In the published work, Father Sergey Mikhailovich Solovyov (1885–1941), the grandson of the famous historian and nephew of the renowned philosopher, highlights the spiritual barrenness of Judaism that rejected the Messiah, while at the same time urging us to "feel a deep concern for the people of Israel and believe that 'all Israel will be saved.'"
Sergey Mikhailovich Solovyov (1885 – †1941), the grandson of the famous historian and the nephew of the renowned philosopher, was himself a poet, philosopher, and theologian. In the 1920s, he received priestly ordination in the Orthodox Church but soon converted to Catholicism, to which he had long felt drawn. From 1926, he served as the Vice-Exarch of Eastern Rite Catholics in Russia. In 1931, Fr. Sergey was arrested by the OGPU and subjected to torture, which drove him to madness. He passed away in the city of Kazan. (See Hieromonk A. Wenger [AA], "Materials for the Biography of Sergey Mikhailovich Solovyov," in the book: S. M. Solovyov, The Life and Creative Evolution of Vladimir Solovyov, Brussels, "Life with God," 1977, pp. 1–15).
Recent Polemics on Jewish Ritual Practices and Broader Implications
Not long ago, the case of the murder of Yushchinsky in Kyiv sparked a lively debate in our literature, one that extended far beyond the specifics of the incident and touched on broader questions than that of ritual murder. Rozanov and Merezhkovsky emerged as the most vivid representatives of two opposing perspectives on Jewishness. Rozanov, acknowledging the existence of ritual murders in contemporary Judaism, also condemned the Bible itself. Citing examples such as the sacrifice of Isaac, he linked Hasidic ritual murders to the religious essence of the Old Testament. In contrast, D.S. Merezhkovsky, aligned with the progressive press, defended both contemporary Judaism and the Bible, accusing Rozanov of blasphemy against the God of Israel.
A Misguided Debate
Both writers, though seemingly holding opposing views, actually stemmed from a common and erroneous premise: for both, the question of ritual murder among contemporary Hasidim was closely tied to the sanctity or non-sanctity of the Old Testament. Merezhkovsky rightly accused Rozanov of blasphemy for equating Jehovah with Moloch, undermining the foundations of Christianity. However, while free from blasphemy himself, Merezhkovsky erred in justifying contemporary Judaism through the sanctity of the Bible, as though followers of the Talmud and Kabbalah worship the true God of Israel—the God of Abraham and Moses—who manifested on earth in His Son, Jesus Christ. This error highlights how obscured the understanding of the relationship between the Bible, Christianity, and contemporary Judaism is in our society.
The Influence of Nietzsche
The denial of the Bible, which has become a powerful weapon in the hands of Christianity's adversaries, traces its origins to Nietzsche. He was the first to clearly articulate the antagonism between Semitic and Aryan worldviews. As a consistent apologist for Greco-Indian culture, he rejected the religious foundation of Jewishness, from the original narrative of the Fall—contrasting it with the Aryan myth of Prometheus—to the final flowering of Judaism in the teachings of Christ and the Apostle Paul. Nietzsche opposed the Christian ideal, embodied in human history by the Jewish people, with the Aryan, Hellenistic ideal—a supranational principle rooted in Greco-Roman culture.
The German School and Anti-Biblical Tendencies
However, the denial of Judaism and its fruit—Christianity—has not been the main narrative absorbed by modern consciousness. Since the early 19th century, German historiography has tended to sever the link between Christianity and the Old Testament religion. Christianity was seen as a product of Hellenic culture, with the Gospel of John considered a work of Alexandrian philosophical schools with anti-Judaic tendencies.
Rozanov, Réville, and Counterarguments
Rozanov and later Jean Réville popularized this view, presenting Christianity as directly tied to Platonism through the doctrine of the Logos, as if completely severed from biblical tradition. However, this perspective has largely been refuted in modern scholarship. The works of scholars like Godet in the West and Prince Sergey Trubetskoy in Russia establish a direct link between the Logos doctrine and the entire Johannine Gospel with the religion of the Old Testament.
The Modern "Hellenization" of Christianity
Despite these refutations, the tendency to "purify" Christ of Jewish "coarseness," mysticism, and "unculturedness," as championed by Renan, persists in subtler forms. In Russian literature, for example, F.F. Zelinsky accepts Christianity only insofar as it is Hellenized, venerating Pelagius as a successor to Cicero and Seneca in natural morality, while rejecting Augustine and his teachings on original sin and divine grace. Such a criterion, measuring the authenticity of Christianity by its proximity to ancient philosophy, is flawed. Christianity does not need Zelinsky’s Pelagian Christianity, just as paganism has no need for a Christian heresy derived from Stoic philosophy.
Vyacheslav Ivanov's Mystical Interpretation
Even more radical than Zelinsky is Vyacheslav Ivanov, who seeks to undermine Christianity's foundations by aligning it with Greek mysticism. Ivanov equates the symbols of Dionysus and Christ, using expressions like "Christ-Heracles" and "Bacchic Golgotha." This modern tendency toward the "Hellenization" of Christianity diverges significantly from that of Clement of Alexandria or Basil the Great, cutting at the very roots of Christian worldview.
Modern Jewish Influence
Contrasting this trend to replace Christianity's biblical foundation with an ancient one is another phenomenon of our time: the influence of contemporary Judaism on literature, art, and science. Modern Judaism, far removed from the Bible, aligns itself with anti-biblical tendencies that undermine Christian foundations. This anti-biblical movement, supported in part by modern Judaism, shares responsibility with other nations that, after 19 centuries of Christianity, strive to return to the darkness of pre-Christian demonic thought.
Merezhkovsky and the Separation of the Father and the Son
In his novel Peter, D.S. Merezhkovsky writes that Peter the Great could not grasp "what the Father and the Son mean" and that he "prayed to the Father apart from the Son." Similarly, Merezhkovsky himself, alongside Judaism, is now prepared to pray to the Father without the Son. This is natural for Merezhkovsky, who, in his books, has exposed the torment of his soul—a soul incapable of comprehending the Christian mystery of the indivisible unity of the Father and the Son. In Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Merezhkovsky appeared to accept the Son in opposition to the Father, portraying the Father as an evil god, a demiurge, and the executioner of the Son, akin to Manichaean dualism.
Now, Merezhkovsky is ready to defend the Father against the Son, aligning himself with the religious consciousness of Judaism. However, Judaism, having rejected the Son, has also rejected the Father, for as Christ Himself said: "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). The Gospel makes it clear that the Jews, having rejected the Son, did not preserve the Father, the God of Abraham: "Your father is the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires" (John 8:44).
For the biblical person, the Son was hidden in the Father. The prophets proclaimed Christ, David’s lyre sang of Him, and the entire course of biblical history foreshadowed His kingdom. The Jews were mistaken in thinking they could preserve the Father by rejecting the Son. The Father, who spoke through His prophets, David, and Isaiah, became the God of the Gentiles, who accepted Him in His consubstantial Son. The subsequent ossification of the Mosaic Law and its distortion in the Talmud clearly show that the Jews lost their God. With the emergence of Kabbalah, Judaism absorbed elements of the same Babylonian magic against which Israel’s religious consciousness had originally been forged. Thus began not an external, but an internal, spiritual Babylonian captivity for Judaism.
The Rejection of Pagan Roots
"Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37), Christ commanded. Leaving one’s father and mother, one’s past and homeland, was the beginning of Christian life for the peoples of Europe. Greeks and Romans abandoned their exalted culture, sacred texts, mysteries, and shrines for the teachings of Galilean fishermen and for the God of Abraham and Moses, revealed in Christ. A total renunciation of the pagan past—its truths, beauty, and wisdom—was necessary for the first Christians. The writings of the apologists, such as Tatian, are filled with such unequivocal rejections of the ancient world.
By the fourth century, however, attitudes toward antiquity among Christians had shifted. Figures like Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian adopted much from pagan literature. Byzantine monks did not burn ancient manuscripts, as Savonarola later would, but the Church tolerated antiquity because it was no longer a living force—only its form remained. After Julian’s failed attempt to revive the spirit of ancient religion, paganism ceased to tempt Christian souls. Gregory the Theologian utilized the eloquence of Demosthenes and the forms of Alexandrian elegy but rarely adopted their spirit.
The Hebraization of Christian Europe
For Christians of the fourth century, the Bible, not Homer or Plato, served as their religious foundation. The Christianization of Europe was, undeniably, also a Hebraization. At the same time, however, the Jewish nation was receding from the historical stage. While history was being shaped by former cultural leaders—Greeks and Romans who renounced their pagan past for the Bible and the Gospel—this Christian culture, rooted in the Mosaic books, was passed on to Germanic and Slavic peoples.
The Religious Foundations of the Bible and the Gospel
The teaching on love, as expounded by the Apostle John, can only be truly understood in light of the terrifying visions of the Apocalypse, akin to Ezekiel’s visions, and the uncompromising words of Christ: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). The law is abolished only for those who have spiritually outgrown it. The law of Christ is more demanding and severe than the Mosaic law: the latter punished only actions, while the former judges thoughts and emotions. For a person not reborn by grace, fulfilling the Mosaic law is easier than fulfilling the law of Christ. Many can confidently say they have not murdered or committed adultery. But who has never been angry with their brother or looked at a woman with lust? The law of Christ is perfect, and therefore one cannot be justified before Christ’s judgment by the works of the law. Yet the justifying grace of Christ gives us strength to fight our own thoughts and desires.
The Supernatural Foundation of Christianity
The dawn of the New Testament began when Elijah found God not in fire or storm, but in "a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:12). Yet this does not negate the fiery legislation of Moses: "The Lord your God is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). In receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, Christians pray: "Let me not be burned, for You are a consuming fire that burns the unworthy."
The supernatural, transcendent nature of God, His dwelling in "unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16), and His separation from the laws of nature form the Jewish foundation of Christianity, first expressed in the doctrine of Christ’s virgin birth. The biological processes deified in Greek and Indian religions are incompatible with the purity and spirituality of the Christian God.
We know that Christ was capable of righteous anger, as was the God of Israel, but we cannot imagine Him succumbing to lust, like Zeus or Indra. Although God created man in His own image and likeness, the chasm between the divine and human nature, caused by the effects of original sin, is impassable. Therefore, the birth of the God-Man required a violation of the natural laws of life—He could only be born of a Pure Virgin. Beyond this, He remained like us in all things, except sin.
This concept is entirely alien to the consciousness of the ancient Greek, who envisioned the divine either with all the attributes of sinful human nature (Homer) or as a pure abstract essence without form or matter (Plato). Judaism gave us a living God, incarnate, like us in all things but sin. It is doubtful that the anthropomorphism of antiquity could have been prepared for the appearance of the incarnate God, as S.N. Trubetskoy suggested in Metaphysics in Ancient Greece.
The Unique Religious Character of Judaism
Judaism was free from the dichotomy between religion and philosophy that fragmented Greek religious consciousness. Greek religion was so sensual and material that philosophy, in its attempt to purify and spiritualize the concept of divinity, completely severed ties with the national religion. However, by dismantling religion, Greek philosophy failed to satisfy the religious needs of Greek thought and could not halt the decline and disintegration of Hellenism.
By deifying the process of logical reasoning instead of the Olympians, replacing mysteries and rituals with dialectics, and reducing the knowledge of God to a logical transition from sensory things to concepts and from concepts to ideas, Platonism marked not the beginning but the end of the religious era. It dismantled Greek religion just as Euripides dismantled Greek art.
For the Jews, however, things were entirely different. From the outset, divinity was perceived as a concrete spirit, as a personal being. Unlike the gods of Homer, it was spiritual, yet unlike Plato’s concept of divinity, it was not abstract but personal and tangible. Without materialistic and pantheistic poetry like that of Homer, Judaism had no abstract philosophy.
Instead of a sensual Olympus, the Jews beheld the majesty of Mount Zion, covered with the glory of a morally perfect yet near and beloved God, as depicted in the lyrical inspiration of David’s psalms. Rather than seeking a logical understanding of divinity, the Jews had a commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Christ did not introduce this “new commandment” to His people for the first time; He found it in the Mosaic law. It was new only in that it was not among the Ten Commandments of the Sinai legislation and was not considered the foremost and greatest commandment until Christ.
A Personal and Spiritual God
The God of the Bible is utterly removed from the material, yet He is a concrete Person. His covenant with the people of Israel is often compared to a marital bond, the closest union of living love.
In the splendor of divine glory, biblical poets saw the world of nature and animals. For the Greek, natural phenomena were inseparably connected to sexual functions, which were elevated to the divine realm. Rain fertilizing the earth or a thunderstorm was viewed as the sexual union of male and female deities. In some cases, the imagination of Aristophanic Greeks reduced rain and thunder to the bodily functions of a heavenly god. Thus, for the Greek, all nature was tainted with lust.
In contrast, from the beginning, the fascination of angels with earthly women led to their fall in Jewish thought. The supreme god of the Greeks, Zeus, the hypostasized force of natural life, descended from Olympus for amorous adventures.
Purity in Biblical Lyricism
The lyricism of the Psalms and the Song of Songs carries more of the breath of true nature than Sappho’s erotic songs. Nature appears as the garment of divinity, and for the Jew, God is spiritual and free from sin. No matter what sins a Jew may have committed in life, when turning to God, they are entirely spiritual. In contrast, the Greek brought not only their natural desires but also shameful deviations into the religious sphere.
Sins for which the inhabitants of Sodom were struck blind and Onan was punished with death gained religious significance in Greek religion, becoming part of certain cults. Thus, sodomy was part of the cult of Pan, and this sin was so entwined with Hellenism that it even found idealization in Plato’s philosophy. Compare the setting of Plato’s Symposium, with its satiated urban dandies and artists discoursing on love amidst Aristophanes’ hiccups and Alcibiades’ shameless escapades, with the elevated pathos of the Psalms or the touching poetry of pure love in the Song of Songs. From this poetry emerged the hymns of the first Christians and Saint Francis’s hymns.
Nature as a Reflection of God
Consider the depiction of the universe’s beauty in Psalm 103: “The light is Your garment; You bring forth grass for the cattle and plants for human service; You give bread from the earth, wine to gladden the heart, and oil to make the face shine. Birds nest in the forests, and deer leap on the heights.”
Psalm 84 expresses the spiritual elevation of nature: “The sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—Your altars, Lord Almighty!”
From these verses flows St. Francis’s sermon to the birds, the monks’ worship of the Creator amid nature in both the East and the West. These inspirations come from biblical lyricism, not ancient pastoral poetry, as Merezhkovsky claimed in Eternal Companions. The majesty, spirituality, and purity of God are the central themes of biblical lyricism.
Christ’s Transfiguration
Modern Christians often envision Christ preaching in synagogues, carrying the cross, or mingling with common people, yet they frequently forget other aspects of His earthly life—such as His Transfiguration. During this moment, only three chosen apostles could behold Him as He appeared in heavenly glory, conversing with Moses and Elijah. On Mount Tabor, Moses spoke with the Lord, as he once did amid the thunder and lightning of Mount Sinai.
The Unique Monotheism of the God of Israel
We have defined the God of Israel as a purely spiritual, personal, and concrete being, in contrast to the materialistic deities of Homer’s epics and the abstract deity of Platonic philosophy. Another defining feature of biblical religion is its exclusive monotheism. Monotheism, which, according to the Vedic hymns, was the original stage of Indo-European religion but was later lost by pagan peoples, remained unaltered throughout the history of the people of Israel.
The God of Israel, as the one true God, tolerates no other gods beside Him, as the psalmist declares: “For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are demons” (cf. Psalm 96:4–5 LXX). This singularity of God is closely linked to His absolute perfection and His separation from evil. In contrast, the Hellenic world, which created a hierarchy of demons, mingled the principles of good and evil, natural and divine, within its concept of the demonic.
For the Jew, there are two irreconcilable camps: one with God and His angels—spirits of light, servants of absolute good; the other with Satan and his angels—demons, spirits of darkness and evil. Christianity further developed this idea, rejecting the notion of neutral demons and identifying them entirely with evil spirits, absolutely opposed to the divine.
The Greek View of Divinity
For the Greek, there was no clear opposition between the heavenly and the subterranean, between light and darkness. Zeus, the king of heaven, and Hades, the king of the underworld, were brothers who divided dominion over the universe. Between gods and humans existed a realm of demons—beings neither good nor evil, spirits of natural life, guardians of fields, rivers, and mountains. Even Socrates described the inner voice of his conscience or foresight as a "demonic" principle.
The Misuse of Words
Our language lacks precise terms for “demon” or “demonic,” leading to fatal confusion in religious concepts. For instance, Lermontov, aiming to portray the devil attractively, ambiguously refers to him as a "demon." This terminological confusion clouds religious questions that are clear to a people who have preserved a Christian worldview—a people unfamiliar with the term “demon” and the “beauty of evil,” yet aware of pure, radiant angels and dark, foul demons. This illustrates the critical importance of proper terminology in religious life.
The Legacy of Demonic Confusion
The blending of divine and satanic elements within a single hierarchy of demons, which pervaded Greek religious consciousness, re-emerged in a new form in Gnosticism. Gnosticism sought to sever Christianity from its Jewish roots, reconciling heaven with hell, the upper abyss with the lower abyss. Yet Christianity resisted the onslaught of Hellenic Gnosticism, preserving its biblical foundation intact—its angelic hierarchy dwelling in heavenly light, untainted by natural sin.
The Moral Consequences of Hellenism
The modern Hellenistic tendency to erase the Bible’s distinction between heaven and hell, the upper and the lower, has grave moral consequences. Vladimir Solovyov aptly described this as “the transference of carnal, animal-human relations into the superhuman realm”—a “great abomination” and a manifestation of “Satanic depths in the last days” (Preface to the third edition of his Poems).
Cultural Respect for False Gods
Another result of Hellenism, as seen in writers like Vyacheslav Ivanov, is cultural reverence for false gods and demons—a reverence characteristic of Greece and Rome. However, Christianity has always rejected such cultural politeness that compels respect for lies. Instead, Christianity expressed its uncultured, crude, barbaric disdain for false gods through the blood of martyrs.
The Role of Women in the Bible and Christianity
In his insightful article The New Testament Song of Love Compared to the Song of Songs and Plato’s Symposium, Professor Muretov clearly reveals the connection between the hymn of love in the First Epistle to the Corinthians and the Old Testament Song of Songs, contrasting both with Plato’s Symposium and its theory of love. He draws attention to the role of women in the Bible.
Among Jews and Christians, women and family were deeply respected and crowned with a religious aura. In contrast, in Greek culture, all perfection and beauty were attributed to men, while women occupied a subordinate position, reduced to the role of mere concubines (pallake). Viewed as inferior to men in both physical and moral terms, women were considered less connected to the ideal, divine world. This denial of women and the glorification of men led the Greeks to idealize sexual perversions, which, as Vladimir Solovyov observed in The Life Drama of Plato, can only be viewed from a criminal perspective. Yet without these perversions, one cannot imagine Greek art, religion, philosophy, or even state life.
Elevating Women: A Jewish and Christian Legacy
The Jews, on the other hand, cherished femininity from the beginning, as if preparing for the divine revelation of womanhood in the figure of the Virgin Mary. Her forerunners were the ideal women of the Old Testament—Rebekah, Rachel, and Ruth—as well as the Divine Wisdom described in the books of Solomon. Thus, during Marian feasts, the Church reads the passage: “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars and prepared her table” (Proverbs 9:1–2).
Christianity elevated women, who in the Hellenic world were either humble slaves or educated courtesans. Christianity, in a sense, idealized femininity, ascribing to men the same virtues that were previously considered feminine weaknesses in the ancient world: humility, obedience, chastity, and meekness. At the same time, Christianity diminished the pagan ideals of masculine valor, physical strength, and skill in debate, which were prized in the pagan world.
Christianity’s Rejection of Pagan Ideals
Consider the Slavic pagan prince Sviatoslav, who refused his mother, Saint Olga's, request to accept Christianity, saying: “No, my warriors will laugh at me.”
In Christianity, women, degraded by pagan worldviews, found their ultimate justification as mothers, virgins, and loving, self-sacrificing beings. The pagan heroine Antigone was mercilessly crushed by the blind force of state law, a creation of the ancient world. She defied written state laws in the name of unwritten divine law. Such division was impossible among the Israelites, where all laws were divine, given by God to Moses on Sinai.
Chastity and Family in Jewish Tradition
The Jews revered chastity and family with deep respect. Compare Joseph, who fled from Potiphar’s wife, with Hippolytus, the virgin of Greek mythology. Joseph, full of healthy chastity, fled not from a woman but from sin, whereas Hippolytus was a warped woman-hater. For the Jew, the ideal of chastity was not opposed to family but closely connected with it. The reward for chastity was the blessing of many children. Similarly, in the Church, family is not opposed to monasticism but is seen as another form of serving God.
In contrast, the Greeks, who did not draw a strict boundary between marriage and concubinage, rejected family and procreation in their idealism (Plato), viewing them as lower forms of life. They elevated philosophical and aesthetic creativity above childbearing. This Hellenic-Indian view of asceticism occasionally appears in the writings of Christian ascetics, but it must be regarded as external influence and a departure from the Jewish foundations of Christianity, which are also found in the New Testament.
Marriage in Christianity
The New Testament begins with the reproach Joachim endured for childlessness. While Christianity placed the monastic life above the married life, it also sanctified the latter through the sacrament of marriage. The mystical and spiritual understanding of marriage forms the basis for the symbolic comparison of God’s relationship with His chosen people to a marriage—a theme found throughout the Bible.
In Christianity, this was transformed into the analogy of the union between Christ and the Church. The marital symbols used by John the Evangelist can only be understood within the Jewish context. The imagery of the Song of Songs inspires comparisons such as Christ as the bridegroom, the apostles as the sons of the bridal chamber, and John the Baptist as the friend of the bridegroom. Finally, the future destiny of the Church in the Apocalypse is symbolically depicted as the marriage of the Church and the Lamb.
The Continuity Between Old Testament Worship and Christian Liturgy
The structure of the Christian Church, its liturgy, and its architecture are direct developments of what was established in the Old Testament. The separation of a sacred part of the temple, the “Holy of Holies,” by a veil is preserved in the division of the altar from the rest of the Christian church. In the tabernacle of Moses, we find the Ark of the Covenant, which corresponds to the altar gospel, the paten, and the chalice in Christian worship. Similarly, the tabernacle had north and south doors, the ritual of censing with incense, and images of cherubim.
Our church retains the same symbolic meaning as the tabernacle built by Moses "according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain" (cf. Exodus 25:40; 26:30). Likewise, our liturgy reflects the memory of paradise, an echo of heavenly visions. The mystical experience of Moses has been expanded and enriched by the visions of ascetics and the wisdom of the Church Fathers. The foundation of Christian worship is the seven Sacraments of the New Testament.
Natural Symbols in Worship
The natural symbols of the Church do not need to be explained through Hellenic religion. For example, the frequent use of the vine in Church mysticism and architecture can be traced to Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 5 and numerous other places in the Bible. The Jews attributed a mystical meaning to the vine, which had nothing in common with the Dionysian worship of wine as a source of intoxication and sexual ecstasy—precisely the behaviors the Apostle Paul warns against: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
The Lily as a Mystical Symbol
Among flowers, the lily holds a particularly mystical significance in the Church. The lily is frequently mentioned in the Church’s poetic tradition, such as in the Akathist to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker: “Rejoice, lily of paradise’s blooming!” In Roman Church iconography, the lily became an essential attribute of the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation.
The lily (shoshan) is also often mentioned in the Old Testament. Sirach commanded: “Blossom like the lily” (Sirach 39:18). He compares the lily to the high priest Simon as he officiates worship. The prophet Hosea, speaking on behalf of God, says: “I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily” (Hosea 14:5).
Christ as the Fulfillment of Prophecy
Christ, as the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, invoked this imagery when He said: “Consider the lilies of the field” (Matthew 6:28). Through these symbols, the Church reflects its deep continuity with the worship and traditions of ancient Israel while transforming them in the light of Christ’s revelation.
The Relationship Between Greek Culture and Christianity
It is sometimes said that Christianity developed along two lines: Alexandrian and Syrian. The former preserved respect for ancient culture and education, while the latter opposed culture altogether. The Church Fathers of the 4th century are often labeled as Hellenists, with references made to the pagan education of Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian. Contrasts are drawn between the Byzantine monks who wrote commentaries on Homer and Aristophanes and the “barbaric” attitude of Savonarola, who burned these very manuscripts that the Byzantine monks had preserved.
In reality, there is no contradiction between the approaches of Basil the Great and Savonarola to paganism, as long as one considers the different contexts of their times and the state of the Church. It should be remembered that Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian engaged with pagan literature before taking monastic vows, just as Augustine studied Cicero’s philosophy, Terence’s comedies, and rhetoric prior to his baptism. Basil and Gregory maintained respect for classical writers, even recommending their reading to young men, but this was because paganism at the time had lost its vitality.
The situation was different during Savonarola’s era, when the Renaissance was triumphantly displacing Christianity, even within the Church itself, as evidenced by the rise of humanist popes. Ancient gods were re-entering the world, and the works of their prophets and poets—Homer, Sophocles, and Plato—were displacing the Bible and the Gospel. In such circumstances, Basil the Great would likely have approved of the "bonfire of vanities" ignited by the Florentine monk.
The Tension Between Classical and Christian Forms
For a long time after the apostolic writings, Christianity struggled to find original literary forms, relying instead on classical models. However, these forms often weakened Christian literature, as “new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins” (cf. Matthew 9:17). John Chrysostom preached according to the rules of Demosthenes’ rhetoric. Yet when his Christian fervor broke through the external constraints of Hellenism, as in his Easter Homily, we forget his Greek heritage and see instead the successor of Isaiah and Paul—a Greek by flesh but a Jew in spirit.
The writings of Christian mystics, which most fully express the soul’s immersion in God, appear as a continuation of biblical lyricism, filled with frequent quotations from the Psalms. Augustine’s Confessions and Thomas à Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ exemplify this tradition.
The Incompatibility of Classical Forms with Christian Poetry
Elegiac pentameters, created by the erotic elegies of Alexandria, are ill-suited to the ascetic themes and tone of Gregory the Theologian’s poetry. Similarly, artificial works such as Christus Patiens, which describes Christ’s Passion using entire verses from Euripides, or the paraphrase of John’s Gospel by Nonnus of Panopolis, where Christ speaks in hexameters with meticulous adherence to Homeric Ionicisms and Aeolicisms, as well as the Latin poems of Claudian, Prudentius, and Sedulius, exemplify unnecessary rhetorical exercises. These works only underscore the inability of new Christian content to fit into classical forms.
The Blessed Virgin did not accept songs composed in glyconics and pherecrateans.
Gregory the Theologian and the Search for Christian Poetry
According to tradition, Gregory the Theologian sought to prove through his poetry that Christians had their own poetic tradition, denying the ancient Greeks any superiority in this regard. Alas, despite the enchanting beauty of his verses, Gregory could not prove his point—nor has anyone since. To this day, poetry draws from pagan wells, and surpassing the artistry of the ancients remains an unattainable goal.
The Birth of Authentic Christian Poetry
True Christian poetry began when classical forms were abandoned, and the lyrical inspiration of the Psalms and prophetic books found new expression in the poetry of Byzantine hymnographers and the hymns of the Catholic Middle Ages. Forgotten poets such as Andrew of Crete, Cosmas of Jerusalem, and John of Damascus (as noted by Krumbacher) were to Christianity what Homer, Aeschylus, and Pindar were to paganism. By this time, the Greek language had lost its sensuous charm, refined in monastic cells to convey the transcendent, while the crude Latin of the Middle Ages proved a fitting medium for expressing the powerful and austere aspirations toward heaven.
The Biblical Foundation of Byzantine Hymnography
Byzantine hymns and canons represent the further development, refinement, and embellishment of biblical poetry. Stereotypical expressions from the Bible were incorporated into this poetry as precious gems: “Mountains and hills, drip sweetness,” and “Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem!” The hymns of the canon, except for the ninth ode dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, are tied to biblical events such as the crossing of the Red Sea, the vision of the prophet Habakkuk, Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish, and the three youths in the Babylonian furnace.
In the Church, not only is the entire Psalter read weekly during the Kathismata and repeated during the Hours, the Hexapsalmos, and Vespers, but the content of the Menaia and Triodia also continually returns to biblical images and ideas.
This integration of biblical themes into worship and hymnography demonstrates the organic relationship between Scripture and the Church’s spiritual expression, transforming and elevating biblical poetry into the heart of Christian liturgical life.
The Influence of Greek Religious Genius on the Church
Let us also speak of the influence that the religious genius of the Greeks had on the Church. Renouncing their nature-based art and reason-based philosophy for the supernatural and suprarational God of Israel, the Hellenic world eventually laid the treasures of its spirit at the feet of the Church: its art, taking on new forms, gave rise to ecclesiastical iconography; its philosophy became a tool of Christian theology.
However, alongside this, ancient philosophy continued to act as a temptation even for the greatest Church Fathers. Byzantine theology had to struggle with the allure of Platonism; Blessed Jerome suffered from the fact that he was a "Ciceronian." Yet this old inheritance of the nation was overcome by the grace of the teaching in which “there is neither Greek nor Jew, ... but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11).
Platonism and Stoicism, expelled from the Church, found refuge in heresies.
Contemporary Jewish Life and Its Spiritual Roots
Among modern Jews living in the southwestern provinces of Russia, there is a notable custom: there are no gardens around their homes. The reason for this is purely religious—the Jew considers it sinful to have gardens on this earth because he must await the gardens of paradise. Do we not recognize in such a Jew a compatriot of the Apostle Paul, who said that here on earth, “we have no enduring city, but we seek the city that is to come” (cf. Hebrews 13:14)?
This fervent faith of modern Israel in its future kingdom, the readiness to renounce present goods for the sake of future blessings, is the same faith of the apostles and prophets. However, in believing in the coming kingdom, the Jews could not conceive of it as a spiritual kingdom; had they understood this, they would have accepted Christ. The “kingdom not of this world” (cf. John 18:36), which Christ preached, did not satisfy the messianic aspirations of the Jews. The heavenly kingdom, for them, appeared as the political triumph of Israel, with earthly gardens and man-made thrones.
The Greek Contribution to Spiritualizing the Bible
The Greeks deserve credit for the spiritualization of the Bible. The more abstract mind of the Greek, starting with Philo, worked to interpret biblical representations spiritually, explaining much that was unacceptable in its raw reality as symbolic. This Philonic interpretation of the Bible was adopted and developed by the Church Fathers. Without rejecting the historical significance of the Mosaic books, they also saw them as a symbolic representation of the internal, spiritual journey. Pharaoh represented sin, the exodus from Egypt symbolized deliverance from sin, and so forth.
A series of biblical symbols is presented by Andrew of Crete in his Great Canon. There we find the allegorical interpretation of Jacob’s wives, known from Dante as well: Leah symbolizes the active life, while Rachel represents the contemplative life. Yet, overuse of this allegorical method inevitably leads to rationalism, especially when applied to the New Testament.
The Biblical and Modern Faces of Jewishness
If elements of biblical characteristics can still be discerned in contemporary Judaism faithful to its synagogue, one cannot ignore the degeneration of this nation.
It would be a grave mistake to study the Romans based on modern Italians, the contemporaries of Plato and Demosthenes based on modern Greeks, or the biblical prophets based on the Hasidim of the southwestern provinces.
National Parallels: Jews, Romans, and Greeks
A more accurate comparison would liken the Romans to contemporary Englishmen, with their exclusive aristocracy of lords, highly developed constitution, national pride, self-satisfaction, colonial exploitation, strict family structure, and family virtues. The Greeks could be likened to the French of the early 19th century, with their flexibility, elegance, gentle manners, philosophical Epicureanism, and sensual art.
As for the Old Testament Jews, they might be compared to the Russians, with their exceptional musical lyricism, lack of aptitude for the visual arts, poverty in science and public life, and centuries-old religious and messianic idealism. This is the same people who, through Dostoevsky, proclaimed of themselves: “Our people are the God-bearers.”
The Fate of Old Testament Israel
The fate of Old Testament Israel offers us a profoundly instructive lesson. While the nations that laid the foundations of science and art fell into decay, the small nation of Israel, long deprived of political independence and devoid of any cultural achievements, devoted all its strength to cultivating a religious idea. This nation gave the world the best it has ever known: the true God, Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the apostles.
Christianity did not emerge in Rome, which gave the world an ideal system of governance, nor in Athens, which produced the pinnacle of intellectual and aesthetic culture. Instead, it arose in Israel, which had nothing but the strongholds of Zion, the ruins of Solomon’s Temple, the Ark of the Covenant, the smoke of incense, and David’s lyre.
This oppressed people revitalized the decrepit pagan nations, yet, as though having expended its last strength in realizing the religious idea, it did not partake of the fruits of its labor. Instead, it rejected what it had served for centuries with unquenchable faith and selflessness. Israel labored, but the Gentiles reaped its fruits. Truly tragic is the fate of this nation, which fell under the curse it brought upon itself before the tribunal of Pontius Pilate (cf. Matthew 27:25).
A Lesson for Russia
If Russia is the new Israel, then it should fear not so much the loss of its external might as the loss of the fruits of its spiritual aspirations. The zeal for God that distinguishes Russia, as it did Old Testament Israel, can devolve into fanaticism and blind bigotry. We see this in some nationalists who conflate the interests of the Universal Church with the transient goals of Russian national politics. Are we not imitating the Jews, who, out of misguided religious fervor, demanded the blood of the righteous? Similarly, in the name of our "Orthodoxy" and "national identity," we shed the blood of innocent Jewish children.
What can we teach the Jews when we follow the example of Annas and Caiaphas, quenching our religious-nationalistic fervor with innocent blood, instead of imitating our Teacher, who cried: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)?
Following the Example of Paul
Who loved Christ more than Paul? Yet did this love prevent him from grieving for the people of Israel and believing that “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26)? Let us strive to be disciples of Paul, not disciples of Annas and Caiaphas. Let us show mercy to the scattered sons of Israel if we do not wish to share their fate and lose the crown of our own labors.
We must not turn a blind eye to the hatred some Jews bear toward us, nor should we ignore the need to protect ourselves from Jewish malice. However, we must reject the temptation of hatred ourselves, lest we hear the stern voice of our Teacher: “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke 9:55).
May 1914. Dedovo.