The Evangelist Luke also testifies that he writes his Gospel "about the events that are perfectly known among us," and writes in such a way "as those who from the beginning were self-seers and ministers of the Word handed down to us." And at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, the holy Evangelist Luke defines the content of his book, i.e. the Gospel, as follows: "I wrote the first book of all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day in which he ascended, having given commands by the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen, to whom he also manifested himself alive after his suffering, with many sure proofs, appearing to them for forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:1-3). What we are all witnesses to, all the apostles could say about themselves, and could also say at the end of their apostolic preaching, as they said at the beginning (Acts 2:32).

To Paul the Apostle, the Lord Himself, at His very first appearance to him, said: "For this reason I have appeared to you, "to make you a minister and a witness of the things which you have seen, and which I will reveal to you" (Acts 26:16). At the same time, sending Ananias to Paul, the Lord Jesus testified about him that he was "My chosen vessel, My chosen instrument, to declare My name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel. And I will show him how much he must strive and suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:15-16). Ananias, appearing to Paul at the same time, declares to him that "the God of our fathers has chosen thee, that thou mayest know His will, that thou mayest see the Righteous One, and hear the voice out of His mouth: for thou shalt be a witness unto Him before all men of the things which thou hast seen and heard" (Acts 22:14-15). St. Paul also calls the other apostles witnesses of Christ. Thus he calls Stephen, for example, (Acts 22:20), saying in visions to the face of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: "The blood of Stephen Thy witness was shed..." This is also the name given to the other apostles in his speech to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch, defining the content and nature of their preaching in the following way: "The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, not recognizing Jesus, fulfilled the words of the prophets. And not finding in Him any guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to kill Him. And when they had fulfilled all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in the tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He appeared for many days to those who went out with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and who are now His witnesses before the people" (Acts 13:27-31). The Lord Jesus calls Paul's ministry a testimony, saying to him in a vision: "As thou didst bear witness of Me in Jerusalem, so it behoveth thee also to bear witness in Rome" (Acts 23:11). In a similar way, Paul himself calls his apostolic ministry a witness. "Do not hesitate," he says to the elders of Ephesus, "teach you before men and from house to house, bearing witness to God by Jew and Greek, repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, that I may end my course with joy and service, which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:20-24). "To this day I stand," says Paul in his speech before King Agrippa, "bearing witness to the small and the great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would be, that is, that Christ had to suffer, and rose first from the dead, and proclaimed light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:22-23). Likewise, about the last period of St. Paul's activity in Rome, St. The writer notes that he "taught the Jews in Rome, bearing witness to the kingdom of God and assuring them of Jesus (giving testimonies and certifying them of Jesus) from the law of Moses and the prophets" (Acts 28:23).

The general attitude of the apostles, as well as of the prophets, as well as of the whole Church, not only of the New Testament, but also of the Old Testament, to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. To the Spirit and to the divine truth flowing from Them, St. Paul, like the other Apostles, presents in the following form. All believers in Jesus Christ are members of the one body of the Church. The earthly, New Testament, contemporary, militant Church is kindly connected with the Church of past times, with the Church of the Old Testament, with the triumphant, heavenly Church, even with the world of heavenly heavenly spirits. This entire great assembly of heavenly spirits and departed souls, the triumphant heavenly and militant earthly Church, the Old Testament and New Testament Church, the Church of past and present times, is bound together in a single knot, in the person of the God-Man, the divine Archangel of the heavenly hosts, our Lord Jesus, as its Head. In Him and through Him, the whole body of saved and saved souls is adopted as sons of God the Father and dares to call Him their Father. All this totality of saved and being saved souls is spiritualized by the Holy Spirit, by the Spirit of God, by the Spirit of Christ. It is this Spirit that instructs the entire body of the members of the Church into all truth, and in particular and primarily enlightens the holy men of God, the prophets and apostles, the pastors and God-ordained teachers of the Church, since in the living body of the Church different members have from God different ministries and purposes, gifts and powers.

One Spirit breathes in the one body of the Church. The Lord is one above it, and the God and Father of all is One. We are all imbued with the One Spirit. Each of us is given the grace of Christ. No one can even believe in the Lord Jesus and acknowledge Him as Lord, except through the Holy Spirit. The whole Church is enlightened and taught by the One Holy Spirit. "All believers," according to the words of John the Theologian (1 John 1:10). 2:20-27), have the anointing of the Holy One, and know all that is necessary for their salvation. And the anointing which they have received from Him abides in them, and they (all together) have no need of anyone to teach them; for this very anointing teaches them all things, and it is true and not false, and they have only to abide in what it has taught them." Nevertheless, in the church, although "the same Spirit," as St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, "His gifts are different. And the Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same, acting all in all, but the actions are different. Each is given a different manifestation of the Spirit for the common benefit of the body of the Church. Each of us is given grace, but according to a different measure of the gift of Christ. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. To another is faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. To some miracles, to others prophecy, to others different tongues. Yet all this is done by the One and the same Spirit, dividing to each separately by his own authority, as He pleases. For as the body is one, but has many members, and all the members of one body, though they are many, constitute one body, so Christ God arranged the members, each in the composition of the body, as He pleased. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; Or also the head of the legs: I don't need you. On the contrary, the members of the body, which seem to be the weakest, are much more necessary. And you are the body of Christ, and members separately. And others God has appointed in the Church, first, apostles, secondly, prophets, thirdly, teachers; further, to others He gave miraculous powers, also gifts of healing, and various tongues. Are all the apostles? Are all prophets? Are all miracle workers? Does everyone have the gifts of healing? Does everyone speak in tongues?

Are they all interpreters? Be zealous for the great gifts, for love, which is the height of perfection (1 Cor. ch. 12). And the Lord appointed some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, — with a special purpose, in special forms — namely: for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of service for the edification of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about and carried away by all the winds of doctrine, by the cunning of evil men, by the cunning art of deception; but through true love they returned all things to Him Who is the head, Christ" (Ephesians 4:7-16). From this it is revealed that although all the faithful are enlightened by the spirit of God in the knowledge of the saving truth of the Gospel; yet God has deliberately sent and is sending apostles, prophets and evangelists, pastors and teachers, so that the faithful would not be babes who wander and wander with every wind of doctrine in human lies. The mystery of Christ was not proclaimed to all generations of the sons of men as it was revealed to the holy apostles of Christ and prophets by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:5).

Let the true prophets, like the apostles, be enlightened by the Holy Spirit and expound their writings under His divine inspiration. But how to distinguish true prophets from untrue ones? How can we distinguish true apostles from false ones? How to distinguish true prophetic and apostolic writings from false ones?

Carefully preserving the purity of Christ's gospel, the true apostles of Christ pointed out by their actions and writings a multitude of persons and common principles that did not agree with Christ's teaching. Both the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and all the Apostolic Epistles, as well as the Apocalypse, are filled with these indications. There is no need to enumerate them (e.g., Rev. 2 and 3; Titus 3:9-10; 2 Tim. 4:14, etc.). It is worth reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude in order to see how steadfastly, vigilantly, and vigilantly the holy apostles stood on guard, guarding the purity of Christ's gospel. "There are false apostles," warns St. Paul of Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), "evil workers who take the form of apostles of Christ. And it is not surprising, because Satan himself takes the form of an angel of light; It is not surprising if the servants of Satan also take the form of servants of righteousness. There are people who trouble you, – warns St. Paul of Galatia (Gal. 1:7-12), – who want to stop preaching the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any other gospel than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so now I say again: Whoever preaches to you other gospel than that which you have received from us, let him be accursed. This is because the gospel which I have preached is not of men. For I also received it and learned it, not from man, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching of Christ, do not receive him into your house, and do not say that you will rejoice in him," commands John the Theologian (2 John 10). "Guard yourselves from dogs," warns St. Paul of the Philippians, "guard yourselves from evil workers, guard yourselves from division. Imitate me, brethren, and look at those who walk in the image which you have in us. For many, of whom I have spoken to you, and now even with tears I speak, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:2-17-18). The holy Apostles even watched over one another, so that their prudent adaptation to circumstances and to the tolerant views of men, according to the apostolic canon, should be all things, that they might save everyone, so that such adaptation would not cause temptation and harm to the weak (Gal. 6:11-15; Acts 21:15-25); so that even the true, but mysterious, incomprehensible apostolic preaching would not be distorted and turned into a pernicious error (1 Peter 3:15-17; James 2:14-26).

In the election of the twelve apostles, whose names and lives are historically known, who were direct disciples and eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed their lives for the truth of His teaching, there is historical proof that they are not false witnesses and preachers of the pure and authentic gospel of Christ. But in addition to this, natural-historical, there is also an indisputable and indisputable supernatural proof of the same truth. This latter consists in the multitude of miracles performed by the holy apostles, by which they themselves confirmed the divine origin of their messengership and preaching. Thus, the sacred writer of Acts narrates that immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit upon the apostles, which in itself was already an obvious miracle, since it was accompanied by a clear sign of receiving the gift of tongues, many miracles and signs were performed through the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42).

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles, with its accounts of the miracles of the Holy Apostles, shows how irresistibly the deeds and words of the Apostles, their miracles and daring fearlessness, their indication of the source of their power in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the ancient prophets, who foretold His death and resurrection, had an irresistible influence on their contemporaries. When Paul and Barnabas performed the miracle of healing a lame man from birth in Lystra, this miracle so amazed the eyewitnesses and others that all the people cried out: "The gods, being made like men, have come down to us," and they were about to offer them a pagan sacrifice, which gave the Apostle Paul an occasion to calm this agitation with a well-known speech to the people: "Men! What are you doing? And we, men like unto you, preach good tidings unto you, that ye may turn from these false gods unto the living God, who hath made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all that is in them; Who in past generations allowed all nations to go their own ways, although He did not cease to bear witness to Himself with good deeds, giving us rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:6-17). In general, God performed many miracles by the hands of Paul, as well as by Peter, so that handkerchiefs and aprons from Paul's body were placed on the sick, and their diseases ceased, and evil spirits came out of them. And the word of God grew and mighted with great power (Acts 19:11-20).

Then it is idle to ask whether Paul wrote what is attributed to him, and in general the question of the authenticity and integrity of the books of the New Testament. Precisely as to the authenticity of the Pauline writings, the so-called negative criticism made the least objections, because these objections are impossible. Who, for example.

In its entirety, this building is absolutely unparalleled in history. To destroy the authenticity of all these direct testimonies to the foundation of Christianity would be to destroy all historical authenticity. This would mean infinitely more than questioning the historical existence of Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar, Mohammed or even Napoleon, since no historical figure had as many witnesses and testimonies for himself as the divine person of Jesus Christ. The teaching of Socrates is attested to by one of his disciples Plato; and who does not believe that Socrates taught in this way and not otherwise? Who does not even believe that at the death of Socrates there was a true miraculous prediction about the day of his death? The divine dignity of Christ, His life and teaching, miracles and prophecies, death and resurrection are testified to by all these thousands and hundreds of thousands and millions of His direct disciples and disciples of His disciples, who, having examined everything by examination, recognized Him as the Son of God and sacrificed their whole lives to this faith, and very many laid down their lives for this faith.

If so, if the teaching of the New Testament has a truly historical significance, then it undoubtedly has a divine dignity.

Isn't it strange? Isn't it ridiculous? How did not those millions of millions who followed Christ in the course of nineteen centuries, especially those hundreds of thousands and millions of Christ's contemporaries and apostles, who for Christ's sake rejected kinship, friendship, all social ties, social positions and fortunes, all possessions and life itself?!

If it is impossible to separate Christ from the apostles and prophets, then it is impossible to separate it from the whole Church. If the prophets and apostles were the heralds of the divine truth of Christ, then the Church must also be the guardian of this truth. According to the word of Christ, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. He Himself remains in the Church until the end of time. And the Comforter Spirit also abides in the Church forever, guiding her into all truth. The Church remains in the world as the pillar and foundation of the truth. God gave the Church not only prophets and apostles, but also pastors and teachers, so that we would not be carried by every wind of teaching in human lies; He has given and will give, and will give, until we attain all to the full measure of the stature of Christ, that is, to the end of the ages. But were there false teachers and false teachings in the Church? Yes, there were, in the midst of heresies and schisms. Nevertheless, the truly catholic Orthodox Church, in the midst of the stormy sea of errors, stirred up by the storms of heresies and schisms, has always remained and will forever remain an unshakable pillar, an insurmountable stronghold, an immovable rock, the foundation of divine truth. The distinctive character of the truly Orthodox Church is revealed in the fact that she considered it her task to preserve the teaching of Christ and the Apostles in an indestructible wholeness not only in spirit, but also in letter. Having once received the canon of the holy books from the Holy Apostles, the Orthodox Church in all ages has been guided in relation to it by the testament of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the Apocalypse (Rev. 22:18-19): "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to these, God will put upon him the plagues written in this book; and whosoever shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away a portion of it from the book of the beast, and from the holy city, and from those which are written in this book." The whole world knows that the Church of Christ preserves every letter of the sacred canon as the apple of the eye. The Orthodox Church treated the Holy Lord's and Apostolic Tradition in the same way, according to the testament of St. Paul. St. Paul: "Beloved brethren of the Lord, God from the beginning, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and through faith in the truth of Christ, has chosen you unto salvation, to which He also calls you by our gospel, to attain to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, either by word or by our epistle. May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, Who has given eternal consolation and good hope in grace, strengthen you in every good word and deed. Faithful is the Lord, Who will strengthen you and keep you from evil. We charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to depart from every brother who walks disorderly, and not according to the tradition which you have received from us" (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; 3:3-6). (Conversations and Teachings, Vol. IV, 1887, Odessa, p. 274).