Is the assimilation of merit really necessary for the human race? It is necessary: this is evident from all the Epistles of the Apostles, in which salvation is first offered, and then it is suggested to use or apply this salvation to oneself. If it were not necessary, then everyone would be saved: God has no respect for persons. From what passages of Scripture can it be seen that God is the main agent in the assimilation of salvation? The Apostle says: "God is the last messenger, as men to death" (1 Corinthians 4:9). Hence also from the words of Jesus Christ: "Go and teach all things... (Matt. 28:19), and also from the words of the Apostle: "And to Him He gave to eat sheep, for the Apostles... (Ephesians 4:11), it is clear that God declares salvation to man. From the words: "For God is at work in you, and will and do" (Phil. 2:13); and also from the Epistle of the Apostle Peter: "For all His Divine powers, which are given to us unto life and godliness, are given by the mind of Him Who called... (2 Pet. 1:3) - it is clear that God is also omnipotent. Moreover, from Whom are all the means that serve to assimilate salvation, for example, the Church, the word, the Sacraments, illumination? Clearly, from God; therefore, God is the main agent.

Is it the biblical teaching that the Holy Spirit is a special agent? Biblical, for Who established the Church? The Holy Spirit, as it was revealed at His triumphal descent upon the Apostles at Pentecost; then, when summoning the apostles to preach, for example, Paul; He breathed the word to the apostles, He acts in the Sacraments, in the Church, and so on. Thus, there is no doubt that He is a special agent.

Is Jesus Christ an agent in this respect? There is: He Himself first announced salvation; Then He sent the Apostles to preach, or, what is the same thing, to proclaim salvation. Does He still act now? This is not directly evident from the Epistles of the Apostles; but in the Revelation of St. John the Theologian (Apocalypse) we clearly see: there is no important warfare without this pure and blameless Lamb. Thus, the agents of assimilation in the Divinity are represented by two Persons: the second and the third, and the special agent is the Holy Spirit.

Does the Holy Scripture say that God also uses natural means for this - the mind, conscience and events? It is not directly stated, but it does not follow from this that God did not use these means. Scripture is silent about them because it deals only with supernatural means. Meanwhile, history shows that these means were used by God. And the mind cannot but agree to this. For what are we given reason and conscience? To lead us to perfection, but perfection is in Christianity; Consequently, the means leading to perfection lead to Christianity.

Has God always used so many means and such as we have shown? In the first centuries or, better, in the first century of Christianity, there were other means, since at that time the first foundation of the Christian faith was laid, it was a difficult matter, and there were more means. Thus, at that time there were extraordinary messengers - the apostles, chosen by Jesus Christ Himself; thus, the Holy Spirit clearly inspired those whom He chose what they should do and where to go. This is evident from the passage in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, where the Holy Spirit commanded Paul and Barnabas to be separated for the work of service. These chosen ones were endowed by God with special gifts - the gift of miracles, tongues, and the like. But these special and original remedies did not last long; the end of the first century can be put to the end of all this; after this, although they were there, they were not in such power. With the beginning of the second century, the permanent remedies that we now use began and came into use. But, having extraordinary means, which we do not have, the Christians of the first century did not yet have, or did have, but not in such fullness, ordinary means. Thus, the Church was only an initial sprout for them, without further development; the written word, if it existed, then only in parts; The sacraments were also used only those to which the Scriptures directly and clearly point as having been established by Jesus Christ. All this: the Church, the word, the Sacraments, has been in full and constant use since the second century, when the miraculous gifts ceased.

The first and main means that God uses to assimilate salvation to the human race is the Church.

What is the essential responsibility of the Church? To preach, or to proclaim salvation to men, and to assist in the application of salvation. How should she do this? Here she has to pay attention to people. There is a significant proportion of people who already know Christ. In relation to them, the Church's activity should partly consist in preaching, or in declaring salvation, for they also do not fully know it; but mainly it should consist in helping them, or in indicating the way in which the means of salvation are used. This is how the Church should act with the faithful. But there are many who do not know Christ, salvation; By this the Church is obliged to preach, to proclaim salvation. This duty has been forgotten by it for many centuries and is now forgotten. The Church, as it were, cares only about her own salvation; this is sufficient for a private person, but for the governmental Church it is more necessary - it must take care to bring everyone to the knowledge of the Son of God. Our Russian Church is also guilty of this. It only partially fulfills this office, for the vast Siberia is all filled with idolaters, to whom all attention should have been paid long ago. The same is noticeable in other Churches. Some formed whole societies and converted many in Africa and the islands of Australia; however, the whole thing is not done as it should be; not in the way it was done in the first centuries of Christianity. Thus, one may ask: Do we believe in Christ? If we believe, we must preach Him to all nations. The Church must remember that what the Apostle Paul said about himself applies to her, that she has a duty to preach the gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:16).

Thus, through the Church, first, the declaration of salvation must be accomplished. Salvation is stored in it, and it must communicate it to one and all. Jesus Christ in Heaven; but whoever wants to see Him, for him He is also on earth, in the company of the faithful, in the Church, and moreover here He can be seen in the most sensual form. For He is contained in the Scriptures, and the Scriptures describe in such detail all the features of His face and all the circumstances of His life, that by reading them one can draw the most faithful image of Jesus Christ, one can see Him. It speaks of Christ: who is He, what has He done and is doing, and what does He offer for hope, what does He command to hope? Thus, the Church is the guardian of salvation and the helper in assimilating it from all sides.

Is it depicted in the Holy Scriptures as an organ of grace established by God Himself? Portrayed. Jesus Christ says: I created the Church... and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). He is also presented as the Head of the Church, which means that the Church, as the Body of Jesus Christ, is built, moved and enlivened by Him. It is composed of rulers and subordinates. Are the rulers from God? From God. And to Him (Jesus Christ), - says the Apostle, - gave sheep to eat, because the apostles, and the sheep prophets, and the sheep evangelists (Ephesians 4:11)... This means that the church hierarchy is from God. The main duty of pastors is to perfect the saints in the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12); the most particular is to teach faith and piety: "Go and teach all tongues" (Matt. 18:19), or: "Until we attain all..." perfect to a man, to the measure of the stature of the fulfillment of Christ (Ephesians 4:13); also to celebrate the Sacraments: so let man not respect us, as servants of Christ and builders of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).

In order to define in more detail the duties of the Church, it is necessary to pay attention to the aspects of the human soul on which she acts. There are three sides to our soul: mind, will, and feeling.

Thus, in Christ there is light, and in Christians darkness must disappear and only truth must dwell; in Christ holiness and chastity - and sin must be expelled from Christians, and virtue must take its place; in Christ there is painlessness and indestructibility, and from Christians sickness and disorder must be removed and immortality must be given to them. For this purpose, is the Church provided with any special promises? For this purpose, it has the direct promise of Jesus Christ about His omnipotent presence: "Behold, I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20); or: "For where there are two or three gathered together in My name, I am in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). It has the advantage of having the visible body of the invisible Head, Jesus Christ. Without this Chapter, it could not have acted for such an important purpose. It could partially fulfill it, for people themselves can act for this purpose in part, but not completely. It fulfills it fully because Jesus Christ Himself, its Head, acts with it.

In this case, along what paths is the activity of Jesus Christ directed? This path is indicated by the duties of the Church. Thus, the Church must be a teacher: Jesus Christ is her inspirer in this respect; The Church must be its leader: Jesus Christ is its steward, supreme judge and guide in this respect; The Church, finally, has a ceremonial side: in this respect as well, Jesus Christ watches that nothing inconsistent with the spirit enters into it.

What are the fruits or consequences of this presence of Jesus Christ in the Church? There must be participation in life and sympathy with the Head in each member, and this is the general consequence of this presence. Here it is impossible to make a strict distinction between the members, for here one member can replace another, and not as it happens in the ordinary, material body, where the hand cannot be a foot, and vice versa. Experiments confirm that in the Church the last members were sometimes vouchsafed what the first did not have. However, the immediate consequences of the presence of Jesus Christ should extend to the leaders, who have in this respect the moral advantage given by Jesus Christ Himself and transmitted by the apostles. What are the consequences of the presence of Jesus Christ that extend to the pastors of the Church, or to the representative Church? The first consequence is the infallibility and blamelessness of the Church, that is, the Church cannot establish anything or teach any teaching that is contrary to the spirit of religion. But how is this infallibility or blamelessness to be understood?

That the presence of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit protects the Church from great and very important errors is beyond doubt. This is required both by the importance of leaders, such as the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, and by the good of mankind, which could not stand with such errors. But does its infallibility extend to the complete impossibility of sinning? Catholic society also affirms this kind of infallibility, which, in its opinion, is expressed in the pope. In our Church, this opinion is not defined. Some have assimilated such infallibility to the Ecumenical Councils: such an opinion is found in the Rock of Faith (1 Corinthians 10:4); in Irenaeus, it is not the Church that is given complete infallibility, but the Holy Spirit acting in the Church. This opinion, on the one hand, may seem sophisticated, for there is no dispute about this, that the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are infallible; but on the other hand, it seems to be the best Christian opinion. How is that? Fallibility and infallibility can and should be attributed to the mind that dwells in the spirit or in the soul. But this Church, in the strict sense, is only the body. The spirit or soul of this body, and consequently the mind, is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Therefore fallibility or infallibility must be attributed to Them. And therefore it is quite correctly said that it is not the Church, but the Spirit who works in the Church, that is infallible; the Church herself is fallible, but her mind is infallible; but if so, then the Church is also infallible; for the Church, the body, is governed by Jesus Christ, the mind. This is partly incomprehensible and seems strange, because we do not see the union of this Head with her body, and even more so we do not see how this Head controls the movements of her body. These movements are of two kinds: some come from our invisible Head, and others from us; the former are infallible, and the latter may be incorrect. However, it is difficult to distinguish which movements are from us and which are from our Head. Thus, the opinion of Irenaeus is the best of all; it is based on the teaching of the Apostle Paul that Jesus Christ is the Head, and we are His members. It seems to be a sophism to the superficial eye, which does not see that there is such a close connection between the Church and Christ as there is between the body and the soul.