One of the most important decisions on a person’s lifepath, which largely determines his destiny, is the choice of profession: who to be, what and how to study. For an Orthodox Christian, this decision is also determined by the desire to please God, so that the future professional activity, at a minimum, does not run counter to the commandments of God, and, at a maximum, is directly related to serving God and His Church. Thus, the choice of profession can be considered an intermediate goal on the path to the main goal of a Christian’s life—the acquisition of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is in this context that we will disuss this topic.
In modern conditions, making this choice is much more difficult than one hundred and fifty or more years ago. The difference lies not only in the lack of social classes, accessibility of education and the widest range of opportunities. It is also the changed structure of social life. Before the October Revolution in Russia Orthodox customs were part of everyday life, most people were believers, and therefore, almost any profession could be easily combined with religious beliefs and behaviour. Now the world lives according to completely different principles, and they continue to change for the worse and often alienate believers from the Orthodox faith.
Two extremes
In this connection, there are often two misconceptions, two extremes among Christians, which seem opposite, but in fact strongly support each other. One extreme is the desire to keep up with the times, to lead a secular lifestyle, and the desire for a successful career in a secular society. Remaining a formal believer, a person does not correlate his actions with the requirements of the Orthodox doctrine, but pays attention to them only when he has time for that. Accordingly, such a person chooses an educational institution and occupation based on criteria not related to Christianity. For this reason, a person can choose either a completely sinful profession, or build a career without thinking about how and in what way he could serve the Church.
The opposite extreme is what can be called false spirituality, when the need to study, to get an education and master a particular profession is denied, and instead one only wants to pray, fast, and attend church services. Of course, there are ascetics who leave everything for the salvation of their souls and go to monasteries. But this should be a conscious and integral choice of the person himself, and not an attempt to “sit on two chairs”, combining work in the world, family life and monastic rules. It looks even sadder when parents try to realize their unfulfilled dreams of asceticism in their own children, forcing them to refuse to study and to master a good profession. Neophytes—those who have recently come to the faith in God—are subject to a similar temptation. There are cases when such people, having come to church, abandon a good job, a sought-after specialty, and get a job as church watchmen, thereby quickly and deliberately destroying the life basis that they had, breaking social ties with the people who made up their circle of contacts. But in the end, they hide in the ground their God-given talent (Matt. 25:24) in one area or another, not realizing that in their place and in whatever state each was called (1 Cor. 7:24), a person could be more beneficial both for the Church and for the people.
The Royal Way
In Christian life, the virtue of prudence is very important. It is the ability to find in any matter the middle way between excess and deficiency. In the Holy Scripture and Holy Fathers it is called the middle, or royal, path. “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (Proverbs 4:26–27).
To avoid both extremes in relation to education, it is necessary, first of all, to realize that life around us, no matter how abnormal it may be, is the place where we begin our own Christian life. We should never forget that the title of Christian is not a profession. Remembering the words of the Savior: “Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves: therefore be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), in our battle against the spirit of this world we must use the best of what the world has to offer, and to go beyond this best, to put it to the benefit of the Church and the cause of Christian witness in the world. Those who are called, already having an education and profession, should remember the words of the Gospel: every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old (Matthew 13:52). When a person has a certain cultural, intellectual base, this often helps him to avoid many mistakes in his Christian life, as well as to benefit the Holy Church in her earthly existence.
This is exactly what the great saints did. If we look at the history of the Church, we will see that many saints received an excellent education, the best in their time. These are the ecumenical teachers Basil the Great and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrosius of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Gregory, and many others. It is interesting to quote the words of St. Gregory the Theologian: “My cheeks had not yet become pubescent when some kind of fiery love for sciences took possession of me. And I tried to make teachings that were not entirely pure (meaning the works of pagan philosophers – Fr. I. K.) to help the true teachings, so that those who had not learned anything would not boast.” From this quote it is clear that already in the time of St. Gregory (IV century) there was an opinion among Christians that since Christ chose the apostles from among simple fishermen and sent these “unlearned” people to preach, then there is no need to study, to acquire any special skills or knowledge.
St. Augustine in his book “Christian Science, or the Foundations of Sacred Hermeneutics and Ecclesiastical Eloquence” brilliantly refutes the opinion that “if the Holy Spirit produces teachers, then people should not prescribe a rule for what and how to teach.” “In this sense,” says the saint, “we should not pray, for the Lord says: For your Father knows what you require before you ask (Matthew 6:8).” Blessed Augustine provides many quotations from the pastoral letters of Holy Apostle Paul, showing that the supreme apostle prescribed certain rules for his disciples on what and how they should teach. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). “Like medicines for body,” Augustine concludes, “given to people by people, are helpful only for those who are given health by God, who can heal even without medicines, and, although medicines are ineffective without the help of God, nevertheless people use them, and diligent delivery of them in any case is considered a matter of mercy and beneficence, in the same way the aids of science, delivered by the hand of man, only benefit the soul when made helpful by God Himself, Who could, if He wanted, give man the Gospel itself not by man or through man.”
Who to be
God gave each person his own talent, her own calling. Sometimes this gift is discovered early, and it determines a person’s life choices. But most often the calling is difficult to determine. A person has to try his hand in different directions. Let’s talk about some possible areas of activity for those who want not only to belong to the Church, but also to actively participate in Her life.
The path of a clergyman
In pre-revolutionary Russia the clergy was almost entirely class-based, this type of occupation was predetermined by birth. Today the choice of clergy happens according to the free will of a person, the blessing of the spiritual father, and the election by the community. Unfortunately, at present there is a decline in the interest of young people in religion. Even in the seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church there is a shortage of students, although twenty years ago there was considerable competition among applicants.
Nevertheless, among religious youth there are those who show deep religiosity at an early age. There are always few such guys and girls, and we can say with confidence that their zeal for prayer, interest in reading the Scripture and Orthodox literature, singing band worship is an evidence of spiritual giftedness. To be a priest is a calling. As an example, we can recall Archpriest Markel Kuznetsov (12/22/1893 – 02/01/1988), who served as a priest in Kaluga for more than sixty years. From early childhood he diligently attended services, and his fellow villagers saw a future priest in a six-year-old boy. He was ordained as a deacon at age of nineteen and served until a very old age.
This special spiritual potential of the younger generation, spiritual gift and talent must be used to the fullest. Spiritual fathers should identify these talents, guide them, so as not to lose them under any circumstances, but to direct them in time to the path of priestly service while observing the canonical requirements, the foundations of which are laid in the pastoral letters of the Holy Apostle Paul (1 Tim. 3, 1-7 and Titus 1, 6–9). Among these instructions, we highlight the following: “The bishop must be … holding to the true word, consistent with the teaching, so that he will be able to instruct in sound doctrine and reprove those who resist” (Titus 1: 7-9). These words speak of the need for serious training of future clergy, which includes not only bishop, priest and deacon, but also ustavschik, reader, choir director, church warden, etc.
Unfortunately, in our Church today there is no system of fundamental church education. The existing theological school of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church trains mid-level specialists. This level is clearly not enough to prepare a future pastor capable of giving proper answers to the challenges of our time. Such widely discussed topics in society as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, in vitro fertilization, cloning, and so on require theological understanding and a timely response from the Church. But how can it be given without professional training? It seems that one of the main reasons for the shortage of priests that our Church is experiencing is the lack of full-fledged education.
It is necessary to work on strengthening the school and expanding its teaching staff. The next task is the creation of a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church. Several years ago, the building of the Old Believer Institute was transferred to our Church, and work on its restoration began. The discussion of the status and concept of the new institute and its curriculum is happening, work on registration and licensing of the school has started. It is important to analyze the pre-revolutionary experience, a comprehensive study of which was done in Fr. Ioann Sevastyanov’s dissertation “Educational activities of the Old Believers in the period from 1905 to 1918.” This scholarly work comprehensively examines the issues of Old Believer education of the so-called golden age of the Old Believers, reconstructs in detail the process of creation and functioning of the Moscow Old Believer Institute, identifies the problems that arose at its opening and the reasons that led to the closure of this educational institution. Only by relying on this experience we can avoid the mistakes of the past and make significant progress in creation and development of our Church’s own educational institutions, formation of the Old Believer system of education, adaptation and creative transfer of organizational, didactic, methodological initiatives of the past into modern practice.
Where to study to become a clergyman
The Old Believer Institute is in the process of being created. But where should young Old Believers who dream of dedicating their lives to the Church and God go to study? There are two options here.
The first, most common, is receiving a secular education in some speciality and simultaneous self-education in the field of Orthodox theology, biblical studies, patristics, liturgics, canon law, and other disciplines. All the famous Old Believer teachers (nachyotchiks) of the 19th and early 20th centuries followed the path of self-education: Ilarion Kabanov (Xenos), Semyon Semyonovich, holy hierarchs Arseniy of Uralsk and Inokentiy Usov, Vasiliy Zelenkov, Fyodor Melnikov, Archpriest Dimitriy Varakin, and others. They obtained the necessary knowledge exclusively on their own. And they sometimes knew their subject better and deeper than professionals, teachers of theological academies, and anti-Old Believer missionaries, with whom they constantly conducted public debates. Suffice it to recall the visit of Bishop Arseny of Uralsk to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on March 23, 1886, where he delivered his famous “Apology,” which was later published as a separate brochure. The phenomenon of Old Believer literacy (nachyotnichestvo) is significant and diverse; it represents a whole layer of national culture. In general, nachyotchiks served the Church of Christ very fruitfully, compiling a huge number of works in defense of the Old Faith, giving detailed theological answers to the challenges of the time and leading many souls to salvation.
In Soviet and post-Soviet times, those who became Old Believer clergy engaged in spiritual self-education on the basis of secular education. But even then, despite the cruelty of the atheistic power, the traditions of Old Believer nachyotnichestvo were preserved. Evidence of this is the answer of an unidentified author to the articles of Archpriest Dmitriy Bogolyubov in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate Nos. 3 and 7 for 1946. The answer is stored in the archives of the Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church and published in the appendix to the magazine “Church” (“In That Time”, issue No. 4 , 2007).
Another way is to receive spiritual education in religious educational institutions of other faiths, primarily the Russian Orthodox Church. Previously, these were theological seminaries and academies. In recent years, several universities have opened, which are established by the Russian Orthodox Church, but training specialists in various, including secular, specialities related to the church sphere. Such experience also exists, although these cases are isolated and cause controversial response among fellow believers. There is room for discussion here. On the one hand, it is the opportunity to receive a systematic theological education, have access to libraries and communication with professors in the relevant fields of knowledge. On the other hand, there is a risk of apostasy from the faith, transition to another denomination, as well as the subsequent spread of heretical views in one’s Church.
Without going into polemics, we nevertheless consider it appropriate, as food for thought, to cite the example of venerable Maxim the Greek, highly revered saint among the Old Believers. He came from an aristocratic family, received an excellent education, but strived for greater knowledge. In order to study the language and philosophy of the ancient Greeks, he went to Italy. In Florence he worked at the Medici Library. There he was deeply impressed by the sermons of the Dominican monk and abbot of the monastery of San Marco pGirolamo Savonarola, who was later brutally executed by Catholic inquisitors. However, he later returned to his homeland and took monastic vows at the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos. In 1515, at the request of the Russian sovereign, Grand Duke Vasiliy III, he arrived in Moscow. Here he learned Russian and took part in the translation of the Explanatory Psalter and other books. The life of this saint in Russia was filled with difficult trials, he was deprived of the Holy Communion, but God glorified His saint, whose memory is on January 21 (February 3). From this example it follows that communication and study in non-Orthodox educational institutions did not harm the soul of saint Maximus, but gave him the opportunity to develop his talents and bring fruit to God a hundredfold (Matthew 13:23).
Secular professions and service to the Church
One should not think that it is possible to serve the Church only by becoming a clergyman. According to the words of apostle Paul, the Lord “appointed some apostles, others prophets, others evangelists, others shepherds and teachers, for the training of the saints, into the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–13). The Body of Christ is the Church. In its earthly existence, it needs qualified assistance from various specialists, both at the level of a centralized organization (metropolis or diocese), and at the level of each individual community. Let’s name just a few of them: lawyers, architects, builders, restorers, icon painters, singers, philosophers, accountants, historians, doctors, psychologists, journalists, philologists, programmers. The list goes on and on because we face many tasks, and they are different. This includes the restoration of churches, their maintenance, the creation and maintenance of websites, the representation of the interests of the Church in government agencies and courts. You don’t have to work for a church organization. Only the most largest of them have such personnel on their staff. Most often you have to bring in outside professionals. It is good if the specialist recruited is a member of the Church. But we must honestly admit that today there are very few of our own personnel.
In particular, we should discuss engaging in entrepreneurial activities. The history of the Old Believers clearly shows that it is possible to combine deep faith and piety with an entrepreneurial spirit and put all this at the service of one’s native Church and Fatherland. Before the revolution, Old Believers made up over sixty percent of the representatives of the commercial and industrial class, in whose hands up to 64% of all Russian capital was concentrated. Diligence in running a business was seen as the fulfillment of a Christian duty to God and to people; skillful management contributed to the strengthening and growth of faith and the strengthening of the true Church. At the beginning of the twentieth century, merchants and industrialists contributed to the rapid development of church institutions that satisfied the urgent needs of that period. The church life of the Old Believers received an impetus, Old Believer church building, periodical printing, and construction of schools developed throughout Russia, and the Old Believer Institute was created. God knows, maybe new Morozovs, Ryabushinskiys, Kuznetsovs will be revealed to the world, who will revive the glorious traditions and deeds of their predecessors.
It seems that this situation should motivate spiritual fathers to guide the younger generation towards mastering those professions where they could reveal their potential and at the same time have the opportunity to help Orthodox communities and individuals from among the brethren of the same faith. If not by direct participation in the affairs of the Church, then at least by offering tithes from one’s righteous labours. As it is said in the Book of Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach: “The offering of the righteous makes the altar fat, and its fragrance is before the Most High; the sacrifice of a righteous man is favourable, and the memory of it will not be forgotte. With a cheerful eye glorify the Lord and do not diminish the firstfruits of your labours; with every gift, have a cheerful face and dedicate the tithe with joy” (Sir. 35: 5-8).
Temptations in professional activities
Obviously, a Christian will have to face some difficulties in secular work. We are not talking about obviously sinful activities associated with crime or usury. But the rules of piety do not always coincide with secular requirements. Some companies, for example, may impose a ban on wearing a beard or organize mandatory “corporate parties” during fasting periods. Some enterprises have canteens for employees, but the menu there does not include fasting dishes, and it is prohibited to bring food with you. All these are temptations that can be conditionally called external. But there are also more serious ones. These are corruption and bribery, dishonesty, deception, theft, serving political or class interests contrary to moral standards, and much more. Of course, similar things can happen in church organizations as well; we should not idealize them. In any case, wherever a person works and whatever he does, courage and wisdom are needed everywhere, so that a career does not interfere with the salvation of the soul. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and harms his own soul? (Mark 8:36). And the experience of the saints shows that among them there were simple peasants, officials, soldiers, military leaders, artisans, entrepreneurs, clergy, and ordinary workers.
