Articles

AN OUTLINE OF THE ORTHODOX WORLD VIEW of FATHER JOHN of KRONSTADT

By Fr. Michael Pomazansky

There is an unusual attractive power, particularly for the pastor, in the personality of Father John of Kronstadt, even in his portrait, the attraction of his writings, in his. diary “My life in Christ”. There is a peaceful and consoling quality in the notes of his dairy, not to mention the very subjects of his talks which exalt spiritually, uplift and strengthen one. Once you have opened the book, the eye is drawn aside only with great difficulty, and the hand seems by itself to turn one page after another. Whence comes this drawing of hearts to Fr. John? Undoubtedly here of great significance is that Fr. John is our contemporary. He made his notes for himself and at the same time for us. He brought into his diaries his personal thoughts, answered the questions of his own soul, but to a certain degree these were also our questions, answers to our perplexing problems, here often is the confirmation of our own decisions. What he himself writes down in his diary finds justification: “We often hear from others, or not rarely read in the writings of others that which God has placed in our mind and heart, what we ourselves have wished, that is, often we find our most beloved thoughts in others” …, and then he gives an explanation to this: “Is not the Lord God of minds One; is not His Spirit One in all those who seek Truth? Is not our Enlightener One, enlightening every person who comes into the world?” (“My life in Christ”. Vol. I pages 45-46) *). Here you have the basic reason for the attraction toward Fr. John, as is indicated by himself. He answers the questions of our own personal spirit. And as a person of strong faith, of deep Orthodox-Religious thought, and of complete unanimity of word and deed, he answers in a most perfect manner, becoming our friend, our counselor, comforter, reviver and spiritual teacher.

The theology of Fr. John, his world-view, is strictly Orthodox. Can it therefore be the object of any special kind of thought? Is it not already given in the Orthodox catechism? What new thing can there be revealed in it?

Of course, the thinking about God with Fr. John, in its contents, is that transmitted from the Fathers of the Church, catholic, apostolic and based on the Gospel. With him we do not find any sensational novelty, no modernism in faith. Nevertheless it is this that attracts especial attention, it draws because on its basis Fr. John expresses his broad personal world outlook, that which may be called a personal Christian philosophy.

Believers react differently to the truths of faith accepted by them. Some accept them without any doubts as indisputable authority. Others strive to unite them with their own general world outlook; faith together with reason. But in either case each must unite his faith with his life, with his deeds. If the contents of our faith do not affect the contents of our deeds, their essential nature, if for our conduct it is indifferent as to how we believe, then faith ceases to be alive. A synthesis of faith and life is needed, and better yet of faith, reason and life faith, reason, heart and life. The more completely one lives the life of the Church, the more complete should this synthesis be. It is quite evident how much this is needed by the pastor. And in the person of Fr. John we are given an example of harmony between theological knowledge, and practical understanding of life together with personal spiritual experience. Before us is the purposeful, deep, harmonious world outlook, on the foundation of which the Christian personality of an ideal Christian pastor was formed. Under what influence was the world outlook of Fr. John shaped? About this he speaks himself.

The basic part of the contents was the Sacred Scripture. “From the first days of, my high service to the Church … I began, writes Fr. John, reading the Sacred Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, drawing from it all that is edifying for myself as a human being in general, and as a priest in particular” (Brief autobiography in the journal “North” for 1888). In his talk with pastors he relates: “When free from pastoral service and duties, I read the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and especially the New Testament this most invaluable good tidings of our salvation. While reading I try to ponder over every paragraph, every phrase, even separate words and expressions, and then with this carefully attentive relation to the Sacred Book, there arises such a wealth of thoughts, such a wealth of fundamentals for sermons, that no preacher can exhaust this vast depth of God” (A talk with clergymen at Sarapule in 1904). When reading the diary of Fr. John, we can notice, that all the books of the Sacred Scripture are presented in the diary by extracts, but in such a manner, that nowhere can one feel intentional grouping of texts, there is no overstatement with texts; unusually natural is the union of the personal and divine elements. The usual method of Fr. John is to conclude his own personal talks with an extract from the word of God, close his writing as the word “amen” confirms the words of prayers taken from the service book.

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