The Agony Of The Church (1917) - free ebook by Nikolaj Velimirović

THE AGONY OF THE CHURCH

1917 Printed in Great Britain by Turnbull &amp; Spears, Edinburgh....

1 minute read

Read Chapter

FOREWORD

The Eastern Church, the Church of the Apostles and the Mother of us all, in this book, speaks to her children in all lands and in all languages, and to us, with an authority and a wisdom and a tenderness all its own. The author and the publishers are doing us a service of the very best kind in issuing it. May God's blessing rest upon it....

29 minute read

Read Chapter

PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD

The contents of this book was originally given in the form of lectures at St Margaret's, Westminster. There is, we think, a special fitness in the lectures appearing in book form bearing the imprint of the Student Christian Movement, for though Father Nicholas has hosts of friends in Great Britain now, when he first came here our Movement was perhaps the only body which had the right to claim him as being already a friend. When the Student Christian Movement made its way to Serbia a few years ag

1 minute read

Read Chapter

INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS

If the official churches have had no other merit but that they have preserved Christ as the treasury of the world, yet they are justified thereby. Even if they have solely repeated through all the past centuries "Lord! Lord!" still they stand above the secular world. For they know at least who the Lord is, whereas the world does not know. Churches may disappear, but The Church never will. For not churches are the work of Christ, but the Church. Moreover, if the Church disappears, as an instituti

10 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER I

The most magnificent sanctuary of the Eastern Churches is called St Sophia (Holy Wisdom), whereas the most magnificent sanctuaries of the Western Churches are called St Peter's, St Paul's, or St John's, etc. As every hair on our head and every line on the palm of our hand has a certain significance, so these dedications of the Church have doubtless certain significance. And this significance is typical of the religion of the East and the West. Western Christianity, grown upon the soil of a youth

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE INCLUSIVE WISDOM OF THE CHURCH'S FOUNDER

By His birth He included and bound together the lowest and the highest, the natural and the supernatural: stable, manger, straw, sheep and shepherds on the one hand; stars, angels, magi and Davidic royal origin on the other. By His life He included the austerity of the Indian monks, of John the Baptist and the Nazarenes on the one hand; and on the other the Confucian moderate feasting, in the houses of friends, at the marriage feast and on other solemn occasions. His life-drama was interwoven in

4 minute read

Read Chapter

THE INCLUSIVE WISDOM IN THE CHURCH'S ORGANISATION

Let us look now to the Christian Church in the early time of her formation. Jesus Christ gave the largest possible scheme on which to work and the largest foundation to build upon. There is no other name in history upon which more has been constructed than upon His name. The primitive Church realised it from the beginning, and declared it. She was inclusive from the first, inclusive in her teaching and worship. (a) Inclusive in Teaching.—Christ was put in the centre of the world's history. He re

5 minute read

Read Chapter

THE INCLUSIVE WISDOM IN THE CHURCH'S DESTINATION

Judaism was destined for the people of Israel only. The Christian Church was destined for the people of Israel too, but not for them only. She included Greeks as well. The Greek polytheism of Olympus was destined for the Hellenic race only. The Christian Church was destined for the Hellenic race too, but not for it only. She included Indians as well. Buddha's wisdom was offered to the monks and vegetarians. Monks and vegetarians the Christian Church included in her lap, but also married and soci

6 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER II

The Church is a drama. She represents the greatest drama in the world's history, yea, she personates the whole of the world's history. She originated in an astounding personal drama. Humanly speaking, in the life of Jesus Christ during the three years of His public work there was more that was dramatic, from an outside and inside point of view, than in the lives of all other founders of religion taken together. And speaking from a soteriological and theological point of view, His life-drama had

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE DRAMATIC FORMATION OF THE CHURCH

It was a quarrel, as usual, among men about God and bread, when Jesus interrupted them. Peter never thought to fish anything else all his life but fishes, nor Pilate to sentence to death anyone but criminals, nor the Jewish patriots that they were losing their greatest opportunity, nor the heathen of Britannia that they were contemporaries with the very God in flesh of their posterity. How many times did it happen that Jesus during the first thirty years of His life was present in the temple whe

4 minute read

Read Chapter

THE EXTERNAL CONFLICTS OF THE MILITANT CHURCH

For the quantity and quality of the conflicts are the conditions of the dramatic life of a person as well as of a society. Well, the Christian Church had plenty of the most extraordinary conflicts, external and internal. Among the gravest external conflicts I reckon her conflicts with Patriotism and Imperialism. The first Christians were persecuted most fiercely by the exclusive Jewish patriots, as all good Christians always have been persecuted by exclusive patriots. For it is an essential char

5 minute read

Read Chapter

THE INTERNAL CONFLICTS OF THE CHURCH

Dramatic was the external course of Church history, fighting against exclusive Patriotism and Imperialism, dramatic too, her internal struggles for a true doctrine and an ethical ideal. 1. The Struggle for a True Doctrine.—The central problem for the living Church has always been: Who was Jesus? and how to worship Him? The restless spirit of humanity endeavoured to define the details both in His relation to God and to the world. The Church did not define her doctrine in advance, but bit by bit,

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHURCH THE SERVANT OF PATRIOTISM AND IMPERIALISM

Patriotism and Imperialism—qualities more physical than spiritual—were the worst enemies of the primitive Church, as I tried to show in my previous chapters. Well, Patriotism and Imperialism have been the most prominent qualities of modern Europe. Now compare the primitive Church with the modern Church: the primitive Church fought most tenaciously and heroically against the exclusive Patriotism of the Jews and against the Imperialism of the Romans, and the modern Church serves very obediently mo

5 minute read

Read Chapter

THE LITTLE ISLANDS AMIDST THE OCEAN

Why did not the Church—the educator of Europe for the space of nineteen hundred years—why did she not protest against this War? Because she was too weak everywhere; and, even if she had protested, her voice would not have been listened to. But why was the Church so weak as to be silent at a most fatal moment in history, and to have to listen to the Foreign and War Offices to know what the truth was? Because she was not a united, universal Church, like a lofty mountainous continent despising all

2 minute read

Read Chapter

SELF-CASTIGATION

The Christian monks of old used to castigate themselves when a great plague came over the world. They used to consider themselves as the real cause of the plague, and did not accuse anybody else. Well, this extreme method ought to be used now by the Churches, for the good of mankind and for their own good. It would be quite enough to bring the dawning of a new day for Christianity if this self-castigation of the Churches were only a self-criticism. If, for instance, the Eastern Church would say:

3 minute read

Read Chapter

A COMMON ILLUSION

The present agony of the Church has resulted from an illusion which has been common to all the Churches, i.e. that one of the Churches could be saved without all other Churches. It is, in fact, only the enlarged Protestant theory of individualism, which found its expression, especially in Germany, in the famous formula: "Thou, man, and thy God!" It is an anti-social and anti-Christian formula too, quite opposed to the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father," which is in the plural and not in the singular po

4 minute read

Read Chapter

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

What is the Church, psychologically viewed? The Church is: 1. A school of the Christian spirit. That is her first task in the world. 2. She is the Body of Christ. That is her official and physical determination—her firm, her name. 3. She is the living Christ Himself, i.e. Christ's body (consisting of all the human bodies inside the Church organisation), and Christ's spirit (filling all the human bodies inside the Church). That is her ideal, her end, her Horeb. What is the Church, sociologically

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE POVERTY OF EUROPEAN CIVILISATION

The poverty of European civilisation has been revealed by this war. The ugly nakedness of Europe has brought to shame all those who used to bow before Europe's mask. It was a silken shining mask hiding the inner ugliness and poverty of Europe. The mask was called: culture, civilisation, progress, modernism. All was only vanitas vanitatum and povertas povertatum. When the soul fled away, what remained was empty, ugly and dangerous. When religion plunged into impotence, then: Science became a

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRISTIANISATION OF THE CHURCH

The Church must first awaken out of her sleep and her European emptiness, and then Europe will come again to life. The Church has failed, not because she was not Europeanised, but just because she was too much Europeanised. Instead of inspiring Europe she was inspired by Europe, i.e. emptied by the empty Europe. The soul obeyed the body and became the body itself. All the secular watchwords entered the Church and the Church watchwords were eclipsed. Liberalism, conservatism, ceremonialism, right

4 minute read

Read Chapter

THE ONLY NECESSARY EXCLUSIVENESS OF THE CHURCH

When you deeply search in history about the causes of the strength of the primitive Church and of the weakness and decay of the modern Church, you will come to a very clear and simple conclusion. 1. The primitive Church was inclusive as to its forms, but exclusive as to its spirit. 2. The modern Church has been exclusive as to its forms, but inclusive as to its spirit. The primitive Church was very puritanic concerning the Christian spirit. She was not particular as to the vessels in which to po

4 minute read

Read Chapter

ECCLESIA TRIUMPHANS

How can the church get her past strength again and triumph over the evil inside and outside her walls? If she were united she could get it by waiting for the ruin of Europe—i.e. of a house which is divided in itself—which is not very far off. But she the Church—is divided too. She is fighting with and for the European parties, and against herself. Consequently, in waiting for the ruin of Europe she is waiting for her own ruin. Therefore she must make up her mind lest it is too late. Horribile di

2 minute read

Read Chapter

HOLY CHURCH IN HOLY EUROPE

Europe has been eclipsed because her Church—her soul—has been eclipsed; the Church has been eclipsed because her principal ideal has been eclipsed. The principal ideal of the Church is saintliness. This ideal, plunged down into darkness like a sun into ashes, must come out again to illuminate the Church and Europe. Europe has tried all the ways but the way of the Church, the European Church has tried all the ways but the way of Christ. Well, then, Europe must try the only way left, which is sain

2 minute read

Read Chapter