Daniil Sysoev/Catechetical Conversations/ Library Golden-Ship.ru Priest Daniel Sysoev CATECHETICAL CONVERSATIONS Publishing House of the Church of the Prophet Daniel on Kantemirovskaya, Moscow, 2007   Orthodox Library, Golden Ship, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS On God and the Holy Scriptures On the Commandments of God On the Mystery of the Incarnation of God On Baptism and the Sacraments of the Church On Good and Evil. On the struggle with sin.

God is beyond space, because He is not limited by it, has no dimensions. God is absolutely infinite. You can't say it's eighty thousand kilometers or two millimeters in it. "Infinite?" — Yes. It is endless. But it must be understood that it is not the one who is enormous who is infinite, but the One Who is outside of space. And so we say that God is omnipresent, and if He were limited by space, He would not be the Creator.

He would have become a limited being, not God. "And why can't we call Him cosmos?" Is space the devil? God cannot be the cosmos because He is its Creator. I am talking about the material cosmos, not the one that the occultists write about. Space is not the devil. However, in the Bible, Satan is indeed called the lord of the cosmos, the prince of this world (in Greek, "this cosmos").

But it is so called not because it possesses the visible cosmos, but because it possesses those people who worship the visible cosmos as God, who serve the visible cosmos. Those who serve the cosmos, that is, the creation instead of the Creator, are in the kingdom of the devil. The devil did not create them, but only took possession of them through deception or lies. "Cosmos" has two meanings, even now, in our language.

There is "outer space" that astronomers study. It is God's creation. And there is also a "cosmos" with which sorcerers come into contact. The concept of "peace" is also ambiguous. This is often the name given to the totality of people who live contrary to the will of God. This meaning of the word is still there. Do you remember how they say on TV: "the world community protests against the restriction of the rights of sexual minorities."

This is where we meet the very world in which the devil reigns, as the Scriptures say. You say that the world was created, but in fact it arose from a big bang many billions of years ago. "How do you know?" — Science has proven it. — Are you personally sure of this? — That's what scientists say. "You never know what they say...

Previously, it was believed that the earth stands on elephants, now they claim that it was the result of an explosion, so what? — And what about the theory of evolution that has been proven? — These are hypotheses that change every year. Read Darwin carefully, he put forward his theory as a hypothesis and was not completely sure of it himself. He died a believer. Nothing is more unreliable than the latest scientific hypotheses.

The past does not belong to the sphere of action of science at all, especially the pre-human past, there are no methods for studying it, only assumptions. It is impossible to conduct an experiment with the past, and in the pre-human past it is impossible even to verify the testimony of witnesses. All the talk that science has proven how the world came into existence is a scientific-like mythology. "When Christ was born, they say that some star fell, the Magi followed it...

And what about your statement that the stars do not affect anything? "So the Star of Bethlehem did not influence anyone, it did not drag them, it simply showed that God was born. "Was it a sign?" — Yes, of course. A sign consciously given by God. The Magi are astrologers, they were given a clear instruction. In addition, the Lord sent this precisely so that the Magi would stop practicing astrology.

The star did not fall, but moved in violation of all the laws of cosmic mechanics. It sailed not from east to west, but from northeast to southwest. It was a paranormal phenomenon. Only in this way was it possible to convince the Magi and point out the place where the Child lies. This was a miracle of God, manifested to show the absurdity of the worship of the luminaries. Let us return to the conversation about God. Consider the statement "God is omnipresent." We believe that this is so.

The Psalmist David says: "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; if I descend into hell, and there Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, and go to the edge of the sea, there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Shall I say, "Perhaps darkness shall hide me, and light shall be made round about me by night"; but neither shall darkness obscure from Thee, nor shall the night be as bright as the day: as darkness so shall the light" (Psalm 138:7-12). God fills everything – Heaven and earth.

He is everywhere Wholly and at the same time is not limited by anything. He is not contained in the heavens of heavens, but it is said that he dwells in the meek in heart, the humble, and those who tremble at his words: "I dwell in the high heavens and in the sanctuary, and also with the contrite and lowly in spirit"; "But on whom will I look: on him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and on him who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 57:15; 66:2).

He acts differently everywhere, to the extent and how the place can contain His power. It cannot be said that the Lord fills everything equally. It is found differently in the hearts of the sinner and the righteous; otherwise He is in the temple of God, because it is the house of the living God, according to His own word: "... My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7). And in a completely different way, for example, in a tavern.

Even there, God as Judge can be there. If the news reports that some evil place has been blown up, everyone has been shot, then God's justice is manifested. And in the temple there is a special presence of the Lord, a special power of the true God is at work, enlivening our souls, transforming hearts, cleansing sins. But the Lord Himself does not change depending on what kind of people who receive Him.

It is completely indescribable in its spatial characteristics. And everything that is in space cannot affect Him. And now let us say a few words about God's relation to the time that is called eternity. Scripture says that God is eternal, what does that mean? — Out of time. "And what do you mean, out of time?" How can this be imagined? "The time of His life is infinite.