What is the ideal moral image of a Christian? Is it the one according to which we were created—in the image and likeness of God? Is it the image of Christ, which we are called to emulate today? #

In the account of creation, known as the Hexaemeron, there is an interesting feature. The word “God” in the original Hebrew text is written in the plural form, while the verbs associated with it are in the singular. It reads approximately as follows: “In the beginning, God(s) created the heaven and the earth.” Thus, from the very first lines of Scripture, we are given a glimpse into the mystery of the Trinity—that God is not simply one, but one in plurality. Now we understand that He is one in Trinity, and that the entire Holy Trinity participated in the creation of the world and humankind. However, the holy fathers interpret that in the act of creation, and particularly in the creation of humanity, the Second Person of the Trinity—God the Son—was directly at work. Therefore, when the Lord said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness,” it was specifically the image and likeness of the Son of God. Thus, it can be said that both the image in which we were created and the image of Christ in which every faithful Christian strives to clothe themselves are one and the same—the image of the Son of God.

In the teaching of the holy apostles, the theme of being clothed in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ is expressed with particular clarity in the epistles of the apostle Paul. In his Epistle to the Romans, he writes:

“Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:13–14).

In his Epistle to the Colossians, he elaborates further:

“But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him: where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Colossians 3:8–13).

Thus, the image of a Christian involves not only modest outward appearance, such as a man’s beard or a woman’s refraining from the use of cosmetics. More importantly, and primarily, the image of a Christian refers to the virtues enumerated by the apostle Paul. Those who cultivate these virtues clearly clothe themselves in Christ, meaning their image becomes like that of the Lord Jesus Himself.

—Priest Mikhail Rodin