Experience shows that knowledge of dogmas and canons allows you to protect yourself from the influence of dangerous thoughts and people. By the way a person speaks about them (not to mention whether he observes them or not) it becomes clear whether this is really true. Orthodox man. Even if outwardly everything is fine with him, but his attitude is the most negligent, “creative,” then sooner or later it turns out that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Dogmas speak about God in relation to man and about man in relation to God. The canons regulate the life of the Church and Christians in the disciplinary legal and moral sense. The canon (in the sense of church law) is the fundamental church law that applies throughout the entire Orthodox Church.

There is always an immutable dogmatic point in the idea of ​​a canon. However, in the literal sense, the canon reflects the transitory circumstances of the life of the Church.

The canons are not subject to repeal, but their legal norms are not absolute. Moreover, in the rules themselves one can find an indication of flexibility. A canon may no longer apply because the relationship it regulates has disappeared. At the same time, the rule of the canon can serve as a guide: thus, an indication of the age of deaconesses that do not currently exist (40 years) forms the basis for reasoning about the age of a woman appointed to existing church positions.

The canons, even if they are no longer applied, in any case remain the criteria of church legislation and the basis of church legal consciousness. The canon is a pointer to the correct orientation in current problems church life.

Church knowledge can be divided into four areas:

• dogmas - clear church definitions;
• canons - regulations for the life of the Church and Christians;
• liturgical tradition regulating the liturgical life of the Church;
• Orthodox asceticism is the experience of communion with God, the basic laws of spiritual life and a deep ascetic apparatus designed to help build an Orthodox personal form of spiritual life.

Dogmas about God and His general relationship to the world and man, For example:

1. God exists.

1. original (does not come from anyone or anything, has existence in itself), immutable (“I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6)), eternal (does not depend on time), immeasurable and omnipresent (see, for example, Psalm 138) – so-called. apophatic properties based on the denial of certain qualities inherent in the finite creature;
2. possesses divine intelligence and wisdom, omniscience. God is holy (i.e., guided by the idea of ​​one supreme good). God is omnipotent (Genesis 17, Luke 1:37) and all-blessed, good, and merciful. God is love. And, at the same time, God is fair.

1. God is the Creator of the world. God created the world out of nothing. God created the world with reason and wisdom, will and word. There was no time before God. God created a perfect world.
2. God is the Provider of the world, i.e. cares for the world, preserves it and rules it.

Dogmas about God, Trinity in Persons, For example:

1. God is one in essence, but trinity in persons - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Trinity consubstantial and indivisible (Three independent Persons possessing all perfections, but not three Gods, but God).
2. The three Persons of the Trinity differ in their personal properties: the Father is not begotten of anyone, the Son is begotten of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father.

Dogmas about God as Creator and Provider for the spiritual world, For example:

1. good angels - ministering spirits who serve God, nations, individuals, churches;
2. evil spirits - fallen angels, live in the air, constantly looking for how to destroy a person. The Lord allows and limits their activities.

Dogmas about the relationship of God, as Creator and Provider, to man, For example:

1. Man is created in the image and likeness of God.
2. Only three persons in the entire history of mankind originated in a special way - Adam, Eve and our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone else came from Adam and Eve.
3. A person consists of soul and body.
4. The soul is a higher, spiritual, independent, rational, conscious, free, immortal essence.

Dogmas about God the Savior and His special relationship to the human race, For example:

1. The sin of the forefathers (Adam and Eve) is on all their descendants, i.e. all people. This is universal, original sin.
2. Consequences of the Fall: rupture of communion with God, loss of grace, spiritual death, darkening of the mind, perversion of the will, inclination towards evil rather than good, distortion of the image of God.
3. All creation, through the fall of man, interrupted communication with God, and is tormented to this day (Rom. 8:22).
4. The Lord through His Son was pleased to save people. The Son accomplished this salvation. The Holy Spirit, by His assistance, accomplishes the work of salvation in the hearts of people.

Dogmas about Christ the Savior, For example:

1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the true God.
2. The Lord Jesus Christ is a true but sinless Man, born supernaturally from the Virgin Mary through the action of the Holy Spirit.
3. We are all redeemed by His death and resurrection.
4. Jesus Christ conquered and destroyed hell.
5. Having defeated death by His resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, thereby ascending human nature into heaven and thereby opening the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven for all people.

Dogmas of Sanctification For example:

1. Without Divine help, people cannot be saved.
2. Grace is a special uncreated Divine power.
3. Grace reaches us in the Hypostasis of the Holy Spirit, which is why it is often called the power of the Holy Spirit (although it belongs to all the Persons of the Trinity).
4. Grace is given to people as a result of the feat of Jesus Christ.
5. Grace does not change human nature, but transforms it.

Dogmas about the Holy Church, For example:

1. The Church is a mediator in the matter of sanctification and salvation, founded by our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. There is no salvation outside the Church.
3. Head of the Church – Jesus Christ
4. The Holy Spirit works in the Church.
5. The Church is holy, united, catholic, apostolic.

Dogmas about the Sacraments of the Church, For example:

1. The sacraments are sacred actions through which grace acts on a person in a secret way, i.e. the saving power of God (Long Catechism).
2. The celebrant of the Sacraments is Jesus Christ himself.
3. The Sacrament is valid subject to faith in Christ and the saving power of the Sacraments, and a sincere desire to accept grace.
4. Baptism is performed only once.
5. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, wine and bread are transformed into the Blood and Body of Christ.
6. The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving, propitiation and unification of the entire Church into the Body of Christ.
7. Repentance cures sins.

Dogmas about the Sacrament of the Priesthood:

priesthood is a divine institution, presupposes election from above, and is accomplished through ordination (laying on of hands).

Dogmas about God as Judge and Rewarder:

1. The body is mortal, the soul is immortal.
2. After bodily death, everyone faces a private trial and retribution until the Last Judgment.
3. Retribution after a private trial is just an expectation of bliss or torment. Divine Liturgy, prayers, alms, fasting can change the fate of the deceased.

Dogmas of the General Court:

1. Only God knows the time of the Second Coming.
2. Before the General Judgment, only the soul (not the body) receives reward, both the righteous and sinners are in anticipation (anticipation) of well-deserved bliss or torment; sinners have a chance that, through the prayers of the Church, their fate will change.
3. The Second Coming will be in glory and majesty.
4. The resurrection of the dead will be real, universal and simultaneous, in identical bodies.
5. The living will change instantly and simultaneously.
6. Sinners will be given over to eternal torment along with the devil, the righteous will forever inherit the Kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Once again: both are forever.>

Before we begin this complex, but quite interesting topic, first let’s understand what dogma is. This word s means “decision,” “opinion,” or “ruling.” Basically, the term “dogma” is predominantly used in Christianity, it means something unchangeable and indisputable, defined and approved by the Church and not subject to any criticism or doubt. Dogma refers to theological, revealed truth, which contains the doctrine of God and His economy.

What is dogma

Christian dogmas are considered and established at (meetings of the highest clergy), of which there have been only seven in more than two thousand years. Conscious departure, a different interpretation or rejection of dogmas is called heresy, which often became the cause of religious conflicts. Dogmatic teachings include such disciplines as the Law of God and the Catechism. They contain basic religious tenets, which we will talk about a little later.

Dogmas were established back in apostolic times; Christ revealed to people all the necessary creeds for the salvation of a person’s soul. Dogmas cannot arise suddenly and be innovations. Divine teaching is not so theoretical as it is practical, and therefore incomprehensible to a mind that has not been cleansed of sinful passions.

Tenets of Christianity

As mentioned above, the dogmatic basis of Christianity was formed during the era of the Ecumenical Councils as a response to the spread of various kinds of heretical movements, especially in the 3rd-4th centuries. Each established dogma put a barrier, cut off false understandings and directions of heretical teachings.

Continuing the topic “What is dogma?”, it should be noted that the essence of all divine teachings was already contained in the Holy Scriptures, and at first there was no need to elevate them into the framework of a dogmatic system. But then the human mind nevertheless showed a need for a clear and logical interpretation of a teaching that was still dogmatically unformed and in some places difficult to perceive. In the first centuries this led to the creation of philosophical and theological schools.

The emergence of schools and books

Two of them mainly stood out: Alexandria and Antioch. It was in them that the first heresies began to arise. To discover and then eradicate, Ecumenical Councils began to be convened, at which heretical statements were exposed and the doctrinal truths of the Christian Revelation were established in the form of brief definitions.

Time passed, and already in the 4th century St. Cyril of Jerusalem created the “Catechetical Teaching”, where he revealed the true meaning of the Creed and the main sacraments of the Christian Church.

Literally some time later the “Great Catechetical Word” of St. Gregory of Nyssa, which outlined the important experience of his dogmatic research.

By the 5th century, bishop and theologian Theodoret of Cyrus compiled a textbook, Abridgement of Divine Dogmas. Around the same time, in the West he wrote a book, “Manual for Lavretius,” which is very reminiscent of the Catechism.

Experience

However, one of best works The first millennium is considered to be the treatise “The Source of Knowledge” by John of Damascus, especially the third part of this textbook entitled “An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.”

In the 4th century, the Eastern Fathers of the Church began to call dogmas not all the truths contained in Revelation, but only those that relate to the realm of faith. Thus, St. Gregory of Nyssa divided his own theological teaching into precise dogmas and a moral part. However, the Gospel is not a collection of moralistic precepts. Even the highest morality does not give strength to fulfill its instructions. Only with the assistance of grace man of God can become truly spiritually and morally better and begin to do good. “Without Me you can do nothing,” said Christ.

Dogmas of the Orthodox Christian faith

The main dogma of Orthodoxy comes down to the veneration of the One Trinity: - Mind, God the Son - Word and God the Holy Spirit - Spirit. And Twos: Jesus Christ-God and man. This is taught by the basic religious dogmas for which it is a law that is not subject to any doubt. There are twelve of them in total.

Dogmas of the religion of Orthodox Christianity:

• About the Holy Trinity.
• About the Fall.
• About the Redemption of mankind from sin.
• About the Incarnation of Christ.
• About the Resurrection of Christ.
• About the Ascension of Christ.
• About the Second Coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment.
• About unity, conciliarity and continuity of teaching and priesthood in it.
• About the general resurrection of people and the future life.
• About the two natures of Christ.
• About two wills and actions in Christ.
• About icon veneration.

Conclusion

The simplest manifestation of faith is prayer, and even the shortest and simplest prayer presupposes dogmatic content. Deep and heartfelt trust in the Lord is protected by dogmas, just as wine is protected by the walls of a cup. And if you think that the cup is not yet wine and its walls are something superfluous, then you can immediately be left without wine.

Perhaps now there will be no difficulty in the question of what dogma is. However, the main thing is to understand that the Lord demands from every person: “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.” Where “deny yourself” means “deny your sinfulness and your Self.” A person can achieve this if, in the name of Christ, he begins to crucify sin in himself and around himself, and dies to sin and death in order to come to life for his sinless Savior and enter His Heavenly Kingdom.

Presentation of the dogmas of Orthodox dogmatic theology according to the book: “Guide to the study of Christian, Orthodox dogmatic theology”, M.A.L., M., Synodal Printing House, 1913. – 368 + VIII p. According to the definition of the Holy Governing Synod. Reprint edition of the Center for the Study, Protection and Restoration of the Heritage of Priest Pavel Florensky, St. Petersburg, 1997. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'.

The place of dogmas among other Christian truths: The Truth of Christian Revelation, contained in the Holy Scriptures. Scripture and Holy Traditions are divided into truths of faith and truths of activity.
The truths of faith are divided into those related to the very essence of the Christian religion as a restored union between God and man, called dogmas, and others not related to the essence, which contain historical legends or private sayings of sacred persons.
The truths of activity are divided into definitions of moral behavior and ritual and canonical truths.

Structure of Dogmatic Theology:
I Dogmas about God and His general relationship to the world and man.
II Dogmas about God, Trinity in Persons.
III Dogmas about God as Creator and Provider for the spiritual world.
IV Dogmas about God as Creator and Provider to man.
V Dogmas about God the Savior and His special relationship to the human race.
VI Dogmas about Christ the Savior.
VII Dogmas of Sanctification.
VIII Dogmas of the Holy Church.
IX Dogmas on the Sacraments of the Church.
X Dogmas about the Sacrament of the Priesthood.
XI Dogmas about God as Judge and Rewarder.
XII Dogmas on the General Court.

Dogmas about God about God and his general relationship to the world and man

General properties of the being of God

God is incomprehensible and invisible. God revealed himself to people in creation and in the supernatural Revelation, which was preached by the only begotten Son of God through the Apostles. God is one in essence and threefold in Persons.

God is the Spirit, eternal, all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, unchangeable, all-content, all-blessed.

The nature of God is completely immaterial, not involved in the slightest complexity, simple.

God, as a Spirit, in addition to spiritual nature (substance), has mind and will.

God, as Spirit, is infinite in all respects, otherwise, all-perfect, He is original and independent, immeasurable and omnipresent, eternal and unchangeable, omnipotent and omnipotent, perfect and alien to any deficiency.

Particular properties of the being of God

Originality - everything that has, has from itself.

Independence – in essence, in powers and in actions is determined by Himself.

Immeasurability and omnipresence - not subject to any limitation by space and place.

Eternity - He has neither beginning nor end of his existence.

Immutability - He always remains the same.

Omnipotence - He has unlimited power to produce everything and rule over everything.

Properties of God's Mind

The property of the mind of God in itself is omniscience, i.e. He knows everything and knows it most perfectly.

The property of God's mind in relation to his actions is the highest wisdom, i.e. perfect knowledge of the best purposes and the best means, the most perfect art of applying the latter to the former.

Properties of God's Will

The properties of God's will in itself are extremely free and all-holy, i.e. pure from all sin.

The property of God's will in relation to all creatures is all-good, and in relation to rational creatures it is true and faithful, since it reveals itself to them as moral law, and also just, since he rewards them according to their deserts.

Unity of God in essence

God is one.

Dogmas about God, trinitarian in persons

There are essentially three Persons or Hypostases in the One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Three Persons in God are equal to each other and consubstantial.

The Three Persons are different in their personal properties: the Father is not born of anyone, the Son is born of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father.

(The hypostases are inseparable and unmerged; the birth of the Son never began, never ended, the Son was born from the Father, but was not separated from him, He abides in the Father; God the Holy Spirit eternally emanates from the Father.)

Dogmas about God as creator and provider for the spiritual world

The spiritual world is made up of two kinds of spirits: good, called Angels, and evil, called demons.

Angels and demons were created by God.

Demons became evil from good spirits of their own free will with the connivance of God.

God, as a Provider, gave both Angels and demons nature, powers and abilities.

God assists the Angels in their good activities and controls them in accordance with the purpose of their existence.

God allowed the fall of demons and allows their evil activity, and limits it, directing it, if possible, to good goals.

By their nature, Angels are disembodied spirits, the most perfect of the human soul, but limited.

The angelic world is unusually great.

Angels glorify God, serve Him, serve people in this world, guiding them to the kingdom of God.

The Lord gives a special Guardian Angel to each of the believers.

The devil and his angels (demons) are personal and real beings.

Demons by their nature are ethereal spirits, the highest of the human soul, but limited.

Demons cannot use violence against any person unless God allows them.

The devil acts both as an enemy of God and as an enemy of man.

God destroys the kingdom of demons on earth through the ceaseless expansion of His blessed kingdom.

God gave people Divine powers against demons (prayer, etc.).

God allows the activities of demons aimed at the destruction of humanity for the moral benefit of people and their salvation.

Dogmas about the relationship of God, as a creator and provider, to man

Man is created in the image and likeness of God.

God created man so that he would know God, love and glorify Him, and through this he would be eternally blissful.

God created the first people, Adam and Eve, in a special way, different from the creation of His other creatures.

The human race originated from Adam and Eve.

Man consists of an immaterial soul and a material body.

The soul, the highest and most excellent part of man, is an independent being, immaterial and simple, free, immortal. The purpose of man is that he invariably remain faithful to the high covenant or union with God, to which the All-Good One called him at creation itself, so that he strives for his Prototype with all the strength of his rationally free soul, i.e. knew his Creator and glorified him, lived for Him and in moral unity with Him.

The fall of man was allowed by God.

Heaven was a place to live a happy and blissful life, both sensual and spiritual. Man in Paradise was immortal. It is not true that Adam could not die, he could not die. Adam had to make and maintain Paradise. To instruct the truth of faith, God honored some people with His revelations, appeared to them Himself, talked with them, and revealed His will to them.

God created man fully capable of achieving the goal He established, i.e. perfect, both in soul, mentally and morally, and perfect in body.

In order to exercise and strengthen moral powers in goodness, God commanded man not to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A person did not keep the commandments, then he lost his dignity.

All people came from Adam and his sin is the sin of all people.

God has given His grace to man from the very beginning.

The devil was hidden in the snake that seduced Adam and Eve. Eve was carried away by the dream of becoming equal to God, Adam fell due to addiction to his wife.

Death came to man from the envy of the devil towards God.

Consequences of a fall in the soul: dissolution of union with God, loss of grace, spiritual death, darkening of the mind, degradation of the will and its inclination towards evil rather than good, distortion of the image of God.

Consequences of a fall for the body: illness, sorrow, exhaustion, death.

Consequence for the external state of a person: loss or decrease in power over animals, loss of fertility of the earth.

The consequences of the fall extended to all of humanity. Original sin universal

After the fall of Adam and Eve, God did not stop providing for man. He is the king of all the earth, he rules over the nations and watches over them. He places kings over the peoples, grants them Power and strength, and rules earthly kingdoms through kings. He supplies lower powers through kings, and supplies His servants (Angels) to create the happiness of human societies.

God provides for individual people and, in particular, for guides, protects us throughout our lives, assists us in our activities, and sets a limit for our earthly life and activities.

God provides in natural ways (preserves people and helps them) and supernaturally (miracles and actions of Divine economy).

Dogmas about God the Savior and his special relationship to the human race

God sent His Only Begotten Son into the vale of the earth, so that He, having received flesh from the Most Pure Virgin through the action of the Holy Spirit, would redeem man and bring him into His Kingdom in much greater glory than what he had in Paradise.

God is our Savior in general, since all Persons participated in the work of our salvation Holy Trinity.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith and salvation.

In the Person of Jesus Christ, each of His natures transfers its properties to the other, and namely, what is characteristic of Him in humanity is assimilated to Him as God, and what is characteristic of Him in Divinity is assimilated to Him as a man.

The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord Jesus, not according to His Divinity, but according to humanity, which, however, from the very moment of His incarnation, became inseparably and hypostatically united in Him with His Divinity, and became His own Divine Person.

Not the entire Holy Trinity was incarnated in Jesus Christ, but only one Son
God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. The attitude of the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity did not change in the least through His incarnation, and after the incarnation, God the Word remains the same Son of God as He was before. The Son of God the Father is natural, not adopted. Jesus Christ was anointed as high priest, king and prophet for the threefold ministry of the human race, through which he accomplished his salvation.

Dogmas about Christ the Saviors

The One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, for the sake of man and the human race of salvation, came down from Heaven and was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.

Jesus Christ, perfect in Godhead and perfect in humanity; truly God and truly man; also from soul and body; consubstantial with the Father in Divinity and consubstantial with people in humanity; in every way similar to people, except for sin; born before the age from the Father according to Divinity, in the last days born for our sake and for the sake of our salvation from Mary the Virgin Mother of God, according to humanity; The Only Begotten, in two natures unfused, unchangeable, inseparably, inseparably cognizable; not into two persons, cut or divided, but one Son and the Only Begotten God the Word.

How the two natures in Jesus Christ, Divine and human, despite all their differences, were united into one Hypostasis; how He, being perfect God and perfect man, is but one Person; this, according to the Word of God, is the great mystery of piety, and, therefore, inaccessible to our mind. The Lord performed prophetic service directly, having assumed the office of a public Teacher, and through His disciples. The teaching consists of the law of faith and the law of activity and is entirely aimed at the salvation of mankind.

The law of faith is about God, the highest and most perfect Spirit, one in essence, but threefold in Persons, original, omnipresent, all-good, omnipotent, Creator and Provider of the universe, Who fatherly cares for all His creatures, especially for the human race.

About Himself as the Only Begotten Son of God, who came into the world to reconcile and reunite man with God.

About His saving suffering, death and resurrection; about fallen, damaged man and about the means by which he can rise and assimilate salvation for himself, become sanctified, reunite with God through his redeemer and achieve an ever-blessed life beyond the grave.

Christ expressed the law of activity in two main commandments: eradication in us of the very beginning of all sin - pride or self-love, cleansing from all filth of the flesh and spirit; love for God and neighbors with the goal of rooting in us, instead of the previous sinful one, the seed of a new life, holy and pleasing to God, to bring into us a union of moral perfection.

In order to excite people to accept and fulfill the laws of faith and activity, the Lord Jesus pointed to the greatest disasters and eternal torment, which all sinners will inevitably undergo if they do not follow His teachings, but also to the greatest and eternal blessings that the Heavenly Father has prepared, also for the sake of His merits beloved Son, for all the righteous who follow His teaching.

Jesus Christ gave the law for all people and for all times.

Jesus Christ taught the law that is saving and therefore necessary for achieving eternal life.

As a prophet, Christ the Savior only announced to us about salvation, but had not yet accomplished salvation itself: he enlightened our minds with the light of true knowledge of God, testified about himself that he is the true Messiah, explained how he would save us, and showed us the direct the path to eternal life.

The high priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was the work through which eternal life was earned for us.

He did this, following the custom of the Old Testament high priests, offering Himself as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world, and thus reconciled us with God, delivered us from sin and its consequences, and acquired eternal blessings for us.

Christ the Savior, in order to satisfy the eternal Truth for all these human sins, deigned, in their place, to fulfill God’s will for people in its entirety and breadth, to show in himself the most perfect example of obedience to it and to humble and abase Himself for our sake to the last degree.

Christ, the God-man, in order to save people from all these disasters and suffering, deigned to take upon Himself all the wrath of God, to endure for us everything that we deserved for our iniquities.

The high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ embraces His entire earthly life. He constantly bore His cross of self-sacrifice, obedience, suffering and sorrow.

The death of Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for us. He paid with His blood the debt to the Truth of God for our sins, which we ourselves were not able to pay, and He himself was not in debt to God. This replacement was the will and consent of God, because The Son of God came to earth to do not His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him.

The sacrifice made for us by Christ the Savior on the cross is a comprehensive sacrifice. It extends to all people, to all sins and to all times. By His death He earned for us the kingdom of heaven.

The royal ministry of the Lord Jesus lies in the fact that He, having the power of a King, as a proof of the divinity of His gospel, performed a number of signs and wonders without which people could not believe in Him; and, in addition, to destroy the realm of the devil - hell, to truly defeat death and open for us the entrance to the kingdom of heaven.

In His miracles He demonstrated power over all nature: He transformed water into wine, walked on waters, tamed the storm of the sea with one word, healed all kinds of diseases with one word or touch, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and tongue to the dumb.

He demonstrated his power over the forces of hell. With one command He cast out unclean spirits from people; the demons themselves, learning about His power, trembled at His power.

Jesus Christ defeated and destroyed hell when by His death He abolished the ruler of the power of death - the devil; He descended into hell with His soul, like God, to preach salvation to the captives of hell, and brought from there all the Old Testament righteous people to the bright abodes of the Heavenly Father.

Jesus Christ conquered death by His resurrection. As a result of the resurrection of Christ, we will all one day be resurrected, since through faith in Christ and through communion with His holy sacraments we become partakers of Him.

After the liberation of the Old Testament righteous from hell, Jesus Christ solemnly ascended to heaven with the human nature He assumed and, thus, opened for all people free entry into the kingdom of heaven.

Dogmas of Sanctification

In order for every person to become a partaker of salvation, it is necessary to sanctify the person, i.e. the actual assimilation by each of us of the merits of Christ, or such a matter in which the all-holy God, under certain conditions on our part, really cleanses us from sins, justifies us and makes us sanctified and holy.

All Persons of the Holy Trinity participate in the work of our sanctification: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father appears to be the source of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit appears to be the accomplisher of our sanctification. The Son appears to be the author of our sanctification.

The grace of God, i.e. the saving power of God is communicated to us for the sake of the merits of our Redeemer and accomplishes our sanctification.

Particular types of grace: external, acting through the Word of God, the Gospel, miracles, etc.; internal, acting directly in a person, destroying sins in him, enlightening the mind, directing his will to good; transitory, producing private impressions and contributing to private good deeds; a constant that constantly dwells in a person’s soul and makes him righteous; preceding, preceding a good deed; accompanying, which accompanies good deeds; sufficient gives a person sufficient strength and convenience to act; effective, accompanied by human action that bears fruit.

God foresaw that some people would use their free will well, and others poorly: therefore, He predestined some to glory, and condemned others.

The prevenient grace of God, like a light that enlightens those who walk in darkness, guides everyone. Therefore, those who wish to freely submit to her and fulfill her commands, which are necessary for salvation, therefore receive special grace. Those who do not want to obey and follow grace, and therefore do not keep the commandments of God, but, following the suggestions of Satan, abuse their freedom given to them by God so that they arbitrarily do good, are subject to eternal condemnation.

The grace of God extends to all people, and not only to those predestined to a righteous life; God's predestination of some to eternal bliss, others to eternal damnation, is not unconditional, but conditional, and is based on the foreknowledge of whether they will or will not use grace; God's grace does not restrict human freedom and does not act irresistibly on us; man actively participates in what the grace of God accomplishes in him and through him.

Dogmas about the Holy Church

The Church of Christ is called either the society of all rationally free beings, i.e. angels and people who believe in Christ the Savior and are united in Him as their single head; or a society of people who believed and believe in Christ, whenever they lived and wherever they are now; either only the New Testament and militant or the grateful Kingdom of Christ.

The Lord Jesus wanted people to accept new faith, they did not support it separately from each other, but for this purpose they formed a certain community of believers.

Christ laid the beginning and foundation for His Church by choosing His first twelve disciples, who formed His first Church. He also established an order of teachers who would spread His faith among the nations; established the Sacraments of baptism, Eucharist and repentance.

Christ founded or established His Church only on the cross, where He acquired it with His blood. For only on the cross did the Lord redeem us and reunite us with God, only after suffering on the cross did He enter into the glory of God and could send down the Holy Spirit to His disciples.

Endowed with power from above, the holy Apostles from believers in different places tried to form societies that were called churches; commanded these believers to have meetings to hear the word of God and offer prayers; exhorted them that they all formed one body of the Lord Jesus; they were commanded not to leave their meeting under fear of excommunication from the Church.

All people are called to be members of the Church, but not all are actually members. Only those who are baptized belong to the Church. Those who have sinned but profess the pure faith of Christ also belong to the church, so long as they do not become apostates. Apostates, heretics, renegades (or schismatics) are cut off as dead members by the invisible action of God's judgment.

The purpose of the Church, for which the Lord founded it, is the sanctification of sinners, and then reunification with God. To achieve this goal, the Lord Jesus gave His Church Divine teaching and established the order of teachers; He established holy sacraments and sacred rites in general in His Church, and established spiritual administration and rulers in His Church. is obliged to preserve the precious deposit of the saving teaching of faith and to spread this teaching among the nations; preserve and use the Divine sacraments and sacred rites in general for the benefit of people; preserve the governance established by God in it and use it in accordance with the intention of the Lord.

The church is divided into flock and hierarchy. The flock consists of all believers in the Lord Jesus, while the hierarchy, or hierarchy, is a special God-established class of people whom the Lord has authorized alone to manage the means that He has given to the Church for its purpose.

The three degrees of the Divinely established hierarchy are bishops, priests and deacons. The bishop in his private church or diocese is the locum tenens of Christ and, therefore, the chief superior over the entire hierarchy subordinate to him and over the entire flock. He is the main teacher for both ordinary believers and pastors. The bishop is the first celebrant of the holy sacraments in his private church. He alone has the right to ordain a priest on the basis of the word of God, the rules of the holy Apostles and holy Councils. The priest has the power to perform the sacraments and generally sacred rites, except those belonging to the bishop. He is subject to the constant supervision, authority and judgment of his archpastor. Deacons are the eye and ear of the bishop and priest.

Twice a year, a council of bishops, private or local, should meet to discuss the dogmas of piety and resolve church disagreements that occur.

The concentration of spiritual power for the universal Church is in the Ecumenical Councils.

The true Head of the Church is Jesus Christ, who holds the helm of the rule of the Church and revives it with the one and saving grace of the Holy Spirit.

The Church is one, holy, catholic and saving. It is united in its beginning and foundation, in its structure, external (division into shepherds and flocks), internal (the union of all believers in Jesus Christ as the true Head of the Church); according to your goal. It is holy in its origin and foundation; according to its purpose, according to its structure (its Head is the All-Holy Lord Jesus; the Holy Spirit dwells in it with all the grace-filled gifts that sanctify us; and a number of others). It is conciliar, otherwise catholic or universal in space (intended to embrace all people, no matter where they live on earth); in time (intended to lead to faith in Christ and exist until the end of time); according to its structure (the teaching of the Church can be accepted by all people, educated and uneducated, without being connected with the civil structure and, therefore, with any specific place and time). It is apostolic in origin (since the Apostles were the first to accept the power to spread the Christian faith and founded many private churches); according to its structure (the Church originates from the Apostles themselves through the continuous succession of bishops, borrows its teaching from the writings and traditions of the apostles, rules the believers according to the rules of the holy apostles).

Outside the Church there is no salvation for a person, since faith in Jesus Christ is necessary. who reconciled us with God, and faith remains intact only in His Church; participation in the holy sacraments, which are performed only in the Church; a good, pious life, cleansing from sins, which is possible only under the leadership of the Church.

Dogmas about the sacraments of the Church

A sacrament is a sacred action that, under a visible image, imparts to the soul of the believer the invisible grace of God.

The essential accessories of each sacrament are considered to be the Divine institution of the sacrament, some visible or sensory image, and the communication of invisible grace to the soul of the believer by the sacrament.

There are seven sacraments in total: baptism, confirmation, communion, repentance, priesthood. marriage, unction.

Dogmas about the sacraments of the Church

In baptism a person is mysteriously born into spiritual life; in anointing he receives restoring and strengthening grace; in communion he is nourished spiritually; in repentance one is cured of spiritual illnesses, i.e. from sins; in the priesthood he receives the grace to spiritually regenerate and educate others through teaching and sacraments; in marriage he receives grace that sanctifies marriage and the natural birth and upbringing of children; in the consecration of oil, one is healed from bodily diseases through healing from spiritual diseases.

(The following are dogmas about the sacraments as institutions of God, their purpose and their reality; about visible side sacraments and its invisible actions; determining the requirements for those performing the sacrament and those approaching it; about the properties imparted by the sacrament.)

DOGMA ABOUT THE SACRAMENT OF PRIESTHOOD

So that people could become shepherds of Christ's Church and receive the power to perform the Sacraments, the Lord established another special Sacrament, the Sacrament of the Priesthood.

Priesthood is such a sacred act in which, through the prayerful laying on of the hands of the bishops on the head of the chosen person, God's grace is brought down to this person, sanctifying and placing him on a certain level church hierarchy, and then assisting him in the passage of hierarchical responsibilities.

Dogmas about God as a judge and rewarder

God accomplishes the great work of sanctifying people or assimilating the merits of Christ in no other way than with the free participation of the people themselves, under the conditions of their faith and good deeds. For the accomplishment of this work, God has appointed a limit: for private individuals it continues until the end of their earthly life, and for the entire human race it will continue until the very end of the world. At the end of both periods, God is and has to appear as the Judge and Rewarder for every person and all of humanity. He demands and will demand from people an account of how they used the means given for their sanctification and salvation, and will reward everyone according to their deserts.

The entire Holy Trinity participates in the matter of judging us and rewarding us.

The death of a person is an essential circumstance preceding this trial.

Death is the separation of the soul from the body, the cause of death lies in its fall into sin, death is the common destiny of the entire human race, death is the limit by which the time of exploits ends and the time of retribution begins.

The souls of the dead are blissful or tormented, depending on their deeds. However, neither this bliss nor this torment is perfect. They receive them perfect after the general resurrection.

Retribution to the righteous by the will of the heavenly Judge has two types: their glorification in heaven and their glorification on earth - in the militant Church.

The glorification of the righteous, after their death, on earth is expressed by the fact that the earthly Church honors them as saints and friends of God and calls them in prayers as intercessors before God; honors their very relics and other remains, as well as their sacred images or icons.

Sinners go with their souls to hell - a place of sadness and sorrow. Full and final reward for sinners will be at the end of this age.

Sinners who repented before death, but did not have time to bear fruits worthy of repentance (prayer, contrition, consolation of the poor and expression of love for God in their actions), still have the opportunity to receive relief from suffering and even complete liberation from the bonds of hell. But they can only be received by the goodness of God, through the prayers of the Church and charity.

Dogmas about universal judgment

The day will come, the last day for the entire human race, the day of the end of the age and the world, the day established by God, who wants to carry out a general and decisive Judgment - the day of judgment.

On this day Jesus Christ will appear in His glory to judge the living and the dead. The Lord did not reveal to us when this great day would come, for our own moral benefit.

Signs of the coming of the Great Judgment: extraordinary successes of good on earth, the spread of the Gospel of Christ throughout the world; extraordinary successes of evil and the appearance on earth of the Antichrist, an instrument of the devil.

On the day of general judgment, the Lord will come from heaven - the Judge of the living and the dead, Who will abolish the Antichrist by the appearance of His coming; at the voice of the Lord the dead will rise for judgment and the living will be changed; the very judgment of both will take place; the end of the world and the gracious kingdom of Christ will follow.

At the conclusion of the general judgment, the righteous Judge will pronounce His final verdict on both the righteous and sinners. This retribution will be complete, perfect, decisive.

Retribution for both the righteous and sinners will be proportionate to their good deeds and their sins and extends from different degrees of eternal bliss to different degrees of eternal torment.

Translation from Serbian by Sergei Fonov

Rev. Justin Popovich

§ 1. The concept of dogma

The very term “dogmatics” contains the subject of dogmatics and the concept of it, which themselves suggest a logical definition: dogmatics is the science of dogmas Christian faith. But since in different Christian denominations dogmas can be understood and interpreted differently, then the Orthodox Church, expounding and interpreting the revealed dogmas in the spirit of the Gospel, apostolic and ecumenical, calls its dogma Orthodox, thereby distinguishing it and protecting it from non-evangelical, non-apostolic, non-ecumenical, non-Orthodox understandings of the dogmas of salvation. Consequently, Orthodox dogmatics is a science that systematically and in the spirit of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church expounds and interprets the dogmas of the Christian faith.

§ 2. The concept of dogmas

Dogmas are God-revealed eternal truths of faith, contained in Holy Revelation and preserved, explained and communicated by the Church as Divine, life-giving and unchangeable rules of salvation. The word “dogma” itself is of Greek origin, it is formed from the verb dokein (to think, to believe, (in the 3rd person dedoktai - decided, to consider, to believe) in its form dedogmai defined) and etymologically means a thought that has received its definition and approved as an indisputable logical truth in any sphere of human activity: philosophical, religious, legislative. Ancient Greek and Roman writers use the word “dogma” in a philosophical, moral, legislative sense with the meaning of “teaching”, “rule”, which, due to its undeniable truth, for many acquired the meaning of a logically and factually obligatory truth, commandment, law, prescription (command).

In the Old Testament, the word “dogma” means, on the one hand, political orders, state decrees and laws (see: Dan. 2, 13; 3, 10; 6, 8–9; Esther 3, 9), and on the other - the commandments of the Mosaic Law (see: Ezek. 20, 24) or regulations relating to religious life in general (see: 2 Mac. 10, 8; 15, 36).

In the New Testament, the word “dogma” is used five times in a double sense: politically - and means royal decrees and commands (see: Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7) - and religiously, reflecting the requirements of the Mosaic Law, which had in due time, binding force for every Jew (see: Col. 2, 14), as well as New Testament decrees, binding for all members of Christ’s Church. For in the Acts of the Holy Apostles it is said that the apostles Paul and Timothy commanded the faithful to observe the decrees decreed by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (Acts 16:4). Drawing a distinction between the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law and the New Testament truths and dogmas, the Apostle Paul says that the Lord Jesus Christ abolished the law of the commandments (of Moses) with dogmas (cf. Eph. 2:15).

Consequently, since apostolic times, the church meaning of the word “dogma” has been formed as the Divine, indisputable, absolute and generally binding truth of faith. The great zealot of the God-given, apostolic Tradition, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, calls the basic truths of faith contained in the Symbol of the Church of Jerusalem necessary dogmas, dogmas of piety, and the feat of faith by which they are acquired, he calls the dogmatic image of faith. He calls the entire New Testament teaching about God dogmas about God, and considers the personal and life-giving assimilation of these dogmas to be active faith a necessary condition salvation, concluding: “The greatest benefit is the study of dogmas.” Having listed all the New Testament truths about God, the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, about good and evil and in general about the economy of salvation, Saint Gregory the Theologian calls on the catechumens to affirm their good, their salvation, their new life “on the basis of these dogmas.” Saint Gregory of Nyssa divides all Christian teaching into two parts: the moral part and the exact dogmas. Saint John Chrysostom understands the Christian doctrine by dogmas, and Vincent of Lerins calls the universal faith the universal dogma. At the Ecumenical Councils, the word “dogma” was used in the meaning of “the truth of Christian doctrine,” and the holy fathers at the Councils called their definitions of faith dogmas, while all other decisions and regulations were called canons and rules. This is partly reflected in the fact that the Church gives the name dogmatist to those liturgical stichera that contain the doctrine of the Most Holy Theotokos, the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the two natures in one Person of the God-Man.

Thus, in the language of the Church, dogmas in strictly speaking This word refers only to those revealed truths that relate to faith, in contrast to revealed truths of a moral, ritual and canonical nature, but one should never lose sight of the fact that they all, in the end, constitute one indivisible whole.

§ 3. Properties of dogmas

What makes dogmas eternal Divine truths and characterizes them as such are their special properties: revelation of God, churchliness, universal bindingness and immutability.

a) Divine revelation is the main property that makes dogmas dogmas, for it affirms their Divine origin. According to this, dogmas are not only truths of faith, but truths of faith revealed by God Himself. Their divine origin makes them irrefutably true, eternal, saving, incomprehensible, super-intelligent. If God Himself had not revealed the dogmas, neither rational humanity as a whole, much less the mind of an individual person, would ever have been able to reach them through any effort. Consequently, dogmas are the subject of faith; they are accepted by faith as supra-rational divine truths, which the Church emphasizes by beginning the Creed with the word “I believe...”. Having Divine origin, dogmas contain divinely revealed truths about the Trinity Divinity and His relationship to the world and man, that is, about God as Creator, about God as Provider, about God as Redeemer, about God as Sanctifier and about God as Judge. And in all this, only God knows Himself, therefore only He can reveal Himself and His truths (see: Matthew 11:27). He does this through His incarnate Only Begotten Son (see: John 1:18, 14), in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9), and thereby all the fullness of the Divine truths that He reveals according to His Divine favor to those who believe in Him, live by Him and for His sake. Due to the fact that these dogmatic truths are the truths of Christ, they are Divine, eternal, unchangeable and absolutely reliable (see: John 14, 6; 1, 17; 8, 12; 12, 35, 46). They are the perfect and complete Revelation of God, that is, the last word that God directly proclaims to people through His Only Begotten Son (see: Heb. 1:1).

Divine origin distinguishes Christian dogmas as eternal Divine truths from the dogmas of non-Christian religions and philosophical teachings as human, relative, transitory truths. Outside of Christ's Revelation there are no eternal, Divine dogmatic truths and there cannot be. Divine dogmas are given once and for all in Holy Revelation, and the Church as such preserves and confesses them. Bearing in mind the Divine origin of dogmas and everything that follows from this, the Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church call dogmas the dogmas of God, the dogmas of Christ, the dogmas of the Lord, the dogmas of the Gospel, the Divine dogmas, the apostolic dogmas, the dogmas of truth, the dogmas of heavenly philosophy. Saint Basil the Great writes: “Of the dogmas and sermons preserved in the Church, some we have from written teaching (that is, Holy Scripture), and others that have come to us from the Apostolic Tradition, we have received mysteriously, but both have the same power for piety."

b) Churchness is the second distinctive property of each dogma. Due to the fact that dogmas are the work of Revelation, they are also the work of the Church. For the Church is the Body of Revelation. Undoubtedly, Divine Revelation contains all the dogmatic truths of faith, but since Revelation resides only in the Church, the verbal formulation and interpretation of holy dogmas belongs to the Church as the Theanthropic Body of Christ, living and acting by the Holy Spirit. In this activity she is infallible, for her Head is the sinless Lord Jesus Christ, and her soul is the Holy Spirit of truth, guiding into all truth (cf. Eph. 1:23; 5:23; Col. 1:18, 24; John 16:13). It is obvious that churchliness as a property of dogmas is organically and logically determined by their revelation to God and vice versa. However, no human logic can draw a dividing line between revelation and churchliness as properties of dogmas, just as it cannot be drawn between Revelation and the Church. For Revelation is Revelation by the Church and in the Church, just as the Church is the Church by Revelation and in Revelation. By the immutability of their natures, they are internally inextricably connected and interdependent. Outside the Church there can be no dogmas, for outside it there can be no true Divine Revelation. Dogma is dogma only by the Church, in the Church, through the Church. Since the Church is the only guardian and interpreter of the Holy Revelation appointed by God, she is also the only authorized judge who, by Divine gift and right, infallibly distinguishes true Revelation from false, determines the canonicity of the holy books and proclaims revealed truths as dogmas. Outside of it, without it, bypassing it, the eternal truths of Revelation themselves, losing their Divine truth, constancy and immutability, become the prey of self-willed human morals. We see an example of this in heretics, who are usually distinguished by the fact that they interpret the eternal and supramental truths of Revelation according to their own understanding, not at all guided by the holy, conciliar, apostolic, universal reason of the Church. The Lord Jesus Christ made the Church His Theanthropic Body, filled it forever with the Spirit of Truth and determined for it to be the pillar and foundation of the truth (cf.: 1 Tim. 3, 15; see: John 16, 13; 8, 32, 34, 36) , so that through all centuries she will serve as a fearless guardian and infallible interpreter of the eternal, Divine truths of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. As such, she can neither sin, nor deceive, nor be mistaken. Her word in all matters of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition is the word of God Himself. In it and by it the Lord Jesus Christ speaks by His Holy Spirit, guiding believers to all the truth of Holy Revelation. The first proof of this is contained in the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, when the Church, represented by its representatives, guided by the Holy Spirit, promulgates dogmatic decrees that are binding on all members of the Church, with the words: For it was good for the Holy Spirit and for us (Acts 15:28; cf.: 16 , 4).

In accordance with this divinely revealed, apostolic principle, all the Holy Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church took place, infallibly interpreting and proclaiming the Divine dogmas of the Holy Revelation. Since the Church has such God-given power and the right to establish holy dogmas, the holy fathers call the dogmas dogmas of the Church, church dogmas. Consequently, only one who believes and accepts all the dogmas of faith can be a member of the Church as the Church contains and explains them; and the one who opposes this, rejecting them or distorting them, is cut off by the Church from her Theanthropic Body and excommunicated. Having listed all the dogmas of the previous Ecumenical Councils, the Holy Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council decree: “If anyone of all does not contain and accept the above-mentioned dogmas of piety, and does not think and preach like this, but attempts to go against them: let him be anathema... from the Christian class, as an alien, let him be excluded and cast out" (Rule 1 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council).

c) The universality of dogmas, commanded by the holy fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, is a natural consequence of their Divine origin and necessity for the salvation of every member of the Church. Revealed by the Trisolar Deity, approved and promulgated by the Church of Christ as eternal, Divine truths, immutable for salvation, the dogmas are thereby obligatory for everyone who wants to be saved. Renunciation of them is a renunciation of the Savior and His redemptive feat of salvation [of the human race]. The assimilation of dogmas by faith as eternal, saving and life-giving truths of God brings salvation to every person and eternal life. In their divinely revealed purity and truth, dogmas are necessary for salvation; anyone who attempts to replace or alter them incurs a terrible apostolic anathema: If we, or an angel from heaven, bring you good news, let him be anathema (Gal. 1:8; cf. 1 John 2:21-22). By the authority given to her by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (see: John 20:21–23; Matt. 18:17–18), the Church has acted and always does this (see: Canon 1 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council). From everyone who approaches it, it requires confession of all Divine dogmas of faith; and if he tolerates various sinners within himself, trying to correct and save them, then in accordance with the commandments of the Savior (see: Matt. 18, 17-18; 10, 32-33; Mark 8, 38; Luke 9, 26; 12:9; cf. 2 Tim. 2:12), excommunicates those who oppose the holy dogmas or pervert them.

Acceptance of dogmas is a universally binding, indispensable condition for salvation also because the moral life of people depends on it. Having assimilated by faith the eternal dogmatic truths of Revelation, man, through the gospel deeds of prayer, fasting, love, hope, meekness, humility, mercy, love of truth and the Holy Sacraments, transforms them into his nature, gradually growing in the age of God in order to come to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4 , 13; cf.: Col. 2, 19). Since holy dogmas are eternal and saving Divine truths by the life-giving power of the Trinity Divinity, from Whom they are taught, then they contain all the power of new life according to Christ, all the power of grace-filled gospel morality. They are truly the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Due to the fact that these are the words of Christ, they are spirit and life (John 6:63). Without believing in them, no one can either know the eternal meaning of this temporary life, or be rewarded with blessed immortality and eternal life (see: John 6:69; 14:6; 1 John 5:20). Only when, through the feat of active faith, a person assimilates the eternal dogmatic truths of Christ, only then does he become a branch on the Divine vine - Christ, and the juices of eternal, Divine life begin to flow through him, strengthening him to bear much fruit for eternal life (see: John 15, 2–7). This is the only path along which a person fertilizes his nature, which has been deprived of fruitfulness by sin, with immortality and eternity. There is no other way. A person is capable of growing into the height of Divine perfections (see: Matt. 5:48) if, by the feat of selfless faith, he makes himself a sharer of the root of Divine, Christ truths (cf.: Rom. 11:17).

In reality, dogmas are Divine commandments, Divine rules of new life in the Holy Spirit: after all, with their imperishable light they illuminate the believer’s entire path from the dark cave of the flesh into the heavenly azure of Christ’s eternity. It follows that Orthodox ethics is nothing more than dogmatics embodied in life. New life in Christ everything is woven from the dogmatic truths of Holy Revelation. For the Church is the Body in which divine dogmatic truths flow like blood, reviving with eternal life all parts of the divine-human organism. In the mysterious, grace-filled Body of the Church, everything - by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit - is connected into one miraculous Divine-human whole. Whoever, through the Orthodox feat of faith, integrates himself into the Theanthropic Body of Christ's Church, will feel with his whole being that dogmas are holy, life-giving forces, gradually regenerating him from mortal to immortal, from temporary to eternal. At the same time, he will begin to realize with all his soul that life-giving dogmatic truths are absolutely necessary in the sphere human life and thinking and that therefore the Church is absolutely right in excommunicating those who reject dogmas or those who distort and reinterpret them. Rejection or distortion of dogmas is tantamount to spiritual suicide, for such a person cuts himself off from the life-giving Body of the Church, thereby interrupting the vital connection between himself and the grace-filled forces of the Church, which alone can fill a person with eternal, Divine life and transfer him from death to this eternal life. The indispensability of holy dogmas justifies all the zeal of the Church regarding the truths of the faith and explains all its God-wise determination in excommunicating those who reject or pervert the Divine dogmas. If the Church became indifferent to this, it would cease to be the Church, since it would thereby confirm that it does not realize the indispensability, life-giving and saving power of the eternal, Divine truths contained in the holy dogmas of Revelation.

Dogmas are generally binding truths of faith also because they are God-given norms of correct religious thinking and correct religious feeling. Relying on them, every Christian can elevate his thoughts and feelings to unattainable divine perfections. Outside of them, he constantly drowns in the quicksand of human relativism until it completely swallows him. Nowhere - neither on earth nor in heaven - is there greater freedom and more favorable opportunities for the immortal activity of human thought and feeling, as in the Divine, dogmatic truths of the Church, for they introduce man into the Kingdom of the Trinity Divinity, in which everything is infinite, eternal and immeasurable . Is there anywhere greater freedom than in the inexhaustible depths and boundless heights of God’s Spirit? The Apostle, who says: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, proclaims eternal truth (2 Cor. 3:17; cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-12; Rom. 8:16).

d) Immutability as a property of dogmas follows from their divine revelation, churchliness and necessity for human life and salvation. As God-given rules of faith, on the assimilation of which the salvation of people depends, dogmas are unchangeable and inviolable, therefore the Ecumenical Christ Church anathema protects their immutability from those who encroach on it (see: Rule 1 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council). Just as God does not change, so His truths are immutable. Since dogmas are eternal, Divine truths, they do not change and cannot change, for they are from God, with whom there is no change or shadow of turning (James 1:17). The dogmas taught to the Church by God Himself, formulated and approved by the Church, are alien to any evolution, multiplication or reduction. “The dogmas of God are unchangeable,” says Saint Basil the Great. “The dogmas of heavenly philosophy,” writes Vikenty Lerinsky, “cannot be subject to any change, reduction or distortion, unlike earthly decrees, which can only be improved by constant amendments and notes.”

From the indicated properties that characterize dogmas as eternal, Divine truths, it follows that dogmas are the truths of Revelation, given by God to the Church as Divine, unchangeable and obligatory for all true rules of faith, without which and outside of which there is neither salvation nor knowledge of eternal life, no meaning in life.

§ 4. Dogmas and Holy Revelation

Divine Revelation is the only source of dogma. The Trinity Deity revealed Himself and His truths to people, so that they, having a correct idea of ​​Him and correct faith in Him, and also living by Him and His Divine truths, would find salvation for themselves from evil and sin and eternal life. God taught this Revelation gradually, through the holy Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, in order to finally fully announce it and complete it with His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In many parts and in many ways, God of old, who was spoken by the Father as a prophet, in these last days spoke to us in the Son, Who set the heir to all, and in Him created the eyelids. In announcing His Revelation, God did not inflict any violence on the human mind and feelings, for He announced such Divine truths that people would never have comprehended either by the impulse of their thoughts or by the strength of their own sensations. By His Holy Spirit, God taught people what no human eye could ever see, no ear hear, no heart feel - he revealed the wisdom hidden in the mystery of His Most Holy Being (see: 1 Cor. 2, 9, 10, 7 ). This God's wisdom - eternal, infinite, surpassing reason - could be taught to people only through God's direct Revelation (cf. Eph. 3:3; Gal. 1:12). And what is most amazing is that it is not expressed in words, but is revealed incarnate in the Person of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ - therefore Revelation reveals and preaches Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24; cf. Rom. 1:16 ), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). Consequently, the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is one in nature, in perfection, in completeness, for He in His Theanthropic Person really reveals God and all God’s truths contained within the boundaries of the human body and in the temporal and spatial category of human life (see: Col. 2 , 9; John 14, 9; 1 John 1, 1–2). The Word became flesh (John 1:14), and with Him all Divine truths, for in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9). Having become flesh, He announced to us, revealed, showed God, which no one, neither before nor after Him, could or can do. Therefore, the apostle truly preaches the gospel: no one has ever seen God; The Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed (John 1:18; cf.: 6:46; 5:37; 12:45). The Savior Himself testifies to this: No one knows the Son except the Father; no one knows the Father except the Son, and whatever the Son wills to reveal (Matt. 11:27; cf. John 3:34–35; 6:46; Matthew 16, 17).

Such a Revelation, Divine in everything, perfect, surpassing reason, serves as the only source of holy Divine dogmas. “We are not given the power to affirm anything we want,” testifies Saint Gregory of Nyssa, “in every dogma we are guided by the Holy Scripture as a rule and law... Therefore, we refuse to postulate our dogmas, guided by the rules of dialectical art, on the basis of conclusions and decomposition of concepts, built by knowledge - after all, such an image of presentation is unreliable and suspicious when verifying the truth. For everyone understands that dialectical pomp has the same power for both one and the other - both for the overthrow of truth and for the condemnation of lies." Since the Trinity Lord, having taught Revelation orally and in writing, handed it over to His Church for safekeeping, explanation and preaching, Divine Revelation is the source of holy dogmas in its two forms: Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. The Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition in their Divine purity and completeness are preserved, explained and preached by the One Holy Catholic Apostolic infallible Orthodox Church of Christ. That's how they talk about it in modern times Orthodox first hierarchs: “An Orthodox Christian must accept as true and certain that all members of the faith of the Catholic and Orthodox Church were betrayed to it by our Lord Jesus Christ through His Apostles, explained and approved by the Ecumenical Councils, and believe in them, as the Apostle commands: Likewise, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions, which you have learned either by word or by our epistle (2 Thess. 2:15). From this it is clear that the members of the faith receive their importance and firmness partly from the Holy Scriptures, partly from Church Tradition and the teaching of the Holy Councils and the Holy Fathers... that is, dogmas are of two kinds: some were handed down in writing and contained in the books of Holy Scripture, and others were handed down orally by the Apostles; and these were explained by the Holy Councils and the Holy Fathers. Our faith is based on these two kinds of dogmas... Although the Church is a creation of God, made up of men, its head is Christ Himself, the true God, and the Holy Spirit, who continually teaches her and makes her, as the Apostle says, the bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:27) and the pillar and ground of the truth (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15). And its dogmas and teachings do not come from people, but from God. Therefore, when we say that we believe in the Church, we mean that we believe in the Scriptures handed down to her by God, and in her God-inspired dogmas... This very thing encourages us to believe not only in Holy Gospel, accepted by the Church, which Christ commanded, saying: believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15), but also in all other Scriptures and Council definitions." “We believe,” testify the Orthodox patriarchs in the “Message of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on the Orthodox Faith "- that the Divine and Sacred Scriptures are inspired by God; therefore, we must believe it unquestioningly, and, moreover, not in our own way, but exactly as it was explained and conveyed by the Ecumenical (Catholic) Church. For the superstition of heretics accepts the Divine Scripture, but only misrepresents it... Therefore, we believe that the testimony of the Catholic Church has no less power than the Divine Scripture. Since the author of both is one and the same Holy Spirit, it makes no difference whether one learns from Scripture or from the Universal Church. A person who speaks for himself can sin, deceive and be deceived, but Universal Church, since she never spoke and does not speak on her own, but from the Spirit of God (Whom she continually has and will have as her Teacher until eternity), she cannot in any way sin, nor deceive, nor be deceived, but, like Divine Scripture, she is infallible and is of eternal importance."

Bibliography

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Word "dogma" comes from the Greek verb - to think, believe, believe ( past form of this verb means: decided, laid down, determined).

Tenets- these are truths that contain the teaching about God and His relationship to the world and man, defined by the Church and taught by it as indisputable and obligatory rules of faith for all believers. The expression “dogma”, used in modern Orthodox dogmatic theology, means the truth of faith precisely formulated for the general church consciousness, which has 4 characteristic features: theological, divine revelation, churchliness, legality.

1.Theological dogmas indicates that the content of dogmatic truths is the teaching about God in Himself and His relationship to the world and man. The main subject is man and his relationship to God. God. Moral (commandment). The Church called the abbreviated statement of dogmas the Creed and begins it with the word “I believe.”

2.Godly revelation - characterizes dogmas as truths revealed by God Himself, for the Apostles received teaching not from men, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12). In their content, they are not the fruit of the activity of natural reason, like scientific truths or philosophical statements. If philosophical, historical and scientific truths are relative and can be refined over time, then dogmas are absolute and unchangeable truths, for the word of God is truth (John 17:17) and abides forever (1 Pet. 1:25).

3. Churchness dogmas indicates that only the Ecumenical Church at its Councils gives the Christian truths of faith dogmatic authority and meaning. This does not mean that the Church itself creates dogmas. She, as “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15) only unmistakably establishes behind this or that truth of Revelation the meaning of the unchangeable rule of faith.

4. Legality .

dogmas means that these dogmas reveal the essence of the Christian faith necessary for the salvation of man. Dogmas are the unshakable laws of our faith. If in the liturgical life of individual Orthodox Local Churches There is some originality, then in dogmatic teaching there is strict unity between them. Dogmas are obligatory for all members of the Church, therefore it is patient with any sins and weaknesses of a person in the hope of his correction, but does not forgive those who stubbornly seek to muddy the purity of the apostolic teaching.

The main tenets of Orthodoxy are as follows:

• Dogma of the Holy Trinity
• Dogma of the Fall
• Dogma of the Redemption of Mankind from Sin
• Dogma of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ
• Dogma of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ
• Dogma of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ
• Dogma of the Second Coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment
• Dogma on the unity, conciliarity of the Church and the continuity of teaching and priesthood in it
• Dogma about the general resurrection of people and the future life
• Dogma of the two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ. Adopted at the IV Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon
• The dogma of two wills and actions in the Lord Jesus Christ. Adopted at the VI Ecumenical Council in Constantinople
• Dogma on icon veneration. Adopted at the VII Ecumenical Council in Nika

Canons of the Orthodox Church

Church canons- these are the basic church rules that determine the order of life of the Orthodox Church (its internal structure, discipline, private aspects of the life of Christians). Those. Unlike the dogmas in which the doctrine of the Church is formulated, the canons define the norms of church life.

The canons are the same for all Orthodox people in all countries, approved at the Ecumenical and Local Councils and cannot be canceled. Those. the authority of the sacred canons is eternal and unconditional. The canons are the indisputable law that determines the structure and governance of the Church.

Canons of the Church They represent a model for every believer, on the basis of which he must build his life or check the correctness of his actions and actions. Anyone who moves away from them moves away from correctness, from perfection, from righteousness and holiness.

The schism on canonical issues in the Church is just as fundamental as on dogmatic issues, but it is easier to overcome because it concerns not so much the worldview - what we believe in, how much of our behavior - how we believe. Most schisms on canonical issues concern the topic of church authority, when some group, for some reason, suddenly considers the existing church authority “illegal” and declares its complete independence from the Church, and sometimes even considers only itself the “true church”. Such was the schism with the Old Believers, such are the schisms in Ukraine today, such can be many marginal groups calling themselves “true” or “autonomous” Orthodox. Moreover, in practice, it is often much more difficult for the Orthodox Church to communicate with such schismatics than with dogmatic schisms, because people’s thirst for power and independence is very often stronger than their desire for the Truth.

Nevertheless, canons can be modified in history, retaining, however, their internal meaning. The Holy Fathers did not respect the letter of the canon, but precisely the meaning that the Church put into it, the thought that it expressed in it. For example, some canons that are not related to the essence of church life, due to changes historical conditions, sometimes lost their meaning and were abolished. In their time, both the literal meaning and instructions of the Holy Scriptures were lost. Thus, the wise teaching of St. ap. Paul about the relationship between masters and slaves lost its literal meaning with the fall of slavery, but lies in this teaching spiritual meaning The words of the great Apostle have, one might say, enduring significance and now can and should serve as a moral guide in the relationships of Christians standing at different levels of the social ladder, despite the proclaimed principles of freedom, equality and fraternity.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, all canons are published in "Book of Rules".

The “Book of Rules” is a set of laws that came from the Apostles and St. Church Fathers - laws approved by the Councils and laid down as the basis of Christian society, as the norm of its existence.

This collection contains the rules of St. The Apostles (85 rules), the rules of the Ecumenical Councils (189 rules), the ten Local Councils (334 rules) and the rules of the thirteen saints. Fathers (173 rules). Along with these basic rules, several canonical works of John the Faster, Nicephorus the Confessor, Nicholas the Grammar, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Anastasius (134 rules) are still valid.

Total canons Orthodox Church - 762 .

In a broad sense, canons refer to all the decrees of the Church, both related to dogma and those relating to the structure of the Church, its institutions, discipline and the religious life of church society.

Theological opinion

Of course, the experience of Christianity is broader and fuller than the dogmas of the Church. After all, only the most necessary and essential for salvation is dogmatized. There is still a lot that is mysterious and unrevealed in the Holy Scriptures. This conditions the existence theological opinions.

Theological opinion is not a general church teaching, like dogma, but is the personal judgment of a particular theologian. The theological opinion must contain a truth that is at least consistent with Revelation.

Of course, any arbitrariness in theology is excluded. The criterion for the truth of an opinion is its agreement with Sacred Tradition, and the criterion of admissibility is not a contradiction with it. Orthodox and legitimate theological opinions and judgments should be based not on logic and rational analysis, but on direct vision and contemplation. This is achieved through the feat of prayer, through the spiritual formation of a believer...

Theological opinions are not infallible. Thus, in the writings of some Church Fathers there are often erroneous theological opinions, which nevertheless do not contradict the Holy Scriptures.