There is No Christianity Without the Church (St. Hilarion Troitsky)

Christianity or the Church?

(Original Title: There is No Christianity Without the Church)

 

By St. Hilarion (Troitsky), Holy New Martyr of Russia

 

Introduction

 

Usually, people prefer to remain silent concerning a matter which they know nothing about and do not understand. This, of course, is completely sensible. Let us imagine, for example, a person who knows nothing about chemistry but who, nevertheless, constantly insists upon interfering in the affairs of chemists. He corrects their scientific formulae which have been obtained with great difficulty, changing their order or replacing one with another. We would agree that such a person is acting with the highest degree of imprudence and that we can only have pity for him.

There is one field, however, in which too many people consider themselves to be complete masters, in fact, almost legislators; that is the area concerning the Christian faith and the Church. In this field also, clear and definite formulae have been established with a great effort of theological thought, spiritual guidance, faith, and piety. These formulae are established and must be accepted on faith. Regardless of this fact, a great many people enter into the questions of faith and the Church solely as bold and decisive reformers who want to remake everything according to their own personal desires. In cases where such people have insufficient knowledge or understanding, they are especially averse to remaining silent. To the contrary they begin not only to speak, but to shout. Such shouting on the questions of faith and the Church usually finds the columns of newspapers and the ordinary conversations of people who, in general, very seldom think of faith and the Church at all. If they do think of such things, they prefer to voice themselves exclusively in an authoritative and accusatory tone.

Holy New Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereya (+ 1929)

The Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop of Vereya, was an outstanding theologian, preacher, and valiant defender of the Church of Russia who suffered during the first decade of Bolshevik rule in Russia. A compatriot of Patriarch Tikhon, he strongly defended the Church against the attacks of the communist regime and the Bolshevik backed Living Church, its renovationists policies, and the Gregorian schism. His feast day is December 15.

Born Vladimir Alexeyevich Troitsky on September 13, 1886 into a family of hereditary clergymen in the village of Lipitsa in the Kashira district of Tula Province, the future Archbishop Hilarion was an eager student from an early age. Vladimir was raised by his mother's sister Nadezha, who was a teacher, as his mother died while he was very young. He learned to read at an early age. He began his education in the local church school. Then, he continued on at the seminary in the Tula Province, before being sent to the Moscow Theological Academy.

The Pharisaical Abbot: A Didactic Story From the Life of Saint Hilarion Troitsky

The true saints always struggle to keep the genuine humility of the publican. They never believe in their own holiness and gifts. And of course, even though it may be obvious they have certain gifts of God in their lives, they never advertise them. Rather they hide them, and often ask God to have them removed for fear of falling into the passion of vainglory.