We cherish the words of St. Basil the Great, who said that grace is lost outside the Church, succession is unlawful, because there, layman lays hands on layman, without imparting any grace, of which there is none and cannot be outside the one Church, outside the oneness of the body of Christ.
Truth stood before Pilate in Its entirety. So do the Church dogmas draw Truth that is accessible to us. The dogmas of the Church are as high above human teachings, carrying the names of their discoverers, as the Godly is above the human. Because we are human, we are limited. The Godly cannot be compared with what we can think of or imagine. Eternal life reveals to us knowledge, from which must issue activity, not the other way around. The teachings of the Church are true and sensible. They operate not through arbitrary human reasoning, but through reason which is subjugated to obedience to Christ, i.e. by the Spirit of God…
Observing "purity of life" is a foundation on which different shortcomings can take hold, having their origin from "acts of law." A law of piety can thus be confirmed, but the "law of grace" is rejected. This will occur in all teachings except those of the Church. For the Church, "purity of life" is not a foundation, but a result, and this is the essence. "Purity of life" cannot be a foundation, because the foundation cannot be anything human, like acts of law or anything similar. The foundation can only be something Godly. Only the teaching of the Church is coordinated with Evangelism and draws on it.
There may be many "confessors," but only the teaching of the Church gave people saints. Outside the Church there may be wise men, moralists, but not saints. The Church was able to give us Athanasius the Great, Sergius, Phillip, Seraphim, John. But Protestantism was only able to give Luther, Calvin, and others like them. The image of a saint – is the image of someone humble, not putting oneself forward. The image of a Protestant is of one asserting oneself. This is why Protestants have eternally progressive divisions. Sects continually fragment, carrying one or another human name on their banner. Jesus Christ is consigned to oblivion and is replaced by one or another "teacher." The Church struggles against such teachings, asserting the Only and Eternal Teacher, the God-person Jesus Christ.
Mystical sects replace Jesus Christ in His Most Godly Wisdom and end up deifying one or another human-sinner. According to such interpretation, Jesus Christ is only one of the Godly wise men. According their understanding, God’s wisdom rested on the person Christ, and He became a "Humangod." In this interpretation, Christianity is a religion of a humangod, not of a God-person. Tolstoy said, that Christianity is so simple and clear, that if there had been no Christ, he would have been able to think up "Christianity" by himself. At the same time, Tolstoy forgot that from the beginning of time there have been wise men and founders of religions, asserting that they know the truth and the true way of life. But not one of them could assert, that He "is the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Such "theologians" brought not evangelism, but offered people their own teachings, not having anything in common with the Gospel. The teachings of some Garnak is only his teaching, having nothing to do with Christianity. The same can be said of the teaching of sects. If they do not "gather with Christ," then they "squander," or otherwise lose their life outside Christ. Only those, who lose their life in Christ (in His Church) – gain life.
The teaching of the Church is entirely reasonable. One cannot arbitrarily throw aside one part or another of the Gospel of Christ. One cannot use Scripture alone, rejecting that which was passed on orally. In one’s judgments about Christianity, one must take into consideration how it was understood by all those who accepted it "everywhere" and "always." And all these undeniable, simple and clear provisions are by-passed with silence and ignored by the enemies of the Church, because they do not have answers to them. They rush to change the discussion to something, by essence completely different. For example, they begin to speak of utilitarian morality, as if the Church is against morality. But everyone knows that the Church alone, through its saints, revealed morality in its entire scope, fullness and meaning. Attacks on the Church are not based on anything serious and cannot stand up to criticism. They are completely "subjective" and devoid of reasonable and objective bases. Only the Church’s understanding of Christianity is reasonable.
When the former follower of Tolstoy and revolutionary prince Khilkov came to this understanding of the source of Truth, then he could convincingly write: "If the teaching of the living Organism of the Body of Christ is rejected, then an "organization" surfaces, i.e. a party, not distinguishable in essence from any other party… While the dogmas of the Church live and give life particularly because they are connected to the living Body – Organism. The rules of religious organizations and parties, as determining the mechanical growth of that which is, in essence, dead – are dead themselves. One cannot speak of the growth of a party. If one fills a bag with grain, one cannot speak of the growth of the bag. In precisely the same manner one cannot speak of the growth of "spiritual life," if the person, who yesterday fulfilled three laws, today fulfilled a fourth. For this reason I invite you to the Church and take it upon myself to demonstrate to you that there is no freedom outside the Church, and that, which is defended under the name of "freedom" outside the Church, is not freedom, but high-handedness."
An indication of belonging to the Church – is unity with it in life and humble obedience to it. It alone has the full grace of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit enlivens only the body of the Church, but God’s Spirit cannot be outside this Body, no matter what words are spoken there. Outside the Church there isn’t and cannot be this blessed unity. There, one can only find innumerable divisions. He who has separated from the Church – has died for Church life and for the understanding of Christian faith and morality…
We are consecrated by Christ – the Lamb of God, but consecrated by the Holy Spirit through the hierarchy. Those who reject the priesthood – are church apostates. They are exposed in the Eucharist, "their teaching is not in accordance with the Eucharist" (St. Irinaeus). The Eucharist itself is the "Mystery of Mysteries," performed by the Lord Himself, through the Eucharistical intercession of the earthly Church. Those who seek salvation in the Church, find it only in the Church established by the Apostles, founded by Christ Himself. This Church, having the Mysteries and hierarchy, is the True Church, while all other religious "organizations" are not churches, but arbitrary gatherings. "The spiritually blind do not see, that they gain trust in themselves, only through the name of Jesus Christ, which they connect with the poison of their own teaching." (Trallian)
We find the following golden words in the first volume of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov: "I desire better to be obedient to the Church, than to be smarter than It and to separated from It." "Outside of obedience to the Church there is no humility, nor spiritual reason…"
Archpriest Nikolai Deputatov