This must always be remembered, and therefore we must not hope for the possibility of absolute perfection on earth (whether of an individual or a state, or of the whole world), but with humility always strive only for the best possible, remembering that such an aspiration is already work in the harvest-fields of the Lord (cf. paragraph 18). From this it does not follow not only that one can ever be satisfied with something, and not always strive from the best to the best (quite the opposite!), but also that one should not strive for absolute perfection. Such an aspiration exists in us, given to us by God, and God does not give us anything unnecessary or erroneous. Absolute perfection must be striven for, but it must be understood that its place is not in empirical limited reality, but beyond its boundaries, and that the way to it lies in overcoming empirical reality, in defeating it. By the mercy of our Lord, the perfection and fullness of the Church exists, and "the Kingdom of God has drawn near to us"; And because it has come nearer, has become visible and tangible, we can understand the imperfection of our being and realize the cause of this imperfection as our sin, i.e., repent or "change our minds" (metanoein). Repentance is the knowledge of the Kingdom of God, i.e., the beginning of it in us, i.e., the beginning of overcoming the necessity created by the sin that we freely commit. This is already the beginning of perfection beyond the limits of what is possible on a sinful earth, going beyond its boundaries, or communion with Christ, Who has conquered the world.

Christ conquered the world, i.e. the sinful necessity of the world or the sin expressed in it, by complete self-denial, by His sufferings and His death on the cross. And to conquer the world, i.e. to reach absolute perfection and perfect the world, is possible only in union with Christ (paragraph 8). Unity with Christ is achieved through man's co-formation with Him. And conformity to Jesus Christ is not imitation (imitatio) of Him, i.e. not an external reproduction or repetition of His life, which, as an individual, is unique, but the bringing of man into such a state that he lives and acts in a given situation and conditions as Christ would live and act in his place. Christ Himself lives and acts in man who conforms himself to Christ (Gal. 2:20): so united is man "clothed in Christ" with Him, Man and God. We approach this conformity by fulfilling the commandments of Christ, that is, by applying and necessarily concretizing and individualizing them in our one and only life, as if continuing the work of Christ on earth. But even greater is the conformity to Christ Jesus when we "get accustomed" to His concrete image, which is not conveyed either in general rules or in descriptions, but is vitally fully perceived. But conformity with Christ is impossible without communion and His love for those for whom He suffered, that is, without active love for people or without entering as a living member into the Body of Christ, into the Church. Therefore, co-formation with Christ is churching. It makes man and the associations of people personal (paragraph 4), overcoming the necessity of sin, and free (of course, everything to the extent of being churched or conforming to Christ). It places them, as it were, on the threshold of empirical existence, where the world ceases to be necessary and becomes a free world of God's miracles. Wandering on earth with our eyes downcast, we see nothing but earthly, necessary and sinful, and we cannot see. But as soon as we raise our eyes from the ground, we will see the righteous Optina elders, the holy elder Seraphim of Sarov, we will see how on the threshold of their cell the sinful necessity of the world miraculously ceases, and through the narrow door of the cell, a new earth and a new heaven open up in it. Here is the passage to heaven, here the imperfect, being perfected, merges with the perfect. The Church stands as its saints, and the saints by their miracles teach us to see the miracle of the sacraments and of the entire life of the Church.

This is a difficult and long path, the path of co-formation with Christ in churching, a path that at first bears imperceptible fruits. But this is the only true and possible way to overcome sinful necessity and perfection, and not only to it, but also to the "correct" empirical life. Often it is too late to think about victory over sin when sin tempts: it is already too strong. We must think about the victory over it in advance, prepare to fight it when it is not yet heard, and not with this or that sin — for do we know which will creep up first? — but with sinfulness, with the possibility of any sin. One must educate oneself, educate oneself on the small and everyday, and then one will stand firm in the struggle against the great and the unexpected. Then you will be surprised to find in yourself the great power of God's grace, accumulated in small things. It is often too late to think about the best way to act in a given case, when this case is already in front of you and does not give you time to think, and you must act and act in the best possible way. One must prepare in advance for all eventualities, i.e., for it is impossible to foresee everything, to make oneself capable of the best action in any circumstances. All this is achieved by churching. It is only necessary to remember that a sinful person always sins, and churching will not make him incapable of sinning on earth. He can sin more or less and will sin the less the more and more deeply he becomes churched.

All these considerations, of course, are equally applicable to the individual personality, and to the conciliar or symphonic personality, in particular, and to the state-controlled people.

Thus, the degree of empirical perfection of man, the state, the world, and their very existence (paragraph 15) depends on the degree of their churching, and the Church turns out to be the "salt of the world." It is pious to think that an imperfect and sinful being exists only in order to overcome sin and be perfected, and only because it overcomes sin and is perfected. In other words, it exists because Christ saved it. That is why Christ is the light of the world. For this reason all that exists is through Him, and through Him the ages were created. For, confessing the Symbol of Faith, we also remember that "the Word of God working miracles and Christ who suffered is not another and another, but... the same is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, incarnate and incarnate" (5 Ecumenical Council, Anathema, canon 3).

20. One of the greatest errors is the so-called doctrine of non-resistance to evil by force, which reveals a complete lack of understanding of what perfect and imperfect being is and what their relationship is. This teaching contradicts Christian truth primarily in that it preaches inaction, while Christianity calls for active love and considers inaction to be a great sin, not allowing us to abandon the fulfillment of the tasks of life that lie ahead of us. Moreover, he who does not resist evil in fact almost always resists it precisely by force, only not directly and openly, but indirectly and hypocritically. Remaining to live in society and enjoying its benefits, he, of course, participates in wars and in the fight against crime, but in the safest and most convenient way for himself - shifting the danger and inconvenience onto others. If, above all, he also assumes that his "example" will convert other people and that they will defeat the world's evil in such a "reasonable" and easy way, he falls into excessive pride and sets an example of extreme misunderstanding of the world. Only he who suffers from this evil himself has the right not to resist evil by force: whether it is directed at him, or in such a way that his non-resistance makes him a victim. But there is no "non-resistance" here, the place of which is taken by self-sacrifice as the truest and best means of victory over the evil world (paragraph 19).

Usually, the doctrine of non-resistance to evil is refuted with the help of some imaginary and supposedly concrete example: what will a non-resister do and what should a Christian do if an evildoer encroaches on the life of an infant, and the infant can only be saved by killing the evildoer? Contrary to its form, this is not at all a concrete example, but an abstract proposition. After all, it must be understood that in such cases living and normal people do not resonate and discuss the moral and philosophical problem, but act, moreover, directly, instinctively. Nevertheless, the above example seems to be quite convenient for clarifying the correct attitude to the issue.

The duty of a Christian in this case is 1) to save the child, and 2) to save the soul of the evildoer, i.e. to keep him from the evil deed and, preserving his life and freedom, to evoke in him complete repentance and rebirth. For the sake of both goals, a Christian must be ready to sacrifice his life, and refusal to fulfill at least one of them will be a sinful inaction. Another question is how different people will act, among whom, of course, there will not be a single absolutely sinless person. "A righteous and holy man will probably be able to achieve both ends with a single gesture, word, or look, with one uncalculated, direct expression of his being. The less righteous will just as directly limit their task to the protection of the child. One will restrain the villain without harming him, another will enter into a struggle with him, a third will "accidentally" wound him in the struggle, a fourth will "kill him like a dog." This or that action corresponds to the essence and condition of this particular person, fully explained by his past, the self-education of which we have spoken (paragraph 19), and the degree of churching. Of course, it is not accidental that an "accidental" wound or murder is intentional, involuntary, but corresponding to the state of the person and, therefore, nevertheless determined by him (cf. paragraph 13).

A theoretical examination of the above case cannot lead to the establishment of any generally binding norm of conduct; In practice and concretely, the problem in each individual case is solved by itself, and the solution logically follows from the religious and moral state of man. True, this is not an answer to the question of what a Christian should do, but the elimination of the question, because it is an invented and meaningless question. In a general form, it should be said: a Christian must and can fulfill both of the goals indicated to us without sin, but only on the condition of his complete conformation with Christ, his complete churching; Otherwise, he will act all the worse and more sinful, the less ecclesiastical he is, the closer he is to the unbeliever and even to the animal (see paragraph 8), and by inaction, by self-withdrawal from sin, he will not be saved, for then he will not fulfill his Christian duty at all (paragraph 10).

21. Это ясно и просто и дает руководящую точку зрения для оценки всякой человеческой деятельности, как деятельности индивидуума, так и деятельности государства. К несчастью, люди любят философствовать и там, где надо действовать и жить. Учению о непротивлении злу противопоставляют более или менее хитроумные учения о христианском долге противления силою, оправдывая и — по крайней мере, подразумевательно — считая в известных случаях безгрешными и чуть ли не добром убийства, казни и т. п., витийствуя на тему о «православном мече». Все подобные рассуждения представляются нам (параграф 17) прямым извращением Христова учения, и, как справедливо заметил один владыка, если Церковь и знает и чтит святых воинов (жертвовавших собою), она не знает ни одного святого палача.

Теоретически решение вопроса затруднено потому, что постоянно смешивают совершенное Царство Божие, на земле только прорастающее или становящееся, с грешным эмпирическим бытием, грешным и несовершенным (ср. параграф 14). В совершенном не может быть никакого зла, ни войн, ни насилий, ни убийств; в несовершенном и грешном не может быть, поскольку оно несовершенно и грешно, никакого добра. Но на самом деле мы живем в мире, который из несовершенного становится совершенным и, будучи греховным, грех свой частично уже и превозмогает. В таком мире должно быть внутреннее противоречие, должен существовать трагический разлад. Такой мир сразу, в каждом явлении своем, и греховен, поскольку он несовершенен, и не греховен, поскольку он совершенствуется, совершенствуется же он путем преодоления своего греха, путем самоопределения. Его совершенствование есть и его переход в инобытие, в Царство Божие; и потому нельзя смотреть на это совершенствование, только как на явление эмпирическое, или думать, будто на земле возможно что–либо абсолютно праведное, святое, совершенное (ср. параграф 4).

В жизни нашей и в жизни всего мира трагедия остается: объяснимая теоретически, она не находит своего эмпирического разрешения, да и не может и не должна найти. Как же иначе, если каждый из нас сразу и хочет пребывать в ограниченности греховного бытия и хочет ограниченность преодолеть? Мы несем противоречие в себе самих, внутри нас (ср. параграф 8), и мы сами не хотим избавиться от него. Если бы мы захотели от него избавиться, его бы не было. Для этого надо только вполне сообразовать себя Христу, вполне оцерковиться, т. е. отречься от всего: от мира, от себя, и тем, победив себя и мир, себя и мир преобразить. Но мы хотим достичь того же потихоньку, да помаленьку, без особых страданий и хлопот. И нечего удивляться, что выходит бессмыслица. Так надо же, по крайней мере, осознать, что она в нас, что мы маловерны, малодушны и ничтожны, а не заниматься самооправданиями.

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