Andrey Desnitsky

“Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority resists God’s ordinance.”- this quote from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans (13:1-2) and some others like it became very popular in December last year. The conclusion from them is quite clear: it is unacceptable for a Christian to oppose or even object to the legitimate authorities of his country in any way, for example, to go to rallies. But, on the other hand, doesn’t it happen that the existing authorities demand from a Christian something that is contrary to his conscience? We find many such examples in history.

Early Christian martyrs were officially persecuted for state crimes: they refused to make sacrifices to the gods, including the emperor. No one forbade them to believe in Christ, nor did they even force them to seriously believe in Jupiter or Zeus; they just had to take part in the cult obligatory for all subjects of the empire, at least purely symbolically. They went to their death, not wanting to be a hypocrite.

What about the new martyrs in our country? They also avoided fulfilling any decrees of the Council of People's Commissars that abolished Christianity on the territory of the Republic of Soviets. And there is nothing new in this, in the New Testament the Acts of the Apostles come before the Epistle to the Romans, and this is the answer the apostles gave to the Sanhedrin, a completely legitimate authority, to the demand to stop their preaching: “one must obey God rather than men” (5:29).

Then, perhaps, the principle here is this: completely obey any command of the authorities, except in those cases when they personally demand from you something contrary to faith and God’s will?

But let's open the Gospel, it comes at the very beginning of the New Testament, and the first one mentioned in it... Everyone remembers that he was executed by King Herod, but for what exactly? For denouncing his wicked marriage: Herod stole his own brother’s wife. Why did John interfere in this private matter, since the king did not demand anything from him, and, moreover, “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and took care of him; I did a lot listening to him, and listened to him with pleasure.”(Mark 6:20). Wouldn't it be better to use this location to influence the king himself, and through him, life throughout the country? Why was it necessary to follow the principle, to aggravate relations, so much so that the matter ended in execution? Maybe John the Baptist was a religious extremist?

But let's look at the history of Byzantium, where a “symphony of powers” ​​existed, or at least was proclaimed, secular and spiritual. Its ideal was first expressed in the introduction to the 6th novella of Justinian (IV century):

“The greatest gifts of God, given to people by the highest love for mankind, are the priesthood and the kingdom. The first serves divine affairs, the second takes care of human affairs. Both come from the same source and adorn human life. Therefore, if the first is truly blameless and adorned with fidelity to God, and the second is adorned with a correct and decent state system, there will be good agreement between them.”

Let us pay attention to the condition: the priesthood must be blameless, and the kingdom must be correct and orderly, otherwise there can be no agreement.

In Byzantine history, there was agreement between these two authorities, but it also happened differently. How kindly and benevolently the imperial couple, Arcadius and Eudoxius, received the famous preacher in Constantinople, and with what fervor he brought down his sermons on their heads! And when they asked him to calm down, when they threatened him with punishment, he answered directly from the pulpit: “Herodias is raging again, again indignant, dancing again, again demanding the head of John on a platter.” This is directly said about the empress.

And why, I wonder, did the conflict escalate? Yes, for the most insignificant thing: a silver statue of the empress was installed at the hippodrome to amuse the mother empress by paying honor to her.

And this is far from the only example... Emperor Leo VI, violating church customs and the civil law issued by his father Vasily I, entered into a fourth marriage. As in the case of Herod, and with Eudoxia - it would seem that this was his private matter. But when the emperor, at the head of a solemn procession on Christmas Day 906, went to Hagia Sophia, Patriarch Nicholas the Mystic slammed the doors of the temple in front of him and exposed his sin in front of all the people.

Another similar episode is associated with the name of Michael Palaeologus, who in 1261 blinded his formal co-ruler and the only legal heir to the throne, John IV, then still a child. This was not only an atrocity, but also a crime of oath, because Mikhail had previously sworn not to harm the boy-heir. The Church could not agree with such an act; the emperor, not wanting to accept accusations, after long disputes, deposed first the legitimate patriarch Arseny (1265), then his own protege Germany (1266), but still in 1267 he had to publicly repent of his sin before the third patriarch, Joseph.

Where does such intransigence and integrity come from? Well, it was worth keeping silent, and even justifying your silence with a quote from the apostle... And how can these protests be combined with that very quote? How can you argue with the authorities if they are from God?

The same Saint John Chrysostom quite clearly resolved these perplexities in his commentary on this Epistle:

“Is every ruler really appointed by God? That’s not what I’m saying, the apostle answers. Now I am talking not about each boss individually, but about power itself. The existence of authorities, whereby some are in charge and others are subordinate, and the fact that everything does not happen by chance and arbitrarily, so that people rush here and there like waves - I call all this the work of God’s Wisdom.”

In other words, Christians are not called to support any existing authority in all its actions, they are obliged to respect its legal requirements, and nothing more. But how can this very principle of power established by God, as Chrysostom interprets it, be correlated with a specific state structure, clearly imperfect, and with specific rulers, clearly not without sin? Well, should we say that only the general principle is important to us, and that people and institutions are indifferent to us?

Not at all. John the Baptist, John Chrysostom, Nicholas the Mystic and many others denounced the rulers precisely because they were not indifferent to them. Let us note that they did not organize palace coups or revolutions.

Likewise in Russia, but refused to explicitly support the White movement: a civil war cannot receive a Christian blessing.

Likewise, the apostles did not try to overthrow the Sanhedrin, and the martyrs did not rebel against Roman rule. Their weapon was the word, not the sword.

The forms of government are changeable, and in these very changes we see the manifestation of God's will. The Church testifies to this in the Christmas stichera of the nun-poet Cassia:

“To Augustus the one-man ruler of the earth, the plurality of men has ceased; and You will become human from the Pure One, the polytheism of idols will be abolished. Under a single kingdom of the world there was a city, and the pagans believed in one dominion of the Divine. Having written to the people by the command of Caesar, we have written in faithfulness to the name of the Divinity, to You, our God made man. Great is Your mercy, O Lord, glory to You.”

Indeed, Christian preaching was able to spread throughout the Mediterranean only because it was the territory of a single state with a developed infrastructure. If, instead of Rome, many small kingdoms had remained in this territory, warring with each other, this would have been much more difficult to do. The Apostle Paul himself ended up in Rome, taking advantage of his right as a Roman citizen to ask the emperor for trial - by the way, he did not hesitate to remind the authorities of his legal rights when it helped the cause of preaching.

Undoubtedly, there was God's hand in that Byzantine state structure, which we associate today with the concept of a symphony, and it was also in the fact that this structure ceased. And revolutions, and persecutions, and disasters - they also do not happen without God’s will, although here we are rather used to talking about “permission”: God allowed the evil that people planned to happen. It is difficult not to see the will of God in the fact that today our country, like most of its neighbors, lives under a democratic constitution, whether we like it or not.

What is the general Christian principle of attitude towards authority? If she opposes Christianity, Christians must remain themselves, fulfilling her demands to the extent that does not contradict their Christian conscience. Evil and violence are overcome by good, and not by retaliatory violence, Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount. This is difficult to do, but quite easy to understand.

But what to do in cases where the government considers itself Christian or at least sympathizes with Christianity? Cooperate with her, but strictly remind her of the laws if she breaks them, even where it does not affect us personally.

What do we, it would seem, care about the illegal marriages of King Herod or Emperor Leo? Isn’t it better to remain silent in such cases? But the sharpest rebuke from Christ in the Gospel was religious hypocrisy: you live for your own pleasure, but pretend that you follow all the laws. So, of course, it is possible to act according to the principle “they don’t bother us, so we don’t stick our neck out,” but there is nothing from the apostolic commandment in this. In the same way, the revolutionary pathos of “destroying the whole world of violence, and then” building a world of even more terrible violence has nothing to do with Christianity.

Peacefully but firmly reminding the rulers of those norms and laws that they themselves acknowledge in words, but are in no hurry to implement in practice - this is quite Christian.

Olga asks
Answered by Alexandra Lanz, 09/06/2010

Hello to you in Christ, our Savior, Olga!

Let's first make sure once and for all that any power truly comes from God.

“And Daniel said, Blessed be the name of the Lord from everlasting to everlasting! for with Him is wisdom and power; He changes times and seasons, deposes kings and sets up kings; gives wisdom to the wise and understanding to the understanding..."()

"Praise the Lord of lords..."() In other words: glorify Him who rules over every master.

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes”().

“He tames the spirit of princes, He is terrible for the kings of the earth”().

“The Lord has set His throne in heaven, and His kingdom possesses all”()

Do you remember how Pontius Pilate boasted of his power? “Pilate says to Him: Do you not answer me? Don’t you know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to release You?”

What did Jesus answer him? “You would not have any power over Me if it had not been given to you from above” ()

Paul, who wrote: “There is no authority except from God, but the existing authorities are established by God”, knew the Pentateuch and the Prophets very well, so he was fully aware of what he was saying.

Yes, every king, every ruler received the opportunity to rule precisely from God. God ordained these people to be stewards over other people. The Bible provides us with many examples to prove this, as well as the fact that...

1) God has not ordained any authority to be higher than Him;

2) what people do with the power given to them is the choice of people, not God;

3) the fact that God gives power to someone does not mean at all that He approves of the actions of the authorities;

4) giving power to certain people, arranging the powers of those in power one way or another at His discretion, God pursues His goal, which is above any goal - the salvation for Eternity of those who can still be saved;

5) through the installed authorities, God does not provide people with laws, but only a way of governing in a society that does not want to recognize Him as the Only Lawful Ruler over everything and everyone.

Thus, we see the following picture...

God is above everyone and everything.

Everything that He does with His power on earth (including whom He appoints as rulers) is directed towards one point: to save as many people as possible for Eternity.

This may sound paradoxical to you, but please do not rush to dismiss this thought. Let's try to understand it. When is a person inclined to seek God: when he feels good and comfortable or when he feels bad and hard? Of course, I agree that, as a rule, people who find themselves in terrible situations tend to begin their search for Truth with accusations against the Creator: “Why did you bring me here? Why did you give power to an idiot who is torturing me and my entire country? You stupid and evil god! Because the wise and kind would never allow me, such a good person, and my such a beautiful country, to suffer. Why on earth would I calmly look at what this disgusting government is doing to me and my fellow citizens?”

Yes, the Almighty, who gives power to the Hitlers and Herods, knows well what he is doing, he understands perfectly well how much dirt will be poured on Him because of this, but He still does not stop. And glory to Him for this! Because it is in difficult times that people get the opportunity to test their life attitudes and see whether they are really as kind, fluffy and fair as they think about themselves. Only in times of difficult trials, when our flesh suffers, when we find ourselves in the face of death, do we begin to think about the meaning of life and the possible existence of One who knows exactly this meaning.

“In days of prosperity, take advantage of the good, and in days of adversity, reflect: God did both so that a person cannot say anything against Him» ().

Yes, God gives us Husseins and Stalins as well as those who are like Solomon in their rule, and He does this so that when each of us appears before the Great Judge, we will not have the opportunity to exclaim: “Why didn’t you knock?” to me? Why didn’t you punish me, why didn’t you try to draw my attention to the fact that You are the power, and You are the Chief in everything?”

On the Day of Judgment, not a single person will even have such a thought, because God always does everything to reach our stony hearts, our pride-filled brains. Even if for this He needs to put Robespierre or Beria in command, even knowing that this His action will give rise to rivers and seas of curses addressed to Him, He does this because people, with very rare exceptions (if exceptions exist at all), do not are able to understand their absolute weakness and the worthlessness of their godless life when everything is fine with them.

Any institution of God, any of His actions, no matter how terrible it may seem to our carnal consciousness, is always aimed at only one target: to help at least some turn to Him and begin to seek saving answers from Him, the One who has absolute and infinite power and wisdom .

Now, remembering all of the above and realizing that in the letter to the Romans the Apostle is addressing Christians, and not to authorities and leaders, let's read the words of Paul: “Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority resists God's institution. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves” ().

Dear friends who call themselves followers of the teachings of Christ, i.e. Christians, keep in mind that if you blaspheme the government under which you live, if you try to rebel against it, to replace it with your own efforts, if you plot and sow dissatisfaction with the government in other people, then you are thereby opposing the plan, in fulfilling which God is trying save your fellow citizens from sins and for Eternity. By speaking out against the authorities, you bring upon yourself their wrath and, what is more terrible, the condemnation of God.

Let us understand that Paul's words are not addressed to every person, but to someone who considers himself a Christian, i.e. those who have once and for all chosen to be under the lordship of Christ.

Paul's words do not assert the rightness of this or that government or this or that law issued by the government, but only the idea that Christians should not try to overthrow the established government, should not rebel against it, because when God fulfills everything planned for the salvation of each individual for Eternity man, He will completely calmly replace all the rulers Himself, in the order, at the time and in the manner that will be best for the work of the plan of salvation ().

A true Christian has no reason to fear secular authorities, be they led by Hitler or Solomon. Anyone who really lives according to the Law of the Most High, who is guided by His will and love, will never find himself in a situation where secular authorities will have the right to fairly condemn him. But if "if you do evil, be afraid, for he(*authority representative) He does not bear the sword in vain: he is God’s servant, an avenger to punish those who do evil.”

Yes, often avengers either neglect their duties or usurp them, but that is not what Paul is talking about now. He simply asserts that all power is for the purpose of punishing people for evil. If you, calling yourself a Christian, do evil (hiding taxes, stealing, spreading slander, etc.), then be afraid of the authorities ().

And if you do Good, as you breathe, living according to the commandments of God, then you have absolutely nothing to fear from secular power, because if it comes to ruin and kill you, if it imposes conditions on you that are incompatible with your faith, you know for sure that everything is its actions are directed, in fact, not against you, but against the One Whom you serve. And you suffer not because you committed some kind of evil against the established authority, but because those who were appointed to rule over you surrendered to Satan so much that they began to persecute Christ in each of His disciples: “As long as none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or a villain, or as someone who encroaches on someone else’s property; and if you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed, but glorify God for such a fate”().

Sorry that it turned out so long, and forgive me for only now getting to the essence of your question, but I am sure that without those preliminary explanations, in principle, I would not be able to even try to tell you what I am about to say.

So Paul writes: . It seems to us that here Paul requires Christians to fulfill everything prescribed by secular authorities, even if it contradicts the Higher Law. However, Paul calls us to be submissive to the authorities and not to the ungodly laws they may impose.

Any government that sets laws here on earth tells people: “if you don’t obey, I will punish you.” Do you see two possibilities here to submit to power?

First opportunity. Begin to submit, doing everything she demands, even if her laws are evil and contrary to God.

Second possibility. Accept the punishment that she has provided for those who do not want to comply with her regulations. Don’t start a rebellion against her, but accept punishment from her. Submission? Undoubtedly.

For example, the authorities say: “if you do not report on your neighbor when he scolds the government, then, having discovered this disgrace, I will punish you with several years of camp labor in Siberia.” A true Christian understands that he cannot fulfill this command of the authorities and continues to live according to the Law of the Almighty, ready at any moment to submit to punishment from those in power... and in fact submits to the authorities. “Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities...”

Or this example from slave-owning times in America. There was a law then that required every person to make every effort to return runaway slaves to their masters. At the same time, the word of God unequivocally states: “Do not hand over a slave to his master when he comes running to you from his master”() Accordingly, the punishment for violating this law was thought out. Those who followed the Bible, submitting to the Power of God as the Only True Lawgiver, simultaneously submitted to secular power, meekly accepting punishment from it if it discovered their “illegal”, from its point of view, actions.

A Christian will not resist the existing government, which wants to take away his home, destroy his family, and rot him in a concentration camp just because he cannot fulfill its demands, which are contrary to the Law of God. Yes, a Christian should and is even obliged to help people, government officials, understand that they are acting contrary to the Higher Law, that they are committing unrighteous acts and thereby heaping burning coals on their heads on the Day of Judgment; a Christian must, to the best of his ability and the capabilities given to him, help those in power , like all other people, turn to God in order to be saved for Eternity, but he has no right to rebel against the existing government with the aim of overthrowing it. He did not establish it, so it is not for him to rebel against it and not for him to overthrow it.

I am aware that the previous paragraph could again cause a wave of disagreement in you, because our carnal being so wants to live comfortably and calmly, so wants everyone who encroaches on its well-being to be punished and well-being restored. But again I ask you to try to push this wave away from yourself and remember the example of the One Who, always remaining faithful only to the Law of Heaven, was at the same time submissive to the existing secular power, from which He accepted His betrayal and death, submitting its actions to the judgment of the One Who said: “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay!”()

Christ suffered unjustly and yet showed no resistance! “He was tortured, but He suffered voluntarily, without opening His mouth; He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before His shearers, silent, so He did not open His mouth."

Sincerely,

Read more on the topic “Interpretation of Scripture”:

Report by Ksenia Bogdanova

Church and government

Lecture by Archimandrite Iannuariy (Ivliev)
“New Testament teaching on the relationship to freedom and the state”

AUDIO
Professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archimandrite Iannuariy (Ivliev), gave a lecture on the Gospel understanding of the relationship of the Church to the state, to secular power.

“How should we treat the state? As a rule, they refer to the words of the Apostle Paul from the 13th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. “Let every soul be submissive to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, but the existing authorities were established by God. He who resists the authorities resists God’s institution.” This passage is usually relied upon and referred to, as a rule, by the authorities themselves, who often do evil (after all, not all authorities do only good; there are often evil laws and inhuman authorities). And they say to Christians: “The Holy Scripture tells you that you should be submissive to us. And if you are not obedient, then you are resisting God’s ordinance.” Some Khan Batu begins to exterminate the Christian race: “Be submissive, because it is said in the Holy Scripture...” Of course, this is not so. Well, of course, this is a misunderstanding of the words of the Apostle Paul and underreading of them.”

What exactly is said in the text of the New Testament about the correct attitude of Christians towards authorities, how to correctly understand these words of the apostle “there is no authority except from God”, if you understand the Greek text, listen in our report, which almost completely includes a lecture by Professor of St. Petersburg Theological Academy of Archimandrite Iannuarius (Ivliev). The lecture was given on November 25, 2015 at the Feodorovsky Educational Center.

“Power – not specifically the emperor, but power in general – was considered divine by the Romans. Power is not only “from God,” but it is itself divine. And power is not divine, it is a servant of God (says the Apostle Paul to the Romans). She is “under God.” We have translated: “from God” - this is “all authority under God.” And further in the Greek text: “For power is God’s servant for your good.” And further it is indicated what the divine good consists of, which God requires from power (after all, power is His slave, it must obey God): that there be order, justice, love - above all. That is why, if the government copes well with its duties given to it by God, then taxes must be paid and it must be respected. But what if the government is a bad slave? If she does evil instead of good?

Excerpt from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans:

“Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority resists God's institution. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves. For those in authority are not a terror to good deeds, but to evil deeds. Do you want to not be afraid of power? Do good, and you will receive praise from her, for the ruler is God's servant, for your good. If you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain: he is God’s servant, an avenger to punish those who do evil. And therefore one must obey not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience. This is why you pay taxes, for they are God’s servants, constantly busy with this. So give everyone their due: give to whom, give; to whom quitrent, quitrent; to whom fear, fear; to whom honor, honor. Do not owe anyone anything except mutual love; For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet someone else’s, and all the others are contained in this word: love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not harm one's neighbor; So love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time that the hour has already come for us to awaken from sleep. For salvation is closer to us now than when we believed. The night is past, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. As during the day, let us behave decently, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor in sensuality and debauchery, nor in quarrels and envy; But put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:1-14).

See also on the topic:

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  Archpriest Georgy Mitrofanov

Tatiana Trefilova

Hegumen Peter (Meshcherinov)

God's and Spiritual Authority

H what is power? Where did she come from? Is all power from God? If so, then why are there so many evil, unworthy people in the world who are or have been in power? Why is there so much injustice among those in power? Is it possible to overthrow and remove such power? How does God react to this?

We will try to answer these important questions today (and always) in subsequent articles. Let's start by defining the concept of power in general: power is the right and opportunity to control someone or something, to subordinate it to one’s will(dictionary by Ozhegova, Shvedov).

And a key scripture (Rom. 13:1,2):

“Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority resists God's institution. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves.”

So, here we can see a clear, concrete answer to the question: where did the power come from - from God. Now, let's look at a very sensitive and subtle question: is there really no power that is not from God? But what about Herod, Nero, Mao, Dzhugashvili, Hitler and others? Are they also from God?

Notice this scripture says this: “there is no power except from God” and then there’s the explanation that power is installed By God. That is, the very concept of a phenomenon in the global sense of the word power is truly from God; its establishment, structure of power and subordination are from God. What this government does, this is already from the person, this is his responsibility and he will answer to God what and how he did while in power (by the way, of any kind and type).

Therefore, power is from God, but what the same Herod, Nero, Dzhugashvili, Hitler and others did was clearly not from God, and for this they will give an account. Because we know what is written in the Word of God: to whom much is given, much will be required. Will definitely ask.

The Bible shows us five main types of authority:

1. God's

2. Spiritual

3. State

4. Public

5. Family.

Let's look briefly at each of them.

1. God's authority

I would like to immediately note that this is the foundation for any other type of power that we will consider. Because the very concept of power is from God. He has absolute, one hundred percent power over everyone and everything. He calls Himself the Most High, the King, the Master, the Lord. He has all the power and all the strength. He has the absolute right and opportunity to dispose of everyone and everything and, if necessary, to subordinate it to His will.

And as proof, I will cite several passages from the Bible (there are many of them):

(Deut. 10:14, 17) “Behold, the Lord your God has the heavens and the heavens of heavens, the earth and all that is in it... for the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great and mighty God...”;

(1 Chron. 29:11,12) “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the splendor, and all that is in heaven and on earth, is Thine: Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art above everything, as Sovereign. And riches and glory are from Your presence, and You rule over everything, and in Your hand is strength and might, and in Your power to magnify and strengthen everything.” ;

(Ps. 9:37) “The Lord is King forever, forever.”;

(Ps. 97:1) “The Lord reigns, let all the earth rejoice!”;

(Matt. 28:18) “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” 2) Spiritual power.

It is interesting that God shared his power with his created world. Once again: He has all power, but He has given power to certain creatures, both in heaven and on earth.

Therefore, next we will consider the spiritual world, the world of spirits, where the concept of submission to someone reigns. God is Spirit. That is, He is the Supreme Spiritual Authority also. He created the spiritual world both visible and invisible. By the way, in heaven (which we, people, do not yet see) there is also a certain hierarchy of power: there are angels, archangels (in power higher than the angels, the prefix “archi” just says “standing above”, there are seraphim , cherubs, animals, etc.), the concept of submission and respect for authority reigns.

2. Spiritual power

But I would like to talk more about spiritual power on earth. Man is spirit, soul and body. We are spirits too. God shared His authority and delegated certain powers to people. The Bible tells us about this - both in the history of the people of Israel and in the history of the Church. Let's take a closer look at this.

God is the Legislator of the structure of power and statehood in Israel, who gave people certain spiritual positions, titles and positions. Look at the history of Israel, there are: priests, high priests, Levites, later judges, prophets, etc. Here is one scripture that confirms this:

(Exodus 28:1-3) “And take unto you Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may be priest unto me, Aaron and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron. And thou shalt make sacred garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and splendor. And tell all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron garments to consecrate him, that he may be a priest to Me.”

That is, God gives order in the society of the Lord. Further, through Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our confession, the concept of the Church as the community of the Lord is introduced, consisting of many peoples, tribes, languages ​​that confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. He is the head of the Church, and the Church is His body:

(Col. 1:15-20) “Who is the image of the invisible God, the first begotten of every creation; For by Him all things were created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible: whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers - all things were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things stand. And He is the head of the body of the Church..."

And then, again, as the head of the Church, the Lord gives certain powers to people. He gives them a title, a position, distributes the right and opportunity to manage, dispose and, if necessary, subordinate to his will.

(Eph. 4:11-13) “And He appointed some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..."

That is, we see a clear concept of spiritual authority and the subordination of this authority in the body of Christ, the church. And again everything is contained in Him, everything is subordinate to Him, since He has absolute power everywhere. I would like to note the unclean spiritual world - there, too, there is the concept of power and submission. The devil has his own minions: rulers of darkness, leaders, fallen angels, unclean spirits, demons, etc. Yes, he himself is a once fallen cherub.

(Ephesians 6:12) “...for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.”

This concerns spiritual power, and in the next article we will look at other types of power. Think about it. Bless you!

“Let every soul be submissive: for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority resists God's institution. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves. For those in authority are not a terror to good deeds, but to evil deeds. Do you want to not be afraid of power? , and you will receive praise from her. For the boss is God's servant, for your good. If you do evil, be afraid: for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God's servant, an avenger to punish those who do evil. And therefore, not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience” (Rom. 13: 1-5).
St. John Chrysostom (407) eliminates such frequent abuse of the word “all power is from God,” and explains: “there is no power but from God,” says (the apostle). Like this? Is every ruler really appointed by God? That’s not what I’m saying, answers (the apostle). Now I am talking not about each boss individually, but about power itself. The existence of authorities, with some in charge and others subordinate, and the fact that everything does not happen by chance and arbitrarily, so that people rush here and there like waves - I call all this the work of God’s wisdom. That is why (the apostle) did not say that there is no ruler who has not been appointed by God, but speaks in general about the essence of power and says: “There is no power except from God: the powers that exist are created by God.” Likewise, the Wise One, when he says that “from the Lord a wife is married to a husband” (Prov. 19:14), here he means that marriage was established by God, and not that God combines each person entering into marriage, since we see that many they marry with bad intentions and not according to the law of marriage, and we, of course, cannot impute this to God...” 1)
The Monk Isidore Pelusiot teaches the same thing.: “You wrote: what does it mean to have power if it is not from God? - and asked: is every boss really appointed by God? I will say to this (and do not be angry with me, for I will not say something empty): it seems to me that you either did not read Paul’s sayings, or did not understand them. The Apostle Paul did not say: there is no ruler except from God, but he spoke about the leadership itself, saying: there is no authority except from God. The very fact that people have rulers, and some rule, others live under leadership, does not happen simply and not by chance, so that peoples, like waves, are carried hither and thither, but, in the words of St. Paul, this is a work of God’s wisdom. Since equality usually sparks war, God did not allow the rule of the people to exist, but established royal power, and then many authorities followed it. Which ones, you ask? Chief and subordinate, husband and wife, father and son, old man and young man, master and slave, teacher and student. Even in dumb animals one can see something similar. The guarantors in this are the bees, which are subordinate to the royal power, the cranes and the flocks of wild sheep. If you look at the sea, then it will not be devoid of this decorum. And there, many breeds of fish have one ruler and leader, and therefore carry out long-distance migrations. For lack of authority is the most terrible thing everywhere and is the cause of confusion and disorder. Therefore, in the body, although it is something unified, not everything has equal dignity, but some members are in charge, and others are subordinate. Therefore, we have the right to say that the very thing, I mean the authority, that is, the leadership and the royal power, were established by God so that society would not fall into disorder. But if some villain seized this power unlawfully, then we do not claim that he was appointed by God, but we say that he is allowed to either vomit up all his wickedness, like Pharaoh, and in this case suffer extreme punishment, or to bring chastity to those for whom cruelty is also necessary, as the king of Babylon brought chastity to the Jews.”(Letter 6e, Dionysius).
The saints, of course, did not teach the “theology of revolution.” He emphasizes the right execution of duty, as opposed to anarchy and chaos, and points out that the boss who protects virtue (punishing evil and encouraging good) may well be God's servant, even without knowing it. “Do not tell me that others use power for evil, but pay attention to the orderliness of the system and you will see great wisdom in the one who legitimized this in the beginning... If (the apostle) legitimized this when the rulers were pagans, then how much more should it be now that we have the believers as leaders" 2) . So, the Saint reveals and delineates the moral aspects of a single whole, both regarding the individual and the very inner purpose of the establishment of power: “the establishment of power is the work of God; and the fact that vicious people are allowed to access it and do not use it as they should depends on the depravity of people.” 3)
A Christian owes obedience to Christ God. Therefore, he is obliged to obey the ruler, even the personally vicious one, in which he does not try to spread his vice to him. A Christian is called to endure untruth, but he cannot participate in it. And complicity is a sin that requires not self-justification, but sincere repentance. By the same obedience to Christ, a Christian is not obliged to obey an authority that encroaches on God and virtue. Here he follows the path of rejecting any forms of idolatry (i.e., where the creature is placed above the Creator, in particular in worldly wisdom and man-pleasing). There is no place in the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers for preaching reconciliation with evil, including the perversion itself.
The imaginary “peacemaking” is opposed by the Holy Hierarch’s interpretation of the words “do not forget that you brought peace to earth; “I did not come to create peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34): “...then especially peace is established when what is infected with disease is cut off, when what is hostile is separated. Only in this way is it possible for Heaven to unite with earth. After all, the doctor then saves other parts of the body when he cuts off an incurable member from them; Likewise, the military leader restores calm when he destroys the agreement between the conspirators. So it was during the (Babylonian) pandemonium. The bad peace is destroyed by good disagreement, and peace is restored. So Paul also created discord among those who agreed against him (Acts 23:6). And agreement against Naboth was worse than any war (1 Kings 21). Unanimity is not always good: even robbers agree. So, the war was not a consequence of Christ’s determination, but a matter of the will of the people themselves... Not only, he says, friends and fellow citizens, but also relatives themselves will rebel against each other, and discord will occur between half-blooded people. “I have come,” he says, “to separate a man from his father, and a daughter from his mother, and a bride from her mother-in-law”; that is, the fight will not just be between family members, but even between those who are united by sincere love and the closest ties... And although Christ was not the cause of this, but human malice, nevertheless says that He Himself is doing this. This mode of expression is characteristic of Scripture. So in another place it is said: God gave them eyes so that they could not see (Isa. 6:9; Ezek. 12:2). This is what Christ says here too, so that the disciples, as I said above, having previously become accustomed to this way of speaking, would not be embarrassed even in the midst of reproaches and insults... By saying this, He showed the strength and ardor of the love that He demanded. Since He Himself loved us a lot, He wants us to love Him just as much. And such words strengthened and elevated the apostles in spirit. If your disciples, He said, will leave their relatives, children and parents, then what kind of person, think, should you be, teachers! These disasters will not end with you, but will spread to others. Since I came to bestow great benefits, I demand great obedience and zeal.” 4)
As for authority, in the continuation of this reasoning we see the same principle applied to parental authority: “If Paul commands many things concerning parents, and commands us to obey them in everything, do not be surprised. He orders us to obey them only in that which is not contrary to piety. It is a holy thing to give them all other respects. When they demand something more appropriate, you should not obey them.” 5) The saint emphasizes: “He didn’t just say that one should be ready to die; but ready to die violently, and not only violently, but also blasphemously... “He who finds his soul will destroy it; and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). Do you see how harmful it is to love a soul more than it should be, and how beneficial it is to hate it? Since Christ’s demands were difficult, since He commanded them to rebel against parents and children, against nature and kinship, against the universe and even against their own soul, he promises the greatest reward for this. This, he says, not only will not cause harm, but will even bring the greatest benefit; the opposite will be harmful.” 6)
There is one more place in the Gospel where the moral judgment of the Saint in relation to power is most powerfully manifested. Standing before Pilate, who judges Him, the divine Lawgiver Himself - Christ - reveals in what sense “all power is from God,” and how no one and nothing can free a person (including a non-Christian) from moral responsibility before God. St. John Chrysostom writes: “...since He was silent, Pilate says: Do you not consider that it is the power of the Imam to crucify Thee, and the power of the Imam to let Thee go (John 19:10)? Do you see how he has already condemned himself in advance? And truly, if everything depends on you, then why don’t you, not finding any guilt in Him, let Him go? When Pilate thus pronounced condemnation on himself, Jesus said: He who delivered Me to you has a great sin (v. 11), showing that he (Pilate) is also guilty of sin. And in order to overthrow his arrogance and pride, he says: put no power on Me unless it were given (v. 11), which shows that all this is not done by chance and not according to the usual order, but mysteriously. And so that, having heard the words: “If it had not been given to you,” he would not think that he was free from all guilt, he added: “By betraying Me to you, you have suffered a great sin.”
But if in fact it was given, then obviously neither he (Pilate) nor they (the Jews) are subject to accusation? It is in vain that you say this. The expression given here means admitted. Christ seemed to say this: (God) allowed this to happen; however, therefore, you are not alien to crime.” 7)
The internal delimitation of inescapable moral responsibility, duty to the boss and to God is quite clear here. Such is the whole and the life of the Saints. The life of St. John Chrysostom, who ended his life with the words “Glory to God for everything!” testifies to the same thing. - in a distant exile. After all, to the envoys of Queen Eudoxia, who once demanded: “Stop opposing us and do not touch our royal affairs, for we do not touch church affairs, but leave you to arrange them yourself...” St. John Chrysostom answered long ago: “The Queen wants me to looked like a dead person, did not notice the injustices being committed, did not listen to the voices of the offended, crying and sighing, did not speak denunciations against those who sinned; but since I am a bishop and I have been entrusted with the care of souls, I must look at everything with a vigilant eye, listen to the requests of everyone, teach, instruct and reprove everyone. After all, I know that if I do not expose iniquity and punish the lawless, then I will be punished, and therefore I am afraid that the words of the prophet Hosea might be applied to me: the priests hid the way of the Lord (“the priests hid the way of the Lord.” So in Greek. and the Church Slavonic text of the Bible: Os. I didn’t speak to anyone’s face about his iniquity, I didn’t stain anyone with dishonor, and I never mentioned the name of the queen in my sermons to denounce her... If anyone who listens to my teachings is condemned by his conscience for the bad deeds he has committed, then he should not be angry with me , but at himself, and let him turn away from evil and do good... So, let the queen be angry as she wants, and I will not stop telling the truth. After all, it is better for me to anger people than God: “If I still pleased people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (St. Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:10).” 8)
Blessed Aurelius Augustine of Hippo teaches: “In the absence of justice, what is a state if not a simple band of robbers, just as what is a band of robbers if not a state? And they (the robbers) represent a society of people, governed by superiors, bound by mutual agreement, dividing the spoils according to the established law. When such a gang of lost people reaches such proportions that it captures cities and countries and subjugates the people to its power, then it openly receives the name of a state.”
The moral darkness that broke out in Russia with the revolution was opposed by the Russian New Martyrs-hierarchs and numerous believers and clergy. They also opposed the “Sergian” government; it's the same erasing moral boundaries gave birth to "".
In contrast to this, the justification of “Sergian” church governance led the defenders of “Sergianism” along the path of de-churched wisdom: based on the words of St. Apostle Paul indicated at the beginning of the article, an Orthodox Christian, supposedly, “not only out of fear, but also in conscience,” is obliged to obey the authorities in principle in “any state,” including the godless anti-Christian regime, which supposedly did not encroach on the very spirit of the Church (see “Appeal” of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church MP, October 25-27, 1990). However, with such statements they encroached on the Holy Scripture itself, and on behalf of the entire Council of Bishops. Each of these bishops, upon their installation, swore to interpret the Bible according to the Holy Fathers, but not a single one has so far renounced or denounced the false teachings proclaimed from the church pulpit and spread in the church and secular press.
Do we realize what such a crafty shift in concepts, such a shift in spiritual meaning means? The Church eulogizes the martyrs in hymns because they bowed their heads under the sword - with the sword they subjugated the neck (glorified: “neck” = neck). But was it possible that the sword of the authorities punished them for their atrocities? Isn’t it because they remained faithful to God despite the “fear of punishment”, and therefore “in good conscience” resisted the spirit of lies and atheism?
The conscience and hearts of believers through such false teaching with all its intricacies are taught to be insensitive to the interpretation of Scripture in life, for it invites us to name the Saints with our lips, but to deny their power (2 Tim. 3:5).
It is immensely tragic that this false teaching is proclaimed in the name of the Russian Church. But from this example one should understand with what inevitability the consequences of such an unrepentant spiritual decision grow: the choice was made a long time ago, but now it has also shown itself in a readiness to stop the mouths of the Holy Fathers and Christ Himself. What Orthodox Christian can say that this was produced by the “fullness of the Russian Church”?
This choice weighs heavily on our Russian Orthodox church people. This is a spiritual wound. We must understand the comprehensive meaning of this word. Unhealed, it secretly poisons us. It deprives one of strength in difficult relations with society and the state in today's Russia. It hinders the true revival of churchliness. Closes the door to salvation for many who seek it. Gives strength to other false teachings rushing into Russia...
All this, of course, is allowed by God. However, seduced by the spirit of self-justification and half-truths - which are all the more dangerous and deceitful the more they resemble the truth, we, too, will be “not alien to crime.”
The faces of the New Martyrs look sorrowfully and will continue to look at us until we wholeheartedly accept their choice. They are the glory of the Russian Church, and our healing. For this sake, let us not be afraid to call a spade a spade.

Notes:

1) “Creations of our Holy Father John Chrysostom,” in 12 volumes, St. Petersburg 1898-1911, vol. 9, pp. 774-775.
2) ibid., p. 778.
3) ibid., vol. 5, p. 551.
4) ibid., vol. 7, pp. 384-386.
5) ibid., p. 386.
6) ibid., p. 387.
7) ibid., vol. 8, pp. 568-569.
8) “Lives of the Saints”, November 13, book. 3, Moscow 1902, repr. 1968, pp. 338-339.