Church Service and Education #
One of the most important decisions in a person’s life—one that largely determines their destiny—is the choice of a profession: whom to become, what to study, and how. For an Orthodox Christian, this decision is further shaped by the desire to please God, so that one’s future professional activity, at the very least, does not contradict the commandments of God, and at best, is directly connected with service to God and the Church. Thus, the choice of a profession can be viewed as an intermediate goal on the path toward the Christian’s ultimate aim: the attainment of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is in this context that we shall speak of this topic.
In today’s world, making this choice is far more difficult than it was a hundred and fifty or more years ago. The difficulty is not only due to the disappearance of class distinctions, the accessibility of education, or the wide range of available opportunities. The real issue lies in the changed structure of social life. Whereas previously Orthodox customs were part of daily reality, the majority of people were believers, and thus, by engaging in almost any profession, one could freely align it with their religious convictions, today the world operates by entirely different principles. These principles continue to change for the worse and often estrange us from the Orthodox faith.
Two Extremes #
As a result, two errors are frequently encountered within the Church environment—two extremes that, although seemingly opposite, in fact reinforce one another. One extreme is the desire to keep pace with the times, to lead a secular lifestyle, and to pursue a successful career in the worldly sphere. While formally remaining a believer, a person does not align their actions with the demands of Orthodox doctrine, paying attention to these only when there happens to be time. Accordingly, such a person chooses a field of study and a profession based on criteria unrelated to Christianity. For this reason, one may choose a career that is outright sinful, or pursue advancement without ever considering how or in what way he might serve the Church.
The opposite extreme is what may be called false spirituality, where the need to study, obtain an education, and learn a profession is denied, and is replaced solely by prayer, fasting, and attending church services. Certainly, there are ascetics who renounce everything for the salvation of their souls and withdraw to monasteries. But this must be a conscious and wholehearted decision made by the individual, not an attempt to “sit on two chairs” by combining a secular job, family life, and monastic discipline. It is even more troubling when parents try to impose on their children their own unfulfilled dreams of asceticism, pressing them to forgo studies and the acquisition of a sound profession. Neophytes—those recently come to faith in God—are also often subject to this temptation. There are known cases where such individuals, having come to church, abandon good jobs and in-demand careers to become church guards, thereby quickly and knowingly destroying the foundation of life they had, and cutting off social ties with those in their circle. But in doing so, they bury in the earth the talent given to them by God (Matt. 25:24) in one field or another, without realizing that in their proper place and calling, wherein they were called (1 Cor. 7:24), they might have brought far more benefit both to the Church and to others.
The Royal Path #
In the Christian life, the virtue of discernment is of great importance—the ability to find, in any endeavor, a middle ground between excess and deficiency, that which the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers call the middle or royal path. “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:26–27).
To avoid both extremes in relation to education, one must first understand that the life around us, however abnormal it may seem, is the very place where we begin our personal Christian journey. One must never forget that the calling of a Christian is not a profession. Keeping in mind the words of the Savior: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16), in our struggle against the spirit of this world, we must make use of the best the world can offer—and go beyond it—harnessing it for the benefit of the Church and the work of Christian witness in the world. Those who are called while already possessing an education and profession should remember the Gospel words about the scribe who, being instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven, “is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52). When a person has a certain cultural or intellectual foundation, this often helps him avoid many errors in his Christian life and allows him to bring benefit to the Holy Church in her earthly mission.
This is exactly what the great saints did. Looking at Church history, we see that many saints received an excellent education—indeed, the best available in their time. These include the universal teachers Basil the Great and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Gregory Palamas, and many others. It is worth quoting the words of St. Gregory the Theologian: “My cheeks had not yet grown the down of youth when I was seized by a certain burning love for learning. And even those teachings not altogether pure [referring to the writings of pagan philosophers—Fr. I.K.], I tried to place in service to the true teachings, lest those who had learned nothing become prideful.” From this quote it is evident that even in the time of St. Gregory (4th century), there were Christians who believed that since Christ had chosen His apostles from among simple fishermen and sent these “unlearned” men to preach, there was no need to study or acquire any special knowledge.
Blessed Augustine, in his work On Christian Doctrine, or the Foundations of Sacred Hermeneutics and Church Eloquence, brilliantly refutes the notion that “if the Holy Spirit produces teachers, then people need not prescribe rules for what and how to teach.” “If that were the case,” says the saint, “then we ought not even to pray, for the Lord says: ‘For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him’” (Matthew 6:8). Blessed Augustine brings forth many quotations from the pastoral epistles of the holy Apostle Paul to show that the chief of the apostles prescribed to his disciples rules for what and how they should teach. For instance, to Timothy, Paul wrote: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). “Just as bodily medicines,” Augustine concludes, “though applied by man to man, benefit only those whom God, who can heal even without medicine, chooses to heal—and though medicines are ineffective without God’s help, people still use them, and their diligent application is considered a work of mercy and benevolence—so too the aids of learning, given by the hand of man, profit the soul only when made useful by God Himself, who, though not through man or by man, could if He willed, have given man the Gospel itself.”
Whom to Become #
God has given each person a talent, a vocation. Sometimes this gift is revealed early in life, and it determines one’s life path. But more often, a person’s calling is difficult to discern. One has to try their hand in various directions. Let us now consider some possible paths of activity for those who wish not merely to belong to the Church, but to actively participate in Her life.
The Path of the Church Servant #
In pre-revolutionary Russia, the clergy were almost entirely a hereditary estate—one’s occupation was predetermined by birth. Today, however, the selection of clergy occurs through a person’s free will, the blessing of a spiritual father, and election by the community. Unfortunately, in our time, there is a noticeable decline in youth interest in religion. Even in the seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a shortage of students, although just twenty years ago these institutions had substantial competition among applicants.
Nevertheless, among believing youth, there are still some who exhibit deep religious devotion from an early age. These young men and women are always few in number, yet one can confidently say that their zeal for prayer, their interest in reading Scripture and Orthodox literature, their singing and love for divine services are signs of spiritual giftedness. The priesthood is a vocation. A striking example is Protopriest Markel Kuznetsov (Dec 22, 1893 – Feb 1, 1988), who served over sixty years in the priesthood in Kaluga. From early childhood, he diligently attended church services, and his fellow villagers saw in the six-year-old boy a future priest. He was ordained a deacon at the age of nineteen and served until deep old age.
This unique spiritual potential in the younger generation—their spiritual gift and talent—must be fully utilized. Spiritual fathers must identify these gifts and guide them, so that they are not lost but rather directed in time toward the path of priestly ministry, while observing the canonical requirements, the foundations of which are laid out in the pastoral epistles of the holy Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:6–9). Among these instructions, we highlight the following: “A bishop must… hold fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers” (Titus 1:7–9). These words affirm the necessity of thorough preparation for future clergy—a category that includes not only bishops, priests, and deacons, but also readers, chanters, choir directors, church wardens, and others.
Regrettably, our Church currently lacks a system of fundamental ecclesiastical education. The existing theological school of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church trains mid-level specialists. This level is clearly insufficient to prepare a future pastor capable of responding adequately to the challenges of the present day. Topics widely discussed in society today—such as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, in vitro fertilization, cloning, and similar issues—require theological reflection and timely responses from the Church. But how can such responses be offered without professional training? It seems that one of the main reasons for the shortage of priests in our Church is the absence of a complete educational framework.
There is a pressing need to strengthen the theological school, expand its teaching staff, and undertake the next step—establishing a higher educational institution of the RPSC (Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church). A few years ago, our Church received a building that once belonged to the Old-Rite Institute, and restoration work has begun. Discussions are underway regarding the status and concept of the new institute, its academic program, and the process of registering and licensing its activities. Here it is crucial to analyze the pre-revolutionary experience—an in-depth study of which was undertaken in the candidate dissertation of Fr. Ioann Sevastyanov, “The Educational Activity of the Old Believers in the Period 1905–1918.” This scholarly work comprehensively examines the educational initiatives of the Old Believers during their so-called “Golden Age,” reconstructs in detail the creation and operation of the Moscow Old-Rite Institute, and identifies the problems that arose during its founding, as well as the causes that led to the closure of that educational institution.
Only by relying on this experience can we avoid the mistakes of the past and make significant progress in establishing and developing our Church’s own educational institutions, forming an Old-Rite educational system, and adapting and creatively transferring the organizational, didactic, and methodological initiatives of the past into contemporary practice.
Where to Study for the Priesthood #
The Old-Rite Institute is still in the process of being established. But where should young Old Believers go to study if they desire to dedicate their lives to the Church and to God? There are two options.
The first, and most common, is to receive a secular education in a particular field while simultaneously pursuing self-education in the areas of Orthodox theology, biblical studies, patristics, liturgics, canon law, and other disciplines. This path of self-education was taken by all the famous Old Believer nachetchiki (scholars or apologists) of the 19th and early 20th centuries: Ilarion Kabanov (Ksenos), Semyon Semyonovich, Hierarchs Arseny of the Urals and Innokenty Usov, Vasily Zelenkov, Fedor Melnikov, Protopriest Dimitry Varakin, and others. They acquired their knowledge entirely on their own—and often knew their subject more thoroughly and deeply than some professional theologians, professors of the spiritual academies, or anti-Old Believer missionaries, with whom they conducted constant public debates. One need only recall Bishop Arseny of the Urals’ visit to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on March 23, 1886, where he delivered his renowned Apology, later published as a separate pamphlet. The phenomenon of nachetchestvo is significant and multifaceted—it represents a whole stratum of Russian religious culture. Overall, these nachetchiki rendered great service to the Church of Christ, producing an enormous body of writings in defense of the old faith, offering comprehensive theological responses to contemporary challenges, and leading many souls to salvation.
In the Soviet and post-Soviet eras, Old Believer clergy often arose from individuals who pursued spiritual self-education on the foundation of a secular education. Even then, despite the brutality of the atheist regime, the tradition of nachetchestvo endured. One testimony to this is the anonymous response to articles by Protopriest Dmitry Bogolyubov published in issues 3 and 7 of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1946. This response is preserved in the archives of the RPSC Metropolitanate and was published in the supplement to the journal Church (In Times Past, issue no. 4, 2007).
The other path is to receive theological education in religious institutions of other confessions, primarily the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). In the past, these were the seminaries and academies. In recent years, several higher educational institutions have been opened under the ROC that train specialists in various, including secular, fields adjacent to church life. Such experience does exist, though these cases are rare and elicit mixed reactions within the Old Believer community. Here there is room for discussion. On the one hand, such institutions offer access to systematic theological education, libraries, and interaction with professors in relevant fields. On the other hand, there is a risk of departing from the faith, of converting to another confession, and subsequently spreading heretical views within one’s own Church.
Without engaging in polemics, we nevertheless consider it appropriate to offer, as food for thought, the example of St. Maximus the Greek, who is highly revered among Old Believers. He came from an aristocratic family and received an excellent education but thirsted for deeper knowledge. Seeking to study the language and philosophy of the ancient Greeks, he traveled to Italy. In Florence, he worked at the Medici Library. There he was deeply moved by the sermons of the Dominican monk and abbot of San Marco, Girolamo Savonarola, who was later cruelly executed by Catholic inquisitors. Maximus later returned to his homeland and took monastic vows at the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos. In 1515, at the request of the Russian ruler Grand Prince Vasily III, he arrived in Moscow. There he learned the Russian language and participated in the translation of the Commentary on the Psalms and other books. His life in Russia was full of severe trials—he was even deprived of Holy Communion—but God glorified His servant, and his feast is celebrated on January 21 (February 3). From this example we may conclude that study and interaction in non-Orthodox educational institutions did not harm the soul of St. Maximus, but rather allowed him to develop his talents and bring forth fruit an hundredfold unto God (Matthew 13:23).
Secular Professions and Service to the Church #
One must not think that service to the Church is possible only through becoming a clergyman. As the Apostle Paul writes, the Lord “gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–13). The Body of Christ is the Church. In its earthly existence—both at the level of centralized institutions (such as the metropolitanate or diocese) and at the level of each local parish—she requires the qualified help of various specialists. Let us name only a few: lawyers, architects, builders, restorers, iconographers, singers, philosophers, accountants, historians, doctors, psychologists, journalists, philologists, programmers. The list could go on and on, for the tasks before us are many and diverse. These include the restoration and maintenance of churches, the creation and upkeep of websites, the representation of Church interests before government bodies and in courtrooms.
It is not always necessary to work within a church organization. Only very large institutions have the resources to employ such specialists on staff. More often, professionals must be sought externally. It is a great benefit if the specialist brought in is himself a member of the Church. But it must be honestly admitted that today, such personnel within our own ranks are extremely scarce.
A separate word must be said about engaging in business. The history of the Old Believers clearly shows that one can combine deep faith and piety with an entrepreneurial spirit and direct all of it to the service of the Church and the Fatherland. Before the Revolution, Old Believers made up more than sixty percent of the commercial and industrial class and held up to 64% of the capital of the Russian Empire. Diligence in business was regarded as the fulfillment of a Christian duty before God and man; skillful stewardship contributed to the strengthening and growth of the faith and the consolidation of the true Church. In the early 20th century, merchants and industrialists contributed to the rapid development of church institutions and organizations that responded to the urgent needs of the time. Old Believer church life flourished; churches were built across Russia, a periodical press emerged, schools were constructed, and the Old Believer Institute was founded. God knows—perhaps the world shall yet see new Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, and Kuznetsovs, who will revive their glorious traditions and deeds.
It would seem that this situation should inspire spiritual fathers to direct the younger generation toward mastering those professions in which they can both fulfill their potential and be of help to Orthodox communities and to individual brothers of the same faith. And if not by direct participation in the affairs of the Church, then at the very least by offering a tithe from the fruits of their righteous labors. As it is written in the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach: “The offering of the righteous maketh the altar fat, and the sweet savour thereof is before the most High. The sacrifice of a just man is acceptable, and the memorial thereof shall never be forgotten. Give the Lord his honour with a good eye, and diminish not the firstfruits of thine hands. In all thy gifts shew a cheerful countenance, and dedicate thy tithes with gladness” (Sirach 35:5–8).
Temptations and Pitfalls in Professional Life #
It is clear that a Christian will inevitably face certain difficulties in secular work. We are not speaking here of obviously sinful occupations associated with crime or usury. But the rules of piety often do not align with the demands of the world. Some companies, for example, may forbid employees from wearing beards or may require mandatory attendance at corporate parties held during fasting periods. Some workplaces offer cafeterias that do not serve fasting-appropriate meals and simultaneously forbid employees from bringing their own food. These are temptations that can be called external.
But there are more serious ones. These include corruption and bribery, dishonesty, deceit, theft, serving political or class interests in defiance of moral norms, and much more. Unfortunately, such things may also occur within church organizations—there is no cause for idealization.
In any case, no matter where a person works or what profession he pursues, courage and wisdom are always needed, so that a career does not become an obstacle to the salvation of the soul. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36). And the lives of the saints show us that among them were not only priests and monks, but also simple peasants, civil servants, soldiers, generals, craftsmen, businessmen, and laborers.