About rats and pigs: Fried guinea pigs. Guards of Zionism: Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)
May mean: Jacob Alpheus one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ; Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church; Alfeev, Vladimir Ivanovich, Soviet pilot ace, participant in the Korean War; Alfeeva, Valeria... ... Wikipedia
For the name, see: Illarion. Hilarion correct form of transliteration male name Greek Iλαρίων (“quiet”, “joyful”). Hilarion (Alfeev) (born in 1966) Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, vicar of the Moscow diocese, chairman of the Department of External... ... Wikipedia
Hilarion is the correct form of transliteration of a male name in Greek. Iλαρίων (“quiet”, “joyful”). Saints: Hilarion the Great (288,372) saint, Christian ascetic. Hilarion of Gdov (died 1476) Russian Orthodox saint. Hilarion of Gruzinsky (died in... ... Wikipedia
- (name-worship, in the synodal documents of the Russian Orthodox Church, name-worship, also called onomatodoxy) a religious dogmatic and mystical movement that became widespread at the beginning of the 20th century among Russian monks on the holy Mount Athos. The main thing... ... Wikipedia
- (descent into hell; Greek Κατελθόντα εἰς τὰ κατώτατα, lat. Descensus Christi ad inferos) Christian dogma asserting that after the crucifixion Jesus Christ descended into hell and, having crushed its gates, brought his gospel to the underworld... ... diya
Books
- Orthodoxy. In 2 volumes, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev). Prefacing these lines to the book “Orthodoxy” by Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, I would like, first of all, to note the timeliness of its appearance. The need for such a comprehensive...
- , Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev). Stabat Mater - cantata is based on the text of the well-known poem by the Italian poet Jacopone da Todi (13th century) “Stabat Mater dolorosa” (The mourning mother stood), dedicated to the Virgin Mary,…
- Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev). Christmas Oratorio. For soloists, boys' choir, mixed choir and symphony orchestra. Score (+ MP3 CD), Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev). The new work of Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) is based on the Gospel narrative about the birth and first days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. For conductors and composers, choral and…
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev Grigory Valerievich) was born on July 24, 1966 in Moscow.
From 1973 to 1984 he studied at the Moscow Specialized Secondary Music School named after. Gnessins in violin and composition class.
At the age of 15, he entered the Church of the Resurrection of the Word as a reader at the Assumption Vrazhek (Moscow).
Since 1983, he served as subdeacon of Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev) of Volokolamsk and Yuryev and worked as a freelance employee for the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In 1984, after graduating from school, he entered the composition department of the Moscow State Conservatory.
In 1984-86 he served in the army.
In January 1987 at will left his studies at the Moscow Conservatory and entered the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery as a novice.
On June 19, 1987, in the cathedral of the Vilna Holy Spiritual Monastery, he was tonsured a monk, and on June 21, in the same cathedral, he was ordained a hierodeacon by Archbishop Victorinus of Vilna and Lithuania.
On August 19, 1987, in the Prechistensky Cathedral of Vilnius, Archbishop Anatoly of Ufa and Sterlitamak (now Archbishop of Kerch) was ordained as hieromonk with the blessing of Archbishop Victorin of Vilna and Lithuania.
In 1988-1990 served as rector of churches in Telšiai, village. Kolainiai and s. Tituvenai of the Vilna and Lithuanian diocese.
In 1990 he was appointed rector of Blagoveshchensk cathedral Kaunas.
In 1990, as an elected delegate from the clergy of the Vilna and Lithuanian diocese, he participated in the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, who elected His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'.
In 1989 he graduated in absentia from the Moscow Theological Seminary, and in 1991 from the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate of theology degree.
In 1993 he graduated from the MDA graduate school. In 1991-1993 taught homiletics, Holy Scripture of the New Testament, dogmatic theology and Greek at MDAiS.
In 1992-1993 taught New Testament at the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute and patrolology at the Russian Orthodox University of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian.
In 1993, he was sent for an internship at Oxford University, where, under the guidance of Bishop Callistos of Diocleia, he worked on his doctoral dissertation on the topic “ Reverend Simeon New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition”, combining study with service in the parishes of the Sourozh diocese.
In 1995 he graduated from Oxford University with a PhD.
Since 1995, he worked in the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, and since August 1997, as Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations.
In 1995-1997 taught patrolology at the Smolensk and Kaluga Theological Seminaries. In 1996, he gave a course of lectures on dogmatic theology at the St. German Orthodox Theological Seminary in Alaska (USA).
Since January 1996, he was a member of the clergy of the Church of St. VMC. Catherine on Vspolye in Moscow (Metochion of the Orthodox Church in America).
From 1996 to 2004 he was a member of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1997-1999 gave courses of lectures on dogmatic theology at St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary in New York (USA) and on the mystical theology of the Eastern Church at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Cambridge (UK).
In 1999, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology by the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris.
On Easter 2000, in the Holy Trinity Church in Khoroshevo (Moscow), Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad elevated him to the rank of abbot.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of December 27, 2001, Abbot Hilarion (Alfeev), upon his elevation to the rank of archimandrite, was determined to be Bishop of Kerch, vicar of the Sourozh diocese.
At Christmas 2002, in the Smolensk Cathedral, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad elevated him to the rank of archimandrite.
On January 14, 2002 in Moscow, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, he was ordained bishop. The consecration was performed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Rus', co-served by ten archpastors.
By the determination of the Holy Synod of July 17, 2002, he was appointed Bishop of Podolsk, vicar of the Moscow diocese, head of the Representative Office of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations.
By the determination of the Holy Synod of May 7, 2003, he was appointed Bishop of Vienna and Austria with the assignment of temporary administration of the Budapest and Hungarian diocese and retaining the post of Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations in Brussels.
On March 31, 2009, His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, having released Bishop Hilarion from the administration of the Vienna-Austrian and Hungarian dioceses, appointed him Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, a permanent member of the Holy Synod with the title Bishop of Volokolamsk, Vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.
On April 20, 2009, in the Assumption Council of the Moscow Kremlin behind the small entrance at the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' elevated him to the rank of archbishop.
On February 1, 2010, at the small entrance of the Divine Liturgy, celebrated on the first anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' in the Cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church “in consideration of the diligent service of the Church of God and in connection with the appointment of chairman of the Department of External Church connections of the Moscow Patriarchate - a permanent member of the Holy Synod” elevated Archbishop Hilarion to the rank of metropolitan.
Rector of the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, created in March 2009 with the aim of increasing the educational level and level of special training of administrative and church-diplomatic personnel of the Moscow Patriarchate. The rector of the temple of the icon Mother of God“Joy of All Who Sorrow” on the street. Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow.
On February 1, 2005, he was elected as a private assistant professor of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Friborg (Switzerland) in the department of dogmatic theology.
On August 24, 2005, he was awarded the Makriev Prize for his work “The Sacred Secret of the Church. Introduction to the history and problems of the Imiaslav disputes.”
With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Hilarion carries out numerous church-wide obediences, representing the Russian Orthodox Church at various international and inter-Christian forums: he is a member of the Executive and Central Committees of the World Council of Churches, the Presidium of the Theological Commission of the WCC "Faith and Church Order", the Standing Commission on Relations between the Orthodox Churches and the WCC, the Permanent Commission for Dialogue between the Orthodox Churches and Roman Catholic Church, Permanent Commission for Dialogue between the Orthodox Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Permanent Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Permanent Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany. Member of the editorial board of the journals “Theological Works” (Moscow), “Church and Time” (Moscow), “Bulletin of the Russian Christian Movement” (Paris-Moscow), “Studia Monastica” (Barcelona), scientific and historical series “Byzantine Library” ( Saint Petersburg). Awarded with diplomas of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (1996 and 1999), medal “For Courage and Self-Sacrifice” of the Republic of Lithuania (1992), medal of the Blgv. book Constantine of Ostrog of the Polish Orthodox Church (2003), silver order of St. Innocent of the Orthodox Church in America (2009). Author of more than 500 publications, including monographs on patristics, dogmatic theology and church history, as well as translations of the works of the Church Fathers from Greek and Syriac. Author of a number of musical works, including “Divine Liturgy” and “All-Night Vigil” for unaccompanied choir, “Matthew Passion” for soloists, choir and orchestra.
Celebrated his fiftieth anniversary. Over the past years of his life, he showed himself not only as a talented theologian and priest. Metropolitan Hilarion was awarded by the Lord himself with oratorical, diplomatic, musical, and writing abilities. Hilarion's life from an early age was connected with Orthodoxy. Having taken monastic vows at the age of 20, he did not think that he would be with him at 30 or 50 years old, but there was never any doubt that his whole life would be connected with the church. Service always came first, but this did not hinder development in creativity and authorship; faith only gave strength to create new masterpieces in music and spiritual literature.
Meaning of life
Attitude towards death
As the Metropolitan himself says, the topic of death worried him from early childhood. Already at the age of five, he realized the fact that all people die someday. So he does too. But why? Why then was life given? These thoughts tormented him all the time. In his youth, these thoughts visited him again. Federico García Lorca became the young man’s favorite poet. His work was largely devoted to death. Through poetry, the author predicted and subsequently experienced his own tragic death. Hilarion, having graduated from music school, prepared a vocal cycle for tenor and piano based on poems by this author for the final exam; he called his work “Four Poems by García Lorca.” Many years later the work was orchestrated and renamed "Songs of Death".
It so happened that the beginning of his ministry to the church coincided with several deaths of people close to him. The young man was seriously worried about these tragic events. The first death that so shocked the young mind was the tragedy that happened to his beloved violin teacher. Vladimir Litvinov fell right during the exam when his student was playing. Cardiac arrest occurred. The ambulance did not arrive on time. He was still quite a young man, forty years old. The teacher had enormous authority among his students and their parents. Everyone respected him for his work, intelligence, and kindness. He always treated his students with respect and valued the dignity in every person. Everyone simply adored the teacher. This tragedy has unsettled many.
At the teacher’s funeral, a lot turned upside down in the mind of the inexperienced Hilarion. Why was life given to man? This question was one of the first. Soon the grandmother dies, then the sister, and then Hilarion’s father. The young man tried to understand why this was happening to people close and dear to him. The realization has come that only the Christian faith can provide answers to the questions posed. It strengthens our spirit, which resists death. It was important to understand why death comes to everyone, only at different times, what transition (and where) it means. Metropolitan Hilarion, whose films provide answers to such questions, tries to convey to all Christians the meaning of life and death.
Biography. Family. Education
In the world, Metropolitan Hilarion bore the name Grigory Dashevsky. He was born in Moscow, in a family of intellectuals, in 1966, July 24. His grandfather, Grigory Markovich, was known as a historian who studied the Civil War in Spain and wrote a number of books on this topic. He died in 1944, in World War II. Father Valery Grigorievich is a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, the creator of many scientific works. The father left the family and soon died due to a tragic incident. The mother raised her son alone and was engaged in writing. Gregory was baptized at the age of 11.
Both in childhood and youth, the current Metropolitan Hilarion took an active position in life. Rus' has a similar name in its history. Saint Hilarion was the first Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus'. He lived at the beginning of the last millennium. His holy life played a certain role in the development of young Hilarion Alfeev.
For eleven years, the young man studied music at a special Gnessin school in composition and violin. At the age of 15 he entered the Church of the Resurrection of the Word as a reader. After graduating from school in 1984, he entered the Moscow Conservatory, but in 1987 his plans changed. After leaving his studies, he became a novice at the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery.
Later he served in many churches of the Lithuanian diocese. He was appointed rector of the Annunciation Cathedral in Kaunas. In 1989, Hilarion graduated from the Theological Seminary, and then in 1993 from the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1991-1993 Hilarion teaches Holy Scripture, homiletics, dogmatic theology, and Greek at St. Tikhon's Theological Institute.
Priesthood and creativity
Metropolitan Hilarion completed his internship at Oxford University. There he studied Syriac while working on his dissertation. Study was combined with service in the Sourozh diocese. In 1995, he graduated from the university as a Doctor of Philosophy. Since 1995, service began in the Moscow Patriarchate. He taught patrolology at the Theological Seminaries of Smolensk and Kaluga. In 1996, he read dogmatic theology at the Alaska Theological Seminary.
In 1996 in Moscow he became a minister in the Church of St. Catherine. In Paris in 1999 he defended his doctorate in theology. At the same time he worked on television, hosting the program “Peace to Your Home.”
Metropolitan Hilarion soon publishes educational publications. The books introduce the reader to the issues, the history of Slavic disputes between theologians, and the monograph. The works “The Sacred Secret of the Church” and “The Sacrament of Faith” can be included here. The books are an introduction to dogmatic theology and are accessible to a wide range of readers, not only for students of seminaries and theological academies. Anyone who wants to understand the depths of the Orthodox faith can study the works of Hilarion.
In 2001, Hilarion received the rank of Bishop of Kerch. In 2002 he was ordained archimandrite at the Smolensk Cathedral.
Stay in the Diocese of Sourozh
In 2002, Hilarion Alfeev went to serve in the Sourozh diocese. At that time, it was headed by Metropolitan Anthony. Soon, all members of the episcopate, led by Vasily Osborne, began to turn against him (in 2010 he would be deprived of monasticism and dignity, since he deigned to marry). The incident occurred for the reason that Hilarion made accusatory statements about the diocese. Bishop Anthony made critical remarks and pointed out to Hilarion that they were unlikely to work together. But Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev turned out to be that “tough nut to crack.” He delivered his last speeches with complete confidence in his rightness, where he absolved himself of unfounded accusations. The result of the service was a recall from the Sourozh diocese. He began working as the main representative of the Russian Orthodox Church for work with European international organizations. Hilarion always defended his point of view that Europe should remember its Christian roots.
Service. Merits
Metropolitan Hilarion completely subordinates his daily routine to his official duties. He heads the department of External Church Relations and is a permanent member of the Holy Synod. Leads many different working groups and commissions. Metropolitan Hilarion also holds post No. 1 in the All-Church Postgraduate School, here he is the rector, as well as the rector of the church.
As Hilarion himself states, worship is a kind of synthesis of many arts, including frescoes, icons, temple architecture, reading, singing, music, poetry and prose, a kind of choreography - bows, exits and entrances in processions. In worship, all human organs come into action - hearing, vision, smell (incense), taste (Communion), touch (icons), that is, serving the Lord embraces the whole person.
In 2003, Hilarion Alfeev was appointed Bishop of Austria and Vienna. In 2009, he was elected Bishop of Volokolamsk, as well as vicar of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the same time he becomes rector of the Church of the Virgin Mary on Bolshaya Ordynka. Hilarion Alfeev was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan in 2010.
Music. Movies
Hilarion Alfeev did not abandon his musical creativity. Through him he now brings faith to Christ. In 2006-2007, he created the following works: “Divine Liturgy”, “All-Night Vigil”, “Christmas Oratorio”, “St. Matthew Passion”. The last oratorio was performed not only in Russia, but also in Canada and Australia. In five years it was performed fifty times. The audience gave the composer a standing ovation. Professional musicians performing the works highly appreciate the Metropolitan’s masterpieces. Metropolitan Hilarion’s work “Christmas Oratorios,” which was performed in Washington, caused a storm of delight. Music penetrated into everyone's soul. Success was later confirmed in Boston, New York and, of course, in Moscow. In collaboration with Spivakov, in 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion created the Christmas Festival, which now takes place annually on the eve of the holy holiday.
The priest does not stop at creating music. Metropolitan Hilarion hosts a general education series on television. Films made by Alfeev tell about history, the formation of Christianity, here are just a few:
- 2011 - “The Shepherd’s Way.”
- 2012 - “Man before God”, “The Church in History”, “Journey to Athos”.
- 2013 - “Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.”
- 2014 - “Orthodoxy in Georgia.” "Orthodoxy in the Serbian lands."
Metropolitan Hilarion. "Orthodoxy", other works
Recently, the Metropolitan’s new creation, “The Beginning of the Gospel,” saw the light of day. Alfeev went to this work for 25 long years. In his books, he presents his valuable experience to those who want to know the truth. Hilarion became interested in writing back in the days when he taught the Gospel at the Holy Trinity Institute. Then he studied in great detail New Testament. He read it since childhood, interpreted it with other literature; at that time there was very little necessary information, access to it was limited. Now Metropolitan Hilarion passes on his knowledge to everyone. The book of Christ was not written right away. Hilarion's theological activity is based mainly on the teachings of the Holy Fathers. Dissertations were defended by the author on topics about Isaac the Syrian and Simeon the New Theologian. The author poured out all his thoughts in the book “Orthodoxy”. He began writing this work with Christ, but switched to other topics, realizing that he was not yet mature enough to write about Jesus.
The book “The Sacred Secret of the Church. Introduction" brought the author the Makariev Prize in 2005. The content introduces the thoughts of teachers and church fathers about calling on the name of Christ.
Hilarion’s book “Reverend Simeon the New Theologian, His Orthodox Tradition” is a translation of a doctoral dissertation defended at Oxford.
The work “The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian” was dedicated to Isaac the Syrian. This saint prayed for the love of God, which he saw in everything. He prayed for everyone - for people, for animals, and also for demons. Even hell in his understanding is love, this is how sinners perceive it, as pain and suffering sent according to their deserts.
Hilarion Alfeev’s book “The Life and Teachings of Gregory the Theologian” describes the life of the great saint and great father, who in his time coined the dogmas about the Holy Trinity.
Hilarion writes his works in a language accessible to the laity. His idea was to create a catechism for those who decided to be baptized, who need a small book where in three days they can learn all the most basic things. The Metropolitan sat down and wrote such a work in one gust of breath in three days in such a style that a person could read it in the same amount of time. Then he edited it for another week. In this catechism, Hilarion outlined in the most accessible and simple manner all the foundations of the Orthodox faith, the teaching about the Church, about divine services, about morals and the foundations of Christian morality.
Metropolitan Hilarion. Book "Jesus Christ"
Throughout his life, Hilarion Alfeev was interested in the theme of Christ. At some point, he realized that it was time to get acquainted with the New Testament in a modern version. This was due to the fact that Hilarion was blessed by the Patriarch to prepare new textbooks for theological seminaries. The first question that arose was the creation of a textbook on the New Testament and the Four Gospels. The Metropolitan came to the idea that before creating a textbook, he must first write a book. This is how a book about Christ was born, which was to turn into a textbook. It was planned to write one book, but during the process the author realized that huge blocks of information simply would not fit into one publication; in the end it turned out to be six. On July 22, Metropolitan Hilarion’s first book, “The Beginning of the Gospel,” was published - one of the books about Jesus Christ. In general, the work is completed; only the sixth book requires editing.
The book is not arranged in chronological order of the Gospel events. The author examines episodes from the life of Christ in thematic blocks.
The first book is “The Beginning of the Gospel.” Metropolitan Hilarion speaks in it about the state modern science on the New Testament, provides a general introduction to the series of books about Christ. The main themes of the four Gospels are considered here: the Annunciation, Christmas, Christ's appearance to preach, Baptism. It also gives a general outline of the conflict with the Pharisees that led to Jesus' condemnation to death.
The second book is dedicated to Christian morality; it is presented in the form of a review of the Sermon on the Mount.
The third book is entirely devoted to the miracles performed by Christ. It explains what miracles are and why many people do not believe in them. How to relate a miracle to the faith of God. Each miracle is discussed in detail in the book separately.
The fourth book is “The Parables of Jesus.” All the parables that the Gospel presents are examined here and presented in order. The author explains why Jesus chooses this particular genre for his disciples.
The fifth book is called "Lamb of God." It is dedicated to the original Gospel, it contains material that has no duplication in the synoptic Gospels.
The sixth book is “Death and Resurrection.” The author describes in it the last days of the life of Jesus Christ on Earth, his suffering on the cross, death, and then resurrection. About the appearance of the Savior to his disciples after his ascension into heaven.
On the basis of this spiritual epic, Metropolitan Hilarion will create textbooks for theological seminaries and schools.
Saint Hilarion - Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus'
Speaking about our contemporary Metropolitan Hilarion, I would like to bow and pay tribute to the departed Saint Hilarion, whose work has been remembered for almost a thousand years. Metropolitan Hilarion created the “Sermon on Law and Grace” in 1037-1050. This is the earliest work of ancient Russian literature, which introduced Christians to the grace and truth through Jesus revealed to our people.
After his death, the first Metropolitan Hilarion was canonized as a Saint. His memorial day is celebrated on August 28. Judging by the chronicles, Metropolitan Hilarion came from the family of a Nizhny Novgorod clergyman. Later he himself became a priest of the Court Church of the Holy Apostles in the village of Berestovo. For his services, Metropolitan Hilarion took the high post. Rus' in those years was under the control of Yaroslav the Wise, who saw in the priest an outstanding figure of those times. Hilarion turned out to be a faithful like-minded person and assistant for the prince in state and spiritual affairs.
By a council of Russian bishops in 1051, Hilarion was installed as the first Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus'. Later it was approved by the Patriarch of Constantinople. The fact that the post of metropolitan was occupied by a Rusyn was regarded as the establishment of independence Kyiv Metropolis from the main Greek. Hilarion in his time was considered the best shepherd, preacher, and had an excellent education. His activities coincided with the period of the establishment of Christianity in Rus'. The Metropolitan made a significant contribution to this matter; his written works glorified the faith of Christ and showed its superiority over the old faith. Unfortunately, Hilarion did not remain high priest for long; in 1054 he stepped down from control. He died in 1067 in the Kiev Pechersk Monastery and was canonized as a Saint.
"What is the difference between a rat and a guinea pig?
Both are rats, but everyone hates the first one, and loves the second one.
It's just that the pig has better PR."
"Orthodoxy was betrayed from within."
Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus
So let's continue the saga about those who are now promoting themselves as "great saviors of Orthodoxy and fighters for the purity of the confession of faith", but for some reason the words are at odds with the deeds - " So by their fruits you will know them."(Matt. 7:15-20).
[photos from the website "Christian Spirit": " "]
As I already wrote, in our “workshop for exposing the secrets of lawlessness,” I opened a topic "Werewolf" and in the context of it, unexpectedly arose Metropolitan Illarion Alfeev-Dashkevich, and then added: “May the Lord forgive me, but somehow the topics converge too much.” No, it was not as open as in the photographs presented above, otherwise there would have been no doubts, it’s just that in parallel with the “rat” theme, which we combed in all directions, Metropolitan Hilarion’s line was firmly attached, and I’m already used to it just like that information does not converge simultaneously at one moment.
During that period (2015), the Lord taught a lot of things in a direct way, making up for the temptations that we had to endure from the caste of high-ranking sorcerers, which, together with the caste of “pharaohs,” is now fermenting all of Russia. The war was in full swing. The “rat topic” began in our “workshop” when my mother suddenly called me to look at genetically modified products. This fact in itself was already unusual - my mother doesn’t bother me with such trifles at all, especially since I don’t watch TV. I didn’t particularly want to go, but even then I was taught that nothing is accidental and you need to obey the will of another (especially your parents), and then the Lord reveals and shows a lot of things - as if passing you from hand to hand. I sinfully, out of fatigue, immediately stopped watching, maybe even demonic temptations. But suddenly, like a barely perceptible push to the back of the head, everything suddenly became clearer in my head, and the whole dream disappeared as if by hand, as if - “look!” I'm confused, what is so important for me to watch? They began to show about experiments on rats, how, due to genetically modified food, they begin to attack their offspring and generally any kind of ugliness. Rats are white. And then I realized and noted to myself: "Rats are important".
In 2013, I once wrote about heretics-infiltrators, such as Osipov, that in ancient times there was such a method of “burning rats” for capturing fortresses - burning rats were thrown over the high walls of impregnable fortresses, and they then ran away and spread the fire inside throughout the entire fortress . This is how they throw burning rats over the high walls of the Church.
But there are rats that are more terrible - intelligent ones in purple and fine linen- they encroach on the sacraments themselves - fluffy pigs.
Marcos Zapata. “The Last Supper”, 1753, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Cusco (Peru).
Marcos Zapata culturally served the Order of the Capuchins and Jesuits, apparently he picked it up from them. The whole picture is drawn using Masonic tracing paper - the Lord Jesus, or rather his replacement, is depicted between two Masonic pillars and an arch of the starry sky, which have appeared more than once in our notes about the Freemasons [for example, see the note: " "]. But now this is not the point - pay attention to what appears as the Easter meal at the table of the apostles... this "cui" - fried guinea pig, the national dish of Peru.
Those. A rat was placed on the table of the apostles. This is where the whole Jesuit spirit -
satanic substitution.
Here is Metropolitan Hilarion, just like that, the real one "cui".
If until now the developments were only, as if for internal use, understandable and significant only for us, the “Modus operandi” plan - i.e. profile, modus operandi, trace of the criminal, then just before the Cretan gathering, in the Orthodox community, I suddenly came across specific incriminating evidence, which was collected by the author of the site raskombat.info. I rarely publish third-party materials, and, as far as I remember, never before of this kind, such as compromising evidence, but I still think that this material should be given as much publicity as possible so that people understand who is who, what in general is happening, and what times we live in. Therefore, I am publishing the entire material below (note: about the purple cardinal cut of Metropolitan Hilarion - it’s somehow too open for him to give away his ins and outs so directly, and the EXIF can be rewritten, but still...):
So, the AGENT is “exposed”! Meet: half (?) Jew, Monsignor Hilarion Alfeev - Honorary Prelate and Secret Uniate Cardinal Archbishop
“The grandson of Grigory Markovich Dashevsky, the Jewish violinist and Catholic composer Grisha Dashevsky, acting under the pseudonym Illarion Alfeev, is an ORDINARY HERETIC,” ()
“...a church liberal who is also the chairman of the All-Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop Hilarion in his early childhood had the name Grisha Dashevsky, and he became Alfeev later, after his mother’s second marriage. So Dashevsky forgot his last name, but did not forget [his] blood,” ()
Five days ago, I accidentally (??) came across a brightly colorful, high-quality photograph of a high-ranking, and at the same time very odious character (see below), which, upon closer examination, literally SHOCKED me.
I couldn’t calm down for two days, the same thought was spinning in my head: “Well, how can this be? !!” To say that I was amazed literally before my eyes by the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Holy Fathers means to say nothing...
And this, by the way, also includes my personal attitude towards the past “Historic Meeting” between the Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow at Havana Airport.
combatant
No, a lot about this mega-promoted (and promoted!) Lately(sic!) I knew this character in our Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to this day. So for the first time, this low-quality black-and-white photograph in the newspaper “The Spirit of a Christian,” which I was then subscribing to, made me think very seriously about the role of this hierarch in our Mother Church:
At that time, I didn’t really know “your Internet”, and I had no idea how-where-what-(and why) to look for on the Internet at all.
Little by little, understanding the internet, three years later another information bomb exploded loudly, the consequences of which have now been intensively cleaned up on the Internet ever since. It turned out that Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) was born from a Jewish father and at birth bore his last name - Dashevsky. I also wrote about this.
My persistent search brought another intermediate result - I found a color photograph of the picture I saw from eight years ago:
At the dawn of his fast-paced career
By the way, judging by this photo, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who was kicked overboard, could well have revealed to the public the twilight milestones of the biography of the vice-president of the Russian Orthodox Church CJSC, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), instead of an angry and pathetic denunciation of banknote holders in Panama offshores. But something tells me that Mr. Chaplin, now frantically trying to join the camp of Russian national patriots - who do not accept and therefore criticize both the course of Mr. Gundyaev and Mr. Putin - Mr. Chaplin will not do this under penalty of death. Because the stakes in the Great Game for the decomposition of Russian Orthodoxy are very high, and agent Dashevsky’s “legend” must be supported at all costs.
[video] Met. Hilarion (Alfeev) at a reception with the Pope. 09.29.2011
But I will continue.
This, in every sense eloquently denouncing - the deeply legendary Agent of influence of the Vatican (this is at least), introduced into the Russian Orthodox Church MP by the Uniate crypto-Catholic archbishop and intensively promoted to the top by powerful anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox forces - is a photograph in which Hilarion (Alfeev) was photographed in what betrays him with head vestment, was discovered by me here:
Meet us! Hilarion Alfeev - Honorary Prelate and Secret Uniate Cardinal-Archbishop for Crypto-Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in Russia
Honorary Prelate of His Holiness ( lat. Praelatus Honorarius Sanctitatis Suae) - Monsignor Hilarion Alfeev, in person!As far as I understand, this Catholic “outfit” according to their classification most closely corresponds to this:
Apostolic Protonary de numero
(Higher Prelates of the Roman Curia and Protonotary Apostolic de numero)
"Sutana (fr. soutane, Italian sottana - skirt, cassock), long outer clothing of the Catholic clergy, worn outside of worship. The color of the cassock depends on the hierarchical position of the clergyman: for the priest - black, for the bishop - purple, for the cardinal - purple, for the pope - white» , (Catholic Encyclopedia)
feraiolo (cloak)
“...the highest of the three honorary titles possible for diocesan clergy is the title of Freelance Apostolic Protonotary, (...) the next in rank is the title of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness. Both of these titles give their holders the right to be called "Monsignors" and to use special vestments - a purple cassock with a purple belt and leather jacket and a black biretta with a black pompom - for religious services, a black cassock with red trim and a purple belt - at other times. Freelance Apostolic Prothonotaries (but not Honorary Prelates) may also choose to wear a purple ferraiolo (cloak)."()The color purple for Catholics
Meeting of the 68th Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI)
For those who still think that this is a skillful photoshop, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the original image of maximum quality: [original (note by dralex: I just hid it under the link so as not to download the material)].
By the way, the EXIF metadata of this photograph (for example, about this) indicates that the photograph was taken on 10/26/2012 12:05:17 pm, i.e. less than 3.5 years ago.
And yes, yes. If the photo was taken in October 2012, and the current Pope Francis I was elected on March 13, 2013, therefore, Metropolitan Cardinal (albeit freelance) Hilarion could well have participated in the election of the current head of the Vatican, Francis I:
[video]: Pope Francis I kisses the hands (!!!) of the Jews
Pope Francis seen kissing the hand of a Holocaust survivor in the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem on May 26, 2014. Pope Francis is on a 3-day visit to Jordan, West Bank and Israel. Photo by Amos Ben Gershom/GPO/FLASH90 And yes. Regarding the proofs of the diligently cleared biography of the grandson of Grigory Markovich Dashevsky - in the past a talented Jewish boy violinist, and now an equally talented SECRET CARDINAL Hilarion (Alfeev-Dashevsky). I repeat, confirming links (prufflinks) disappear from the Internet and simply disappear “at once.” Now it’s already “castrated” (without a graduation year), but still a link. And a screenshot from it:
Characteristic Jewish NAME - F.I.O. according to the request on Wikipedia “Grushevsky”:
Dialogkommission / Dialogue Commission, Kurt Koch, Ioannis Zizioulas, Kardinal Christoph Sch?nborn & al.
Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion with previous Pope Benedict XVI
Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion with the current Pope Francis I
Pope Francis, sitting left, and Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill kiss after signing a joint declaration on religious unity in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. The two religious leaders met for the first-ever papal meeting, a historic development in the 1,000-year schism within Christianity. (Alejandro Ernesto/Pool photo via AP)
« Brotherly" hugs with a "holy" kiss...
How many Catholic cardinals are in the photo?
Pope Francis I and the Jews
Pope Francis I with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with menorah
Rabbi Schneier Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion (Alfeev) with Rabbi Arthur Schneier - Chairman of the Religious Zionists of America organization, Chairman of the American section of the World Jewish Congress
See “The secret of the golden apple given to Patriarch Kirill by Rabbi Arthur Schneier has been revealed” (http://stas-senkin.livejournal.com/257680.html)
Metropolitan Kirill with rabbis. In the center is Rabbi Arthur Schneier
Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion, Rabbi Arthur Schneier and another cardinal
Acclaimed theologian and musical composer Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of the Russian Orthodox Church spoke at Catholic University on the intersection of faith and music on Feb. 9 in Caldwell Auditorium. Ed Pfueller Metropolitan_Hilarion_028.JPG 2011_34
Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion (Alfeev) with US Vice President Joseph Biden (far right)
Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion of Volokolamsk with George W. Bush, former US President and member of the Illuminati secret society “Skull and Bones”
(mass media)
Who do the nun sisters take the blessing from - the metropolitan or the cardinal?..
Old Believer Metropolitan Korniliy, Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion, Patriarch Kirill
With the Ecumenist Patriarch of Constantinople and Freemason Bartholomew
I remember that Metropolitan Cardinal Hilarion (Alfeev) made angry accusations of provoking a “schism” against Bishop Diomede of Chukotka and Anadyr, who had previously publicly stated that the current Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill is a secret Catholic cardinal, and then, in fact, became one of the ardent initiators of the persecution of him. Is the thief's hat on fire?
Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev) calls on the Council of Bishops to evaluate the statements of Bishop Diomede (Dzyuban)
Orthodox view: So WHO IS HE, the unnamed and secretly appointed Catholic cardinal in the Vatican. Isn’t it Alfeev???http://lightsbeam.narod.ru/history/harare.html
Eighth General Assembly of the WCC in Harare
On December 3-14, 1998, the 8th General Assembly of the WCC took place in Harare (Zimbabwe), which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the formation of the main body of the ecumenical movement (1948-1998). Ecumenists from Orthodoxy claim that they participate in such events for testimonies about Orthodoxy. http://www.christian-spirit.ru/v63/63.(3).htmLovers quarrel - only amuse themselves
The X plenary meeting of the Mixed Commission on Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue was held in the Italian city of Ravenna, which was attended by a delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church led by Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev) of Vienna and Austria. http://www.christian-spirit.ru/v79/ 79.(5).htmDouble standards of Ilarion Alfeev
Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev) in Latin vestments (Photo from the website of the World Council of Churches, http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/press _corner/exco-biosandpix.html) REFORMATION THROUGH ADMINISTRATION. ISSUE II I. Petrov’s article “Reformation through Administration” was sent as an “appeal” to members of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the appeal hopes for a response. In the modern understanding, the article “Reformation...” was not so much a “TEXT” as a “TEST”. Based on numerous reviews on websites and conversations with a circle of trusted persons, the following conclusions can be drawn (...). In the Second Issue of Church Analytics materials, they appear in the following order:1. WE DO NOT WANT HILARION TO BE PATRIAC
2. THE UNIVERSAL JOY OF CATHOLICITY
3. SPIRITUAL ILLNESS OF CLERIC HILARION (his last statements about Catholics)
4. GIANT FAILURE OF DIPLOMAT HILARION
5. FROM THE LIFE OF NIKODIM (ROTOV) METROPOLITAN
6. MOTIF “LENIN IN POLAND”: HILARION IN KRAKOW
7. WHY IS THE MEETING OF THE POPE AND PATRIARCH EVIL?
8. PEOPLE WRITE TO US FROM UKRAINE
9. JERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
10. GAY SCANDAL IN KAZAN SEMINARY
http://inok-arkadiy.livejournal.com/383195.html
15.01.2014
12 questions to the composer, theologian, and several times “honorary” Metropolitan Hilarion
https://www.sedmitza.ru/text/324239.htmlWho was appointed "secret cardinal" by John Paul II?
http://www.3rm.info/index.php?newsid=61549THE Apostate “PATRIARCH” KIRILL CONCLUDED A UNION WITH SATAN. Appeal of Afonites. (VIDEO, PHOTO), Moscow - Third Rome
† † †In defense of Metropolitan-Cardinal Hilarion (Alfeev) from “slander and attacks”:
http://ruskline.ru/news_rl/2011/09/15/kleveta_na_mitropolita_ilariona_alfeeva?p=0
Slander against Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)
“For some reason, the impression is being created in the Catholic world that Bishop Hilarion is a pro-Catholic hierarch. But this point of view is completely wrong. Metropolitan Hilarion is a very secularly educated person. And I think it is precisely this circumstance that perhaps especially attracts the Catholic world to him,” said Fr. Dimitri. He noted that when he was now entering the general church graduate school, he read Bishop Hilarion’s two-volume book “Orthodoxy.” “This is a dogmatically verified Eastern Orthodox work, where there is no hint of a future unification with the Catholic world. The deepest gap that exists between Orthodoxy and Catholicism is shown. And here we see precisely the Orthodox mind, which is not at all inclined to curtsy towards Catholicism,” the priest continued. “It seems to me that this is just another provocation on the part of Catholics. In general, the image of Bishop Hilarion is built on pro-Catholic falsifications. I have long noticed that for some reason Vladyka Hilarion is identified with a pro-Catholic envoy. But from his works, sermons, as well as from conversations with him, one can conclude that he is a zealous supporter of Orthodoxy,” concluded Archpriest Dimitry Arzumanov.” http://ruskline.ru/monitoring_smi/2002/09/05/otkrytoe_pis_mo_mitropolita_antoniya_surozhskogo_episkopu_podol_skomu_ilarionu_alfeevuOpen letter from Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh to Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev) of Podolsk
In recent months, dramatic events have unfolded in the Sourozh diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. In March, the youngest bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Hilarion (Alfeev), Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University and Doctor of Theology from the Paris St. Sergius Theological Institute, author of more than 150 publications on theological and church-historical topics, as well as translations of the works of the Church Fathers from Greek, was sent here as the second suffragan bishop. and Syriac languages, in 1995-2001. employee of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, since August 1997 - as secretary for inter-Christian relations. In 2001, at the age of 33, he was consecrated bishop. In February 2002, he had an audience with Pope John Paul II, where he sharply opposed the activities of the Catholic Church in the “canonical territory” of the Russian Orthodox Church.The young, talented and apparently ambitious bishop did not find a common language with the Orthodox in Great Britain. http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/index.php/www.tass.ru?act=monitor&id=6101
Bishop of Vienna and Austria Hilarion (Alfeev): In memory of Pope John Paul II.
http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=7647401 March 2010
REFERENCE: Chairman of the DECR MP, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) of Volokolamsk
http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=76509 March 02, 2010PHOTO GALLERY: The beginning of a great journey.The meteoric rise of Metropolitan Hilarion
http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=comment&id=1726The hour of the secret cardinal. Europeans will lead Russian Orthodoxy into the future, or what is the difference between Hilarion and Kirill
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/news/newsid_1142000 /1142375 .stmSecret cardinals come to light
"Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) at a reception with the Pope. 09.29.2011">http://holland-new.narod.ru/Kardinal.html Christian [Catholic] color symbolism https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferraiolo http://www.nyjewishimprints.info/Sa/Schneier.htmArthur Schneier
Arthur Schneier
Rabbi
+ + + Application: Screenshot from 2011 of the Gnesinka website: Screenshot of a now-deleted Wikipedia discussion page:
Eighth General Assembly of the WCC in Harare Zimbabwe (03-14 December 1998)
The Disappointing Presence of Orthodox Ecumenists
Download Document (.pdf)
End of repost ====
["Notes of a Layman" on the black list [ ], if the page does not open, use the services: http://ru.downforeveryone.com/ and http://bloka.net, or other similar]
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) – Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Rector of the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after. Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius, Chairman of the Synodal Biblical Theological Commission, diplomat, speaker, composer, theologian, writer, TV presenter... On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Bishop, we talked with him about coming to faith, life and death, a new book and writing skill.
– Vladyka, you are turning 50 years old. I can't believe it. Tell me, when you made the decision to take monastic vows, did you (I appeal to the words of Patriarch Kirill and Father Evgeniy Ambartsumov) make the decision for yourself at twenty, thirty, forty and fifty years old? Did reality live up to your expectations?
– When I took monastic vows, I was 20 years old, and I, of course, did not think about either my 30-year-old self or my 50-year-old self. I lived for that moment. But I had no doubt that I wanted to devote my life to the Church, that I wanted to build my life this way and not otherwise. And in the 30 years since then, I have never once been disappointed in the decision taken. There was not a single day, not a single minute when I regretted it.
I owe everything in my life to the Church. Some people say to me: “Why did you associate yourself with the Church? After all, you could practice art, conduct an orchestra, write music.” For me, serving the Church has always been the most important thing, everything else was built around this main core. And for me, the most important thing has always been to serve Christ.
– In one of your interviews, you said that the topic of death worried you from a fairly early age. How did this topic first arise for you, and how did your perception change?
– This may surprise you, but the topic of death first arose for me in kindergarten. I was 5 or 6 years old, and I suddenly realized that we were all going to die: that I was going to die, that all these children who were around me were going to die. I started thinking about it, asking questions to myself, adults. I don’t remember now either these questions or the answers I received. I only remember that this thought pierced me very sharply and did not recede for quite a long time.
In my youth, I also thought a lot about death. I had a favorite poet - Federico García Lorca: I discovered him at a very early age. The main theme of his poetry is the theme of death. I don’t know any other poet who thought and wrote so much about death. Probably, to some extent, through these verses, he predicted and experienced his own tragic death.
Grigory Alfeev (future Metropolitan Hilarion) in his school years
When I was finishing school, for the final exam I prepared an essay “Four Poems by García Lorca”: it was a vocal cycle based on his words for tenor and piano. Many years later I orchestrated it and renamed it “Songs of Death.” All four poems I chose for this series are dedicated to death.
– Why were you so interested in this topic?
– Probably because the answer to the question why a person dies depends on the answer to the question why he lives.
– Has anything changed since you became active in church life?
“It so happened that my coming to active church life coincided with several deaths, which I experienced very deeply.
The first is the death of my violin teacher Vladimir Nikolaevich Litvinov. I was probably 12 years old then. I loved him very much, he was a huge authority for me. He was an extraordinarily intelligent, reserved, subtle man; he taught his subject well, treated his students with great respect, and everyone adored him. He was still a very young man - about forty years old, no more.
Suddenly I come to school and they tell me that Litvinov has died. At first I thought someone was playing a joke on me. But then I saw his portrait in a black frame. He was one of the youngest teachers. It turned out that he died right during the exam, when his student was playing. He suddenly felt bad with his heart, he fell, they called an ambulance, and instead of Frunze Street they went to Timur Frunze Street. And when they finally got there 40 minutes later, he was already dead. I took part in his funeral, it was the first death in my life.
Some time later there was the death of my grandmother, then the death of her sister - my great-aunt, then the death of my dad. All this followed one after another, and of course, the question of death constantly arose in my mind, not as some kind of theoretical question, but as something that was happening around me with people close to me. And I understood that only faith can answer this question.
– Do you now have an internal understanding of what death is? For example, I understand all this well with my mind, but I cannot at all internally accept and understand the untimely departure of loved ones...
– A person consists not only of the mind, he also consists of the heart and body. We react to such events with all our being. Therefore, even if we understand with our minds why this is happening, even if faith strengthens us in enduring such events, nevertheless, our entire human nature resists death. And this is natural, because God did not create us for death: He created us for immortality.
It would seem that we should be prepared for death; every evening we say to ourselves, going to bed: “Will this coffin really be my bed?” And we see the whole world in the light of this event of death, which can befall every person at any moment. And yet, death always comes unexpectedly, and we internally protest against it. Each person is looking for his own answer, and it cannot be exhausted only by logically constructed arguments from a textbook on dogmatic theology.
One of the works that made a strong impression on me in my childhood and youth was Shostakovich's 14th symphony. To a large extent, under the influence of this work, I wrote my “Songs of Death.” I listened to him a lot then and thought a lot about why Shostakovich, at the end of his days, wrote exactly such a composition. He himself called it a “protest against death.” But this protest in his interpretation did not provide any access to another dimension. We can protest against death, but it will still come. This means that it is important not just to protest it, but it is important to comprehend it, to understand why it comes and what awaits us in this regard. And the answer to this is given by faith, and not just faith in God, but precisely Christian faith.
We believe in God, who was crucified and died on the cross. It's not just God who comes from somewhere heavenly heights looks at us, watches us, punishes us for sins, encourages us for virtues, sympathizes with us when we suffer. This is the God who came to us, who became one of us, who dwells in us through the sacrament of communion and who is next to us - both when we suffer and when we die. We believe in God, who saved us through His suffering, cross and resurrection.
It is often asked: why did God have to save man in this particular way? Didn't he really have other, less “painful” ways? Why did God Himself necessarily have to go through the cross? I answer this like this. There is a difference between a person who sees a drowning person from the side of a ship, throws him a life preserver and watches sympathetically as he climbs out of the water, and a person who, to save another, risking his own life, rushes into the stormy waters of the sea and gives his life so that another could live. God decided to save us this way. He threw himself into the stormy sea of our lives and gave His life to save us from death.
– An amazingly strong image, I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s really very understandable.
– I use this image in my catechism, which I just finished. There I tried to present the foundations of the Orthodox faith in the simplest language, using images that are understandable to modern man.
– How does your catechism differ from the one that the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission is working on under your leadership? Why was another catechism needed?
– In the Synodal Theological Commission, we wrote a large catechism for many years. The idea was to write a fundamental work that would contain a detailed exposition of the Orthodox faith. This task was given to me when I was not yet the chairman of the commission, and it was headed by Bishop Philaret Minsky. A working group was created, we first began to discuss the content of the catechism, then approved the plan, then selected a team of authors.
Unfortunately, some authors wrote in such a way that it was not possible to benefit from the fruits of their labors. Some sections had to be reordered twice or thrice. In the end, after several years of hard work, we had a text that we began to discuss at plenary sessions and collected feedback from members of the theological commission. Finally, we presented the text to the hierarchy. This text has now been sent out for feedback, and we have already started receiving them.
A few days ago I received a letter from one respected hierarch, who attached a review of the text of our catechism, compiled in his diocese. This review had a lot of praise, but also said that the catechism was too long, that it contained too many details that people did not need, that the catechism should be short.
When we created the concept of this catechism, the idea was to write a large book that would talk in detail about the dogmas of the Orthodox Church, about the Church and worship, and about morality. But now that we have this big book at a very large price collective works wrote, they told us: “But we need a small book. Give us a book that we could give to a person coming to be baptized, so that he can read what he needs in three days.”
To be honest, this review made me angry. So much so that I sat down at the computer and wrote my catechism - the same one that could be given to a person before baptism. I wish a person could read it in three days. And I wrote it, too, for three days - on a single impulse of inspiration. Then, however, a lot had to be rewritten, clarified and finalized, but the original text was written very quickly. In this catechism, I tried to present the foundations of the Orthodox faith as clearly and simply as possible, to present the teaching about the Church and its worship, and to speak about the foundations of Christian morality.
– You write short religious texts very well – we constantly use your books for translations into English.
– The main thing here was not to write too much. I always had to limit myself, because, naturally, more can be said on every topic, but I imagined myself in the place of a person who came to be baptized: what should be given to this person so that he learns about Orthodox faith? The result is a catechism for those preparing for baptism, for those who were once baptized but did not join the church, and for everyone who wants to learn more about their faith.
By the way, I wrote it thanks to the fact that we did not go to the Pan-Orthodox Council. I had planned a two-week stay in Crete, but since we decided not to go there, suddenly two whole weeks were freed up. I devoted this time to the catechism: I wrote for three days and edited for a week.
– So, in the near future there will be two books in the Church: a detailed complete catechism and a succinct edition for beginners?
– These are two books of different status. One is the conciliar catechism, which, I hope, we will nevertheless bring to the required standard and receive conciliar approval of this text. And what I have just written is my author’s catechism. And I hope that it will be used, including in such situations, when a person comes to be baptized and says: “Give me a book so that I can read and prepare in 3-4 days.” It is for this purpose that this book was written.
– Your book about Christ has just been published. It's called "The Beginning of the Gospel." When I opened it I was simply speechless – how necessary, important and fantastically designed this book is! I’ve been looking at new book releases for a long time without any interest, but then I started reading the first chapter and realized that I couldn’t put it down, and that I urgently needed to order a hundred books as gifts for everyone. Thank you very much, this is some amazing joyful news, because well, we talk and write about everything except Christ. I really hope this will be a bestseller.
A lot of books have been written today about everything, and it is completely unclear how to write about Christ, how to talk to people about Christ in our lives. It’s clear how to read what prayer, how to speak in confession, but Christ in everyday Christian life sorely missed.
– I have been working towards this book for many years. In a sense, it is the result of at least a quarter of a century of my development, since I began lecturing on the New Testament at the then newly created St. Tikhon’s Institute. It was the 1992–1993 school year. Then for the first time I came into contact not only with the Gospel, which, of course, I had read since childhood, but also with special literature on the New Testament. But there was little literature then, and we had limited access to it. And my theological activity mainly revolved around patristics, that is, the teachings of the Holy Fathers. I studied patristics at Oxford and wrote a dissertation there on Symeon the New Theologian. Then, in the wake of “residual inspiration,” he wrote books about Gregory the Theologian and Isaac the Syrian. And then this entire array of patristic ideas and thoughts was included in my book “Orthodoxy.”
The book Orthodoxy begins with Christ, but I almost immediately move on to other topics. This was due to the fact that at that time I was not yet mature enough to write about Christ.
Meanwhile, the theme of Christ has occupied me throughout my life, at least from the age of 10. Of course, I read the Gospel, thought about Christ, His life, His teaching. But at some point, it was about two and a half years ago, I realized that I needed to become very seriously acquainted with modern specialized literature on the New Testament. This was due to the fact that, with the blessing of the Patriarch, I headed a working group to prepare textbooks for theological schools. And the question immediately arose about a textbook on the New Testament, on the Four Gospels. I realized that for various reasons I would have to write this textbook myself. To write it, it was necessary to refresh my knowledge of the scientific literature on the New Testament.
My way of mastering literary material is summarizing. Until I start writing something, I cannot concentrate on reading, as in the famous joke about a man who entered a literary institute and was asked: “Have you read Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Tolstoy?” And he replied: “I’m not a reader, I’m a writer.”
–You said that as a child you read 500-600 pages a day...
– Yes, as a child I read a lot, but at some point I began to read much less, I began to read only what I needed for what I was writing. When I write, I reflect on what I read.
At first I decided to write a textbook, but quickly realized that in order for it to work, I must first write a book. And so I began to write a book about Jesus Christ, which over time was to turn into a textbook. At first I intended to write one book, but when I started writing, I realized that all the gigantic collected material could not fit into one book. I ended up writing six books. The first one has now been published, four others have been written in full and will be published in order, the sixth has been written, as they say, “in the first reading.” In essence, the work is completed, although some editing of the sixth book will still be required.
– Tell us how the book is constructed?
– I decided not to follow the chronology of the Gospel events, alternately looking at episodes from the life of Christ, miracles, and parables. I decided to master the gospel material in large thematic blocks.
The first book is called "The Beginning of the Gospel." In it, firstly, I talk about the state of modern New Testament scholarship and give some general introduction to all six books. Secondly, I look at the opening chapters of all four Gospels and their main themes: the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ, Jesus going out to preach, the baptism of John, the calling of the first disciples. And I give some very general outline of the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, which in the end will lead to His condemnation to death.
The second book is devoted entirely to the Sermon on the Mount. This is an overview of Christian morality.
The third is devoted entirely to the miracles of Jesus Christ in all four Gospels. There I talk about what a miracle is, why some people don’t believe in miracles, how faith relates to a miracle. And I consider each of the miracles separately.
The fourth book is called "The Parables of Jesus." All the parables from the Synoptic Gospels are presented and discussed there, one after another. I am talking about the genre of parables, explaining why the Lord chose this genre for His teachings.
The fifth book, The Lamb of God, deals with all the original material in the Gospel of John, that is, material that is not duplicated in the Synoptic Gospels.
And finally, the sixth book is “Death and Resurrection.” Here we are talking about last days the earthly life of the Savior, His suffering on the cross, death, resurrection, appearances to the disciples after the resurrection and ascension into heaven.
Such is the book epic. I needed to write it, first of all, in order to re-understand for myself those events that form the core of our Christian faith, and so that later, on the basis of these books, textbooks for theological schools could be made.
– Is this a review, an interpretation?
– It is based on the Gospel text. It is examined against the background of a wide panorama of interpretations - from ancient to modern. I pay much attention to criticism of modern approaches to the Gospel text, characteristic of Western researchers.
There are many different approaches to Jesus in modern Western New Testament scholarship. For example, there is this approach: the Gospels are very late works, they all appeared at the end of the 1st century, when several decades had already passed after the death of Christ. There was a certain historical character Jesus Christ, He was crucified on the cross, and from Him there remained a certain collection of teachings, which was later lost. People were interested in this collection, they began to gather around it, and created communities of followers of Jesus.
Then they still needed to understand what kind of person it was who gave these teachings, and they began to write about him different stories: they came up with the story of the birth of the Virgin, attributed all sorts of miracles to him, and put parables into his mouth. But in fact, this was all the production of people conventionally designated by the names Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who headed certain Christian communities and wrote all this for pastoral needs. This, in my opinion, absurd and blasphemous approach to the Gospels now almost dominates Western New Testament scholarship.
There are books about “Matthean theology” where not a word is said about the fact that Christ is behind this theology. According to these theologians, Christ is a literary character created by Matthew for the pastoral needs of his community. In addition, they write, there were apocryphal Gospels, and only then the Church weeded out what it did not like, but in fact there was a lot of other material.
In a word, many scientific myths have been created around the personality and teachings of Christ, and instead of studying His life and teachings according to the Gospel, they study these myths invented by scientists.
I prove in my book what is obvious to us, Orthodox Christians, but what is not at all obvious to modern New Testament specialists. Namely, that the only reliable source of information about Christ is the Gospel; there is no other reliable source. The Gospel is the testimony of eyewitnesses. If you want to know how something happened, you must treat eyewitnesses with confidence. As His Holiness Patriarch Kirill writes in his book “The Word of the Shepherd”: how can you recreate a traffic accident? We need to interview witnesses. One stood there, another here, the third somewhere else. Everyone saw it in their own way, everyone told their own story, but from the cumulative evidence a picture emerges.
We read the Gospel and see that the evangelists agree on many things. But in some ways they disagree, and this is natural, because everyone saw it a little differently. At the same time, the image of Jesus Christ does not split into two, is not divided into four different images. All four Gospels speak about the same person. I write in my book that the Gospels are like a safe with treasures, locked with two keys: in order to understand the Gospel stories and their meaning, you need to use both keys. One key is the belief that Jesus Christ was a real earthly man with all the properties of an earthly man, similar to us in everything except sin. And the other key is the belief that He was God. If even one of these keys is missing, you will never discover this Person to whom the Gospels are dedicated.
– What is the release schedule for your books about Christ?
- The first one just came out. The following will be published as soon as they are ready. Since I have already written them, their further fate depends on the book publishers.
The topic is too important and too broad. This kept me from reading books about Jesus Christ for many years. I beat around the bush: I studied the Holy Fathers, wrote about the Church, and examined various issues of theology. But I could not approach the person of Christ.
– Was it scary?
– I didn’t find my own approach, my own key. Of course, I studied what the Holy Fathers wrote about Jesus Christ, this is reflected in my books. For example, in the book “Orthodoxy” I have a whole section about Christology. But if we look at what the Holy Fathers wrote about atonement in the 3rd–4th centuries, then the main question was: to whom did Christ pay the ransom. The term "redemption" was taken in its literal sense - ransom. And they argued about who the ransom was paid to. Some said that the ransom was paid to the devil. Others rightly objected: who is the devil to pay such a high price? Why should God pay the devil with the life of his own Son? No, they said, the sacrifice was made to God the Father.
In the Middle Ages in the Latin West, the doctrine of the Savior's sacrifice on the cross as the satisfaction of the wrath of God the Father developed. The meaning of this teaching is this: God the Father was so angry with humanity, and humanity owed Him so much with its sins, that it could not pay Him back in any other way except by the death of His own Son. Allegedly, this death satisfied both the wrath of God the Father and His justice.
For me, this Western interpretation is unacceptable. The Apostle Paul says: “This is a great mystery of godliness: God was revealed in the flesh.” I think that both the Fathers of the Eastern Church and Western writers at one time were looking for some answers to the question of what this mystery is, and therefore they created their theories. It had to be explained using some human-readable examples.
Gregory of Nyssa, for example, said that God deceived the devil. Being in human flesh, He descended into hell, where the devil reigned. The devil devoured Him, thinking that he was a man, but under the human flesh of Christ was hidden His deity, and like a fish that swallowed the hook and bait, the devil thus swallowed God along with the man, and this Deity destroyed hell from within. A beautiful image, witty, but it is impossible to explain redemption to modern man using this image. We must find a different language, different images.
– How do you answer this question?
“I think the most we can say about God is that He wanted to save us in this way and not in any other way. He wanted to become one of us. He wanted not only to save us from somewhere on high, sending us signals, giving us a helping hand, but he entered into the very thick of it human life to always be with us. When we suffer, we know that He suffers with us. When we die, we know that He is near. This gives us the strength to live, it gives us faith in the resurrection.
– Vladyka, you work with a large volume of literature on different languages. How many foreign languages do you know?
– Several languages to varying degrees. I speak and write fluently in English: I even thought in this language for some time when I was studying in England. I speak French, read, and write when necessary, but not so fluently. I speak Greek, but also less confidently (lack of practice), although I read fluently. Then - in descending order. I read, but don’t speak, Italian, Spanish, German. Of the ancient languages, I studied ancient Greek, Syriac and a little Hebrew.
– How did you learn foreign languages in general?
– I learned all foreign languages from the Gospel. I always started with the Gospel of John. This is the most convenient Gospel for memorizing words, they are constantly repeated there: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, it was in the beginning with God.” Experts say that the vocabulary of the Gospel of John is half that of the other Gospels, although it is not inferior in volume to them. This laconicism of the dictionary is due to the fact that many words are repeated.
Why is it convenient to learn a language from the Gospel? Because when you read a well-known text that you know practically by heart, you don’t need to look in the dictionary, you recognize the words. And that's how I learned Greek. First I read the Gospel of John, then I read the three other Gospels, then I began to read the epistles of the holy apostles, and then I began to read the Fathers of the Church in Greek. In addition, when I was learning Greek, I listened to a tape recording of the liturgy in Greek. I learned it in the pronunciation in which it is now used by the Greeks.
I learned the Syriac language a little differently, this was already at Oxford, I had an excellent professor, the best specialist in Syriac literature in the world, Sebastian Brock. But he immediately told me: I’m not going to learn the language with you, I’m not interested in it, I’m interested in reading texts. Therefore, we began to read the text of Isaac the Syrian, and along the way I read the Gospels in Syriac and mastered the basics of grammar and syntax using Robinson’s textbook.
The most important thing in a language is, of course, practice. No textbook can replace practical work with text.
– Do you think priests need foreign languages today?
– I don’t have a definite answer. Some people may not need foreign languages. But a foreign language is useful not only for purely utilitarian purposes - to read or hear something in it, or to be able to say something to someone. It is useful, first of all, because it opens up a whole new world. Each language reflects the thinking of a certain people, each language has its own literature, its own poetry. I would say that for overall development, a foreign language will never harm anyone. Another thing is that some people may not have a penchant for languages, they may not have an interest in it.
Foreign languages are not at all necessary for salvation, and they are not even necessary for pastoral work. Although I think that for a priest reading the Gospel, at least some basics of the Greek language are necessary. It is no coincidence that in the pre-revolutionary seminary they taught Greek and Latin - if only in order to understand the meaning of individual words, expressions, what Christ says in His parables, so that one could turn to the Greek original and verify.
– How do you structure your daily routine?
– My daily routine is subordinated to my official duties. I have various positions assigned to me by the clergy: I am the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations and ex officio a permanent member of the Holy Synod, the rector of the Church Postgraduate School, the rector of the church. I also head many different commissions and working groups that implement various projects.
Six days a year we have meetings of the Holy Synod, eight days a year we have meetings of the Supreme Church Council. Sunday is a day of worship. Every church holiday is a day of liturgy. Naturally, before each synodal day we have at least several days of preparation - we prepare documents, work through journals. I have visiting days at the DECR and at the All-Church Postgraduate School. Many meetings - with Orthodox hierarchs, with non-Orthodox hierarchs, with ambassadors of various states. A very important layer of my activity is travel. During the first five years of my tenure as DECR chairman, I made more than fifty foreign trips a year. Sometimes I flew to Moscow just to change planes.
– Do you suffer from aerophobia?
- No. But after these five years I began to travel less. Over the course of five years, I have visited everyone I need, and now I can maintain communication with many people through telephone calls and email correspondence, that is, I don’t need to go somewhere special to communicate with someone.
In addition, if earlier I accepted almost all the invitations that came to various conferences, then at some point I myself felt, and His Holiness the Patriarch told me: “You shouldn’t travel so much. You should go only to the most important events, where no one else can participate except you.” Accordingly, the number of trips has decreased - I think, without harming the business.
From the days of meetings of the Synod and the Supreme Church Council, days of attendance at the Department and graduate school, church holidays and trips are basically what shapes my schedule. It is quite predictable for a year.
There are pauses in this schedule that I need for what can roughly be called creative activity. For example, in order to write books.
– What days do you use for this?
– Firstly, all civil weekends. To paraphrase the words of a famous song, we can say: I don’t know of any other country where there are so many days off. In addition to vacations, the country enjoys ten days in January, and several days in February, March, May, June, and November. I use these weekends to write. Let's say the New Year period - from late December to Christmas - is the time when I write. I also write on Saturdays. I don’t have any days off in the traditional sense of the word. If a day is free from official duties, then I write on that day.
– Do you write quickly?
– I usually write a lot and quickly. I can think about something for a long time, but when I sit down to write, my average daily norm is 5 thousand words a day. Sometimes I don’t reach this norm, but sometimes I even exceed it.
– This is more than an author's sheet. With such an intense rhythm, you can write a fairly large amount of text in a fairly short period of time. Relatively speaking, I need 20 such days to write a book of 100 thousand words.
– Traditionally, books are measured by marks and author’s sheets...
– I have been measuring in words since Oxford. When I was at Oxford, I had a 100,000 word limit for my PhD. I exceeded this limit and found myself in a rather scandalous situation: I was required to shorten the text. I shortened it as much as I could, but still the excess was about 20 thousand words after the dissertation was bound (and binding there was insanely expensive). My professor, Bishop Callistus, had to specifically go to the rector’s office and prove that these additional 20 thousand words are absolutely necessary to cover my topic. Since then, firstly, I try to write concisely, and secondly, I consider the amount of writing in words, and not in characters.
– Have you encountered problems with constant distraction? Is your computer disconnected, for example, from the Internet or email?
– I remember that you respond to e-mails in record time.
– When I’m sitting at the computer and I receive a message, if it’s short and business-like, I try to answer right away.
- Are there many letters?
– At least 30 per day.
– But should there be some kind of pause?
- Yes. There are breaks for food. But since I served in the army, I have a habit (they say it is harmful to health) - eating quickly. Breakfast takes me 10 minutes, lunch – 15, dinner – 10–15. All the time I don't eat, sleep or pray, I work.
– Vladyka, tell us about your assessmentmodern worship? What are the problems with the perception of liturgical prayer?
– Orthodox worship is a synthesis of arts. This synthesis includes: the architecture of the temple, icons and frescoes that are on the walls, music that sounds during the service, reading and singing, prose and poetry that sound in the temple, and choreography - exits, entrances, processions, bows. In Orthodox worship, a person participates with all his senses. Of course, by sight and hearing, but also by smell - he smells the smell of incense, by touch - he applies himself to the icons, by taste - he takes Communion, takes holy water, prosphora.
Thus, we perceive worship with all five senses. Worship should involve the whole person. A person cannot be somewhere else with one part of his nature, and the other in the service - he must be completely immersed in worship. And our worship service is structured in such a way that while a person is immersed in the element of prayer, he does not turn off from it.
If you have been to Catholic or Protestant churches, you could see that the service there consists, as a rule, of disparate patches: first people sing some kind of psalm, then they sit down, listen to the reading, then they get up again. And our services are continuous. This, of course, helps a lot to immerse oneself in the element of prayer. Our worship is a school of theology and thought of God; it is full of theological ideas. It is absolutely impossible to understand worship without knowing, for example, church dogmas. This is why our divine service turns out to be incomprehensible to many people - not because it is in Church Slavonic, but because it appeals to the consciousness of completely different people.
Let’s say people come to listen to the Great Canon during the first week of Great Lent. The canon can be read in Slavic, or in Russian, the effect will be approximately the same, because the canon was written for monks who practically knew the Bible by heart. When a certain name was mentioned in this canon, these monks immediately had an association in their heads with a certain biblical story, which was immediately interpreted allegorically in relation to the soul of a Christian. But today, for most listeners, these associations do not arise, and we do not even remember many of the names that are mentioned in the Great Canon.
Accordingly, people come to the Great Canon, they listen to what the priest reads, but mainly they respond to the chorus: “Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me.” And at the same time, everyone stands with his own prayer, with his own repentance, which in itself, of course, is good and important, but this is not exactly what the Great Canon was written for. Therefore, in order to understand worship, in order to love it, you must, of course, have a good knowledge of the dogmas and know the Bible.
– You communicate a lot with non-church people. What is the most important thing for a clergyman in communicating with a person who is far from the Church?
– I think the most important thing is that we must be able to tell people about God, about Christ, so that their eyes light up, so that their hearts ignite. And in order for this to happen, our own eyes must burn, we must live what we talk about, we must constantly burn with this, we must kindle within ourselves an interest in the Gospel, in the Church, in the sacraments of the church, in the dogmas of the church. And of course, we must be able to talk to people about complex things in simple language.