On the Title "Jehovah's Witnesses" Meeting Three. 9. On the Holy Trinity 10. On the Divinity of Christ 11. On Feasts 12. On the Veneration of Saints 13. On the Veneration of the Virgin Mary Deacon Andrei Kuraev's Review of the Book by Priest Oleg Stenyaev "Dispute with Jehovah's Witnesses"     Introduction The proposed work of the famous missionary, Priest Oleg Stenyaev, is unique for our time.

This is a literal record of a series of disputes he had with the elders of Jehovah's Witnesses. Such meetings have been held repeatedly recently, but the transcript of such meetings has not yet been published. However, the tradition of public discussion with heretics dates back to the biblical model. The prophets of Israel polemicized with idolaters, relying on the revelation of God.

The Apostles argued with Jews and Gentiles. The saints denounced the heretics and disputed them with the words of the Scriptures. This is how the discussions at the Ecumenical Councils took place. Moreover, the effect of such meetings was very great. For example, the Donatist schismatic bishops, after such meetings with Blessed Augustine, literally fled from the cities, and many hundreds of heretics came into unity with the Church. The dispute of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Cyril with Jews and Muslims led to the formation of new churches in the Black Sea region. The same tradition existed before the revolution in the Russian Orthodox Church. Diocesan missionaries came to meetings of schismatics and sectarians and held public debates, the result of which was often the conversion of people to Orthodoxy. Many of these courageous witnesses of Orthodoxy worthily completed their feat with a martyr's crown (for example, St. MCh. Nikolai Varzhansky, priest. Ioann Vostorgov).

Thus, we see that this very deed leads to the greatest honor – to reign with Christ. Practice shows that a properly conducted argument, based not on the words of human wisdom, but on the Word of God, affects the depths of the heart of the erring person, so that after a while the arguments sprout and bring a person into the arms of the superheavenly Father.

So one can only rejoice that this practice has returned to church life again. I think that another advantage of this work is the emphasis on the importance of Scripture in Orthodox life. The fact is that, unlike any other confession, the Orthodox faith is fully consistent with the Bible. It can be said that we are the only biblical Christians to the end. And this is not surprising.

After all, it was to our Church that the Word of God was given. Often, not only sectarians accuse us of inconsistency with the Scriptures, but also many new Orthodox believe that studying them leads to sectarianism. In fact, it is not the Bible that leads to heresy, but its incorrect interpretation, based on the rejection of the Tradition of the Church. On the contrary, Scripture, properly understood, is a light for the distorted track of our lives.

According to Him, we can align our hearts and be cleansed of the passions that destroy us. According to the words of St. St. John of Damascus: "Let us knock on the beautiful paradise of the Scriptures, fragrant, sweetest, most beautiful, resounding around our ears with all kinds of melodies of clever God-bearing birds, touching our hearts and comforting them in sorrow, calming them in anger and filling them with eternal joy; Who places our minds on the shining golden and radiant ramens of the divine dove, and on its most brilliant wings lifts up to the only-begotten Son and heir of the Planter of the intelligible vineyard, and through Him leads us to the Father of lights!

But let us not knock carelessly, but on the contrary – zealously and patiently; Let us not get tired of knocking! For then they will reveal it to us. If we read it once and twice and do not recognize what we read, let us not lose heart, but show perseverance, let us converse, let us inquire! For, as the Scripture says, "Ask your father, and he will tell you; thy elders, and they shall speak unto thee" (Deuteronomy 32:7). For not everyone has knowledge.

Let us draw from this heavenly spring the inexhaustible and purest waters flowing into eternal life! May we find delight in this, let us enjoy it insatiably! For grace in the Scriptures is inexhaustible"[1]. It is also necessary to say a few words about the terminology that in many respects determines the direction of the Orthodox mission today. Now many believe that there are different types of religions, some of which are harmful, and others, on the contrary, are quite respectable.

Moreover, the feature by which one or the other is distinguished is their traditionalism. What is considered "traditional" is recognized as good, and many people think that it is impossible to preach to representatives of such religions, especially since they are considered our "allies". Moreover, they began to assert that the reason for the high appreciation of "traditional confessions" is their antiquity, which allegedly serves as a guarantee of their humanity and high morality.

Contrary to all the observed facts, they began to assert that all traditional religions teach only good things and they do not contain any grounds for committing crimes. On the contrary, it is argued that the "new religious movements" are bad because they are new. This concept arose in the middle of the 20th century under the influence of European traditionalism[2], which, on the basis of geopolitical theories, states the existence of certain macro-cultural formations recognized as equivalent, and rejects the idea of the exclusivity of European culture.

In this way, the fundamental incomprehensibility of absolute Truth is affirmed, which therefore is not able to serve as a criterion for distinguishing religions. This idea is not new at all. Ever since the time of Pilate, the pagan world has said to Christ and His Church: "What is the Truth?" and the ancient martyrs were executed for following a new, non-traditional faith (see the Acts of Martyrdom of St. Antipas of Pergamon, St. Carp and many others).