On the Essence of the Church. -L.F. Pichugin

Report of L. F. Pichugin at the First All-Russian Council of Pomor Christians, 1909

ON THE ESSENCE OF THE CHURCH

Conciliar Resolution

QUESTION. Who established the Church?
ANSWER. Christ the Savior Himself.

QUESTION. Which words indicate the establishment of the Church?
ANSWER. The righteous confession of the Apostle Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt., reading 67).

QUESTION. Which words of Christ the Savior speak of the establishment of the Church?
ANSWER. “I will build, He said, My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matt., reading 67).

QUESTION. Which of the saints explains the words spoken by Christ the Savior?
ANSWER. Many holy and divinely-inspired men explain the exact meaning of the words of Christ the Savior. Saint John Chrysostom and Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria, interpret it thus: “The Lord will give Peter a great reward — to build His Church upon him — because when Peter confessed Him as the Son of God, he said that this very confession which he made is to be the foundation for believers. Therefore every person who wishes to know the house of faith must lay this confession as the foundation.” (Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, folio 128 verso).

QUESTION. What is the foundation of the Church?
ANSWER. Christ Himself — the most holy God said long ago through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a precious cornerstone, chosen, honorable, for its foundation, and he who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” (Prophet Isaiah, ch. 28). The Apostle Paul explains: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (Rom., reading 128).

QUESTION. What, then, is the Church in its essence?
ANSWER. The faithful, simple people. “As living stones being built up (by faith) into a spiritual house.” Thus testifies the holy Apostle Peter (1 Pet., ch. 2).

Saint John Chrysostom, commenting on the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, writes: “For the Church is nothing else than a house built from our souls.” (Homilies on the Epistles, p. 1681). “What, then, is the building (the church) in which God desires to dwell? Each one of you is a church.” (Homilies on the Epistles, p. 1626).

The Venerable Maximus the Confessor (commemorated January 21) said: “Christ the Lord called the conciliar church to be the right and saving confession of faith.” (Menologion, January 21).

Saint John Chrysostom: “For the Church is not walls and a roof, but faith and life.” (Margarit, folio 519). He also says in his sermon on Pentecost: “Therefore the church that is most beloved by God is not the one built with walls, but the one fenced about with faith.” (Commentary on the Apocalypse of Andrew of Caesarea, p. 283). “But if you ask whether that building consists of stones or wood or iron, the answer is: for it has no material parts in it; if it were so, it would soon be destroyed. But the confession of piety neither demons nor any other creature can overcome.” (Same book, p. 286).

Saint Isidore of Pelusium: “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against an irreproachable and right faith.” (His Works, Part I, p. 214). “The Church of God can consist of even three Orthodox Christians.” (His Works, Part I, p. 253).

In the book On Faith, chapter 2, concerning the Holy Church: “For the church is the body of Christ, which is composed of the assembly of the faithful — I speak of us human beings of every age and rank, the saints of God and the righteous, and all the pious from all ages — and it is called the church.” (folio 22).

Great Catechism, chapter 25.

QUESTION. What do we learn from this ninth article: “In one holy, conciliar, and apostolic church”?
ANSWER. We learn the following things about the Church of God. First, that there is one conciliar Church of God. Yet it exists in one Spirit of Jesus Christ, in one faith and in the same dogmas concerning that faith and the holy mysteries that teach it. And under one Head, our Lord Jesus Christ, and under one order of His and the rules of the apostolic and seven ecumenical councils of the holy God-bearing fathers, shepherds and teachers — that is, the holy popes, patriarchs and metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, and the entire priestly order (below). The fourth thing we learn is that we believe in one holy, conciliar, and apostolic church — that is, we place our hope in the teachings and dogmas of the holy apostles and the holy ecumenical councils, and not in people. (Great Catechism, folio 118 verso).

The holy Apostle Paul called simple people the temple of God: “The temple of God, he said, is what you are” — that is, the believers. (1 Cor., reading 128). “And every Christian is the Church of God.” (Great Catechism, folio 120 verso).

Saint John Chrysostom calls a pious family a church: “Let our home, he said, be like a church at night, composed of husband and wife.” (Prologue, April 12).

Symeon of Thessalonica indicates that the conciliar Church is defined not by the composition of hierarchical ranks, but by true faith: “The conciliar church is therefore not the Roman, nor Jerusalem, nor Constantinople, nor Antioch, nor Alexandria, but the conciliar and one and the same holy and apostolic [church]. It is holy because it is governed by the Holy Spirit and holds the true and apostolic words.” (Book of Symeon of Thessalonica, folio 48).

QUESTION. If the Church is the right-believing Christians, then two or three true believers can constitute a Church; even one Christian can form a Church. But can the Church reach such a state that there are no hierarchical ranks in it and no fully visible sacraments, as we now confess?
ANSWER. It can. The prophet Isaiah long ago foretold the necessary state of the Church, saying: “The daughter of Zion shall be left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” (Isaiah, ch. 1).

Saint Hippolytus, Pope of Rome, gives this interpretation of the passage: “Behold, beloved, the illumination of the prophet, which he foretold many generations beforehand concerning the time. This word was not prophesied about the Jews or about the city of Zion, but about the Holy Church. For Zion is the Church—that is, the bride brought from the Gentiles, as all the prophets have shown.” (Great Catechism, folio 120).

The prophet Habakkuk also foretold it: “For the fig tree shall not bear fruit, and there shall be no produce on the vines; the olive tree shall lie, and the fields shall yield no food; the sheep shall be cut off from their fodder, and there shall be no oxen at the stalls.” (Prophet Habakkuk, ch. 3).

Oxen signify bishops, just as Peter and Paul are called oxen: “Peter and Paul are the yoked oxen of the Church, who brought good merchandise to the whole world, having taken the Cross as their yoke.” (Prologue, June 29, in the laudatory sermon).

The “stalls” (manger) Holy Scripture calls the church altars, as the Instructional Gospel for the Nativity of Christ testifies (folio 498 verso).

And so, after a thousand years, all the Western hierarchs, led by the Pope, fell away from Christ into heresy. In 1595 the Little-Russian (Ukrainian) hierarchs, together with the flock entrusted to them, fell into the heresy of the Latins. Finally, in 1666, even the last Greco-Russian chief hierarchs fell into heresy and became complete apostates from the holy traditions of the ancient Church of Christ. Concerning these events, read from the Holy Scriptures chapter 30 of the book On Faith.

Therefore, Christian, Holy Scripture warns you not to be seduced by the glitter of ungodly heretics and not to turn aside into their church: “Know well, says Holy Scripture, the Church of God henceforth, and endure in it unto the end all assaults. But beware of the assemblies of demons, for the gathering of the ungodly is also wont to be called the Church of God; yet you must know it and flee from the demonic Babylon—that is, from the company of evil and ungodly people—and God will receive you.” (Great Catechism, ch. 25, folio 122 verso).

In the commentary on chapter 12 of the prophet Daniel (by more recent interpreters) it is said: “Truly the Lord will preserve His Church unto the end, but one must not judge the manner of its preservation according to the senses of the flesh, for the Church will resemble a dead corpse until the very resurrection.” (Commentary on the Prophet Daniel, part 7, folio 208 verso, second volume).

“This is the true Church—the one that endures persecution, not the one that persecutes others. And just as at the coming of Christ the chosen of God were a little flock, so also at the coming of Antichrist the right-believing will be diminished, while the evil-believing will multiply.” (Book On Faith, ch. 2, folios 29–30).

“And the holy Eastern Church, the true bride of Christ, was founded upon the foundation of her Head in exile, was raised into walls through the apostolic and martyric blood, and upon that foundation of suffering she stands.” (Book On Faith, folio 21 verso).

In accordance with all the above, we—Old Believers, priestless Pomortsy—confess and hold the true Church of Christ, being without a visible priesthood for a weighty reason: for after 1666 the priesthood in fact fell into heresy.

According to the words of Divine Scripture: “The shepherds will become wolves, and the priests will love lies.” (Great Catechism, folio 122). “Upon the holy place shall stand the abomination of desolation.” (Daniel, ch. 9; Matt., reading 99).

“By ‘the holy place’ understand the chosen Jerusalem in all the world—as Matthew writes ‘the holy city,’ and Cyril of Jerusalem says ‘the supreme apostolic Church.’ Understand also that in every place where there are Christian churches, the throne in the altar is the holy place, upon which priests offer sacrifice to God and consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.” (Book of Cyril, folio 54).

And this has come to pass—the abomination of desolation has truly stood upon the holy place!

ON THE ESSENCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD and ON PRIESTHOOD IN GENERAL

The New-Grace priesthood was given to the Church by the Savior Christ Himself in the persons of the holy apostles.

After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples and said to them: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain, they are retained.” (John, reading 65).

And to Simon Peter: “Feed My sheep.” (John, reading 67).

And the Apostle Paul likewise said to the bishops of Ephesus: “Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts of the Holy Apostles, reading 44).

QUESTION. Did Christ lay the priesthood as the foundation of the Church?
ANSWER. The priesthood was given by Jesus Christ for the edification of the Church, but not as its foundation. For the foundation of the Church is Christ. (Isaiah ch. 28; Apostle, reading 128).

The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians: “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (reading 175), “who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (reading 173).

And in the parable it is said: “Having called ten servants, He gave them ten minas and said: Trade until I come.” (Luke, reading 95).

QUESTION. Did the Savior Christ make a promise concerning the priesthood in the same way as He did concerning the Church?
ANSWER. Concerning the Church He promised: “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Concerning the priesthood He made no such promise.

QUESTION. Is anything written in the Holy Gospel about the existence of the priesthood?
ANSWER. Yes. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus Christ says: “You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden underfoot by men.” (Matt., readings 10–11).

And in another place it is said: “And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” (Matt., reading 42).

The eye signifies a bishop or presbyter, as Saint Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, explained: “Walking the unfailing and life-giving path, let us pluck out the eye that causes us to stumble—not the physical eye, but the spiritual one. For example: if a bishop or presbyter, being the eyes of the church, lives wickedly and causes the people to stumble, they must be cast out. For it is better to gather in a house of prayer without them than, together with them—as with Annas and Caiaphas—to be cast into hell fire.” (His Works, part 4, p. 429).

Thus, the priesthood was instituted conditionally.

QUESTION. Does Sacred Scripture anywhere say that the priesthood can fall?
ANSWER. It does. In the divine Revelation: “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind.” (Rev., ch. 6).

The stars of heaven, in the mystical sense, signify the sacred orders, as Meletius, Patriarch of Alexandria, wrote: “As from heaven, he says, the stars fell (interpretation). Heaven is the Church of Christ, exalted above the earthly. And Thou hast set upon that heavenly firmament certain ones shining like stars and holding the word of life, as the Apostle says. From this heaven, therefore, we understand the falling stars (below). This is subject to change, and he who thought himself like unto the Most High becomes the leader of perdition. This is one of the evil and not the least signs of Antichrist’s apostasy—the falling of the stars from heaven—which we now see has come to pass.” (Book of Cyril, epistle of Meletius 4, folio 473).

The holy father Methodius of Patara, a teacher of the third century, also speaks thus: “The great red dragon, manifold and multiform, seven-headed and horned, drawing down a third part of the stars in order to pervert the mind entrusted to Christ, the enlightened in them bearing the image and likeness of the Word (below); and the stars which he, touching their tops with the end of his tail, drags down to the earth, are the heretical sects.” (His book, ch. 10, p. 73).

Andrew of Caesarea, in his commentary on chapter 6 of the Apocalypse, writes: “The falling of the stars—as was already written concerning those deceived by Antiochus—means that those who seemed to be luminaries in the world are bent and brought low, as the Lord says, so that, if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived, because of the greatness of the tribulation.” (Commentary on the Apocalypse, p. 61).

The holy Apostle Jude, the brother of James, writes in his epistle: “Wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (ch. 1, reading 78).

And the Apostle Paul likewise writes to the Corinthians: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness.” (2 Cor., reading 192).

Such are the conditions and the explanation of the fall of the priesthood. The final priesthood fell in 1666 into teachings alien to the Church of Christ: “For the time has come for this.” (On Faith, ch. 30).

QUESTION. Is it possible for the Church of Christ to exist without the priesthood, as without the evangelical salt?
ANSWER. It is possible. Christ the Savior said: “For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.” (Mark 9:49–50; Matt., reading 42).

Salt is the priesthood, which contains the teaching word. But if the priesthood loses its savor, then “have salt in yourselves”—that is, true doctrine—and “have peace one with another,” as Christ said.

As for the words “For every one shall be salted with fire,” fire is our God, as the Apostle Paul said, and the Holy Spirit is fire, as was seen on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. From this it naturally follows that every true believer is salted by the grace of the Holy Spirit—that is, is taught unto salvation—when the salt, that is, the priesthood, has lost its savor.

Already in ancient times God spoke through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel: “Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My sheep from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them (…) And I will feed My sheep, and I will cause them to lie down (…) And they shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel, ch. 34).

From this prophecy it is clear that when the shepherds become ravenous wolves, God Himself governs His faithful sheep.

Blessed Jerome, commenting on chapter 34 of the prophet Ezekiel, says: “Therefore the word of the Lord is directed against evil shepherds (below). I will require, He says, from their hand and deliver from their mouth that which is devoured by greedy jaws. Having sought out the sheep, He visits them as the sick, the weak, and those scattered through the negligence of the shepherds.” (Works of Blessed Jerome, part 11, p. 106).

Boundless is the promise and the hope of blessedness when the Lord Himself promises, saying: “I will feed My sheep and will not entrust them to evil shepherds, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God, that they may rest in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Same book, p. 107). “When the Lord God shall be their God, then they shall be His people—not just anyone, but those who have merited to be called the house of Israel.” (Ibid., p. 110).

Prophet Zechariah, chapter 13: “Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow.” Interpretation: “Awake, O sword, it says, rouse thyself. Against whom? Against My shepherd and against the man that is My fellow. The singular is used instead of the plural, for it refers to the entire pastoral order in general (below). I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones.” Interpretation: “Here by the little ones are meant humble and meek people, and by the turning of the hand is signified God’s protection and mercy.” (Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, part 6, folios 165–166, edition of 1809).

From what has been presented it is clear that when the shepherds go astray and fall away, God Himself guides His flock.

But if someone asks us: “Do we, being simple laypeople, have the right to judge and separate ourselves from pastors who preach heresies and err in them?” we answer: Yes, without any doubt.

John, a monk of the Holy Mountain (Athos), writes: “Know therefore that not only healthy eyes (bishops) can see and condemn a rotten eye, and have authority to do so; even the very body of the Church—that is, simple Christians—according to the voice of Christ, have authority to cast out, condemn, and curse the author of defilement, lest they enter hell together with that seductive eye or shepherd.” (Acts of Southwestern Russia, vol. 5, appendix p. 243).

Thus acted the sufferers for piety in the years 1666–1667, and this is what we hold to this day.

QUESTION. Is salvation possible without the priesthood?
ANSWER. If the priesthood has in fact deviated into heresies and fallen away, a true-believing Christian can still be saved.

Of blessed memory, Jeremiah, Patriarch of Constantinople, writes in his epistle: “Save yourselves, my brethren, by yourselves; you cannot be saved by pastors (below). Save yourselves, my beloved brethren, O faithful flock of Christ, chosen generation, holy nation, royal priesthood, people of renewal, pious Russian people: save yourselves by the commandments of the Gospel, save yourselves by the law of the fathers, save yourselves by an honorable and chaste life.” (Acts of Southwestern Russia, vol. 5, appendix p. 241).

Meletius, Patriarch of Alexandria, likewise writes: “O men of Russia, nurturers of piety, defenders of Orthodoxy, who by your own will have already become martyrs and are stirred up to resist the power of the kingdom for the sake of piety—not rising against the authority given by God, but preferring the love of God above all things and showing zeal for the true faith (below). For the pastors appointed to rule over you have proved to be wolves; having forsaken the good flock of Christ, they not only were able to scatter you, and kill and destroy you, but you yourselves have taken up pastoral zeal, have separated yourselves from the evil pastors who departed from the truth and began to waver in piety for the sake of human glory—yet they could not prevail because of the grace of God. O Christ-named little sheep, truly Christ’s own, taught by Christ Himself not to listen to the voice of strangers nor to follow strangers! O earthly angels, imitating the heavenly ones who did not fall with the day-star! A great wonder—how the grace of God turned you away from your bishops! Alas for those who have loved the deceit of this present age, who have turned back and departed from piety and Orthodoxy! But you remain unmoved in the teaching handed down by the fathers—the teaching of the Savior, apostolic and hierarchic. Together with them you shall be crowned, I know well, with crowns of righteousness which, as Paul says, the righteous Judge will give to those who have finished the race and kept the faith, on that day when the promised rewards are bestowed.” (Book of Cyril, folios 489, 490).

The same Patriarch Jeremiah, in his tenth epistle to Prince Vasily of Ostroh, writes: “Therefore we have laid bare for you, however briefly, these apostates from piety, so that you be not deceived by them, thinking that because the pastors have fallen away or gone astray we are powerless to preserve ourselves without them. It is not so, it is not so! It is possible to be saved even without them, for God has cast them out of His Church and dishonored them, since they hold those thrones unworthily. And think not that this is glory to them—it is dishonor and eternal separation from Christ and His saints.” (Book of Cyril, epistle of Meletius 10, folio 524).

In the book of Zacharias Kopystensky On the One Truth there is an epistle of the venerable monk John of Vyshenska, of the Holy Mountain of Athos, which says: “It is better for you to go to church and preserve Orthodoxy without bishops and without priests set up by the devil, than to be at church with bishops and priests not called by God, mocking it and trampling Orthodoxy underfoot. It is not priests or bishops or metropolitans who will save you, but the mystery of our Orthodox faith and the keeping of God’s commandments—that is what desires to save us.” (folio 224; Acts of Southwestern Russia, vol. 5, appendix p. 210).

Thus, by the help of God, it has been clearly proven that one who has right faith and good works can be saved even without the priesthood; and it has also been proven that a heretical priesthood is not of God, but of the devil. For this reason the Holy Church in which we believe with all our soul, though outwardly poor because it lacks the sacred orders (all of which have fallen away), is inwardly rich with faith and with the pledge of Holy Baptism, which among us is not defiled either by heretical priests or by heretical baptism. For all the glory of the king’s daughter is within, as the prophet David said (Ps. 44 [45]:13). Such is our hope of salvation.

QUESTION. Is it possible for laypeople to manage the affairs of sacred pastors?
ANSWER. It is possible. Saint John Chrysostom writes: “If a bishop is not present among his flock to guide it, let the sheep themselves take upon themselves the duties of a pastor. Those who are timid and use this as an excuse to avoid gatherings betray the duty of faith. Did Daniel and the captive Jews in Babylon need an altar, a temple, and a high priest in order to fulfill the law?” (Book of Chrysostom and Eudoxia, p. 389).

And again: “When I see virtue in you, I call you sheep; when I see you caring for the flock, I call you pastors; when I see wisdom, I name you helmsmen; when I see courage and strength in you, I call you warriors and commanders. O great labor! O wondrous providence of men—you have driven out the wolves, yet even so you are not without care.” (Margarit, Life of Chrysostom, folio 141).

Thus our lay administration, in cases of necessity and in the sacraments, is carried out according to Holy Scripture.

ON THE CHURCH SACRAMENTS

QUESTION. How many sacraments are there?
ANSWER. Seven.

QUESTION. Which are they?
ANSWER. 1) Baptism, 2) Confirmation (or chrism), that is, anointing with myrrh, 3) Priesthood, that is, ordination or the clerical order, 4) Divine Communion, that is, the Eucharist, 5) Confession or repentance, 6) Lawful marriage, 7) Unction with oil, or the last holy anointing.

QUESTION. Do these sacraments have divisions?
ANSWER. They do. Some are strictly necessary for salvation, others are necessary for salvation.

QUESTION. Tell me about these.
ANSWER. Strictly necessary for salvation there are three: baptism, communion, and repentance; necessary for salvation there are two: holy chrism and final unction. Marriage is necessary for those who use it, for help and preservation from fornication, and it is strictly necessary for the begetting of children and the filling of the Church of God. (Great Catechism, folios 355, 356).

The division of the sacraments is self-evident: the three first and chief sacraments—baptism, communion, and repentance—are necessary for the salvation of man. Concerning baptism the Lord Himself said: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John, reading 8).

Concerning communion, at the Mystical Supper Jesus Christ also said: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt., reading 44).

Likewise concerning repentance: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Matt.).

And therefore: “Baptism, communion, and repentance are thus strictly necessary for everyone unto salvation, that he may be saved. They are like a ship for crossing the depths of the sea; without them no one can be saved, unless he was unable to receive them though he desired them.” (Great Catechism, folio 356 verso).

“It is needful for all to know that some church sacraments are mediatorial by necessity—such as chrism, the Eucharist, and unction; if someone does not receive them for some compelling reason, he can still be saved. Others are commandments by necessity—namely two: baptism and repentance—without which it is impossible to obtain salvation.” (Book The Rod, part 1, folio 38 verso).

We confess that there are seven church sacraments, but in time of necessity we maintain the chief ones, without which it is impossible to be saved.

QUESTION. Is it possible for a layman to baptize?
ANSWER. It is possible. In the Nomocanon it is said: “For our Lord Jesus Christ commanded many apostles who had no priesthood to baptize.” (folio 65).

Lay baptism is confirmed also by church tradition. The holy martyr Sozon taught the Hellenes and baptized them (Prologue, September 7). The venerable Theophanes the Confessor taught the unbelieving and baptized them (Prologue, September 9). The martyrs Diodorus and Didymus taught the unbelieving and baptized them (Prologue, September 11). The martyr Priscilla (Prologue, September 21). The martyrs Mark and those with him taught the unbelieving and baptized them (Prologue, October 27). The martyr Domitius taught the Hellenes and baptized them (Prologue, October 4). The martyr Menas baptized the eparch Hermogenes (Prologue, December 10). An elder in Alexandria baptized a Jewish maiden and told Patriarch John the Merciful about it (Prologue, November 24). Saint Mariamne, sister of the apostle Philip, taught the unbelieving in Lycaonia the word of God and baptized them (Prologue, February 7). The monk Alexander baptized a certain city elder and a great many others (Prologue, February 23).

And finally: “Where, then, are those who say that in time of persecution we laypeople are no longer able to baptize when there is no priest present?” (Prologue, August 28).

Consequently, our elders and preceptors baptize in accordance with Holy Scripture.

QUESTION. The sacrament of Communion is performed by a right-believing priest who has received ordination from an Orthodox bishop. In the absence of the priesthood, are laypeople able to partake of this great mystery of the most pure Body and Blood of Christ?
ANSWER. In the absence of the priesthood for weighty and justifiable reasons, right-believing Christians who live purely do without doubt partake of the Body and Blood of Christ in another manner. In the Instructional Gospel it is said: “And thou canst not only eat and drink the Lord’s Flesh and Blood according to the mystical communion, but in another way also. For one eats the Flesh when he comes to active works; for the Flesh must be actively eaten, just as active work is laborious. But he drinks the Blood, like wine that makes glad the heart—this I call vision, for vision is without labor, or rather, vision is rest after labor, since drinking is less laborious than eating.” (Gospel of John, folio 106).

In the second Paschal discourse of Saint Gregory the Theologian: “Thus each of us, in a certain private seclusion that corresponds to virtue, slays the lamb and partakes of its flesh and is satisfied with Jesus. For to each one his own lamb is Jesus Christ, inasmuch as each one is able to contain and eat Him according to the measure of faith and grace given to him by the Spirit.” (Great Catechism, folio 687).

Saint Isidore of Pelusium writes: “For He did not write this, as thou thoughtest, to priests alone, but to the whole Church; for in this respect He commanded each to be a priest unto himself (below). Yet those who are adorned with the divine priesthood and worthily attain to leadership, if they also preserve bodily purity, will truly be holier. For as in the Old Testament no one was allowed to offer sacrifice except priests alone, but at Passover everyone in a certain manner received the rank of priesthood (for each slew the lamb), so in the New and everlasting Covenant, although the offering of the bloodless sacrifice belongs especially to those who are permitted to offer it, yet each one is appointed priest of his own body—not that one without ordination should usurp authority over subordinates, but that, having brought vice under his own power, he may prepare his body as a temple or sanctuary of purity.” (Works of Isidore of Pelusium, part 2, pp. 129–130).

Saint John Chrysostom, in his homilies on the epistles of the Apostle Paul, says: “For we are to inherit the kingdom and become priests, offering the sacrifice of our bodies (present your members, he says, as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God), and with these we are also made prophets: for the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, these have been revealed unto us.” (Homilies on the Epistles, folio 1159).

The Venerable Ephrem the Syrian, in his discourse on judgment, love, and repentance, writes: “Be thou a church of God, and the Most High God will dwell in thee; for a soul that has God within it is called a holy and pure church, and the divine mysteries are celebrated therein.” (Discourse 83, folio 196).

QUESTION. In what manner are the divine mysteries of sacrifice accomplished in a true Christian in the same way that they are visibly accomplished upon the throne in church?
ANSWER. Saint Macarius explains this: “The body of man is the church of God, and the heart of man is the throne of God.” (Nicetas of the Black Mountain, discourse 63, folio 568).

The Venerable Ephrem the Syrian likewise writes on this: “Wondrous is this, my brethren, most marvelous, my beloved, incomprehensible to those above and ineffable to those below. He who is inaccessible to every mind enters the heart and dwells therein; He who is hidden from the fiery beings is found in the heart. The earth cannot bear His footsteps, yet a pure heart is His dwelling-place. Heaven He holds in the span of His hand, yet a single span of space becomes His habitation. If the whole creation were spread out, it could not contain Him within its bounds; but if He seeks the heart, even a small heart contains Him. He chooses a small place in man for His dwelling, and man becomes a temple of God in which God abides and dwells. The soul is His temple, and the heart is the holy altar upon which praise, glorification, and sacrifices are offered. The spirit is the priest that stands and ministers there.” (Works of Ephrem the Syrian, part 4, p. 308).

As great as our love for Christ and our desire for the Holy Mysteries is, so great is our hope of holy communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. Scripture testifies—we believe. Being in necessity without the priesthood for reasons not of our own making, we place our hope in the mercy of God and believe that if we abide purely and divinely, we can always partake of the great and divine mysteries, according to the witness of the Scripture cited above.

ON THE MYSTERY OF CHRISMATION

QUESTION. Is it possible to substitute anything for the visible holy mystery of chrismation at Baptism?
ANSWER. It is possible. If the visible is lacking, there exists an invisible, spiritual chrism. The beauty of Antioch, the ecumenical teacher, the golden-tongued John, writes in his homilies on the epistles of the Apostle Paul: “There is, if thou wilt, a chrism—there are fragrances with which thou canst anoint the soul, brought not from Arabia, nor from Ethiopia, nor from Persia, but from heaven itself, sold not for gold but for good will and unfeigned faith. Buy this chrism, whose fragrance can fill the whole world. With this the Apostles were fragrant, for we are, he says, a sweet savour—unto some unto death, unto others unto life (below). These fragrances the earth does not produce, but virtue brings forth; they do not wither, but ever bloom. This makes those who possess it honorable; with this we are anointed when we are baptized, and then we breathe forth a goodly fragrance.” (On 1 Timothy, ch. 1, rule 2).

And therefore we too are anointed with this chrism when we are baptized.

ON CONFESSION BEFORE A LAYPERSON

QUESTION. Can an unordained layman receive confession?
ANSWER. He can. Saint James, the Brother of God, commands: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (Apostle, reading 57).

In the Nomocanon, concerning spiritual fathers, folio 730, it is laid down: “If there be a priest who is inexperienced, but another who is not a priest yet possesses the gift of spiritual action, it is more just that he rather than the priest should receive the thoughts and rightly correct them.” Marginal note: “The confession of an elder is accepted.”

QUESTION. Is it fitting for an unordained monk or an ordained one to receive human confessions of his own accord, or not?
ANSWER. To the preachers of God the Lord said to the Apostles: Ye are the salt of the earth… Whatsoever ye shall bind… and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (below). Therefore those who are ordained shall receive human confessions by the command of a bishop. But for an unordained monk, his tested skill is the authority for reconciliation; if he keeps himself blameless, he may reconcile those who confess to God. (Nomocanon, folio 731).

Thus the confession of a layman is lawful and holy.

QUESTION. But may a layman impose a penance during confession?
ANSWER. He may. The Venerable Theodore the Studite says on this matter: “But since the question is whether one who has no priesthood should impose penance (for lack of presbyters and when the penitent approaches in faith), I say that it is not contrary to the rules for even a simple monk to impose penance.” (Works of Theodore the Studite, part 2, p. 601).

And if anyone opposes this and thinks a layman unworthy to impose penances, let him hear the judgment of the venerable father Theodore the Studite in the following words: “Therefore the penances now in use are remedies, and not, as your reverence mockingly represents, something else—far be slander from us. These actions do not cause scandal, but are proof of true love. For the Lord says: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John, reading 15, 18) (below). Among bodily physicians we see great zeal and many means of healing; one undertakes to treat this patient, another that one, and even one who holds the rank of servant is not forbidden to engage in this, according to the degree of medical knowledge he has acquired, higher or lower (below). If this is so in bodily matters, how much more in spiritual diseases must everything be examined and done accordingly. He who hinders this is a kind of destroyer and a common enemy of the human race, so that he may be considered a co-worker with the manslayer from the beginning.” (His Works, part 2, pp. 414–415).

Consequently, he who rejects the confession and penances of laypeople, and especially mocks them, is an enemy of God and a friend of devils.

For all the divine favor and protection sent down upon us, glory and praise be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

-The great sinner
L. PICHUGIN.