Ever since the beginning of the early Christian church, all who aspired to true spiritual values have a need to critically rethink the teachings arising from the Holy Scriptures. After all, since the belief in the ideals of Christ appeared, among his followers there was also a disagreement. A special need for a comparative analysis arose in the era of Ecumenical Councils, when the dogmas of the main existing and still Christian faiths were formed. In the 18th century, a special discipline arose in Russia: comparative theology. She was engaged in the review and critical rethinking of all existing in the world, not related to Orthodox creeds. And this subject, which, however, has long been considered part of dogma, has been actively taught in theological seminaries and academies.
Comparative Theology and Modernity
The need for this discipline in our days is due to the existence and constant emergence in the Christian world of new trends, many of which have deep historical roots. The lack of proper systematization and spiritual illiteracy of the population makes it difficult to correctly perceive these teachings, as well as depriving ministers of various churches of the opportunity to orientate themselves correctly when working with parishioners, believers and doubters. The special literature created by competent priests, recognized today as true followers of Christ's covenants, experts on Scripture and religious dogmas, helps to fill such gaps. Such manuals include the textbook of Archpriest Valentin Nikolaevich Vasechko “Comparative Theology”.
Featured Issues
The main problem highlighted in this book is the attitude of the Orthodox to representatives of foreign religions and their dogmas. To fully cover this issue, the author considers the history of ideological and theological disputes that once served as the reason for the separation of faiths. Of course, according to the author of the textbook, the unity of Christians is the duty of every deeply religious person. But what can be sacrificed for the sake of maintaining harmony and peace, the absence of religious conflicts? And is it possible to adopt behavior here, which is actually a deviation from faith and a violation of the commandments of Christ?
Basic Western creeds
The creator of the manual provides a detailed overview of the main Western foreign religions. First of all, Roman Catholicism. This is the most organized and popular branch, adherents of which are the majority of modern Christians around the world. This branch broke away from Orthodoxy in 1054. And according to the author, although she retained the foundations of spiritual Christian values, she subjected them to numerous distortions.
The book Comparative Theology also analyzes Protestant confessions that broke away from Catholicism during the 15th Century Reformation. The theologian believes that this was the reason for the loss of signs of churchness by this religious branch, and his sacraments were lost as a result of apostasy of grace.
Branches of Protestantism and Sectarianism
A feature characteristic of Protestantism has always been the never-ending process of crushing it into various branches. There were also many disagreements in understanding the ideas of Christ between his followers. And the emergence of each of the currents has its own historical background and reflects important milestones in the development of the Reformation from the times of the Middle Ages to the present day. The ideas of Protestants have been criticized more than once over the centuries in the comparative theology of Orthodoxy.
The first of the largest branches is Lutheranism, which originated in Germany at the dawn of the Reformation. In it, as can be read in the book, one should see an unsuccessful attempt to combine Christian traditions with the desire for church renewal.
Calvinism originating in Switzerland seems to the author as Protestantism in its most unsightly, even absurd form. Anglicanism is shown by a kind of dual religion, gravitating to both Catholicism and Protestantism, a trend that is more of a religious and political nature.
In the work “Comparative Theology,” Valentin Vasechko informs his readers that Protestantism continues to fragment today, giving rise to many false, sometimes extremely dangerous movements, religious branches and sects, which are distinguished by their unusual originality.
The purpose of modern Orthodoxy
The past century has brought many innovations to the life of Christians. And one of the aspirations of the followers of Christ was the desire to unite. And this, in turn, gave impetus to the emergence of an ideology based on the principles of pan-Christian unity. It received the name ecumenism and especially spread in the post-war period, although, according to the author, it was a rather controversial movement.
But the goal of the true Orthodox today, as VN Vasechko states in Comparative Theology, is to study everything that is connected with the life and ideology of Western Christianity. Indeed, only by sensibly comprehending alien values, a true believer gets the opportunity to protect himself from errors and help representatives of other concessions to see their mistakes. The theologian is convinced that it is the eastern Christian branch that turns out to be the most ancient and pure.
Author Biography
Valentin Nikolaevich is an assistant professor of systematic theology and a hereditary priest. He was born in the Tver region in the village of Zavidovo, this happened in August 1963. From childhood, a religious boy helped in the worship at his father’s temple, being an altar boy. Sensing a vocation in the service of God, he entered the seminary in St. Petersburg in 1987.
Vasechko studied in the USA, where he graduated from a religious educational institution, receiving an honorary master's degree in theology. He has been teaching since 1996. Two of his children were born in a happy marriage with Julia Sergeyevna Shubina. Now he is working for the good of the church as rector at the Catherine’s Church in Moscow. Has awards: pectoral cross. The textbook Comparative Theology was written by him in 1996. In 2012, it was published with a circulation of 2,000 copies.