was for this that several pillars constantly rose on the top of the hill. According to custom, a person sentenced to crucifixion was supposed to carry a beam himself, which served as a crossbar of the cross. Such a beam was carried by Christ, in the Gospel it is referred to as a cross. But he was too exhausted and could not carry her to Calvary.

Prior to that, Christ had already been subjected to the punishment - scourging - once with a five-tailed whip with lead balls at the end of each belt. Jesus received 39 such blows because Jewish law forbade more than 40 blows, which was considered a lethal dose. The law was violated. Christ was punished twice, while any law, including the Roman law, prohibits punishing a person twice for the same act. Scourging is the first and in itself a rather terrible punishment. Not everyone survived after him. The second punishment is crucifixion. Apparently, Pontius Pilate really tried to defend the life of Jesus, and hoped that the sight of the preacher, beaten half to death, would satisfy the crowd. However, this did not happen. The crowd demanded execution, and Jesus was led to Calvary. Beaten and exhausted, he fell several times along the road, and in the end the guards forced a peasant named Simon who met him to take the cross and carry it to Golgotha. And on Calvary, Jesus Christ was crucified: their feet were nailed to a post dug into the ground, and their hands were nailed to the crossbar that he carried on him.

What is crucifixion? Mark Thulius Cicero in his writings called this execution the most terrible of all executions invented by people. During the crucifixion, the human body hangs on the cross in such a way that the fulcrum is in the chest. When the arms are raised above shoulder level and the person hangs without leaning on their legs, the entire weight of the upper half of the body falls on the chest. Because of this tension, blood rushes to the muscles of the pectoral girdle and stagnates there. Muscles gradually stiffen and compress the chest. They do not allow the diaphragm to expand, so a person cannot take air into his lungs and begins to choke. Such an execution could last a day or more. In most cases, the convicts were simply tied, and sometimes nailed to the cross. Forged faceted nails were driven between the radius of the hand, next to the wrist, and into the legs. The Gospel says that the suffering of Christ lasted about six hours. To speed up the execution, guards or executioners often resorted to this technique: the crucified one was cut through the legs with a sword. The man was losing his last foothold and was suffocating. The guards who guarded Calvary that day were in a hurry to finish their terrible business before sunset, because after sunset a great holiday came - the Jewish Passover, and the bodies of the three executed were not supposed to hang over the city. In the Gospel of John it is noted that the soldiers broke the legs of two robbers crucified with Christ, but did not touch Christ himself, for they saw that he was already dead. "But one of the soldiers pierced his ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out."

They managed to remove Jesus from the cross before sunset, hastily wrapped him in burial cloths and laid him in a tomb - a small cave carved into a rock near Calvary. The entrance to the tomb was filled up with a heavy stone and guards were posted so that the disciples would not steal the body. A day passed and another night. When the next morning the disciples of Christ went to the tomb to wash His body and complete the funeral rites, they found that the stone had been rolled away, there were no guards, the tomb was empty. Their hearts were filled with new grief: not only had the Teacher been killed, now even his body had disappeared. But just at that moment an angel appeared to them, who announced: "Christ is risen!"

The Gospel describes several encounters with the risen Christ. He appeared only to those who believed and had time to accept him.

What happened on the cross and after the crucifixion? Christ repeatedly said that it was for this moment that he came into the world. The last enemy that Christ fights is death. For people, this means that from now on, the death of a person becomes nothing more than an episode of his life. Since Christ found a way out of death, then if a person follows Him, figuratively speaking, “grabbing hold of His garments,” Christ will lead him through the corridors of death, and death will turn out not to be a dead end, but just a door. That is why the apostles say that the death of Jesus Christ is the most important event in their personal life.

The birth of the church

The word "church" comes from the Greek " kiriake"-" house of the Lord ". But in the Slavic and Russian texts of Holy Scripture, “church” also corresponds to the Greek word “ekklesia” - “assembly (of those called)”. The head of the Christian Church is Christ himself; the church is His body.

Contrary to the expectations of the Sanhedrin, the death of Jesus of Nazareth did not stop the spread of His message. In Galilee, Samaria and in Jerusalem itself, hundreds of those who saw and listened to Jesus believed that God had finally sent the Messiah to His people, and tried to live according to His commandments, supporting each other in faith. The communities they created became the first sprout of the Christian church. The early church consisted of separate congregations. Each of them was headed bishop(caretaker) who was assisted elders(elders) and deacons(servants), later priests of the lower rank began to be called deacons. This was the beginning of the church hierarchy.

In the life of the early church and each of its members, two sacraments occupied a special place - baptism and Eucharist They also laid the foundation for Christian worship.

Baptism in Christianity comes from the rite that John the Baptist performed on Jesus in the Jordan River. It meant for the one who is baptized - the baptized one - cleansing from the sins of a past life and entering the Church. The sacrament of baptism at all times is performed once during a lifetime. At first, baptism was carried out in the open air, in streams and rivers, later in special rooms (baptisms, or baptisteries).

Eucharist(Greek. "thanksgiving") - communion, the main sacrament of the Church, performed in memory of the resurrection of Christ. During this sacrament, according to Christians, there is transubstantiation bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Through communion, Christians believe, mystical communication with God is possible.

Conflict with Rome

In the beginning, the Roman authorities did not see the difference between Jews and Christians. Both those and others refused to participate in sacrifices to local gods and the Roman emperor, who was considered equal to the gods by the laws of the empire. Thus, the Jews and followers of Christ turned out to be violators of general civil law.

However, if in the 1st century. the Roman authorities did not require the Jews to make sacrifices to the gods of Rome (the Romans recognized and allowed all national religions), then this was not required of Christians only in the first years, until they began to distinguish them from the Jews. Then Christians began to be perceived as a dangerous sect, and Rome already demanded that they abandon the most important of the 10 commandments: "I am the Lord your God, may you have no other Gods before My face." Christians could not venerate the Roman gods, and as soon as the authorities realized this, persecution began.

For Christians, death and martyrdom became an act of thanksgiving, a Eucharistic union with Christ. The memory of the victims was preserved thanks to the written monuments of early Christianity - lists of martyrs, which indicated the suffering they endured. Such lists were kept in local churches and were called martyrologists(Greek. "Catalog of witnesses"). The martyrology became the basis of the church calendar.

Already at the end of the II century. some communities began to celebrate days of remembrance of Christian martyrs. At the same time, the anniversary of the death of a particular martyr was celebrated as his birthday, since it was believed that it was on this day that he was born for a new eternal life.

Apparently, the first Christian icons(Greek. "image", "image") - images of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, any saint, evangelical or church historical event. The veneration of icons was dogmatically established in the 8th century, although church art, including icon painting, have existed since the first centuries of Christianity.

The first temples

At first, Christians visited synagogues, but after the break with Judaism, access to them was closed for them. For a long time, Christians did not have special places of worship, and prayer meetings were held in various places, most often in the homes of wealthy believers, but sometimes in empty barns or craft workshops, or even just in the open air.

Christian temples were called by different names: houses of God, gods or churches. The first Christian temples were shaped like basilicas(royal house). In its plan, the Christian basilica is a rectangle that is twice as long as it is wide. The interior of the basilica is divided in length by two or four rows of columns into three or five elongated parts, called naves... On the eastern side of the rectangle, according to the number of naves, the corresponding number (three or five) of the altar semicircles is arranged. In the opposite part of the altar semicircle of the basilica there is a vestibule and a portico made up of columns. The middle nave is wider and higher than the side naves, and between its columns, in the walls, above the roof of the side naves, there are windows that illuminate the basilica. Later, the basilic type of the temple was preserved for a long time in the West (until the 11th century) and acquired new features: the building took the form of a Latin cross, domes appeared, as a rule, of the same diameter. In the East, the basilica was later replaced by a cross-domed church.

Under the Roman emperor Constantine I the Great(306–337) The Church launched an intensive construction of temple buildings, since it was this emperor who declared Christianity the state religion. Since his time, state institutions, laws, military service began to focus on the requirements that are contained in Christianity. So, in particular, in 315 Constantine abolished execution by crucifixion. On the Bosphorus, Constantine founded a new capital of the empire, which was simultaneously consecrated in accordance with pagan and Christian rites, calling it Constantinople. Constantine himself was baptized shortly before his death. History has given him the name of the Great. The Church for his great services calls him Equal to the Apostles.

One of the merits of Constantine is the convocation of the I Ecumenical Council in the city of Nicea in 325. Ecumenical Councils- these are meetings of the highest clergy and representatives of local Christian Churches, on which the foundations of the Christian doctrine were formulated and approved, the canonical liturgical rules were formed, various theological concepts were evaluated and heresies were condemned. Before division of the Churches into Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) in 1054 there were seven Ecumenical Councils... After the division of the Churches, general Christian Councils were not held, although the Catholic Church calls the Councils convened by it Ecumenical.

The mystery of Christian symbols

Christian art was originally very symbolic. The symbol in Christian art connects two worlds - visible and invisible (natural and supernatural). In the cruel times of persecution, the early Christians recognized each other by these secret signs. The mystery of a symbol is both a silence and a disclosure of its deep meaning.

A fish - one of the earliest and most common symbols of Christ himself. The Greek word "fish" consists of letters that add up to the following phrase: "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior," and this is what Christians believe in, for which the early Christian martyrs gave their lives.

Lamb known since the Old Testament. The rite of the Jewish Passover included the slaughter and eating of the Passover lamb (a young first-born lamb without "spot and blemish"). This was commanded by God to the Jews on the eve of their Exodus from Egyptian captivity, and then it was included in the celebration of Easter as a memory of the Exodus. Gradually, the lamb becomes a symbol of redemption, humility, meekness, and obedience to Christ. At first, Christ was portrayed in the form of a lamb, and in the 7th century. Trulli Council decreed "to paint Christ in human form."

Pigeon - an image that also came to Christian art from the Old Testament. The book of Genesis tells how a dove brought a green branch to Noah and thereby informed him of the end of the global flood and that God's anger was replaced by mercy. Since then, the dove with an olive branch in its beak has become a symbol of peace.

Peacock - a symbol of immortality, therefore, the image of this bird is often found on tombstones.

Phoenix - a magical bird that came from ancient Egyptian myths. According to legend, she dies once every 500 years, burning herself in a sacrificial fire, and each time she is reborn from the ashes. For Christians, this symbol was directly related to the resurrection of Christ and was perceived as an image of the coming resurrection of the dead.

Vine - eucharistic image, as well as a symbol of divine chosenness. The grapes in the Holy Scriptures are a symbol of the Promised Land, which God gave to his chosen people as an inheritance. Grape wine at the Last Supper becomes the Blood of Christ, which Jesus gives for the life of the world, for the atonement of sins.

Lily - symbol of innocence and purity, symbol loving god souls. According to legend, the Archangel Gabriel on the day of the Annunciation came to the Virgin Mary with a white lily, which has since become a symbol of the Mother of God, Her purity, innocence and devotion to God.

Anchor- since early Christian times a sign of hope and salvation.

Good shepherd- this name was given to the image of Christ in the image of a young man with a lamb on his shoulders.

Gospel "biography" of Christ

The biographical data for Jesus is very difficult. In all the books of the New Testament, except for the Gospels, they do not exist at all, everything is limited to hints and individual remarks, references to certain events and circumstances, about which nothing is said specifically. The biographies of Jesus, moreover, in many ways flawed and contradictory, are contained only in the gospels. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke begin the life story of Jesus from the moment of his birth, the other two - from a fully mature age, when he comes to John for baptism.

But even in the first two Gospels, after the story of the Immaculate Conception and the birth of Jesus, the story of his infancy and childhood is sparingly, almost in passing, and contradictory. According to Matthew, the parents save the baby from the wiles of King Herod by fleeing with him to Egypt and returning only after the death of Herod, and according to Luke, they almost immediately go to Nazareth, where Jesus spends his childhood, adolescence and youth up to thirty years. Only one episode relating to this period of Jesus' life is described in Luke: a twelve-year-old boy appears in the Jerusalem temple, where he amazes everyone with his wisdom and learning.

More detailed and consistent biographical information from the Gospel is given only for that last short period of Jesus' life when he “teaches”, performs miracles, then is persecuted, perishes, is resurrected and ascended to heaven. Extracting credible historical data about the life of Jesus from these reports is not easy. The very inner logic of the Gospel narrative is inconsistent and confused in many essential points. His main character, Jesus Christ, behaves with a strange inconsistency. His life behavior, as it is depicted in the gospels, is far from all amenable to rational interpretation.

Jesus considers himself a preacher, a teacher of people whom he must enlighten with divine truth and lead. Who, what people? Logically, Jews. He is the God-promised messiah from the lineage of King David. However, the same Gospel of Matthew ends with the command given by Jesus to the apostles: "Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of father and son and holy spirit" (Matthew, XXVIII, 19). It turns out that his mission is addressed to all nations, and not to Israel alone.

That Jesus appeared to preach to people - the old Israeli "law" prescribed by the god Yahweh and embodied in the Old Testament, or some new faith brought by himself? Again, two conflicting decisions. The old law is inviolable: "Rather, heaven and earth will pass away, than one line from the law will be lost" (Luke, XVI, 17); “Do not think,” Jesus warns his disciples, “that I came to break the law or the prophets: I came not to break, but to fulfill” (Matthew, V, 17). And again: “Not one iota or not one feature will pass from the law until everything is fulfilled” (18). But then something exactly the opposite follows.

The same chapter of the Gospel of Matthew contains a systematic opposition of his ethical teaching to the Old Testament "law" put into the mouth of Jesus. The principle is as follows: “You heard what is said ... and I tell you ...” This is what they say about murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, “an eye for an eye,” and so on. It is not the fulfillment of the law that is prescribed, but, on the contrary, behavior not corresponding to it. Several other episodes, which are told in the gospels, also reveal the negative attitude of Jesus towards the Old Testament institutions. When the apostles on the Sabbath day allow themselves to pick ears of grain in the field and thereby violate the prohibition to work on the Sabbath (a terrible sin according to the Old Testament, punishable by death) and when those around them draw the attention of Jesus, he answers them, referring, however, to the precedent of King David, that "the Sabbath is for a man, and not a man for the Sabbath" (Mark, II, 27). He allows himself to be engaged in healing on Saturday, which, according to the old concepts, is also an unconditional sin.

Accompanied by the apostles, Jesus walks around the country, preaching his teachings and demonstrating miracles. In some cases, he even explains that miracles are performed by him in order to "manifest the glory of God." All this happens, as a rule, with a large crowd of people. But for some reason, Jesus repeatedly warns the witnesses of his deeds so that they keep what they have seen and heard in secret. To the leper he healed, he ordered: "Look, don't tell anyone anything."

(Mark, i, 44). Then some kind of game begins. The healed man violated the order given to him and, "going out, began to proclaim and tell about what had happened." As a result, "Jesus could no longer clearly enter the city, he was outside, in deserted places." Apparently, however, these places were not so deserted, for there they "came to him from everywhere" (45). There was nothing to leave, especially since “a few days later he again came to Capernaum,” where he preached and performed miracles with a large crowd of people (Mark, II, 1). That he is Christ, that is, the Messiah, Jesus forbids his apostles to tell the people (Mark, VIII, 30; Luke, IX, 18). In other cases, he openly calls himself by this name.

At crucial moments in his life, Jesus makes some confused decisions. On the eve of his arrest and in anticipation of it, he says to the apostles: “Whoever has a bag, take it, and also a bag, and whoever doesn’t, sell your clothes and buy a sword ... They said: Lord! behold, here are two swords. He said to them: enough "(Luke, XXII, 36,37). It would seem that the question is clear - we must prepare for resistance. But events play out differently. When those who were to arrest Jesus gathered, the apostles, “seeing where the matter was going, said to him: Lord! shall we not strike with the sword? And one of them struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. Then Jesus said: leave it, that's enough. And touching his ear, he healed him ”(Luke, XXII, 49-51). It turns out that there was no need to buy swords at all, even those that were available were not needed.

E. Renan correctly says on this and similar grounds: "There is nothing to demand either logic or consistency." Indeed, the personality and behavior of Jesus appears to be contrary to logic in the gospels. Is this an argument against its historicity? Unlikely.

At all times, a person in his life behavior very often violated, as he continues to do so now, the rules of logic. Under the influence of the mood that has possessed him, he can do what is not consistent with his views and beliefs. Beliefs themselves can be inconsistent and contradictory. It happens that a person allows himself to do what he forbids others and, conversely, does not do what obliges others to do. Such behavior can hardly be considered worthy and honest, but, unfortunately, it happens in life, and not so rarely. It is not hard to imagine that the real historical Jesus did just that.

Another thing is that setting, that natural and socio-historical environment, which is depicted in the Gospels as the arena of Jesus' activity. To assess the gospels themselves as a historical source, it is very important to establish to what extent they accurately or even plausibly represent this setting. And here we first of all come across the fact that in different Gospels the course and sequence of events related to the life of Jesus are not completely consistently depicted and in many cases is actually inaccurate or erroneous.

Jesus was born, according to gospel traditions, in Bethlehem, a town located south of Jerusalem. And in order to explain how his parents, who lived in the far north, in Nazareth, could have ended up in Bethlehem by the time of his birth, it is said that by that time they had arrived in Bethlehem specifically in order to undergo a population census. Luke says about this: “In those days, there was a command from Caesar Augustus to make a census of the whole earth. This census was the first during the reign of Quirinius in Syria. And everyone went to enroll, each to his own city. Joseph from Galilee also went (the legal father of Jesus. - I. K.), from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was from the family and house of David ... "(Luke 11: 1-5).

The question of this census has spawned a whole literature. The famous German historian E. Schührer lists a bibliography of scientific works specially devoted to the cited text of Luke, there were 55 of them by the beginning of this century. He summarizes their content in a large chapter of his three-volume monograph. What are his conclusions? “About universal (throughout the Earth. - I. K.) the state census at the time of Augustus, history knows nothing. " "For the passage of the Roman census, Joseph was not obliged to go to Bethlehem with Mary", "The Roman census could not have been taken at all in Palestine during the reign of Herod." “Josephus Flavius ​​knows nothing about the Roman census in Palestine during the reign of Herod. Moreover, he speaks of the census of 7 AD. NS. (eleven years after the death of Herod. - I. K.) as something new and unheard of. " "The census under Quirinius could not take place during the reign of Herod, for Quirinius was never a legate of Syria during Herod's life." Thus, the entire version of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem falls completely. And its meaning is by no means private.

Some events described in the Gospels could not fail to be noticed by contemporaries. We do not mean such "events" as earthquakes and an eclipse of the sun throughout the Earth at the moment of the crucifixion of Christ - this is, of course, mythology. We can only talk about reports that, in principle, could be reliable, for example, about the mass beating of Bethlehem babies by King Herod, in the expectation that the newborn Jesus will also be among them. Much is known from the literature of that time about the atrocities of this bloodthirsty king. But there is no sound anywhere about such an act of his!

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was needed by the Evangelists in order to rely on the well-known prophecy of the Old Testament: “And you, Bethlehem-Ephrath, are you small among thousands of Judas? out of you will come to me the one who is to be the ruler in Israel and whose origin is from the beginning, from everlasting days ”(Book of Micah, V, 2). And if he comes from the clan of David, then, of course, it is important that he was born in Bethlehem, for in this city, according to Old Testament testimonies, was the cradle of this clan. But, as we have seen, the census version turns out to be unhistorical.

With another place connected with the biography of Jesus, with Nazareth, where he allegedly spent his childhood and youth, the situation is even more unfavorable: this city simply did not exist then. No matter how much Western archaeologists dug up the place where Nazareth was supposed to be in those days, they could not find anything except completely insignificant traces of human activity - shards and debris.

Some of the results of the archaeological search for Nazareth we find in the book by I. Thompson "The Bible and Archeology", published in the USA. The author has no doubt that this city existed in the time of Jesus. In support of this, he publishes two photographs depicting ... modern Nazareth. And under one of them he writes: "This lovely picture shows, perhaps, many places where Jesus walked." The author expresses enthusiasm that “exciting discoveries of modern archeology” support biblical accounts and that the result is a “happy combination” of everything that needs to be proven. But what about Nazareth? It was, and its "geographical position can be quite easily determined today." This, however, is followed by a confused reservation: “although our archaeological knowledge about them (we mean two more cities - I. K.) are limited. " And further: "The undoubted fact is that today Nazareth can present us with few reliable materials about himself." Some authors even "suggest that New Testament Nazareth may have been at some distance from the modern city." In short, on the question of Nazareth, archeology can do nothing to help adherents of the theory of the historicity of Christ.

The very name of the city of Nazareth first became known only from the New Testament. Nazareth is not mentioned among the cities appearing in the Old Testament, in particular the dozens conquered by Joshua. Among the 45 cities of Nazareth that appear in the writings of Joseph Flavius, there are also no. There can hardly be any doubt that in those times to which the legend relates the existence of Jesus, Nazareth did not exist, he arose somewhat later and was included by the evangelists in the biography of Jesus only retroactively.

There are many geographic absurdities in the gospels. It tells, for example, how a herd of pigs grazed "in the land of Gadara" on the shore of Lake Genesaret (Mark, V, 1; 11). But Gadara is far from this lake! Subsequently, Origen (c. 185–253 / 254 CE) corrected the gospel account here. He proposed to consider that the case took place "in the Gergesinskaya land", which really lay on the shore of the lake. But Mark has something it comes not about Gergesin, but about Gadar! The routes of Jesus' travels in Palestine are also strange, for example from Tire to Sidon through the Decapolis, which is far away from the road between these points. The residence of Pontius Pilate was not at all in Jerusalem, but in Caesarea of ​​the Seaside.

Evangelicals apparently knew about the geographical and natural conditions of Palestine only by hearsay. They don't know this country. In the routes of Jesus they describe, they limit themselves to only the most vague directions "to the sea", "to the mountain", "to the way." In Palestine, the weather is cold in winter, especially in the mountains, but none of the evangelists ever says that Jesus is cold or dressed warmer on any occasion. Of the flora and fauna in the gospels, as a rule, not the species that were then found in this country, but those that were characteristic of other regions of the Mediterranean. In some cases, when it comes to the species that existed in Palestine, the evangelist, characterizing them, makes gross mistakes. So, for example, mustard, a herbaceous plant, is spoken of as a spreading and shady tree (Luke, XIII, 19).

Evangelicals are poorly aware of the social customs of ancient Palestine. Some of the episodes they described were impossible in it, or at least unlikely. It is improbable that the queen's daughter danced publicly at a feast, as it is described in Matthew (XIV, 6) and Mark (VI, 22) - this was done by “harlots” of low birth. In addition, it is known that Salome, the daughter of the queen in question, at that time was not a young girl, as depicted in the gospels, but a woman who had already managed to become a widow.

The episode with the expulsion by Jesus of the "merchants and money changers" from the temple is inconceivable. There was no trade in the church at all, and there were no money exchange transactions; the sale of sacrificial animals took place on the streets adjacent to the temple. It was necessary to ensure the normal course of worship, an integral part of which were sacrifices. Under these conditions, no one would have allowed Jesus the arbitrariness and rampage attributed to him, most likely he would have been beaten to a pulp or killed immediately.

Roman legionary soldiers are often mentioned in the Gospels. Meanwhile, they were not in Palestine at that time, there were only auxilia, auxiliary troops recruited from the local population, legionnaires appeared only during the Jewish War of 66-73. In addition, Roman legionnaires are described in a rather strange way: they, it turns out, are familiar with the Old Testament, which they sometimes quote (John, XIX, 24).

The picture of the trial of Jesus is not plausible in general and in details. They could not judge Jesus on the night before the Jewish holiday of Easter, or on Easter itself: it was not supposed to be judged at night, and on holidays or on the eve of the holiday it was simply forbidden. The Sanhedrin at the time in question did not have the right to judge; it belonged to the Roman authorities. And in those days, when the Sanhedrin still had this right, the judgment took place not in the house of the high priest, but at the temple. There was always one high priest, not two or more (“high priests” - Matthew, XXVI-XXVII; Mark, XV; Luke, XXII). The Jews never had a custom of releasing a criminal on Easter. The instrument of execution was not a cross, but a pillar with a crossbar in the shape of the letter T.

Pilate's behavior looks strange in the portrayal of the gospels. He is told that Jesus calls himself the king of the Jews, he himself does not deny this. It would seem that the Roman governor should have attached great importance to such a circumstance - before him is a rebel, seeking to eliminate the rule of Rome over Palestine and establish his power. Meanwhile, he does not find any guilt in Jesus and his intentions and in every possible way seeks to save him, until the Jews frightened the procurator with a denunciation against the central Roman administration. It is generally known that Pilate was a cruel and heartless man, so his hesitation towards Jesus and his attempts to save him is incomprehensible.

There is a great deal of controversy and controversy in the accounts of the life of Jesus between the different gospels. They start with a pedigree.

If we remain on the mythological positions of the immaculate conception, then the pedigree in this case does not make any sense at all: God is the father through the spirit of the saint, and there is no need to look for any more ancestors. But in the Gospels all the same genealogies are given, for it is necessary to somehow substantiate the origin of Jesus from King David; genealogies are thus fictitious from the Christian point of view, nevertheless they are needed. There are two of them in the gospels, moreover, completely different. Matthew's genealogy begins with Abraham and goes back 42 generations before Christ. The closest last links before Jesus look like this: Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus (Matthew, I, 13-16). Luke's genealogy is from Adam, and the number of generations from Abraham to Jesus is 56, not 42, like Matthew. If we take those 12 links of the genealogy, which we cited above according to Matthew, then in Luke they will look completely different: Ifm, Nahum, Amos, Mattathius, Joseph, Jannai, Melchius, Levi, Matthat, Eli, Joseph, Jesus ( Luke, III, 23-25). The rest of the forefathers of Jesus up to Abraham are indicated in the two Gospels, too, different. The contradiction is obvious.

Almost from the moment Jesus was born, his parents have to save their son from the wiles of King Herod: together with the baby they flee to Egypt, where they live until Herod's death. This is the story of Matthew (II, 14, 15). Luke, on the other hand, has no sound of flight to Egypt. Jesus has lived with his parents in Palestine his entire life. And by the way, on this issue, the Gospels mutually contradict: according to the first three, before he entered the preaching arena, that is, until the age of thirty, he lived in Galilee, but according to the Gospel of John, one can understand that his whole life was spent in Jerusalem ...

The baptism of Jesus was, according to Matthew and Mark, carried out by John (Matthew, III, 13-16; Mark I, 9). Luke asserts that Jesus himself was baptized, and John was at that time in prison (III, 20-21). In the details of the biography of Jesus described by the evangelists, such contradictions are literally countless. What was the name of the twelfth apostle? "Levvey, called Thaddeus" (Matthew, X, 3); no, "Judas Jacob" (Luke, VI, 16). According to Matthew, Jesus entered Jerusalem four days before Easter, according to John - five days. Both robbers, crucified with Jesus, scolded and reviled him (Matthew, XXVII, 44). One "cursed" him, while the other, on the contrary, prayed to him (Luke, XXVIII, 39-42).

Such an important fact as the appearance of Christ to people after the resurrection is also described in different ways: John claims that first of all Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and then to the apostles (XX, 14–24). Luke portrays the matter in a different way: Jesus appeared first to two unknown persons (one of them was called Cleopa), and then to all the apostles at once, except for Judas, who had apparently managed to strangle himself (XXIV, 13–36). Mark establishes three stages of this event: first he appeared to Mary Magdalene, then to the two apostles and, finally, to the rest. Matthew, in turn, has another version: first of all, Jesus appeared to two women: Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” - no one knows which one (XXVIII, 1–9). We will restrict ourselves to these examples, believing that they give a sufficient idea of ​​the contradictory nature of the concretely factual Gospel messages relating to the personality and biography of Jesus Christ.

Hundreds of scientists - historians, philologists, and also theologians - from year to year, from decade to decade, were looking for material in the New Testament, and above all in the Gospels, for constructing a biography of Jesus. In the end, they came to the conclusion, which is recorded even in the gymnasium Lutheran textbook for the course “Introduction to the New Testament”: “The Gospels are not historical messages, either in the modern or in the ancient sense of the word; they represent a literary genre special kind... The modern historian must, with regard to every episode of Jesus and with respect to every word of Jesus, investigate whether they date back to the time of his life; and only in a few cases does this research lead to a definite result. " And yet, based precisely on the gospels, dozens, if not hundreds, of authors have created and published books entitled The Life of Jesus.

What these constructions are really worth, Albert Schweitzer showed in his major monograph, originally published in 1906 and subsequently reprinted many times. Until the 1966 edition, which was published in the year of the author's death, the book contains the following significant conclusion: “Jesus of Nazareth, who acted as the messiah, preached the morality of the kingdom of God, founded the kingdom of heaven on Earth and died to sanctify his work, never existed ... It is an image discarded by rationalism, resurrected by liberalism and dressed in historical clothes by modern theology. " It is now completely destroyed. What - the intrigues of malicious deniers, criticism from the rationalists?

No, - replies Schweitzer, - “he is in himself collapsed, shattered and split by the actual historical problems, one after another emerging before Jesus of theology in the last 150 years, despite all the tricks, art, artificiality and violence applied here - problems that have been repeatedly solved , and those who had just been buried appeared in a new form. " The theologian believes that "the historical Jesus can no longer serve modern theology."

True, it is impossible to understand Schweitzer's position on the issue of the historicity or mythicality of Christ. On the one hand, he attacks the supporters of the mythological school and rejects their constructions, and on the other, he writes as follows: “Jesus represents something for another world, since a gigantic spiritual stream emanates from him, washing our time. This fact can neither be shaken nor strengthened by historical knowledge. There is an opinion that Jesus can be something more for our time if he entered humanity as a man. But this is unreal. First, because this Jesus never existed. And then also because historical research can clarify the question of the spiritual life of Jesus, but not awaken him to life. "

In any case, when asked what can be learned from the New Testament, and above all from the Gospels, to establish the historicity of Jesus, Schweitzer, fully armed with his colossal knowledge, as a result of analyzing the entire literature of the question "from Reimarus to Wrede" answers: nothing. The framework of the story of Jesus in the synoptic gospels is found to be secondary. In addition, almost all vital details that are necessary for a biography are dropped.

This conclusion of Schweitzer is confirmed by many modern authors from the theological camp. Interesting, for example, are the statements of the German Protestant theologian, specialist in the New Testament W. Kümmel.

Until the beginning of this century, the opinion of the Gospel of Mark as more reliable from the point of view of historical reliability than others was firmly held in literature. A careful study of the Logias (the "Sayings" of Jesus - a document that has come down to us only in passages), previously considered the main source of the Gospel of Mark, as well as a study of the problem of the oral tradition that could underlie this gospel, showed, says Kümmel, that " the ability to build a historically reliable picture of the life and teachings of Jesus based on the Gospel of Mark is questionable or limited. " Kümmel also refers to the opinion of the Protestant theologians M. Köhler and R. Bultmann.

At the end of the last century, M. Koehler published a book under the expressive title "On the so-called historical Jesus and the historical biblical Christ." Its main idea was the impossibility for theology to base the teaching of Christ on his biography, told in the gospels. It is useless, wrote Koehler, to operate with unreliable and wavering results of scientific research of the Gospel texts, for there is simply no material for such a study in these texts.

Speeches of this kind belong mainly to Protestant authors. But if earlier Catholic theologians accused them of rationalism, nihilism and other similar mortal sins, now they are forced to take the same path in relation to the New Testament biography of Jesus. Polish religious scholar 3. Poniatowski says about this: “Recently, Catholic biblical scholars have also emphasized that the Gospels do not give a biography of Jesus sensu stricto (in the strict sense - I. K.) ". In this regard, he points to the book of W. Trilling, which contains a chapter under the significant title "Why Doesn't the Life of Jesus Exist?"

How, however, are theologians of a religion in whose creed the central figure is precisely the God-man Jesus? The notorious separation of Heilsgeschichte and actual history comes to the rescue. We must be guided by the “real” (!) Image of Christ, but he is not the historical Jesus modern research, and Christ, preached by apostolic testimonies. This is already a disguised recognition of the collapse of the historical evidence of the man Jesus.

A few decades later, the ideologist of "demythologization" R. Bultman appeared with the same concept in a number of books. He reinforced the salutary concept of Heilsgeschichte with the concept of "kerygma" (which in Greek means "sermon"). One does not have to go, Bultmann wrote, beyond the kerygma to reconstruct the historical Jesus. The Lord is not the historical Jesus, but the preached Jesus Christ.

Citing such materials, W. Kümmel, a specialist in "New Testament theology", is frightened: is it not dangerous for this theology and for Christianity as a whole to openly admit that "the historical Jesus" is an imaginary quantity?

Of course, he admits, there is an inconvenience here. It is simply impossible to remove this question. In particular, the historian cannot get away from him, because if he wants to understand the origin of Christianity at all, he must know something (!) About Jesus, and just a believing Christian will also not so easily agree to remove the question about Christ. Since he "perceives the teaching about the risen Jesus Christ through the testimony of the apostle and bestows his faith on this teaching, he meets in him the assertion that the risen Lord is the very man Jesus of Nazareth with whom some of the witnesses of the resurrection were together during his earthly work." And from this it follows that “faith, if it is aware of its content, that is, it tries to comprehend itself theologically, is burningly interested in resolving the question to what extent any image of Jesus Christ, based on the apostolic preaching, is consistent with the historical the authenticity of this Jesus. "

The sad conclusion remains unshakable: "Today it is generally recognized that we cannot give any biography of Jesus and no account of the history of the development of Jesus' preaching." What is the way out of this situation? A long enumeration of the various aspects of the problem itself follows. It includes a literary comparison of parallel messages from the gospels, and an analytical delineation of individual elements of tradition, a formal-historical distinction between different forms of story and speech, and much more. And all this should mean the necessary methodological aids. But even they can give, however, as the author says, not historically reliable, but only "an understandable single image of Jesus and his sermons."

Thus, even a number of theologians recognize the gospel accounts of Jesus as unreliable and unhistorical.

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"God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life."(John 3:16).

Jesus Christ- The Son of God, God, manifested in the flesh, who took the sin of man upon Himself, made possible his salvation by His sacrificial death. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is called Christ, or Messiah (Χριστός, Μεσσίας), Son (υἱός), Son of God (υἱὸς Θεοῦ), Son of Man (υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου), Lamb (ἀμνός, ρίν παῖς Θεοῦ), Son of David (υἱὸς Δαυίδ), Savior (Σωτήρ), etc.

Testimonies of the life of Jesus Christ:

• canonical gospels ()
• separate sayings of Jesus Christ, not included in the canonical Gospels, but preserved in other New Testament books (Acts and Epistles of the Apostles), as well as in the writings of ancient Christian writers.
• a number of texts of Gnostic and non-Christian origin.

By the will of God the Father and out of pity for us, sinful people, Jesus Christ came into the world and became a man. By his word and example, Jesus Christ taught people how to believe and live in order to become righteous and be worthy of the title of children of God, participants in His immortal and blessed life. To cleanse our sins and overcome, Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day. Now, as a God-man, He dwells in heaven with His Father. Jesus Christ is the head of the Kingdom of God founded by Him, called the Church, in which believers are saved, guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Before the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come to earth again to judge the living and the dead. After that, His Kingdom of Glory will come, a paradise in which the saved will rejoice forever. This is predicted and we believe it will be so.

How they waited for the coming of Jesus Christ

V The greatest event in the life of mankind is the coming to earth of the Son of God. God has been preparing people for it, especially the Jewish people, for many millennia. From Wednesday Jewish people God put forward prophets who predicted the coming of the Savior of the world - the Messiah and by this laid the foundation of faith in Him. In addition, God for many generations, starting from Noah, then - Abraham, David and other righteous, pre-cleansed that bodily vessel from which the Messiah was to take flesh. So, finally, the Virgin Mary was born, Who was worthy to become the Mother of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, God directed the political events of the ancient world to ensure that the coming of the Messiah would be successful and that His blessed kingdom would spread widely among people.

So, by the time of the coming of the Messiah, many pagan peoples became part of a single state - the Roman Empire. This circumstance made it possible for the disciples of Christ to travel freely throughout all the countries of the vast Roman Empire. The widespread use of one common Greek language helped the Christian communities scattered over great distances to maintain contact with each other. On Greek the Gospels and the Apostolic Epistles were written. As a result of the rapprochement of cultures of different peoples, as well as the spread of science and philosophy, beliefs in pagan gods were greatly undermined. People began to crave satisfactory answers to their religious questions. Thinking people of the pagan world understood that society was reaching a hopeless impasse and began to express the hope that a Reformer and Savior of mankind would come.

The earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ

D For the birth of the Messiah, God chose the pure virgin Mary, from the lineage of King David. Mary was an orphan, and Her distant relative, the aged Joseph, who lived in Nazareth, one of the small towns in the northern part of the Holy Land, took care of Her. Archangel Gabriel, having appeared, announced to the Virgin Mary that She was chosen by God to become the Mother of His Son. When the Virgin Mary humbly agreed, the Holy Spirit descended on Her, and She conceived the Son of God. The subsequent birth of Jesus Christ took place in the small Jewish town of Bethlehem, in which King David, the ancestor of Christ, was previously born. (Historians attribute the time of the birth of Jesus Christ to 749-754 years from the founding of Rome. The accepted chronology "from the Nativity of Christ" begins with 754 years from the founding of Rome).

The life, miracles and conversations of the Lord Jesus Christ are described in four books called the Gospels. The first three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke, describe the events of His life, which took place mainly in Galilee - in the northern part of the Holy Land. The Evangelist John complements their narratives, describing the events and conversations of Christ, which took place mainly in Jerusalem.

Film "CHRISTMAS"

Until the age of thirty, Jesus Christ lived with His Mother, the Virgin Mary, in Nazareth, in the house of Joseph. When He was 12 years old, He and his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover feast and stayed in the temple for three days, talking with the scribes. Nothing is known about other details of the Savior's life in Nazareth, except that He helped Joseph to do carpentry. As a person, Jesus Christ grew and developed naturally, like all people.

In the 30th year of his life, Jesus Christ received from the prop. John's baptism in the Jordan River. Before starting His public ministry, Jesus Christ went into the wilderness and fasted for forty days, being tempted by Satan. Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee by electing 12 apostles. The miraculous transformation of water into wine, performed by Jesus Christ at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, strengthened the faith of His disciples. After that, after spending some time in Capernaum, Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem for the feast of Easter. Here He first aroused the enmity of the Jewish elders, and especially the Pharisees, against Himself by driving the merchants out of the temple. After Easter, Jesus Christ called His apostles, gave them the necessary instruction and sent them to preach the approach of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ Himself also traveled to the Holy Land, preaching, gathering disciples and spreading the teaching about the Kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ revealed His divine messenger in many miracles and prophecies... Soulless nature unconditionally obeyed Him. So, for example, at His word the storm stopped; Jesus Christ walked on water as on dry land; having multiplied five loaves and several fish, He fed the crowd of many thousands; once He turned water into wine. He raised the dead, cast out demons, and healed countless sick people. At the same time, Jesus Christ avoided human glory in every possible way. For His need, Jesus Christ never used His almighty power. All His miracles are imbued with deep compassion to people. The greatest miracle The Savior was His own Sunday from the dead. With this resurrection, He defeated the power of death over people and initiated our resurrection from the dead, which will occur at the end of the world.

Evangelists have recorded many predictions Jesus Christ. Some of them were fulfilled during the lifetime of the Apostles and their successors. Among them: predictions about the denial of Peter and the betrayal of Judas, about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, about miracles that the apostles will perform, about persecution for faith, about the destruction of Jerusalem, etc. Some of Christ's prophecies related to the last times, begin to come true, for example: about the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, about the corruption of people and about the cooling of faith, about terrible wars, earthquakes, etc. Finally, some prophecies, such as about general resurrection dead, about the second coming of Christ, about the end of the world and about last judgment- still to be fulfilled.

By His power over nature and His foresight of the future, the Lord Jesus Christ testified to the truth of His teaching and the fact that He really is the Only Begotten Son of God.

The public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ lasted more than three years. The high priests, scribes and Pharisees did not accept His teaching and, envying His miracles and success, looked for an opportunity to kill Him. Finally, such an opportunity presented itself. After the resurrection of the four-day Lazarus by the Savior, six days before Easter, Jesus Christ, surrounded by the people, triumphantly, like the son of David and the king of Israel, entered Jerusalem. The people gave Him royal honor. Jesus Christ went straight to the temple, but when he saw that the high priests had turned the house of prayer into a “den of robbers,” he expelled all the merchants and money changers from there. This aroused the wrath of the Pharisees and the high priests, and in their meeting they decided to destroy Him. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ spent whole days teaching the people in the temple. On Wednesday, one of His twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, invited the members of the Sanhedrin to secretly betray their Master for thirty pieces of silver. The high priests gladly agreed.

On Thursday, Jesus Christ, wishing to celebrate Easter with His disciples, left Bethany for Jerusalem, where His disciples Peter and John prepared a large room for Him. Appearing here in the evening, Jesus Christ showed His disciples the greatest example of humility by washing their feet, which the servants of the Jews used to do. Then, lying down with them, He celebrated the Old Testament Passover. After the supper, Jesus Christ established the New Testament Easter - the sacrament of the Eucharist or Communion. Taking bread, He blessed it, broke it and, giving it to the disciples, said: “ Accept, eat (eat): this is my body, which is given for you, "Then, taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said:" Drink from it all, for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.”After that, Jesus Christ spoke with His disciples for the last time about the Kingdom of God. Then He went to the suburban Garden of Gethsemane and, accompanied by three disciples - Peter, James and John, went deep into the garden and, throwing himself on the ground, prayed to His Father until bloody sweat that the cup of suffering that was coming to Him would pass.

At this time, a crowd of armed servants of the high priest, led by Judas, burst into the garden. Judas gave away his Master with a kiss. While the high priest Caiaphas summoned the members of the Sanhedrin, the soldiers took Jesus to the palace of Anna (Anan); from here He was led to Caiaphas, where, late at night, His trial took place. Although many false witnesses were summoned, no one could point to a crime for which Jesus Christ could be sentenced to death. However, the death sentence took place only after Jesus Christ recognized Himself as the Son of God and the Messiah... For this Christ was formally accused of blasphemy, for which, according to the law, the death penalty followed.

On Friday morning, the high priest went with the members of the Sanhedrin to the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, to confirm the verdict. But Pilate at first did not agree to do this, not seeing in Jesus the guilt worthy of death. Then the Jews began to threaten Pilate with denunciation of him to Rome, and Pilate approved the death sentence. Jesus Christ was given to the Roman soldiers. At about 12 noon, along with two robbers, Jesus was taken to Golgotha ​​- a small hill on the western side of the Jerusalem wall - and there he was crucified on the cross. Jesus Christ resignedly accepted this execution. It was noon. Suddenly the sun darkened, and darkness spread over the earth for a full three hours. After that, Jesus Christ loudly cried out to the Father: "My God, My God, why did you forsake Me!" Then, seeing that everything was fulfilled according to the Old Testament prophecies, He exclaimed: “ It is done! My Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!”And bowing His head, gave up the ghost. Terrible signs followed: the curtain in the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, the stones disintegrated. Seeing this, even a pagan - a Roman centurion - exclaimed: “ Truly He was the Son of God.»Nobody doubted the death of Jesus Christ. Two members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples of Jesus Christ, received permission from Pilate to remove His body from the cross and buried it in Joseph's tomb near Calvary, in the garden. The members of the Sanhedrin made sure that the body of Jesus Christ was not stolen by His disciples, sealed the entrance and set up guards. Everything was done hastily, since the Easter holiday began in the evening of that day.

On Sunday (probably April 8th), the third day after His death on the cross, Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and left the coffin. After that, an Angel who came down from heaven rolled the stone away from the door of the tomb. The first witnesses of this event were the soldiers guarding the tomb of Christ. Although the soldiers did not see Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, they were eyewitnesses to the fact that when the Angel rolled away the stone, the tomb was already empty. Frightened by the Angel, the soldiers fled. Mary Magdalene and other myrrh-bearers, who went to the tomb of Jesus Christ even before dawn to anoint the body of their Lord and Teacher, found the tomb empty and were worthy to see the Risen One Himself and to hear from Him a greeting: “ Rejoice!»Besides Mary Magdalene, Jesus Christ appeared to many of His disciples at different times. Some of them even deserved to touch His body and make sure that He is not a ghost. Over the course of forty days, Jesus Christ spoke with His disciples several times, giving them final instructions.

On the fortieth day, Jesus Christ, in the sight of all His disciples, ascended to the sky from the Mount of Olives. As we believe, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father, that is, he has one authority with Him. For the second time, He will come to earth before the end of the world, to judge living and dead, after which His glorious and eternal Kingdom will begin, in which the righteous will shine like the sun.

The appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Saints The apostles who wrote about the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ did not mention anything about His appearance. The main thing for them was to capture His spiritual image and teaching.

V eastern church there is a legend about “ Image miraculous"Savior. According to him, the artist, who was sent by the King of Edessa, Abgar, several times unsuccessfully tried to sketch the face of the Savior. When Christ, having called the artist, put his canvas to His face, His face was imprinted on the canvas. Having received this image from his artist, King Abgar was healed of leprosy. Since then, this miraculous image of the Savior was well known in the eastern church, and copies of icons were made from it. The ancient Armenian historian Moses Khorensky, Greek historian Evargius and St. John Damascene.

In the Western Church there is a legend about the image of St. Veronica, who gave the Savior, who was going to Calvary, a towel so that He could wipe His face. The imprint of His face was left on the towel, which later found its way to the west.

V Orthodox Church it is customary to depict the Savior on icons and frescoes. These images do not seek to convey Him exactly. appearance... They are more like reminders symbols that elevate our thought to the One who is depicted on them. Looking at the images of the Savior, we remember His life, His love and compassion, His miracles and teachings; remember that He, being omnipresent, is with us, sees our difficulties and helps us. This sets us up to pray to Him: "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on us!"

The face of the Savior and all of His body was also imprinted on the so-called "," - a long canvas, in which, according to legend, the body of the Savior taken from the cross was wrapped. It was possible to see the image on the shroud only relatively recently with the help of photography, special filters and a computer. Reproductions of the face of the Savior, made according to the Turin Shroud, bear a striking resemblance to some ancient Byzantine icons (sometimes coinciding at 45 or 60 points, which, according to experts, cannot be accidental). Studying the Turin Shroud, experts came to the conclusion that a man of about 30 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches tall (181 cm - much taller than his contemporaries), slender and strong build, was imprinted on it.

Bishop Alexander Mileant

What Jesus Christ Taught

From the book of Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev “Tradition. Dogma. Rite of passage. "

Christ did not perceive Himself as simply a Teacher. Such a Teacher who bequeaths to people a kind of "Teaching" that can be carried around the world and over the centuries. He not so much “teaches” as “saves”. And all His words are connected with how exactly this event of “salvation” is connected with the secret of His own Life.

Everything that is new in the teaching of Jesus Christ is connected only with the mystery of His Own Being. One God was already preached by the prophets, and monotheism was established long ago. Is it possible to say about the relationship between God and man in words higher than those of the prophet Micah: “Man! it has been told you what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love works of mercy and to walk humbly before your God ”(Micah 6, 8)? In the moral preaching of Jesus to almost any of its positions, one can point to "parallel passages" from the books of the Old Testament. He gives them great aphorism, accompanies them with amazing and surprising examples and parables - but there is nothing in His moral teaching that would not be contained in the Law and in the Prophets.

If we carefully read the Gospels, we will see that the main subject of Christ's preaching is not appeals to mercy, to love, or to repentance. The main subject of Christ's preaching is Himself. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6), “Believe in God, and believe in Me” (John 14: 1). “I am the light of the world” (John 8, 12). “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). “No one comes to the Father, only by Me” (John 14. 6); “Search the Scriptures: they testify of Me” (John 5:39).

What ancient scripture site does Jesus choose for his synagogue preaching? - Not prophetic calls for love and purity. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Isaiah 61: 1-2).

Here is the most controversial passage in the Gospel: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me ”(Matthew 10: 37-38). It does not say “for the sake of truth” or “for the sake of Eternity” or “for the sake of the Way”. "For me".

And this is by no means an ordinary relationship between teacher and student. No teacher so completely claimed power over the souls and destinies of his students: “He who has saved his soul will lose it; but he who has lost his life for my sake will save it ”(Matthew 10:39).

Even at the Last Judgment, the division is made in relation to people towards Christ, and not simply according to the degree of their observance of the Law. “What have they done to Me ...” - To me, not to God. And the judge is Christ. There is division in relation to Him. He does not say, "You were merciful and therefore blessed," but - "I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat."

For justification at the Judgment, in particular, not only an internal, but also an external, public appeal to Jesus will be required. Salvation is impossible without the visibility of this connection with Jesus: “Everyone who confesses Me before men, him I also confess before My Heavenly Father; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in Heaven ”(Matthew 10: 32-33).

Confessing Christ to others can be dangerous. And the danger will threaten not for the preaching of love or repentance, but for the sermon about Christ Himself. “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and in every way unrighteously revile you for me(Matthew 5:11). “And they will lead you to rulers and kings for me”(Mt 10:18). “And you will be hated by everyone for my name; but he who endures to the end will be saved ”(Mt 10:22).

And the opposite: “who will accept one such child in my name, he accepts Me ”(Matthew 18.5). It does not say "in the name of the Father" or "for the sake of God." Likewise, Christ promises His presence and help to those who will gather not in the name of the “Great Unknowable”, but in His name: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

Moreover, the Savior makes it clear that this is precisely what is new. religious life, brought by him: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full ”(John 16:24).

And in the last phrase of the Bible there is an appeal: “She! come, Lord Jesus! ”. Not “Come, Truth” and not “Autumn us, Spirit!”, But - “Come, Jesus”.

Christ asks the disciples not about what people think about His sermons, but about “who do people think I am?” It is not a matter of accepting a system, a teaching, but accepting a Personality. The Gospel of Christ reveals itself as the Gospel of Christ, it carries the Message of a Person, not a concept. In terms of current philosophy, we can say that the gospel is a word of personalism, not conceptualism. Christ did nothing that could be talked about, distinguishing and separating it from His Self.

The founders of other religions acted not as an object of faith, but as its mediators. Not the personality of Buddha, Mohammed or Moses was the real content of the new faith, but their teaching. In each case, it was possible to separate their teaching from themselves. But - “Blessed is he who will not be tempted about me”(Mt 11.6).

That most important commandment of Christ, which He himself called “new”, also says about Himself: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you”. How He loved us - we know: before the Cross.

There is one more fundamental explanation of this commandment. It turns out that the hallmark of a Christian is love not for those who love him (“for don't the pagans do the same?”), But love for enemies. But is it possible to love the enemy? The enemy is a person whom I, by definition, to put it mildly, do not like. Will I be able to love him on someone's orders? If a guru or a preacher tells his flock: tomorrow, from eight o'clock in the morning, begin to love your enemies - is it really the feeling of love that will be revealed in the hearts of his disciples at ten past eight? Meditation and training of will and feelings can teach to be indifferent, without affects to relate to enemies. But to rejoice at their successes as their own person is unacceptable. Even the grief of a stranger is easier to share with him. And it is impossible to share the joy of someone else ... If I love someone - any news about him pleases me, I am glad from the thought of an imminent meeting with my beloved ... My wife rejoices at her husband's success at work. Will she be able to meet with the same joy the news of the promotion of the one whom she considers her enemy? Christ performed the first miracle at a wedding feast. When we say that the Savior took our suffering upon Himself, we often forget that He was in solidarity with people and in our joys ...

So what if the commandment to love enemies is beyond us - why does Christ give it to us? Or does He know little about human nature? Or does He just want to destroy us all with His rigorism? Indeed, as the apostle confirms, the breaker of one commandment becomes guilty of the destruction of the entire law. If I violated one paragraph of the law (for example, I was engaged in extortion), references to the fact that I have never been involved in stealing horses will not help me. If I do not fulfill the commandments about loving my enemies, what is the use of distributing property, rearranging mountains, and even giving up my body for burning? I am doomed. And I am doomed because the Old Testament turned out to be more merciful to me than the New Testament, which proposed such a “new commandment”, which subjected to its judgment not only the subordinate Jews, but all of humanity.

How can I fulfill it, will I find the strength in myself to obey the Teacher? No. But - “It is impossible for men, but it is possible for God ... Abide in My love ... Abide in Me, and I - in you”. Knowing that it is impossible to love enemies with human strength, the Savior unites the faithful to Himself, just as branches unite with a vine, so that His love may open and act in them. “God is Love ... Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened” ... “The law obliged me to do what it did not give. Grace gives what it requires ”(B. Pascal)

Hence, this commandment of Christ is inconceivable without participation in His Mystery. The moral of the Gospel cannot be separated from its mysticism. The teaching of Christ is inseparable from church Christology. Only direct union with Christ, literally - communion with Him, makes possible the fulfillment of His new commandments.

The usual ethical and religious system is the path by which people come to a certain goal. Christ begins with this very goal. He is talking about the life flowing from God to us, and not about our efforts that can lift us up to God. For what others work, He gives. Other teachers begin with a demand, This one with a Gift: "The kingdom of heaven has reached you." But it is precisely for this reason that the Sermon on the Mount proclaims neither a new morality nor a new law. It heralds the entry into some completely new horizon of life. The Sermon on the Mount does not so much set out a new moral system as it reveals a new state of affairs. People are given a gift. And it says under what conditions they can not drop it. Bliss is not a reward for heroic deeds, the Kingdom of God will not follow spiritual poverty, but merge with it. The link between state and promise is Christ Himself, not human effort or law.

Already in the Old Testament, it was quite clearly proclaimed that only the coming of God in the heart of a person can make him forget all past misfortunes: “Thou art prepared with thy goodness, O God, for the poor, Thy coming in his heart” (Psalm 67: 11). Actually, God has only two dwelling places: “I live at the height of heaven, and also with a broken and humble spirit, to quicken the spirit of the humble and quicken the hearts of the broken” (Isa. 57, 15). Yet one thing is the comforting anointing of the Spirit, which is felt in the depths of a contrite heart, and another is the messianic time when the world is already inseparable from God ... Therefore, “blessed are the poor”: the Kingdom of Heaven is already theirs. Not "will be yours," but "yours is." Not because you found it or earned it, but because It is itself active, It itself found you and overtook you.

And another gospel verse, which is usually seen as the quintessence of the gospel, also speaks not so much about good relations between people, as about the need for the recognition of Christ: "By this everyone will know, if you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." So what is the first sign of a Christian? - No, not “to have love”, but “to be my disciple”. “Therefore everyone will know that you are students, that you have a student card.” What is your main attribute here - having a student ticket or the very fact of being a student? For others, the most important thing is to understand that you are Mine! And here is My seal for you. I have chosen you. My Spirit is upon you. May my love abide in you.

So, “The Lord, having bodily appeared to people, first of all required us to know Himself and taught this, and immediately attracted to this; even more: for the sake of this feeling He came and for this He did everything: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). And since He Himself was the truth, He almost did not say: “Let me show Myself” (St. Nicholas Cabasilas). The main business of Jesus was not His word, but His being: Being-with-people; being-on-the-cross.

And the disciples of Christ - the apostles - in their sermon do not retell "the teachings of Christ." Having gone out to preach about Christ, they do not retell the Sermon on the Mount. There are no references to the Sermon on the Mount in Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost, and in Stephen's sermon on the day of his martyrdom. In general, the apostles do not use the traditional disciplic formula: "As the Teacher instructed."

Moreover, the apostles speak very sparingly even about the life of Christ. The light of Easter is so bright for them that their vision does not extend to the decades preceding the procession to Calvary. And even about the event of the resurrection of Christ, the Apostles preach not as a fact only of His life, but as an event in the life of those who received the Passover gospel - because “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you” (Rom. 8, eleven); “But if we knew Christ according to the flesh, now we no longer know” (2 Cor. 5:16)

The apostles say one thing: He died for our sins and was resurrected, and in His resurrection is the hope of our life. Never referring to the teaching of Christ, the apostles speak about the fact of Christ and His Sacrifice and about His influence on man. Christians do not believe in Christianity, but in Christ. The apostles do not preach Christ the Teaching, but Christ the Crucified - temptation to moralists and madness to theosophists.

We can imagine that all the evangelists would be killed along with the apostle. Stefan. Even in our New Testament, more than half of the books are written by one apostle. Paul. Let's do a thought experiment. Suppose all 12 apostles are killed. There were no close witnesses to the life and preaching of Christ. But the risen Christ appears to Saul and makes him His only apostle. Paul then writes the entire New Testament. Who would we be then? Christians or peacocks? Could Paul be called the Savior in this case? Paul, as if foreseeing such a situation, answers quite sharply: why “do they say:“ I am Pavlov, ”“ I am Apollosov, ”“ I am Kifin, ”“ and I am Christ ”? was Paul crucified for you? " (1 Cor. 1.12-13).

This apostolic focus on the mystery of Christ himself was inherited by the ancient Church. The main theological theme of the 1st millennium is not disputes about the “teaching of Christ”, but disputes about the phenomenon of Christ: Who came to us?

And at its Liturgies, the ancient Church thanks Christ not at all for what modern textbooks on the history of ethics are ready to show Him respect for. In ancient prayers, we will not find praises like: “We thank you for the law that you reminded us of”? “We thank You for the sermons and beautiful parables, for wisdom and guidance ”? “We thank You for the universal human moral and spiritual values ​​preached by You.”

Here, for example, “Apostolic decrees” - a monument dating back to the II century: “Thank you, our Father, about the life that you revealed to us by Jesus, your child, for your servant, whom you sent for our salvation as a person to whom you deigned suffer and die. We also thank, our Father, for the honest blood of Jesus Christ, shed for us and for an honest body, instead of the images of which we offer, as He has appointed us to proclaim His death. "

Here is the "Apostolic Tradition" of St. Hippolyta: “We thank Thee, God, through Thy beloved Child Jesus Christ, whom in last times Thou hast sent us as Savior, Redeemer and Messenger of Thy will, Who is Thy Word, inseparable from Thee, by whom all things were created according to Thy will, Whom Thou didst send from heaven into the womb of the Virgin. Fulfilling Your will, He stretched out His hands to free from suffering those who believe in You ... So, remembering His death and resurrection, we bring you bread and the cup, offering You thanksgiving for the fact that you deigned us to appear before You and serve You ” ...

And in all subsequent Liturgies - up to the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is still performed in our churches, thanksgiving is sent for the Sacrifice of the Cross of the Son of God - and not for the wisdom of preaching.

And in the performance of another great Sacrament of the Church - Baptism, we gain a similar testimony. When the Church entered into her most terrible battle - into full-time confrontation with the spirit of darkness, she called on her Lord for help. But - again - How did she see Him at that moment? The prayers of the ancient exorcists have come down to us. Due to their ontological seriousness, they have hardly changed over the millennia. Coming to the sacrament of Baptism, the priest reads a unique prayer - the only church prayer addressed not to God, but to Satan. He commands the spirit of resistance to leave the new Christian and not to touch him from now on, who has become a member of the Body of Christ. So with what God does the priest conjure the devil? - “Forbidden to you, the devil, the Lord, who came into the world, took possession of men, may destroy your torment and men will sweep away, Even on the tree the resisting forces conquer, And destroy death with death and abolish the power of death, that is to you, the devil ...”. And for some reason there is no appeal here: "Fear the Teacher, who commanded us not to resist evil by force" ...

So, Christianity is a community of people who were struck not so much by some parable or high moral requirement of Christ, but a collection of people who felt the mystery of Calvary. In particular, this is why the Church is so calm about “biblical criticism” that finds insertions, omissions, or distortions in biblical books. Criticism of the biblical text can seem dangerous for Christianity only if Christianity is perceived in an Islamic manner - as the "religion of the Book." The “Biblical criticism” of the 19th century was able to generate anti-church triumphalism only if the criteria that were important for Islam and, in part, Judaism, were transferred to Christianity. But even the religion of Ancient Israel was built not so much on some teaching inspired from Above, as on the historical event of the Covenant. Christianity all the more is not a belief in a book that fell from heaven, but in a Person, in what she said, did, experienced.

For the Church, it is not so much the authenticity of the retelling of the Founder's words that is important as His life, which cannot be faked. No matter how many insertions, omissions or defects crept into the written sources of Christianity - for him it is not fatal, for it is not built on a book, but on the Cross.

So, has the Church changed the “teaching of Jesus”, shifting all her attention and hope from the “commandments of Christ” to the very person of the Savior and the Mystery of His Being? The Protestant liberal theologian A. Harnack believes that - yes, she did. In support of his idea that ethics is more important in the preaching of Christ than the Person of Christ, he cites the logic of Jesus: “If you love me, keep my commandments,” and from it he concludes: “Making Christology the main content of the Gospel is a perversion, this is clear speaks the sermon of Jesus Christ, which in its basic features is very simple and puts everyone directly before God. " But after all - love Me and the commandments are also Mine ...

The Christocentrism of historical Christianity, which is so obviously different from the moralistic reading of the Gospel by people of little religious faith, is not to the liking of many of our contemporaries. But, as in the 1st century, Christianity is now ready to arouse antipathy among pagans towards itself with a clear and unequivocal evidence of its faith in the One Lord, Incarnate, Crucified and Risen - "for us for the sake of man and ours for the sake of salvation."

Christ is not only a means of Revelation through which God speaks to people. Since He is the God-man, He is also the subject of Revelation. And moreover, He also turns out to be the content of Revelation. Christ is the One who enters into communication with a person, and the One about whom this message speaks.

God did not just tell us from afar certain truths that He considered necessary for our enlightenment. He Himself became a man. He spoke about His new unheard-of closeness with people in every His earthly sermon.

If the Angel had flown from Heaven and announced to us a certain message, then the consequences of his visit could well be contained in these words and in their written fixation. Anyone who accurately remembered the angelic words, understood their meaning and conveyed them to his neighbor, would exactly repeat the ministry of this Messenger. The messenger is identical with his commission. But can we say that Christ's commission was reduced to words, to the disclosure of certain truths? Can we say that the Only Begotten Son of God fulfilled the ministry that any of the angels and any of the prophets could have fulfilled with no less success?

- No. The ministry of Christ is not limited to the words of Christ. The ministry of Christ is not identical with the teaching of Christ. He is not only a prophet. He is also a Priest. The ministry of a prophet can be wholly recorded in books. The ministry of the Priest is not words, but action.

This is the question of Tradition and Scripture. Scripture is a clear record of the words of Christ. But if the ministry of Christ is not identical to His words, then the fruit of His ministry cannot be identical to the gospel fixation of His sermons. If His teaching is only one of the fruits of His ministry, what are the rest? And how can people become heirs of these fruits? How the teaching is transmitted, how it is recorded and stored is understandable. But the rest? That which was super-verbal in the ministry of Christ cannot be conveyed in words. This means that there must be another way of participating in the ministry of Christ, apart from the Scriptures.

This is Tradition.

1 Let me remind you that according to the interpretation of Clement of Alexandria, this word of Christ is about being ready to refuse to follow social prejudices (of course, even if these prejudices induce parents to bring up their son in a spirit of opposition to the Gospel).
“The miracles of Christ could be apocryphal or legendary. The only and main miracle, and, moreover, already completely indisputable - is He Himself. To imagine such a Person is just as difficult and incredible, and it would be wonderful as to be such a Person ”(V. Rozanov, Religion and Culture. Vol. 1. M., 1990, p. 353).
3 For a more detailed analysis of the Christocentric passages of the Gospel, see the chapter "What Christ Preached" in the second volume of my book "Satanism for the Intellectuals."

Christianity is not made by hands, it is the creation of God.

From the book "Non-American Missionary"

If we assert that Christ is God, that He is sinless, and human nature is sinful, then how could He incarnate, was it possible?

Man is not sinful from the start. Man and sin are not synonymous. Yes, people have transformed God's world into a familiar catastrophe world. Yet the world, flesh, humanity in themselves are not something evil. And the fullness of love is not to come to the one who is good, but to the one who is bad. To believe that the incarnation will defile God is like saying: “Here is a dirty barrack, there is disease, infection, ulcers; how does a doctor run the risk of going there, he can get infected ?! ”. Christ is the Physician who came to a sick world.

The holy fathers also cited another example: when the sun illuminates the earth, it illuminates not only beautiful roses and flowering meadows, but also puddles and sewage. But the sun is not corrupted because its ray fell on something dirty and unsightly. So the Lord did not become less pure, less Divine because he touched a person on earth, put on his flesh.

- How could a sinless God die?

The death of God is really a contradiction. "The Son of God died - it is inconceivable, and therefore worthy of faith", - wrote Tertullian in the III century, and it was this saying that later served as the basis for the thesis "I believe, for it is absurd." Christianity is really a world of contradictions, but they arise as a trace from the touch of the Divine hand. If Christianity was created by people, it would be completely straightforward, rational, rational. Because when smart and talented people create something, their product turns out to be quite consistent, logically high-quality.

The origins of Christianity were undoubtedly very talented and smart people... It is just as certain that the Christian faith has turned out to be full of contradictions (antinomies) and paradoxes. How can this be combined? For me, this is a "certificate of quality", a sign that Christianity is not made by hands, that it is the creation of God.

From the theological point of view, Christ as God did not die. The human part of His "composition" passed through death. Death occurred “with” God (with what He perceived during earthly Christmas), but not “in” God, not in His Divine nature.

Many people easily agree with the idea of ​​the existence of a single God, the Most High, the Absolute, the Supreme Reason, but categorically reject the worship of Christ as God, considering it a kind of pagan relic, worship of a semi-pagan anthropomorphic, that is, humanlike, deity. Aren't they right?

For me, the word "anthropomorphism" is not a dirty word at all. When I hear an accusation like “your Christian God is anthropomorphic,” I ask you to translate the “accusation” into an understandable Russian language. Then everything immediately falls into place. I say: “Excuse me, what do you accuse us of? Is it that our concept of God is human-like, human-like? Can you create for yourself some other idea of ​​God? Which? Giraffe-like, amoeboid, Martian-like? "

We are people. And therefore, no matter what we think - about a blade of grass, about space, about an atom or about the Divine - we think about it humanly, based on our own ideas. One way or another, we endow everything with human qualities.

Another thing is that anthropomorphism is different. It can be primitive: when a person simply transfers all his feelings, passions to nature and to God, not understanding this his act. Then a pagan myth turns out.

But Christian anthropomorphism knows about itself, it is noticed by Christians, thought out and realized. And at the same time, it is experienced not as inevitability, but as gift... Yes, I, a man, have no right to think about the Incomprehensible God, I cannot pretend to know Him, let alone express it in my awful scanty language. But the Lord, out of His love, condescends to clothe Himself in the images of human speech. God speaks in words that are understandable to nomadic nomads of the 2nd millennium BC (which were the Hebrew forefathers Moses, Abraham ...). And in the end, even God Himself becomes Man.

Christian thought begins with the recognition of the incomprehensibility of God. But if we stop at this, then religion, as a union with Him, is simply impossible. It will be reduced to desperate silence. Religion acquires the right to exist only if the Incomprehensible Himself gives it this right. If He Himself declares His desire to be found. Only when the Lord Himself goes beyond the boundaries of His incomprehensibility, when He comes to people, - only then the planet of people can acquire a religion with anthropomorphism inherent in it. Only Love can cross all the boundaries of apophatic decency.

If there is Love, then there is a Revelation, an outpouring of this Love. This Revelation is given to the world of people, rather aggressive and dull creatures. This means that it is necessary to protect the rights of God in the world of human willfulness. This is what dogmas are for. Dogma is a wall, but not a prison, but a serf wall. She keeps gift from the raids of the barbarians. In time, the barbarians will become the keepers of this gifts... But first gift have to be protected from them.

And this means that all the dogmas of Christianity are possible only because God is Love.

Christianity claims that Christ Himself is the head of the Church. He is present in the Church and leads it. Where does this confidence come from and can the Church prove it?

The best proof is that the Church is still alive. Boccaccio's Decameron contains this proof (it was transplanted into Russian cultural soil in Nikolai Berdyaev's famous work "On the dignity of Christianity and the unworthiness of Christians"). Let me remind you that the plot is as follows.

A certain French Christian was friends with a Jew. They had good human relations, but at the same time the Christian could not come to terms with the fact that his friend did not accept the gospel, and he spent many evenings with him in discussions on religious themes... In the end, the Jew succumbed to his preaching and expressed a desire to be baptized, but before Baptism he wished to visit Rome to look at the Pope.

The Frenchman had a good idea of ​​what the Renaissance Rome was, and in every possible way opposed the departure of his friend there, but he nevertheless went. The Frenchman greeted him without any hope, realizing that no sane person, seeing the papal court, would want to become a Christian.

But, having met with his friend, the Jew himself suddenly started a conversation that he needed to be baptized as soon as possible. The Frenchman could not believe his ears and asked him:

Have you been to Rome?

Yes, he was, - the Jew answers.

Did you see dad?

Have you seen how the Pope and the Cardinals live?

Of course I did.

And after that do you want to be baptized? the even more surprised Frenchman asks.

Yes, - replies the Jew, - just after everything I've seen, I want to be baptized. After all, these people are doing everything in their power to destroy the Church, but if, nevertheless, she lives, it turns out that the Church is still not from people, she is from God.

In general, you know, every Christian can tell how the Lord controls his life. Each of us can give a lot of examples of how invisibly God leads him through this life, and even more so it is obvious in the management of the life of the Church. However, here we come to the problem of the Providence of God. There is a good piece of fiction on this topic, it is called "The Lord of the Rings". This work tells how the invisible Lord (of course, He is beyond the scope of the plot) arranges the whole course of events in such a way that they turn to the triumph of good and the defeat of Sauron, who personifies evil. Tolkien himself clearly stated this in the comments to the book.

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