And then came the so-called Crusades (1096-1270), of which there were seven. The Popes of Rome launched these campaigns to liberate the Holy Land from the Mohammedans, but in reality they had the goal of destroying the Orthodox Church. By temporarily seizing Orthodox lands, the Catholic crusaders did more harm to the Orthodox than the Muslims: they mocked the Orthodox, and especially the Orthodox shrines. And this further deepened the division of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. In 1453, Constantinople (Tsargrad) fell under the blows of the Mohammedan Turks. The ancient Byzantine Orthodox kingdom ceased to exist as a stronghold of Orthodoxy. Byzantium and Constantinople were called the second Rome, as the capital of the Roman Empire. As we can see, the Orthodox world had no rest, and there was no longer a suitable time for the convocation of the 8th Ecumenical Council.

But on the other hand, further Ecumenical Councils were not needed, because at the former seven Ecumenical Councils everything that was necessary for Orthodox teaching was determined and established. All Christian dogmas are fully formed on them. But with the passage of time, new questions have arisen that require a conciliar solution by the entire Orthodox Church. From this point of view, the 8th Ecumenical Council is necessary and will be convened when the time is favorable. All Orthodox conferences and conferences are only preparatory bodies for the convocation of an Ecumenical Council. If it pleases the Lord, then such a Council will finally resolve the question of the unification of the Churches, for which everyone prays, and what the best Christian thinkers aspire to. The unification of the Churches is the work of God, and without the will of God it will not be accomplished.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses are an extremely militant, one might say, aggressive organization. 20 years ago it had only 60,000 people, and now it has 950,000. Every year, on average, it grows by 10%. See how the conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses held in New York stadiums are growing. In July 1950, 112,410 "Jehovah's Witnesses" gathered at the Yankee Stadium. In July 1953, there were already 165,000 of them. In July 1958, one stadium was no longer enough, along with the Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds Stadium was also removed. That year, 259,922 "Jehovah's Witnesses" participated. Now they hold their conventions simultaneously in several cities in America.

Who are Jehovah's Witnesses? This sect was founded by Charles Russell in 1872. Russell, a native of Pennsylvania, was a Presbyterian. On the basis of some sophisticated calculations connected with the Egyptian pyramids, he predicted that the end of the world would come in 1874, i.e. two years after the founding of the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses. Russell then moved the end of the world to 1914. But Russell died in 1916, and the "end of the world" never came.

Another leader of the sect, Rotherford, denounced Russell as a "servant of the devil." He created a new theory, according to which at the end of the world there will be an "Armageddon" battle between "Jehovah's armies" and the armies of the devil. At the same time, the 144,000 chosen "Jehovah's Witnesses" will be transformed into disembodied angels, and a million other "Jehovah's Witnesses" belonging to the lower class will acquire their worldly flesh and become immortal. It is immortality that those preachers who go from house to house insist on. They begin by supposedly bringing "hope for the future": become "Jehovah's witnesses" and you will gain immortality...

The main thing to know and remember is that Jehovah's Witnesses are a militant anti-Christian sect. They deny the divine origin of Christ, do not believe in the Holy Spirit, in the existence of the soul. The belligerence and aggressiveness of this sect is manifested not only in going from house to house, but also in the unusually assertive distribution of literature. Whereas in 1957 Jehovah's Witnesses distributed 16,547,180 books, brochures, and leaflets, in 1960 the figure was 22,726,433. They publish 2 magazines: "Oveik" and "Watchtower" - "Awake!" and "The Watchtower". In Brooklyn they had long had a huge printing press, occupying a whole block; Now they had to add a new thirteen-story printing house. Their main headquarters in Brooklyn employs 607 people. Now a new house of 12 floors has been built, as the staff increases by another 1100 people. All "Jehovah's Witnesses" who have been "baptized" are considered "priests." Of course, they are extremely well-read in the Bible. I do not think that any simple sinner could stand an argument with them on biblical topics. Therefore, wouldn't it be easier not to enter into such disputes with them at all? Recently, Catholics were not exactly officially, but, let's say, semi-officially invited to avoid contact with Jehovah's Witnesses. This is a very reasonable proposal. It should also be accepted by us, the Orthodox, so that we do not turn away from the path of truth and do not fall away from our native Orthodox Church.

Moralizing topics

Active Faith, January 1958

Christianity does not recognize passive faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Christianity is a life of grace, life in Christ and with Christ. As such, it should be active, active, highly spiritual.

"Faith without works is dead," writes the holy Apostle James. Orthodoxy is the highest form of Christianity, it is the true faith of Christ, given by God for the salvation of man.

Orthodoxy requires from a Christian activity in religious life, active service to God and neighbor, active self-improvement, and an active search for the Kingdom of Heaven. Passivity in Orthodoxy cannot be justified by the Gospel.