,,the ,,agony ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,nicholai ,,velimirovic1 ,d4,d4 ,,of ,,st ,,savva',s ,,college1 ,,belgrade ,,with ,,foreword ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,alexander ,,whyte1 ,d4,d4 ,,principal ,,of ,,new ,,college1 ,,edinburgh ,,london ,,student ,,christian ,,movement #cb ,,russell ,,square1 ,w4,c4 #aiag ,printed in ,great ,britain by ,turnbull ,spears1 ,edinburgh4 ,,foreword ,the ,eastern ,church1 the ,church of the ,apostles and the ,mother of us all1 in this book1 speaks to her children in all lands and in all languages1 and to us1 with an authority and a wisdom and a tenderness all its own4 ,the author and the publishers are doing us a service of the very best kind in issuing it4 ,may ,god's blessing rest upon it4 ,,publisher',s ,,foreword ,the contents of this book was originally given in the form of lectures at ,st ,margaret's1 ,westminster4 ,there is1 we think1 a special fitness in the lectures appearing in book form bearing the imprint of the ,student ,christian ,movement1 for though ,father ,nicholas has hosts of friends in ,great ,britain now1 when he first came here our ,movement was perhaps the only body which had the right to claim him as being already a friend4 ,when the ,student ,christian ,movement made its way to ,serbia a few years ago1 ,father ,nicholas became one of its first friends and1 the year the war commenced and the following year1 it was he who1 on the ,universal ,day of ,prayer for ,students1 preached by invitation of the ,student ,movement and its ,president1 ,dr4 ,marko ,leko1 to the students in the ,cathedrals of ,belgrade and ,nish4 ,members of our ,movement1 therefore1 will recognise that he comes under the category of persons so highly valued in the ,student ,movement1 namely1 that of senior friend4 ,both inside and outside the ,student ,movement to-day people are thinking of the ,church4 ,much has been spoken and written about the ,church of ,jesus ,christ in our modern world1 but not so much as to leave us unready to welcome this arresting and penetrating message from ,serbia4 ,,introductory ,,thoughts ,if the official churches have had no other merit but that they have preserved ,christ as the treasury of the world1 yet they are justified thereby4 ,even if they have solely repeated through all the past centuries ,lord6 ,lord6 still they stand above the secular world4 ,for they know at least who the ,lord is1 whereas the world does not know4 ,churches may disappear1 but ,the ,church never will4 ,for not churches are the work of ,christ1 but the ,church4 ,moreover1 if the ,church disappears1 as an institution1 the essence of the ,church cannot disappear4 ,it is like rivers1 sea and water3 when rivers disappear into the sea1 the sea remains1 and if the sea disappears into steam1 water still remains4 ,if ,christ ever meant to form the ,church as an institution ,he meant to form it not as the end but as the means1 like a boat to bring its inmates safely over the stormy ocean of life into the quiet harbour of ,his ,kingdom4 ,like the body in a bath1 so the soul disrobes in the ,church to wash4 ,but as soon as we get out1 we clothe our soul in order to conceal it from the curious eye4 ,is it not illogical that we dare to show our imperfections to the ,most ,perfect1 while we are ashamed to show them to those who are just as imperfect1 ugly and unclean as ourselves8 ,the ,church1 like a bath1 reveals most uncleanness4 ,the initial and most obvious idea of the ,church is collectiveness of sin and salvation4 ,to pray alone and for one's self is like eating alone without regard to other people's hunger4 ,when the sun sees a man of science1 wealth or politics1 kneeling at prayer with the poor and humble1 it goes smiling to its rest4 ,full of beauty and wonders are all the ,christian churches1 but not because of their pretended perfections3 they are beautiful and wonderful because of ,him whose shadow they are4 ,you are a ,christian8 ,then do not be afraid to enter any ,christian church with prayerful respect4 ,all the ,churches have sworn allegiance to the same ,sovereign4 ,how can you respect a cottage1 in which once abided ,his ,majesty ,king ,alfred1 or ,charles1 while you would not go into a building dedicated to ,his ,majesty the ,invisible ,king of kings8 ,the real value of any ,christian community is not to be found in its own prosperity but in its care for the prosperity of other ,christian communities4 ,so1 for example1 the value of the ,protestants is to be found in their loving care for the ,roman ,catholics1 and vice versa4 ,taking the above standard1 we find that all the ,christian communities are almost quite valueless as to the spirit1 i4e4 as to their unusual loving care4 ,their actual value is more physical than spiritual1 being as they are limited to the care for themselves4 ,exceptions are as refreshing as an oasis in the desert4 ,church and ,state are like fire and water4 ,how to connect them8 ,for if connected1 fire always dies down under water4 ,there are three ages in the history of the ,church3 the ,golden ,age1 when the ,church was opposed to political governments2 the ,iron ,age1 when she was politically directing ,europe's kingdoms2 and the ,stone ,age1 when she has been subdued to the service of political governments4 ,what a humiliation for the present generation to live in the ,stone ,age of ,christianity6 ,trying to unite ,church and ,state we are trying to unite what ,god separated from the beginning of our era4 ,to separate the ,church from the ,state does not mean1 as many think1 to separate soul from body2 it means to separate two quite opposed spirits unakin and hostile to each other1 like ,cross and ,capitol4 ,the worm of comfort and human inertia has reconciled ,christianity with secular1 pagan governments1 and so paralysed the most divine movement in human history4 ,go to the bottom of all those clever advocacies for unity of ,church and ,state1 and you will meet1 as their primus motor1 the worm of comfort and human inertia4 ,all ,churches and ,christian institutions of the present time1 however wonderful they may be1 are only a dim prophecy of the coming ,christian worship in truth and spirit4 ,through them we look now to the future as through a glass4 ,christianity is neither monarchical nor republican4 ,it does not care about institutions but about the spirit living in them4 ,that institution is the best which is fullest of the ,christian spirit4 ,from this point of view1 an autocracy may be better than a republic1 and vice versa4 ,the true ,christianity has been hidden from us as iron and coal were hidden from the men of the ,stone ,age4 ,they walked over iron and coal but they used stone and wood only4 ,so we are walking over and around ,christ1 still using in our daily life the pagan gods of old4 ,if there is to be a new geological epoch1 with a new type of man1 it will be the ,christian epoch4 ,all the existing types have been made by revolutions and influences of earth and water1 or of air and fire4 ,now only the ,christian revolution--,i mean literally and not allegorically--can produce a higher type of the human animal4 ,my friend1 you are dissatisfied with the existing ,churches1 and you are anxious to form a new church1 or sect1 or some kind of religious organisation6 ,how childish of you6 ,the existing ,churches are the most wonderful vessels--some in gold1 others in silver or pottery--made by thousands of years and generations4 ,i know your dissatisfaction comes because of the emptiness of those vessels and not because of their ugliness4 ,well then1 pour the divine wine into them and they will please you just as the vessels in ,cana of ,galilee pleased the thirsty people around the table4 ,no one of those people1 being thirsty1 ever thought of making new vessels for the wine1 but to get wine as soon as possible into the vessels4 ,to pour wine into existing vessels1 that is really the needed miracle1 my dear grumbler6 ,people say3 ,read the ,bible6 ,almost would ,i say3 ,do not touch it for five years--read other literature during this period--and then read it again1 and you will see its real greatness1 power and sweetness4 ,the ,christ's wounds have wrought more blessings in the world than the health of all the ,roman ,caears4 ,the ,eucharist does not mean a memory only but also a prophecy4 ,the prophecy of it is1 that the whole earth will become ,christ's body1 ,christ's flesh and blood1 so that whatever we eat or drink we eat and drink ,him4 ,he ought to be our daily food4 ,regarding all our food through ,christ it will not seem to be a prey from nature but rather nature's sacrifice for us1 reminding us of ,christ's sacrifice1 and through it of our own calling to sacrifice4 ,you have to choose either to be proud or poor in spirit4 ,the first will mean a noisy destruction1 the second a quiet construction4 ,there exists no sublime and no mean thing in the whole world of which ,i could not find a representation in myself1 and none in which ,i were wholly unrepresented4 ,the beauty1 glory and greatness of a field of golden wheat consists of an association of innumerable blades of wheat1 with their insignificant beauty1 glory and greatness4 ,if you have seen that1 then do not repeat to me the old story of the beauty1 glory and greatness of the human blade called ,pythagoras1 ,caear or ,napoleon4 ,the wealthiest and most powerful people1 that we are wont to admire and imitate1 were most pitied by ,christ4 ,to-day1 as always1 the most difficult ,christian mission is that among the rich4 ,our real value we never reveal through the using of our rights but through our capacity for service and sacrifice4 ,easier is it for a man to get his own rights than to lose his pride4 ,sacrifice without murmuring makes of our stormy life a calm holy day4 ,we fill all our days with the talk of the people who are loth to sacrifice and of those who dare to sacrifice4 ,disgust and admiration are two baths in which our hearts bathe from sunrise to sunset4 ,by nothing is the disgust towards a man more excited than by hearing3 ,he is incapable of sacrifice4 ,when this sentence is directed to ourselves1 we feel as if we had lost the whole battle of life4 ,the value of metaphysical systems is more for the scientific than for the moral progress of mankind4 ,upon ,hegel you could build a new science1 but upon ,st ,paul only could you build a new social life and a new world politics4 ,did you ever think that ,st ,paul is the greatest prophet of a new and desirable statesmanship8 ,all the ,empires founded upon rights have perished and must perish4 ,the future belongs to the ,empire of ,st ,paul1 an ,empire founded upon loving service4 ,it is better in humbleness to belong to the worst of the ,churches than proudly to separate one's self from the best of the ,churches4 ,aristocratic origin is as inscrutable as the darkness of the past night4 ,a mighty aristocrat of to-day may be of the meanest soul-stuff1 and the beggar at his door of the noblest4 ,but respect both of them equally1 knowing that both of them are of the same royal origin4 ,the ,most ,high names both of them ,his children4 ,for the same reason respect asses and sheep and trees and stones4 ,the real crucifiers of ,christ in our time are those who think ,christ's ,gospel could not be taken as a base for world politics4 ,were not ,his last words to the disciples3 go to all nations8 ,the last and supreme expression of ,christianity will be in the relations of nation to nation1 as its starting expression has been the relations of man to man4 ,inter-individualism has been the elementary school of ,christianity4 ,inter-nationalism ought to be its university4 ,christian ethics1 i4e4 cheerful service and sacrifice1 is the noblest consequence of real belief in ,god4 ,never a shorter line can bind our planet with the centre of the ,universe than the line going through ,christ4 ,it is the shortest way1 as a straight line is the shortest distance between two geometrical points4 ,slavery means obligatory service2 freedom ought to mean willing service4 ,only a man or a nation educated for willing service to their neighbours is a really free man or free nation4 ,all other theories of freedom are illusions4 ,freedom asking for rights and not for willing service means an endless quarrel crowning with unhappiness all its champions4 ,neither ,pericles' republic nor ,octavian's monarchy were the ,states of happiness1 but ,st ,paul's pan-human state1 with a single ,magna ,charta of willing service1 will be a ,state of ,universal ,happiness4 ,every man is a battlefield of many unclean spirits1 very bold in the absence of ,christ and very shy in ,his ,presence4 ,o how many of these spirits that find an easy habitation in us would make even the swine to rage and run down the steep place--into the sea6 ,the conception that the mentality of ,machiavelli and ,metternich1 ,bismarck and ,beaconsfield could be taken as a basis of politics1 whereas ,christ's mentality could not1 is the conception even of many theologians4 ,yet ,christ survives all these politicians as an undying power1 just because ,he is the fittest of all of them4 ,what an obscure philosophy it is which teaches that ,moses and ,mohamed had some thing to do with politics and ,christ has not6 ,carlyle and ,emerson were over-anxious to recommend every great man as a leader of mankind more than ,christ4 ,it is the same as to say3 men6 take candles and lamps to light your way in darkness1 but be aware of the sun4 ,how quite different are ,dostoievsky and ,tolstoi6 ,i looked at men in prayer and ,i thought3 ,behold1 the fallen angels6 ,i looked again at them in hateful quarrel and ,i thought3 ,behold1 the risen demons6 ,animals are cruel but not vulgar4 ,yet both in cruelty and vulgarity man is on record4 ,if forced to chose one of two evils1 we should prefer to look at cruelty rather than vulgarity4 ,all our to-days are spoiled by reminiscences about yesterday and sorrows about tomorrow4 ,thus we are disindividualising and emptying all our to-days and degrading them to a misty meeting-place of yesterday and tomorrow4 ,from the physical point of view the greatest thing in this life is its mystery4 ,from the moral point of view the greatest thing in man is the optimistic interpretation of that mystery4 ,there is no reasonable optimism outside of ,christianity4 ,no man could be a tyrant unless he were a slave of some moral defects4 ,no nation could tyrannise over another nation unless it were tyrannised over itself by some illusions4 ,nobody in the world is free but he who feels himself to be a prisoner of ,christ4 ,the greatest champion of freedom in human history called himself3 ,paul1 a prisoner of ,jesus ,christ4 ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,sophia ,the most magnificent sanctuary of the ,eastern ,churches is called ,st ,sophia 7,holy ,wisdom71 whereas the most magnificent sanctuaries of the ,western ,churches are called ,st ,peter's1 ,st ,paul's1 or ,st ,john's1 etc4 ,as every hair on our head and every line on the palm of our hand has a certain significance1 so these dedications of the ,church have doubtless certain significance4 ,and this significance is typical of the religion of the ,east and the ,west4 ,western ,christianity1 grown upon the soil of a youthful individualism1 preferred this or that apostle's personality and dedicated their best temples to him4 ,the aged ,east1 tired of individualistic ambitions1 tired of great men1 flagellated by the phantom of human greatness1 was thirsty for something higher and more solid than any human personality4 ,adoration of great personalities being the very wisdom of this world1 the ,east stretched its hands to a superhuman ideal1 to the ,holy ,wisdom4 ,it is a psychological fact that youth sees his ideal in personal greatness1 progressed age in holiness4 ,the ,east asked for something more eternal than ,peter1 ,paul or ,john4 ,there is wisdom1 and there is holy wisdom4 ,philosophical or personal wisdom existed from the beginning of mankind1 but ,holy ,wisdom entered the world with ,jesus ,christ4 ,christ was the embodiment of ,god's wisdom1 the very incarnation of ,holy ,wisdom4 ,this ,wisdom stands above all human wisdom and revives and illuminates it4 ,holy ,wisdom includes the essential wisdom of ,peter1 ,paul1 ,john1 and any other apostle or seer1 or any other thing or creature1 as the ocean includes the water of many rivers4 ,in the darkest times of dissension1 uncertainty or suffering1 the ,christian ,east did not rely so much upon the great apostles1 either ,peter1 or ,paul1 or ,john1 but looked beyond time and space to the ,eternal ,christ1 ,the ,logos of ,god1 and asked for ,light4 ,and it looked to ,eternity through this church in ,constantinople1 ,st ,sophia1 as the all-embracing and all-reconciling1 holy symbol4 ,whenever ,peter1 or ,paul1 or ,john1 or any other apostle1 or prophet1 became the ground upon which the believers quarrelled1 it was in the ,holy ,wisdom that they sought refuge and healing from their intellectual one-sidedness and ill-will4 ,yet if ,holy ,wisdom has only in the ,east a magnificent visible symbol1 ,holy ,wisdom is none the less the very foundation1 substance and aim of the ,western ,church as well as of the ,eastern1 yea of the one1 holy ,catholic ,church4 ,for ,christianity had been destined neither for the ,east alone nor for the ,west alone1 but for the whole globe4 ,and what means the so-much abused word ,catholic if not inclusiveness8 ,even such is1 too1 the meaning of the ,divine wisdom as revealed in ,christianity from the beginning4 ,i will try to show this inclusive wisdom of the ,church1 revealed from the beginning1 ,firstly in the ,church's ,founder1 ,secondly in the ,church's organisation1 and ,thirdly in the ,church's destination4 ,,the ,,inclusive ,,wisdom ,,of ,,the ,,church',s ,,founder ,by ,his birth ,he included and bound together the lowest and the highest1 the natural and the supernatural3 stable1 manger1 straw1 sheep and shepherds on the one hand2 stars1 angels1 magi and ,davidic royal origin on the other4 ,by ,his life ,he included the austerity of the ,indian monks1 of ,john the ,baptist and the ,nazarenes on the one hand2 and on the other the ,confucian moderate feasting1 in the houses of friends1 at the marriage feast and on other solemn occasions4 ,his life-drama was interwoven into the lives of all classes of people3 men1 women and children1 ,judaists and heathen1 ,king ,herod and the proconsul ,pilate1 priests and soldiers1 merchants and beggars1 learned sophists and ignorant fools1 the sick and the healthy1 the righteous and the sinful1 ,jews and ,egyptians1 ,greeks and ,romans1 and all others who could be met in ,palestine1 the very market of races and creeds4 ,he was by no means a party man like the ,pharisees and the doctors of law4 ,he called both the ,pharisees and their enemies to follow ,him4 ,he went to the temple to pray1 but ,he also prayed alone in the desert4 ,he kept the ,sabbath and ,he broke the ,sabbath by healing the sick and doing good on this sacred day4 ,he came not to destroy the ,law1 but ,he brought something which was higher than the ,law and even included the law itself1 i4e4 love and mercy4 ,he rebuked people who used to pray and say4 ,lord1 ,lord6 ,and yet ,he prayed very often ,himself4 ,he rebuked those who were fasting1 and yet ,he used to fast ,himself4 ,what ,he really looked for was neither prayer nor fasting1 but the spirit in which one prayed or fasted4 ,he commanded the people to give to ,caesar things which were ,caesar's1 and to ,god that which was ,god's4 ,he did not criticise this or that form of government1 nor did ,he accentuate ,monarchism1 ,republicanism1 or ,socialism as one form preferable to another4 ,under ,his scheme all forms of government were included as equally good or evil according to what place they reserved for ,god1 what gifts they duly gave to ,god1 and by what spirit they were inspired4 ,he followed the customs of ,his nation1 and did not break them or evade them purposely4 ,he took food according to the ,law1 and washed hands according to the ,law1 and went to the ,holy ,city and took part in worship in the temple 7though ,he was greater than the temple71 according to the ,law4 ,it seems that ,he excluded no form of worship or social life1 though ,he despised the unclean and petty spirit with which the hypocrites filled these forms4 ,and when it came to a dispute ,he1 the ,messenger of a new spirit1 naturally tried to save rather the pure spirit even without a form than a form filled with an impure spirit4 ,therefore ,he felt bound to say3 ,not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man1 or to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man1 or thou1 when thou prayest1 enter into thy closet1 etc4 ,even so1 too1 ,he embraced all nationalities and races4 ,nothing was for ,him unclean that ,god had created1 nothing but unclean spirits4 ,when the ,roman centurion asked help from ,him1 ,he gave it4 ,and when the people beyond the ,israelitish boundaries1 from the coasts of ,tyre and ,sidon1 cried after ,him1 ,he did not listen to the exclusivistic warnings of ,his disciples1 but ,he distributed even there ,his divine mercy4 ,he was mindful even of the people of ,nineveh4 ,and when ,he sent ,his disciples1 ,he sent them to all nations4 ,finally1 ,he included the natural and the supernatural4 ,he talked with spirits4 ,he saw ,satan as lightning fall from heaven4 ,he stood amongst ,peter1 ,john and ,james on one side1 and ,moses and ,elias on the other4 ,all the people saw lilies in the field and sparrows upon the roof1 but ,he saw more1 ,he saw how1 ,his ,father clothed the lilies and how ,he fed the sparrows4 ,he united the natural and the supernatural in ,his teaching4 ,love those who love thee was a natural teaching4 ,but ,he added3 and those who hate and persecute thee1 which was supernatural4 ,give to them who give to thee was a natural teaching4 ,but ,he added3 and to them who do not give to the1 which was supernatural4 ,bless those who bless thee4 ,but ,he added3 and those who curse thee1 which was supernatural4 ,and ,he united the natural and supernatural in ,his death4 ,he suffered and died in agony4 ,he rose from the dead1 descended to ,hell and ascended to ,heaven4 ,for ,him there was as little boundary between heaven and earth1 between nature and supernature1 as between ,israel and ,canaan1 or as between man and man1 or form and form4 ,his wisdom was inclusive from the beginning to the end4 ,what did ,he ever exclude--save unclean spirits8 ,his disciples were as exclusive as anybody could be1 exclusive when judging and acting according to natural wisdom4 ,but when they looked at ,him1 they were reconciled4 ,he was the ,holy ,wisdom1 in which everyone could find a mansion for himself1 every disciple1 every nation1 every form of worship1 everything--but the unclean spirit4 ,,the ,,inclusive ,,wisdom ,,in ,,the ,,church',s ,,organisation ,let us look now to the ,christian ,church in the early time of her formation4 ,jesus ,christ gave the largest possible scheme on which to work and the largest foundation to build upon4 ,there is no other name in history upon which more has been constructed than upon ,his name4 ,the primitive ,church realised it from the beginning1 and declared it4 ,she was inclusive from the first1 inclusive in her teaching and worship4 7a7 ,inclusive in ,teaching4--,christ was put in the centre of the world's history4 ,he represented what was the best and highest in ,eastern and ,western thought4 ,the dream of ,messias was the best and highest in the ,jewish conception4 ,well1 ,jesus was the ,messias4 ,the expectation of a second ,adam1 the redeemer of the first1 sinful ,adam1 was common among the peoples in ,palestine and ,mesopotamia4 ,well1 ,jesus was the second ,adam1 the expected ,redeemer1 ,god's ,messenger4 ,egypt had an intuition into the mystery of the ,divinity as a ,trinity4 ,however rough may have been that idea1 the ,trinity being thought of as a human family of ,father1 ,mother1 and ,son1 still it existed very vividly in ,egypt4 ,and the people expected the coming of ,god's only ,son1 the third person of their ,trinity1 not an imaginary being like ,horus1 but the real son of ,osiris in flesh and blood who would bring happiness to men4 ,well1 ,jesus of ,nazareth was this ,son of ,god1 and ,he as ,christ was the eternal sharer of the ,divine ,trinity4 ,india was the cradle of the teaching of the ,incarnation4 ,the supreme ,god1 ,brahma1 had already been incarnated in many persons since the dawn of history4 ,but the highest incarnation of ,him was still to come4 ,well1 ,jesus ,christ was this highest incarnation of ,brahma in human shape4 ,the cultivated polytheists did not like the idea of a monotonous theology of one solitary ,god4 ,they liked rather a divine company upon ,olympus4 ,well1 ,christianity with its ,trinity-teaching presented to them a limited polytheism4 ,god was not physically one1 as in ,judaism1 nor many1 as in ,hellenism4 ,he was a ,trinitarian ,plurality in ,unity4 ,he was not a grim hermit1 but ,he had the riches of an eternal life4 ,the intellectual ,greeks and ,hellenists climbed to the idea of one ,god and of ,logos1 the ,mediator between ,god and the world1 through whom ,god created whatever ,he created1 and who may be incarnated for the salvation of the fallen1 suffering creation4 ,well1 ,jesus ,christ could include in ,his person this wonderful doctrine of ,neoplatonism4 ,the mountainous ,asia under ,caucasus and ,ararat1 plunged into the mystery of ,mithras1 which was born out of the ,zoroastrian dualistic religion of light and darkness1 of ,ormuzd and ,ahriman4 ,well now1 ,christ1 the friend of humanity1 revealed ,himself as the ,god of light struggling against ,satan1 the enemy of humanity4 ,rome1 politically ruling the world1 was longing for a sacred ,king1 for a ,prince of ,peace1 who should come from the ,east and bring to the people some higher and truer happiness than that deceiving chimera of political bigness4 ,well1 ,christ should be this universal1 sacred ,king1 this ,prince of ,peace1 and ,messenger of a durable happiness4 ,it is not true that ,christ had ,his prophets among the people of ,israel only4 ,his prophets existed in every race and every religion and philosophy of old4 ,that is the reason why the whole world could claim ,christ1 and how ,he can be preached to everybody and accepted by everybody4 ,behold1 ,he was at home everywhere6 7b7 ,inclusive in ,worship4--,inclusive in doctrine1 the primitive ,church was wisely inclusive in worship too4 ,it would be nonsense to speak of ,christian worship as of something quite new and surprising4 ,there was very little new and very little surprising in it indeed2 almost nothing4 ,the first ,church met for prayer in the ,jewish temple4 ,wherever the apostles came to preach the new ,gospel they went to the old places of prayer1 to the temples of ,jehovah4 ,their ,christian spirit did not revolt against the old forms of worship4 ,later on the naked ,christian spirit needed to be clothed1 and it was clothed4 ,but when ,israel looked to ,christian worship they recognised much--forms1 signs1 vestments and administration--to be like their own4 ,and not only ,israel1 but even ,egypt1 ,india1 ,babylon and ,persia1 ,greece and ,rome1 yea1 the ,pagans of ,north and ,south4 ,if ,nature could speak1 it could say how much it lent of its own to ,christian worship4 ,a student of ancient history one day asked me3 ,how can ,i recognise the ,christian religion as the best of all1 when ,i know how much it borrowed from the ancient religious forms of worship8 ,how poor it looks without all that6 ,i said3 ,just this wonderful power of embracing and assimilating gives evidence of the vitality and universality of ,christianity4 ,it is too large in spirit to be clothed by one nation or one race only4 ,it is too rich in spirit and destination to be expressed by one tongue1 by one sign1 or one symbol1 or one form4 ,in the same sense as ,christian doctrine was prepared and prophesied by the religions and the philosophies before ,christ1 in the same sense ,christian worship was prepared and prophesied as well4 ,whenever the ,christian spirit is strong the ,church is not afraid of worship being strange1 and ample1 and even grotesque4 ,the weaker the ,christian spirit1 the greater exclusiveness in worship4 ,some people say3 ,it is wicked to use pagan architecture for the ,church1 and incense and fire1 and music1 or dance1 or bowing1 or kneeling1 or signs and symbols1 in ,christian worship1 because it is pagan4 ,yes1 all this is pagan indeed1 but it is ,christian too if we wish it to be4 ,the ,latin language was pagan1 but now it is ,christian too4 ,the ,english language was a vehicle of ,paganism as well1 now it is a vehicle of ,christianity4 ,the human body was itself pagan too1 but the ,eternal ,christ1 ,god's ,holy ,wisdom1 entered it and filled it with a new spirit1 and it ceased to be pagan4 ,we in the ,east sometimes use for our sacerdotal vestments ,chinese silk made by pagan hands in ,china1 or chalices and spoons and little bells and chains made by the ,moslems1 or precious stones gathered and scents prepared by the fire or stone-worshippers of ,africa1 and no one of us should be afraid to use them when worshipping ,christ1 as ,christ ,himself was not afraid to touch the most wretched human bodies or souls with ,his pure hands4 ,christianity cannot be defiled1 using for its worship the works of pagan hands1 but pagan people are hereby taking a share in ,christian worship1 physically and unconsciously1 waiting for the moment when they will share in it spiritually and consciously as well4 ,every piece of ,chinese silk in our vestments is a prophecy of the great ,christian ,china4 ,but this belongs to the following paragraph4 ,,the ,,inclusive ,,wisdom ,,in ,,the ,,church',s ,,destination ,judaism was destined for the people of ,israel only4 ,the ,christian ,church was destined for the people of ,israel too1 but not for them only4 ,she included ,greeks as well4 ,the ,greek polytheism of ,olympus was destined for the ,hellenic race only4 ,the ,christian ,church was destined for the ,hellenic race too1 but not for it only4 ,she included ,indians as well4 ,buddha's wisdom was offered to the monks and vegetarians4 ,monks and vegetarians the ,christian ,church included in her lap1 but also married and social people too4 ,pythagoras founded a religious society of intellectual aristocrats4 ,the ,christian ,church from the beginning included intellectual aristocrats side by side with the ignorant and unlettered4 ,the ,persian prophet1 ,zoroaster1 recruited soldiers of the god of light among the best men to fight against the god of darkness4 ,his religious institution was like a military barracks4 ,the ,christian ,church included both the best and the worst1 the righteous and the sinners1 the healthy and the sick4 ,it was a barracks and a hospital at the same time4 ,it was an institution both for spiritual fighting and spiritual healing4 ,the ,chinese sage1 ,confucius1 preached a wonderful ethical pragmatism1 and the profound thinker1 ,lao-,tse1 preached an all-embracing spiritualism4 ,christian wisdom included both of them1 opening ,heaven for the first and showing the dramatic importance of the physical world for the second4 ,islam--yes1 ,islam had in some sense a ,christian ambition3 to win the whole world4 ,the difference was3 ,islam wished world-conquest2 the ,church1 the world's salvation4 ,islam intended to subdue all men and bring them before ,god as ,his servants3 ,the ,church intended to educate all men1 to purify and elevate them1 and to bring them before ,god as ,his children4 ,and all others3 star-worshippers1 and fire1 and wood1 and water1 and stone1 and animal-worshippers had a touching sense of the immediate divine presence in nature4 ,the ,church came not to extinguish this sense but to explain and to subordinate it2 to put ,god in the place of demons and hope instead of fear4 ,the ,church came not to destroy1 but to purify1 to aid and to assimilate4 ,the destination of the ,church was neither national nor racial1 but cosmic4 ,no exclusive power was ever destined to be a world-power4 ,the ultimate failure of ,islam to become a world-power lies in its exclusiveness4 ,it was with religion as with politics4 ,every exclusive policy is foredoomed to failure3 the ,german as well as the ,turkish and the ,napoleonic4 ,the policy of the ,church was designed by her ,divine ,founder3 ,he that is not against us is for us4 ,well1 there is no human race on earth wholly against ,christ and wholly unprepared to receive ,him4 ,the wisdom of the ,christian missionaries therefore is to see first in what ways ,providence has prepared a soil for ,christian seed2 to see which of the ,christian elements a race1 or a religion1 already possesses1 and how to utilise these elements and weld them into ,christianity4 ,all that--in order to make ,christianity grow organically1 instead of pushing it mechanically4 ,in conclusion let me repeat again3 the wisdom of the ,church has been inclusive4 ,inclusive was the wisdom of her ,founder1 inclusive the wisdom of her organisation and of her destination4 ,exclusiveness was the very sickness and weakness of the ,church4 ,that is why we in the ,east in the time of sickness of the ,church looked neither towards ,peter1 nor ,paul1 nor ,john1 but towards the ,holy ,wisdom1 the all-healing and all-illuminating4 ,for ,st ,sophia in ,constantinople1 the temple dedicated to ,christ the ,eternal1 includes in itself the sanctuaries of ,peter1 ,paul and ,john2 moreover1 it is supported even by some pillars of ,diana's temple from ,ephesus and has many other things1 in style or material1 which belonged to the ,paganism of old4 ,indeed1 ,st ,sophia has room and heart even for ,islam4 ,the ,mohamedans have been praising it as the best of their sanctuaries6 ,i speak thus to you because ,i am sure you will not misunderstand me4 ,and because ,i know you1 the ,british1 to be a race of the world-wide spirit1 ,i dare to make this appeal to you4 ,look to the ,holy ,wisdom6 ,look beyond ,peter1 and ,paul1 and ,john--through them and still beyond them6 ,every ,church has her prophet1 her apostle1 her angel4 ,look now over them all to the very top of the pyramid1 where all the lines meet6 ,either ,christianity is one1 or there is no ,christianity4 ,either the ,church is universal1 or there is no ,church4 ,there lived once upon a time twelve men as different as any twelve men could be4 ,and the ,holy ,wisdom united all of them into one spiritual body4 ,such was the first ,church of the twelve1 and such ought to be the last ,church of the milliards3 different in all her parts1 but cemented by the ,holy ,wisdom into one glorious building4 ,christ1 ,god's ,holy ,wisdom1 includes all of us1 why should we exclude each other8 ,he was sent for the salvation of ,china and ,japan and ,india as well as for that of the ,jews and ,greeks4 ,well1 let us quarrel no more about the circumcision while a milliard of human beings are still waiting to hear for the first time the name of ,jesus ,christ--yea1 for the first time after two thousand years6 ,let the present time be the new ,pentecost for us all4 ,i speak to you1 the ,british3 don't look around you and wait2 it is yours to start4 ,all the peoples of earth are looking towards you and listening to you4 ,don't be too shy to start4 ,to start what8 ,to start a revival of the primitive wisdom of the ,church1 i4e4 to confess and declare3 ,that ,christianity in its integrity is one and indivisible2 ,that ,christianity is not a precious stone preserved in a box called the ,church of ,england1 or the ,church of the ,east1 or ,rome1 but that it is the common good of mankind1 destined for all continents and all races2 ,that there is no constituent of the present ,european civilisation1 but the ,christian religion1 which could stop the brutal struggle among men1 in one form or another1 and guarantee a ,godlike peace profitable for the whole of mankind4 ,all of us1 small or great nations1 are now looking to you with respect1 not only for the victory over a revived anachronical ,paganism in ,central ,europe1 but also for a formulation of the new ideal1 of saving power for all men4 ,great is our expectation indeed1 but it is justified by your gifts1 given to you by ,providence4 ,therefore let your hearts be larger than your ,empire and your national ,church1 and the respect of mankind towards you will be warmed by love4 ,surely there can not be built a greater ,empire than yours1 humanly speaking4 ,the only greater ,empire than yours will be ,christ's ,empire4 ,and if you are longing for something greater than your present possession1 you are indeed longing for this universal1 pan-human ,empire of ,christ4 ,otherwise you would be sticking either at a stagnancy or at something impossible4 ,both would be unwise3 nature tolerates no stagnancy and punishes experiments with the impossible4 ,but who am ,i to teach you8 ,a reed 7from the wilderness7 shaken with the wind8 ,not ,i but the present despair of the world teaches you4 ,i am only a loud amongst many suffocated cries from ,west and ,east1 from ,north and ,south1 directed to you3 lift up your hearts and listen6 ,god is now doing a great thing through you1 and the whole world is expecting a great thing from you4 ,what is this great thing8 ,how to reach it8 ,pray and listen6 ,one thing only is sure1 that this great thing will come neither from any ,foreign ,office nor from any ,war ,office1 but from the living ,christian ,church4 ,yes1 she is still living1 although she looks dead4 ,she is only sleeping4 ,but ,christ is standing beside her now1 calling3 ,rise1 ye daughter6 ,talitha ,cumi6 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,drama ,,of ,,the ,,church ,the ,church is a drama4 ,she represents the greatest drama in the world's history1 yea1 she personates the whole of the world's history4 ,she originated in an astounding personal drama4 ,humanly speaking1 in the life of ,jesus ,christ during the three years of ,his public work there was more that was dramatic1 from an outside and inside point of view1 than in the lives of all other founders of religion taken together4 ,and speaking from a soteriological and theological point of view1 ,his life-drama had a cosmic greatness1 involving heaven and earth and both ends of the world's history4 ,wonderful was the life of ,buddha1 but his teaching was still more wonderful than his life4 ,very striking was the life of ,mohammed1 the life of a pious and romantic statesman1 but his work quickly overgrew his personality4 ,five years after ,mohammed's death1 ,islam numbered more followers than ,christianity five hundred years after ,golgotha4 ,but the life-drama of ,jesus was and still is reckoned as the most marvellous aspect of ,christianity3 not ,his teaching or ,his work1 but ,his life4 ,well1 was not ,his life-drama typical and prophetic for ,his ,church8 ,his ,church had to live through all those agonies1 external and internal1 that ,he ,himself lived through4 ,she had to go through sunshine and darkness1 through angelic concerts and devilish temptations1 through death and resurrection4 ,in one word1 she had to live ,his life1 again and again1 treading sometimes quickly1 sometimes reluctantly1 her path1 always asking for light and comfort from her visions of ,him4 ,i say the visions of ,him1 because those visions were omnipotent1 including in themselves words and works4 ,there is an impressive picture now circulating in ,london of an ,english soldier lying wounded in agony on the battlefield4 ,well1 what would a ,buddhistic painter put as a simile of consolation for the man in agony8 ,what else if not a ,buddha's sentence or word8 ,and what would a ,mohammedan painter put on the picture to console the expiring soldier if not also a sentence or word from the ,koran or an imaginative view of the ,paradise which is waiting for him8 ,and you know what a ,christian painter depicted--the vision of the ,crucified6 the soldier lying beneath this vision grasping with his hand ,jesus' bleeding feet2 this vision of the ,crucified is greater than any sentence1 any word1 yea1 it includes all the words of sympathy and of consolation4 ,on another occasion the ,christian painter would paint another appropriate vision1 and a painter of another religion or philosophy would write another appropriate word4 ,therefore1 it is difficult to learn the ,christian religion without pictures1 or to teach it without visions4 ,,the ,,dramatic ,,formation ,,of ,,the ,,church ,it was a quarrel1 as usual1 among men about ,god and bread1 when ,jesus interrupted them4 ,peter never thought to fish anything else all his life but fishes1 nor ,pilate to sentence to death anyone but criminals1 nor the ,jewish patriots that they were losing their greatest opportunity1 nor the heathen of ,britannia that they were contemporaries with the very ,god in flesh of their posterity4 ,how many times did it happen that ,jesus during the first thirty years of ,his life was present in the temple when a ,rabbi read the prophetic passages on the ,messiah6 ,reading the ,scriptures the poor ,rabbi measured the distance between himself and the ,messiah by thousands of years1 and #aj--the ,messiah in person was listening to his reading6 ,all the controversies in the synagogues and in the streets of ,jerusalem were merely repeated platitudes1 when a man appeared in ,galilee1 who claimed the highest authority and showed the greatest humility at the same time4 ,the ,law was the highest authority for the ,jews1 and the ,emperor of ,rome the highest authority for ,pilate4 ,but ,jesus declared himself to be the bearer of an authority which was incomparably higher than any authority existing on earth4 ,he did not beg either ,andrew or ,peter or ,john and ,james1 to follow ,him2 ,he commanded them3 ,follow ,me6 ,speaking with authority ,he gained the confidence of ,his first followers1 and showing humility ,he also gamed their love4 ,authority and humility--two qualities which not often were united in the character of the church-leaders1 a good reason why many of them were feared and many others pitied1 instead of being respected and loved as ,jesus was respected and loved by the first ,church4 ,for fear and pity are the degenerate forms of respect and love4 ,what we call the first ,church represented in reality the smallest ,church in number as well as in time and space1 but the richest in its dramatic changes and conflicts4 ,some few fishermen were called by ,christ1 and this call meant real baptism for them4 ,he let ,himself be baptised but ,he did not baptise ,his disciples otherwise than by ,his personal calling to them to follow ,him2 ,pentecost was their confirmation4 ,the history of the first ,church comprised a time not of some hundred years but of some hundred days4 ,when ,andrew and ,peter followed ,jesus the formation of the ,church started4 ,there were already two gathered in ,his name and conducted by ,him in person4 ,as a matter of fact1 they followed ,jesus at first merely with their eyes and feet1 but with their hearts they still followed ,moses and the ,law4 ,the ,twelve ,disciples were at first nothing more than twelve insignificant grains of sand placed upon a big rocky foundation of a palace1 which had to be built4 ,only after their confirmation by the ,holy ,spirit did they become the real pillars of the palace4 ,they were uncertain about their ,master and everything ,he said1 and they quarrelled about many things4 ,i think they represented through their differences not one church but twelve churches1 but by their common respect and love for their ,master they represented one ,church only4 ,what a prophetic image of the ,church of ,christ1 say1 after nineteen hundred years6 ,now as long as the living ,jesus was with the first ,church she was all right4 ,his life was the source of her life2 ,his authority and power meant her existence and unity4 ,but when the ,shepherd was smitten the sheep were scattered4 ,when the followers of ,christ saw ,him powerless and dead they denied ,him and fell back to their natural instinct of self-defence1 and the first ,church died with the death of ,christ4 ,it was like the green corn in the field smitten by a flail to the very root4 ,the owner of the corn walks in the field and looks with despair on his perished corn4 ,but it happens often that after a few days the field begins under the sunshine to flourish anew1 and the corn grows beautifully and brings forth plenty of fruit4 ,mary of ,magdala and the other ,mary brought this first sunshine over the smitten corn4 ,he is alive6 ,this was the tidings of the women on the second morning after ,his death4 ,this tidings about the living ,lord ,jesus con-verted ,peter and the other disciples again to ,christianity4 ,he is alive--that was the greatest word ever uttered by any human tongue since the ,church was founded4 ,yea1 through this very word the drooping ,church was brought again to life4 ,whatever utterances ,peter made during ,christ's life were as dead as stone compared with ,mary ,magdalene's tidings of the living ,lord after the catastrophe of ,his death4 ,the beautiful and true words3 ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the living ,god1 had no meaning whatever for the future of ,christianity in comparison with the certainty that the dead ,christ had risen1 i4e4 that ,he was ,lord even over death4 ,therefore if ,i could be convinced that a grain of good as small as the mustardseed should result from the strange quarrels about the primacy of this or that ,church--or this or that bishop--,i would be very sorry that there did not exist a ,church founded upon the memory of ,mary ,magdalene4 ,for ,mary ,magdalene1 and not ,st ,peter1 expressed the first the absolutely decisive revelation1 churchmaking and world-changing4 ,he is alive was this decisive revelation4 ,pentecost was the crown of the first ,church and meant her victory over all her internal conflicts and her final armament for the coming dramatic struggle in the world4 ,the ,church1 which kept herself after ,golgotha on the defensive1 inwardly against doubt and fear1 outwardly against the regardless persecution of men1 now1 after ,pentecost1 undertook again her offensive against all her enemies1 and became again the ,church militant as she was before ,golgotha when the ,lord led her in person4 ,this is the second ,church1 to which also we all belong4 ,historically1 this ,church is the second1 but organically and dogmatically she is absolutely one with the first ,church4 ,let us see now what were4 ,,the ,,external ,,conflicts ,,of ,,the ,,militant ,,church ,for the quantity and quality of the conflicts are the conditions of the dramatic life of a person as well as of a society4 ,well1 the ,christian ,church had plenty of the most extraordinary conflicts1 external and internal4 ,among the gravest external conflicts ,i reckon her conflicts with ,patriotism and ,imperialism4 ,the first ,christians were persecuted most fiercely by the exclusive ,jewish patriots1 as all good ,christians always have been persecuted by exclusive patriots4 ,for it is an essential characteristic of a true ,christian not to be an exclusive patriot1 exalting his own nation and despising all others4 ,oppression and suffering are the best soil for a too excited ,patriotism4 ,such a soil was ,israel in the time of ,christ and the first ,church4 ,all parties were united against ,christ and ,his followers upon national and patriotic grounds2 the ,pharisees1 the ,scribes1 the ,sadducees and the ignorant people1 believers and sceptics--they all accused ,christ of perverting the nation4 ,they accused ,st ,paul of the same crime4 ,yet ,st ,paul it was who dealt with the question of ,jewish ,patriotism very courageously and minutely4 ,patriotism is a natural quality1 but ,christianity is supernatural4 ,patriotism is a provincial truth1 but ,christianity is a pan-human truth4 ,patriotism means love of one's country or one's generation1 ,christianity means love of all countries and all generations4 ,christianity includes a sound and true ,patriotism1 but excludes untrue and exaggerated ,patriotism as it excludes every untrue thought and feeling4 ,of course an exalted ,patriotism in a frame of hatred all around excludes the ,christian religion and is its most dangerous enemy4 ,st ,paul1 who remained a true patriot till the end of his life1 thought1 as we all shall think1 that ,christianity never can damage the just cause of a country1 but1 on the contrary1 it gives to a patriotic cause a universal nimbus and importance1 putting it direct before the ,eternal ,judge1 and liberating it from small anxieties1 little faith and unworthy actions4 ,he who is numbering every day our hair1 and feeding the sparrows1 and clothing the grass in the field--,he is a greater warrant for our patriotic justice than any of our exaggerated calculations and sentiment about our country and our nation4 ,alas1 no ,european nation has right to blame the ,jews because of their persecution of ,christianity in the name of their ,patriotism4 ,there exists no country in ,europe which has not at some time in the name of a false ,patriotism either directly persecuted or abased the ,church1 or at least subordinated her to the cause of the country or put her in the service of its local and temporal cause4 ,the purest ,christianity in the nineteenth century had a struggle against patriotic and nationalistic exclusiveness not much less dramatic than the primitive ,church1 struggling in ,judasa against ,judaism and in ,greece against ,hellenism4 ,the national hero-saints were exalted in ,europe over the merely ,christian saints3 in ,france1 ,jeanne d',arc2 in ,russia1 ,serge of ,radonez2 in ,germany1 ,luther2 among the ,serbs1 ,st ,savva1 and ,st ,peter of ,cettinje4 ,another enemy of the ,church from the beginning was ,imperialism4 ,first of all ,roman ,imperialism4 ,christ's second crime1 for which ,he was brought before ,pilate1 was ,his disregard of ,caesar4 ,and ,caesar was the symbol of the ,roman world-dominion4 ,therefore1 one ,caesar after the other did their best to exterminate this dangerous ,christian sect4 ,therefore1 among hundreds of religions only ,christianity practically was prohibited in the ,roman ,empire1 as a religio illicita4 ,no wonder6 ,all other religions which swarmed in ,rome were tolerated as naive curiosities by the people who had lost their own religion4 ,but ,christianity was marked as an enemy from the first4 ,not only a corrupted ,caesar1 like ,nero1 persecuted the ,church1 but the wise ones like ,trajan and ,diocletian1 and the wisest1 like ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,there were plenty of pretexts to excite the public mind3 burnings1 earthquakes1 diseases1 etc4 ,it was ,trajan who prohibited by an edict the ,christian secret clubs1 ,hetoerias1 as dangerous to the ,state4 ,and it was the philosopher ,marcus ,aurelius who sentenced to death the ,christian philosopher1 ,justin1 on ,imperialistic grounds4 ,rome was armed to the teeth and the ,church had no arms at all except an ardent belief and the inspired word4 ,rome drew the sword against the unarmed ,christians1 and the ,christians armed only with ,jesus ,christ1 and with empty hands1 took the challenge4 ,the enemies knew each other from the beginning4 ,rome's conviction was3 better to lose the soul than the ,empire2 and the ,christians' was3 better to save the soul than to get an ,empire4 ,the ,roman persecutors were every day sure of their victory1 slaughtering defenceless men and women1 or throwing them ad bestias1 whereas the martyrs saw their victory as a distant vision1 and still rejoiced4 ,the prison was like a palace to me1 exclaimed ,st ,perpetua4 ,and ,saturus1 another martyr1 spoke to his executors3 ,mark our faces well1 that you may know us again in the day of judgment4 ,such was the spirit of the primitive ,church in her duel with pagan ,imperialism4 ,islam was another kind of ,imperialism against which the ,church fought4 ,if the ,roman ,imperialism was cool1 calculating1 without any fanaticism1 ,islam was a unique form of religious1 fanatical ,imperialism1 having in view world-conquest and world-dominion1 like ,rome and yet unlike ,rome4 ,here the ,church fought with the sword against the sword4 ,before the definite fall of the ,roman ,empire the crusades of ,christianity against ,islam began1 and it has not been finished until this day4 ,very dramatic was this struggle in ,palestine1 under ,western crusaders1 in ,spain and ,russia4 ,but ,i think the most dramatic act of this dramatic conflict happened in the ,balkans1 especially in ,serbia1 during the last five hundred years4 ,the conflict with ,islamic ,imperialism was not yet at an end when a ,french1 and ,english1 and ,russian1 and ,german ,imperialism were formulated4 ,we may call it by one name1 ,european ,imperialism1 although every species of it is different4 ,what was the ,church's attitude towards the ,european imperialistic formulae8 ,did she agree with them8 ,or did she oppose and protest as she did against ,rome and the ,crescent8 ,no1 she neither agreed nor disagreed as a whole1 but partially she agreed or disagreed4 ,yet the true ,church of ,christ reserves the world-dominion only for ,christianity in its most spiritual and perfect form and excludes every other dominion of man over men4 ,the present cataclysm of ,europe may show the world that no earthly king is destined for dominion over our planet1 but ,christ1 the ,heavenly ,king of souls4 ,,the ,,internal ,,conflicts ,,of ,,the ,,church ,dramatic was the external course of ,church history1 fighting against exclusive ,patriotism and ,imperialism1 dramatic too1 her internal struggles for a true doctrine and an ethical ideal4 #a4 ,the ,struggle for a ,true ,doctrine4--,the central problem for the living ,church has always been3 ,who was ,jesus8 and how to worship ,him8 ,the restless spirit of humanity endeavoured to define the details both in ,his relation to ,god and to the world4 ,the ,church did not define her doctrine in advance1 but bit by bit1 pragmatically1 according to the questions and doubts raised in the ,christian communities4 ,the refused solutions of a raised question were called heresy1 the adopted solution by the ,church was called orthodoxy4 ,no heresy came merely as an abstract theory1 but every one was a dramatic movement1 an organisation1 a camp1 a deed--and not merely a word4 ,that made the struggle against it more difficult4 ,docetism1 ,nicolaism1 ,gnosticism1 ,chiliasm1 ,manichaism1 ,monatism1 ,monarchism1 ,monophysitism1 ,monotheletism1 ,arianism1 ,nestorianism--every one of these terms means both a theory and a drama4 ,the ,church had to correct the opinion of the heretics for herself1 and to fight against them for themselves4 ,the doctrine of the ,church was regarded by the heretics as incorrect or insufficient1 and by outsiders as wicked4 ,celsus1 an ,epicurean writer1 despised the ,christian doctrine as of barbarous origin4 ,the people of ,smyrna being aroused against the ,christians and their bishop1 ,polycarp1 cried3 ,away with the ,atheists6 the heathen misunderstood the ,church doctrine and called the ,christians atheists1 as ,montanus1 a ,christian heretic1 misunderstood the ,church doctrine and regarded ,jesus only as his own ,percursor and himself as an incarnation of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,but the ,church did not care either for the pressure from without or from within1 she went on her way cheerfully1 struggling and believing1 showing to the world her saints and martyrs as her argument and ,christ as the guarantee of her ultimate victory4 ,the ,church had also a dramatic struggle with the philosophers4 ,she rather was inclusive concerning the different opposed systems4 ,john of ,damascus based his theology upon ,aristotle1 like ,thomas ,aquinas1 and ,gregory of ,nyssa based his own upon ,plato1 as the ,scottish ,school did in the nineteenth century4 ,pantheism and ,deism were both against the ,church4 ,pantheism thought ,god immanent1 ,deism thought ,god transcendent4 ,the ,church had already in its creeds the true parts of both of these systems4 ,she taught that ,god is by ,his essence transcendent to this world1 which is ,his image1 but immanent in the world pragmatically1 or dramatically1 i4e4 visiting this world and acting in this world4 ,materialism and spiritualism excluded each other1 but both held the ,church in contempt as a rough philosophy for the people4 ,yet the ,church included the true parts for both1 not by asserting anything about the atoms but by recognising two different worlds1 the world of bodies and the world of spirits1 in a dramatic union in this transitory ,universe4 ,in the same way the ,church cut off the extremities and one-sidedness in empiricism and supernaturalism1 in rationalism and mysticism1 in optimism and pessimism4 ,all these systems represented the human effort to solve the riddle of our life without taking any notice of the ,church and her wisdom4 ,and all failed to become the universally accepted truth1 but all of them helped the ,church unconsciously to her own orientation and strength4 ,the ,church collided with any extreme philosophy4 ,her wisdom was broad as life1 simple as life on the one hand1 and manifold as life on the other2 mystical as the starry night and pragmatic as a weekday4 #b4 ,the ,struggle for an ,ethical ,ideal4--,the primitive ,church was of one heart and of one soul1 or1 in the words of a very early document1 it was among the ,christians3 ,a life in the flesh but not according to the flesh 7,epist4 ad ,diognet474 ,but the restless human spirit soon dug out difficult questions and conflicts concerning the ethical life of the ,church members4 ,of course the ,lord ,himself was the supreme moral ideal1 but men felt themselves to be too small and too narrow to grasp this ideal both in its purity and its broadness and inclusiveness4 ,therefore we see not only in the primitive ,church but throughout ,church history extreme and exclusive propositions to solve the problem4 ,for instance1 asceticism with celibacy and flight from the world was regarded by some people in the primitive ,church as the highest ideal of morality4 ,the deserts were populated with the ascetics4 ,the same ideal has been strongly accentuated in ,russia even in the nineteenth century4 ,on the other hand1 chastity has been preferred as an ideal by many others4 ,another problem was3 what were more salvatory1 faith or works8 ,or another3 whether we are saved or condemned by ,god's predestination or by our free will 7libertarian1 arbitrarian1 ,augustinianism1 and ,pelagianism2 ,jansenism and ,ultramontanism78 ,or another3 in our moral perfection how much is ,god's grace operating and how much our human collaboration8 ,or another3 what part worship plays in our salvation 7the problem known in theology as opus operatum78 ,or another3 what should be the normal relation of the ,church and ,state1 the ,church and social life1 the ,church and education1 the ,church and the manifold needs and tribulations of mankind8 ,all these problems1 and many others here unmentioned1 moved every part of the ,christian ,church in the ,east and ,west4 ,your ,church history too is full of a moving and dramatic struggle for light in all these problems1 from the day when the first ,roman missionaries brought the new ,gospel to your country up to our days4 ,the ,church1 inclusive in wisdom1 has had the most dramatic history in the world4 ,struggling against ,patriotism1 she pleaded for humanity2 and struggling against ,imperialism1 she pleaded for spirituality4 ,and again3 struggling against heretics1 she pleaded for unity1 and struggling against worldly philosophers1 she pleaded for a sacred and pragmatic wisdom4 ,she looked sometimes defeated and on her knees before her enemies1 but she rose again and again like the phoenix from its ashes4 ,in her dramatic struggle through the world and against the world the internal voice of her ,founder comforted and inspired her4 ,the harder struggles she fought the louder was the comforting and inspiring voice4 ,the more comfortable she made herself in this world1 the less was ,his magic voice heard4 ,his life was a scheme of her life3 his crucifixion and resurrection a prophecy of her history to the world's end4 ,whenever she became satisfied with herself and with the world around her she was overshadowed and eclipsed4 ,whenever she feared struggle and suffering she became sick1 on the dying bed4 ,he then stood1 meek and sorrowful1 at her bed and called3 ,arise1 my daughter6 ,the ,church's craving for comfort is indeed her craving for death4 ,like a noble knight who descends into a prison to liberate the enchained slaves1 to whom the prison is painful and liberation still more painful1 so is the ,church's position in this world4 ,but how regrettable should it be if the noble knight accommodated himself in the prison among the slaves and forgot the light from which he had descended and to which he ought to return6 ,he is one of ourselves1 the slaves will say4 ,so might say to-day all the worldly institutions about the ,christian ,church in this valley of slavery3 ,she is one of ourselves4 ,she is destined to quicken the world end1 and she is postponing it4 ,one millennium is past1 another is near by1 yet the ,church does not think of the world end3 she loves this world2 that is her curse4 ,the world still exists because of the ,church's hesitation and fear4 ,were she not hesitating and fearing she had been dramatically struggling and suffering1 and a new heaven and a new earth should be in sight4 ,why has the ,church stopped being a drama8 ,why is she hesitating and fearing8 ,doubts and comfort have weakened the ,church4 ,the most tragical religion has climbed from ,golgotha to ,olympus and is now lying there comfortably1 in sunshine and forgetfulness1 while ,chronos1 appeased1 continues to measure the time by thousands of years1 as before4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,agony ,,of ,,the ,,church ,the present time should be one of self criticism4 ,the ,european race now needs this self-criticism more than any other race1 and the ,christian ,church needs it more than any other religion in the world1 for before this ,war the ,european race set itself up as the critic of the defects and insufficiencies of all other races1 and the ,christian ,church exalted herself over all other religions as high as the heaven is exalted over the earth4 ,the other races and religions thought that behind this proud criticism of ,christian ,europe there must be at least a well-possessed security for the world-peace4 ,of course it was an illusion4 ,on no continent was the peace of mankind more endangered than in ,europe1 the very metropolis of ,christianity and ,christian civilisation4 ,and it has been so not only during the last few years1 it has been the case during the last thousand years1 that ,europe has represented a greater contrast to peace than any other continent4 ,during the last thousand years history can report more wars1 more bloodshed1 and more criminal unrest in ,christian ,europe than in the heathen countries of the ,far ,east--,china1 ,japan1 and ,india4 ,it is a very humiliating fact1 both for the white race and for its religion1 but1 nevertheless1 it is a fact4 ,this humiliating fact should rouse us in the present painful times to the consideration of our own defects and insufficiencies4 ,europe is sick1 and her ,church is sick too4 ,how can a wounded man be healed unless his wounds are unveiled8 ,europe's soul is sick1 therefore her body is so sorely suffering and bleeding4 ,well1 ,europe's soul is nothing else than ,europe's religion1 but the religion of ,europe to-day is not ,europe's guide and lord1 it is ,europe's most obedient servant4 ,,the ,,church ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,patriotism ,,and ,,imperialism ,patriotism and ,imperialism--qualities more physical than spiritual--were the worst enemies of the primitive ,church1 as ,i tried to show in my previous chapters4 ,well1 ,patriotism and ,imperialism have been the most prominent qualities of modern ,europe4 ,now compare the primitive ,church with the modern ,church3 the primitive ,church fought most tenaciously and heroically against the exclusive ,patriotism of the ,jews and against the ,imperialism of the ,romans1 and the modern ,church serves very obediently modern ,patriotism and ,imperialism6 ,i wish ,i were wrong in what ,i am stating now1 but1 alas6 the facts are too obvious1 both the facts of this ,war1 and the facts of previous peace4 ,here are the facts3 ,when ,austria mobilised against ,serbia and declared ,war1 the ,church in ,austria did not protest against it1 but1 on the contrary1 she supported the ,vienna ,government with all her heart and means4 ,it is well known how much the ,church of ,germany1 both the ,protestant and the ,roman ,catholic1 unanimously and strongly supported the ,war policy of the ,kaiser's ,government--the very policy of a blind exclusiveness and a regardless ,imperialism4 ,the ,governments of ,russia and ,great ,britain declared ,war against their enemies without consulting their respective ,churches1 yet the ,churches of both countries have done their best to help their country's cause4 ,the ,churches of ,france1 ,italy1 ,serbia1 ,rumania1 ,belgium1 and ,bulgaria have been at the disposal of the ,war ,governments of their countries4 ,now we have almost the same denominations of religion on each fighting side 7it is1 however1 significant that the whole ,anglican ,church and the ,eastern ,orthodox ,church are on the side of the ,allies71 so that we cannot say it is a ,war of ,protestants against ,catholics1 nor of the ,orthodox against the ,modernists1 nor of the ,episcopalians against the ,presbyterians1 nor even of the ,christians against ,mohamedans 7because on both sides we have ,christians and ,mohammedans74 ,no1 we cannot say that1 for it is not a ,war of one ,church against the other1 nor of one religion against another2 it is a ,war of ,patriotism against ,patriotism1 of ,patriotism against ,imperialism1 and of ,imperialism against ,imperialism4 ,the ,churches are only the tools of ,patriotism or ,imperialism4 ,not one of the ,churches has stated her standpoint as a different one from the standpoint of its respective ,government4 ,the ,churches have simply adopted the standpoint of the ,government4 ,they seemed to have no standpoint of their own concerning this ,war between nations4 ,as if the ,war were quite a surprisingly new event in history6 ,when the ,austrian ,government declared war on ,serbia1 the ,church of ,austria adopted the standpoint of the ,austrian ,government as the right one4 ,the ,serbian ,church adopted the standpoint of the ,serbian ,government1 of course1 as the right one4 ,so it happened that the ,churches in ,austria and ,serbia prayed to the same ,god1 and against each other4 ,the ,church of ,germany stood up against the ,church of ,russia because the ,german ,government stood up against the ,russian ,government4 ,neither could the ,church of ,germany raise any protest against the warlike ,german ,government1 nor could the ,church of ,russia say anything to cancel what the ,russian ,government had already said4 ,and so it happened that the ,churches of ,germany and ,russia prayed to the same ,god for each other's destruction4 ,the ,churches of ,france1 ,england1 ,belgium1 and ,italy have fully recognised the justice of the ,governments of ,france1 ,belgium1 and ,italy concerning the ,war of those countries against other countries1 whose justice on the other hand has been fully recognised by their ,churches4 ,and so it has happened that during the last three years the most contradictory prayers have been sent to ,god in ,heaven from the ,one1 ,holy1 ,catholic ,church on earth4 ,the ,churches of the different countries adopted the standpoint of those countries which governed them4 ,what is the consequence if a ,christian ,church adopts the standpoint of a worldly ,government as the true one8 ,it means practically nothing else but that the said ,church recognises that standpoint as the ,christian one4 ,now1 if the ,german policy is right1 the ,german ,church is right1 and consequently1 the ,russian ,church is wrong2 and1 on the other hand1 if the ,russian policy is right the ,russian ,church is right1 and1 consequently1 the ,german ,church is wrong4 ,the same1 if the ,serbian ,patriotism1 which dictates the ,serbian policy1 is right1 then the ,serbian ,church1 too1 is right2 and if the ,austro-,german ,imperialism is right1 then the ,austro-,german ,churches are right1 and the ,church in ,serbia wrong4 ,of course the same could be said for other belligerent ,churches1 i4e41 the justice or injustice of the ,church of ,england depended on the justice or injustice of the ,english ,government1 and the same about the ,french1 ,belgian1 and ,italian ,churches1 which are dependent on the justice or injustice of their respective ,governments4 ,the same is true not only of the so-called established ,churches1 but of the ,disestablished as well4 ,the great fact remains3 no ,church whatever did protest against the ,war action taken by the respective ,governments2 no ,church whatever refused to do the ,war work she was asked to do1 and1 finally1 no ,church whatever opposed her views to the views of the ,governments4 ,in one word1 no ,christian ,church now existing has declined to be the very obedient servant either of ,patriotism or ,imperialism4 ,future generations will be1 ,i hope1 more truly ,christian than we have been--they will be shocked to read in the history of the greatest and bloodiest conflict in the world's history1 that the worldly ,governments1 and not the ,christian ,church1 formulated the truth2 in other words1 that the politicians and soldiers were bearers and formulators of the truth1 and that the ,church was only a follower and supporter of that truth1 this truth having to wage ,war in consequence1 i4e4 the disobedience of all ,god's ten ,commandments--not to speak of the ,new ,testament--which truth must be condemned by the ,church as untrue4 ,following to the extreme the ideals of ,patriotism and ,imperialism1 the ,churches partially did not shrink even from preaching ,war as a legal thing4 ,the court preacher of the ,kaiser1 preaching in the ,domchurch at ,berlin after the ,allie's refusal to enter into peace negotiations with ,germany1 said3 ,we have spoken to our enemies 7read1 the enemies of ,german ,imperialism71 and they did not listen to our words2 well1 let our guns talk now until our enemies are compelled to listen to us6 ,that is the voice of a great ,church4 ,yet this voice has not remained unaccompanied with similar warlike and unchristian voices from other great and small ,churches4 ,,the ,,little ,,islands ,,amidst ,,the ,,ocean ,why did not the ,church--the educator of ,europe for the space of nineteen hundred years--why did she not protest against this ,war8 ,because she was too weak everywhere2 and1 even if she had protested1 her voice would not have been listened to4 ,but why was the ,church so weak as to be silent at a most fatal moment in history1 and to have to listen to the ,foreign and ,war ,offices to know what the truth was8 ,because she was not a united1 universal ,church1 like a lofty mountainous continent despising all the storms of an angry ocean around4 ,she was weak1 because she was cut in pieces and had become like an archipelago of small islands in a stormy ocean4 ,the ,churches were not prepared to protest1 they were prepared only to surrender to any temporal power4 ,therefore1 they surrendered altogether1 without making any effort1 to ,patriotism and ,imperialism4 ,but what led to the ,churches' surrender8 ,it was through their internal quarrels2 through their fruitless controversies and paralysing mutual accusations and self-sufficiency4 ,for instance3 ,the ,eastern ,church proudly insisted on her superiority over all other ,churches1 because she preserved faithfully and unchangingly the most ancient traditions of ,christianity1 and because she had an episcopal decentralised system of ,church administration1 which has been capable of adapting itself to all political and social situations4 ,she reserved perfection only for herself1 and was prodigious in criticising other ,christian communities4 ,she became an isolated island4 ,the ,roman ,church has had nothing to do with any other ,church1 living in her isolation and raising higher and higher the walls which separated her from other ,churches4 ,she has a wonderful record of missionary work in ,europe and outside2 she has a minutely organised centralisation1 with an infallible autocrat at the head2 and she has an enlarged dogmatic system1 larger than any other ,church4 ,she pointed out again and again her superiority to all other ,christian communities1 and claimed for herself the exclusive right to speak in the name of ,jesus ,christ4 ,thus she became an isolated island4 ,the ,anglican ,church repudiated the papal authority4 ,she repudiated as well the ,eastern worship of the saints and use of ikons on the one side1 and on the other she repudiated all the extremes of ,protestantism in teaching1 worship and administration4 ,she thought in that way to be the absolutely true ,christian organism1 incomparably better than any other all around4 ,thus the ,anglican ,church became an isolated island too4 ,the ,protestants of the ,continent1 and of ,england and ,scotland1 thought to save the ,christian religion in its integrity by bringing it back to its primitive simplicity4 ,by repudiating the ,pope and the ,bishops1 by shortening the ,christian dogmatic1 and by reducing worship to a minimum1 they boasted of restoring the true ,church of ,christ and ,his ,apostles4 ,everything which was an addition to their simplicity was regarded by them either as unnecessary1 or even as idolatrous and false4 ,thus the ,presbyterian and ,protestant ,nonconformist ,churches became isolated islands4 ,but the more the morselling of ,christianity went on1 the more dangerous became the raging ocean around it1 so that now the ,christian ,archipelago seems to be quite covered with the stormy waves4 ,the ,church1 therefore1 is in an agony everywhere4 ,even if the ,church had no responsibility upon her shoulders for the present bloodshed in ,europe1 she would be in agony1 just because the whole ,christian world is in agony1 but much more so because a great deal of responsibility for it must rest on her shoulders4 ,,self-,,castigation ,the ,christian monks of old used to castigate themselves when a great plague came over the world4 ,they used to consider themselves as the real cause of the plague1 and did not accuse anybody else4 ,well1 this extreme method ought to be used now by the ,churches1 for the good of mankind and for their own good4 ,it would be quite enough to bring the dawning of a new day for ,christianity if this self-castigation of the ,churches were only a self-criticism4 ,if1 for instance1 the ,eastern ,church would say3 ,although ,i have preserved faithfully and unchangingly the most ancient traditions of ,christianity1 still ,i have many faults and insufficiencies4 ,i have much to learn from the ,roman ,church1 how to bring all my sections1 all my national and provincial branches into closer touch2 and from ,anglicanism ,i have to learn the wonderful spirit of piety1 expressed not only in old times1 but even in quite modern times through new prayers1 new hymns1 new ,psalms1 added to the old ones2 and from ,protestantism ,i have to learn the courage to look every day to the very heart of religion in its simplest and most common expressions4 ,or1 if the ,roman ,church would use this self-criticism1 saying3 ,my concentration is my strength and my weakness4 ,perhaps1 after all1 my ,pope is more a ,caesaristic than a ,christian ,institution1 making more for worldly ,imperialism than for the ,spirituality of the world4 ,i have to learn from the ,christian ,east more humility1 and from ,anglicanism more respect for human freedom and social democracy1 and from ,protestantism a more just appreciation of human efforts and results in science and civilisation generally4 ,or1 if the ,anglican ,church would use self-criticism like this1 and say1 ,i am1 of course1 an ,apostolic ,church1 but ,i am not the only ,church4 ,i have to learn from the ,eastern ,church something1 and from the ,church of ,rome something1 but1 above all1 ,i have to learn that they are the ,apostolic ,churches as well as ,i1 and that ,i am1 without them1 too small an island1 and unable to resist alone the flood of patriotic and imperialistic tendencies4 ,and from the ,protestants ,i have to learn to put the living ,christ above all doctrinal statements and liturgical mysteries4 ,or1 if the ,protestants of all classes would abandon their contemptuous attitude towards so-called ecclesiasticism and ritualism1 and criticise themselves1 saying3 ,we have had too much confidence in human reason and human words4 ,our worship is bare of every thing but the poor human tongue4 ,we have excluded ,nature from our worship1 though ,nature is purer1 more innocent and worthier to come before the face of ,god than men4 ,we have been frightened by candles and incense1 and vestments1 and signs1 and symbols1 and sacraments1 but now we see that the mystery of life and of our religion is too deep to be spoken out clearly in words only4 ,and we have been frightened by the episcopal administration of the ,church1 but now we see that the episcopal system is a golden midway between the papal and our extremes4 ,besides1 we have gone too far in our criticism of the ,church tradition and of the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,we have to learn to abstain from calling the ,eastern ,church idolatrous and the ,roman ,church tyrannical1 and the ,episcopal ,church inconsistent4 ,we have our own idolatries 7our idols are3 individualism1 human reason1 and the human word72 and we have our own tyranny 7the tyranny of criticism and pride72 and we have--thank god--our own inconsistencies4 ,such a self-criticism would mean really a painful self-castigation1 because it would mean a reaction from a policy of criticism and self-sufficiency which has lasted a thousand years1 ever since the #afth ,july #ajed--the very fatal date when the ,pope's delegates put an ,excommunication ,bull on the altar of ,st ,sophia's in ,constantinople4 ,the primitive monks1 who practised self-castigation because of the world-evil1 experienced a wonderful purification of soul1 a new vision of ,god1 and an extraordinary sense of unity with all men1 living and dead4 ,well1 that is just what the ,church needs at present2 a purification1 a new vision of ,god1 and a sense of unity4 ,a ,,common ,,illusion ,the present agony of the ,church has resulted from an illusion which has been common to all the ,churches1 i4e4 that one of the ,churches could be saved without all other ,churches4 ,it is1 in fact1 only the enlarged ,protestant theory of individualism1 which found its expression1 especially in ,germany1 in the famous formula3 ,thou1 man1 and thy ,god6 ,it is an anti-social and anti-,christian formula too1 quite opposed to the ,lord's ,prayer3 ,our ,father1 which is in the plural and not in the singular possessive4 ,this prayer is a symbol of our salvation3 we can be saved only in the plural1 not in the singular2 only collectively1 not as individuals3 i4e4 we can be saved1 but ,i cannot be saved4 ,i cannot be saved without thee1 and thou canst not be saved without me4 ,for if thou art in need ,i can be saved only by helping thee2 and vice versa1 if ,i am in need1 thou canst save thyself only by saving me4 ,and we all1 and always1 are in need of each other4 ,peter could not be saved without ,andrew1 and ,john and ,james1 nor could the others be saved without ,peter4 ,that is why ,christ brought them all together1 and educated them to live and pray together1 and spoke to them in assembly as to one being4 ,if ,christ's method were like the ,german ,protestant method1 ,thou1 man1 and thy ,god6 ,he would really never have gathered the disciples together1 but ,he would have gone to ,andrew and saved ,andrew first2 and then to ,peter and saved ,peter2 and then to ,john and ,james and the others1 and saved them individually1 one by one4 ,that is just what ,he did not--because ,he could not do it4 ,he knew1 and ,he said 7speaking of the two ,commandments71 that ,god is only one constituent of our salvation1 and that the other constituent is our neighbours4 ,what does that mean1 but that ,i cannot be saved without ,god and my neighbours8 ,and my neighbours6 ,the whole of mankind must become the mystical body of ,christ before any one of us is saved4 ,if ninety nine of us think we are saved1 still we must wait in the corridor of ,heaven until the one lost sheep is found and brought in2 the door of ,heaven does not open for one person only4 ,and speaking in larger circles we may say3 ,if ninety-nine ,churches think they are saved1 still they must wait in the corridor of ,heaven until the one retrograde ,church has become the member of the mystical body of ,christ4 ,the door of ,heaven is open for ,christ only and for nobody else4 ,and the mystical ,christ does not mean one righteous man only1 or two1 or twelve1 or one ,church denomination1 or one generation--no4 ,it means milliards and milliards of human beings4 ,all the ,churches are inbuilt into ,his body4 ,this building is yet far from being finished1 still it is much larger and more magnificent than we think4 ,it is larger than a denomination1 it is loftier than our nation1 or our race1 or our ,empire2 yea1 it is stronger than ,europe4 ,consequently1 the ,church of ,england cannot be saved without the ,church of the ,east1 nor the ,church of ,rome without ,protestantism2 nor can ,england be saved without ,serbia1 nor ,europe without ,china1 nor ,america without ,africa1 nor this generation without the generations past and those to come4 ,we are all one life1 one organism4 ,if one part of this organism is sick1 all other parts should be suffering4 ,therefore let the healthy parts of the ,church take care of the sick ones4 ,self-sufficiency means the postponement of the end of the world and the prolongation of human sufferings4 ,it is of no use to change ,churches and go from one ,church to another seeking salvation3 salvation is in every ,church as long as a ,church thinks and cares in sisterly love for all other ,churches1 looking upon them as parts of the same body1 or there is salvation in no ,church so long as a ,church thinks and cares only for herself1 contemptuously denying the rights1 beauty1 truth and merits of all other ,churches4 ,it is a great thing to love one's ,church1 as it is a great thing to love one's country1 but it is much better to love other ,churches and other countries too4 ,now1 in this time1 when the whole ,christian world is in a convulsive struggle one part against the other1 now or never the consciousness of the desire for one ,church of ,christ on earth should dawn in our souls1 and now or never should the appreciation1 right understanding and love for each part of this one ,church of ,christ on earth should dawn in our souls1 and now or never should the appreciation1 right understanding and love for each part of this one ,church begin in our hearts4 ,stick to your ,church3 it is a beautiful and a holy ,church1 but1 nevertheless1 break up every sort of disgraceful exclusiveness from other ,churches4 ,that is the way to bring the ,church out of the present agony and weakness4 ,that is the best way for you to serve your own ,church and your own nation4 ,and the ,crucified does not ask any other service from your ,church in the present world agony4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,what ,,is ,,the ,,church8 ,what is the ,church1 psychologically viewed8 ,the ,church is3 #a4 ,a school of the ,christian spirit4 ,that is her first task in the world4 #b4 ,she is the ,body of ,christ4 ,that is her official and physical determination--her firm1 her name4 #c4 ,she is the living ,christ ,himself1 i4e4 ,christ's body 7consisting of all the human bodies inside the ,church organisation71 and ,christ's spirit 7filling all the human bodies inside the ,church74 ,that is her ideal1 her end1 her ,horeb4 ,what is the ,church1 sociologically viewed8 ,the ,church is3 #a4 ,a ,theocracy4 ,that is her general virtue1 which she shares with all the religions in history4 #b4 ,she is a ,christocracy4 ,god is the abstract ,ruler of ,humanity1 but ,christ is the pragmatic ,god1 leading1 enlightening1 encouraging and inspiring ,humanity4 ,that is the ,church's special charter1 special way1 different from the charters and ways of other religions4 ,she is a ,sanctocracy4 ,the saints ought to lead mankind--not the great men of the world1 but the saints4 ,but when all men become saintly1 no special leaders will be needed3 no authority1 no state1 no law1 no punishment4 ,all men will do their over-duty1 and all will be happy in their neighbour's happiness4 ,the fight for right is an inferior stage in human history4 ,it is a savage fight4 ,but there will come a fight for over-duty4 ,it will be a smiling1 pleasant fight4 ,what is the ,church1 historically viewed8 ,the ,church is3 #a4 ,a heresy regarding ,judaism and ,paganism1 a real1 deep heresy4 ,not so deep was the outward gulf as the inward4 ,outwardly1 this heresy made a thousand compromises with ,judaism and ,paganism4 ,that did not matter4 ,but inwardly it was a new1 an absolutely new and most uncompromising spirit with anything in the world4 #b4 ,she was a heresy regarding the whole practical life of mankind3 politics1 society1 art1 war1 education1 nationalism1 imperialism1 science4 ,she meant the most obstinate conflict between what exists and what ought to exist4 ,therefore her martyrdom is quite comprehensible4 #c4 ,she was built up and applied to human life by the ,graeco-,hebrew spirit4 ,yet she has become the ,european religion1 par excellence1 almost exclusively ,european4 ,that is her historical development and fate4 ,europe's acceptance of ,christianity is nominally definite4 ,no other ,asiatic religion 7all great religions are ,asiatic7 has had any notable success in ,europe4 ,yet ,europe's mission of ,christianity has been no success4 ,st ,paul has done more for the ,christian mission than the whole of modern ,europe4 ,historically1 ,christianity has been and has remained until now the religion of the ,european race only4 ,what is the ,church viewed from the point of view of the world war8 ,the ,church is3 #a4 ,the only keeper of the secret of the present war4 ,the present war is the result of the de-christianisation of ,europe1 and de-christianisation of ,europe's ,church4 ,the ,church only is conscious of this fact and keeps silent4 ,she has no courage to accuse because she has no courage to self-accuse4 #b4 ,she is the only thing which makes ,european civilisation not lower than the civilisation of ,egypt1 ,babylon1 ,persia1 and ,china4 ,the ruins of those ancient civilisations are more magnificent than the actual constructions of ,europe4 ,but the ,church gives ,europe a special nimbus and a special excellency over those ancient worlds4 ,secular ,europe does not know that1 but the ,church knows it and keeps silent4 ,she cannot announce it because she has sinned4 ,her sins keep her tongue-tied4 #c4 ,nothing is sure to survive the present catastrophe of ,europe1 but the ,christian ,church4 ,none of the ,european potencies has the idea for the reconstruction of the world1 for durable and ,godlike world-peace1 but the ,church4 ,socialism1 ,masonry1 ,philanthropy1 ,rousseauism1--all these are only small units of the great treasury that the ,christian ,church hides under her clouds and dust of errors and miseries4 ,all non-,christian systems and schemes mean1 my own interest first and then thine1 or first ,i and my nation and my race1 and then thou and thy nation and thy race1 or1 my happiness and1 along with it1 thy happiness4 ,the ,christian idea hidden in the ,church is a revolutionary one1 the most revolutionary idea in the world4 ,the ,christian idea is1 thou and thy nation and thy race first1 and then me and my nation and my race2 or1 thy happiness first and in thy happiness my happiness4 ,saintliness above everything1 the true saintliness including goodness and sacrifice4 ,that is the fundamental idea of the ,church4 ,that is the only constructive1 ,godlike treasury that ,europe still possesses1 the sleeping1 never used1 never tried treasury4 ,the ,church is the keeper of this treasury4 ,this treasury must survive the old ,europe and the old ,church1 the de-christianised ,europe and the de-christianised ,church4 ,,the ,,poverty ,,of ,,european ,,civilisation ,the poverty of ,european civilisation has been revealed by this war4 ,the ugly nakedness of ,europe has brought to shame all those who used to bow before ,europe's mask4 ,it was a silken shining mask hiding the inner ugliness and poverty of ,europe4 ,the mask was called3 culture1 civilisation1 progress1 modernism4 ,all was only vanitas vanitatum and povertas povertatum4 ,when the soul fled away1 what remained was empty1 ugly and dangerous4 ,when religion plunged into impotence1 then3 ,science became a mask of pride4 ,art--a mask of vanity4 ,politics--a mask of selfishness4 ,laws--a mask of greediness4 ,theology--a mask of scepticism4 ,technical knowledge--a poor surrogate for spirituality4 ,journalism--a desperate surrogate for literature4 ,literature--a sick nostalgy and a nonsense1 a dwarf-acrobacy4 ,civilisation--a pretext for imperialism4 ,fight for right--an atavistic formula of the primitive creeds4 ,morals--the most controversial matter4 ,individualism--the second name for egoism and egotism4 ,christ--a banished beggar looking for a shelter1 while in the royal and pharisaic palaces lived3 ,machiavelli1 the atheist2 ,napoleon1 the atheist2 ,marx1 the atheist2 and ,nietsche1 the atheist1 imperially ruling ,europe's rulers4 ,the spirit was wrong and everything became wrong4 ,the spirit of any civilisation is inspired by its religion1 but the spirit of modern ,europe was not inspired by ,europe's religion at all4 ,a terrific effort was made in many quarters to liberate ,europe from the spirit of her religion4 ,the effort-makers forgot one thing1 i4e4 that no civilisation ever was liberated from religion and still lived4 ,whenever this liberation seemed to be fulfilled1 the respective civilisation decayed and died out1 leaving behind barbaric materialism in towns and superstitions in villages4 ,europe had to live with ,christianity1 or to die in barbaric materialism and superstitions without it4 ,the way to death was chosen4 ,from ,continental ,europe first the infection came to the whole white race4 ,it was there that the dangerous formula was pointed out3 ,beyond good and evil4 ,other parts of the white world followed slowly1 taking first the path between ,good and ,evil4 ,good was changed for ,power4 ,evil was explained away as ,biological ,necessity4 ,the ,christian religion1 which inspired the greatest things that ,europe ever possessed in every point of human activity1 was degraded by means of new watchwords2 individualism1 liberalism1 conservatism1 nationalism1 imperialism1 secularism1 which in essence meant nothing out de-christianisation of the ,european society1 or1 in other words1 emptiness of ,european civilisation4 ,europe abandoned the greatest things she possessed and clung to the lower and lowest ones4 ,the greatest thing was--,christ4 ,as you cannot imagine ,arabic civilisation in ,spain without ,islam1 or ,india's civilisation without ,hinduism1 or ,rome without the ,roman ,pantheon1 so you cannot imagine ,europe's civilisation without ,christ4 ,yet some people thought that ,christ was not so essentially needed for ,europe1 and behaved accordingly without ,him or against ,him4 ,christ was ,europe's ,god4 ,when this ,god was banished 7from politics1 art1 science1 social life1 business1 education71 everybody consequently asked for a ,god1 and everybody thought himself to be a god1 and in truth there it failed1 not on theories in ,europe proclaiming1 openly or disguisedly1 everyone a god4 ,so the godless ,europe became full of gods6 ,being de-christianised1 ,europe still thought to be civilised4 ,in reality she was a poor valley full of dry bones4 ,the only thing she had to boast of was her material power4 ,by material power only she impressed and frightened the unchristian 7but not antichristian7 countries of ,central and ,eastern ,asia1 and depraved the rustic tribes in ,africa and elsewhere4 ,she went to conquer not by ,god or for ,god1 but by material power and for material pleasure4 ,her spirituality did not astonish any of the peoples on earth4 ,her materialism astonished all of them4 ,her inner poverty was seen by ,india1 ,china1 ,japan1 and partly by ,russia4 ,what an amazing poverty6 ,she gained the whole world1 and when she looked inside herself she could not find her soul4 ,where has fled ,europe's soul8 ,the present war will give the answer4 ,it is not a war to destroy the world but to show ,europe's poverty and to bring back her soul4 ,it will last--this war--as long as ,europe remains soulless1 ,godless1 ,christless4 ,it will stop when ,europe gets the vision of her soul1 her only ,god1 her only wealth4 ,,the ,,christianisation ,,of ,,the ,,church ,the ,church must first awaken out of her sleep and her ,european emptiness1 and then ,europe will come again to life4 ,the ,church has failed1 not because she was not ,europeanised1 but just because she was too much ,europeanised4 ,instead of inspiring ,europe she was inspired by ,europe1 i4e4 emptied by the empty ,europe4 ,the soul obeyed the body and became the body itself4 ,all the secular watchwords entered the ,church and the ,church watchwords were eclipsed4 ,liberalism1 conservatism1 ceremonialism1 right1 nationalism1 imperialism1 law1 democracy1 autocracy1 republicanism1 socialism1 scientific criticism1 and similar things have filled the ,christian theology1 ,christian service1 ,christian pulpits as the ,christian ,gospel4 ,in reality the ,christian gospel has been as different from all these worldly ideas and temporal forms as heaven is different from earth4 ,for all these ideas or forms were earthly1 bodily1 dustly--a convulsive attempt to change unhappiness for happiness through the changing of institutions4 ,the ,church ought to have been indifferent towards them1 pointing always her principal idea1 embodied in ,christ4 ,and her principal idea meant never a change of external things1 of institutions1 but a change of spirit4 ,all the ideas named were secular precepts to cure the world's evil1 the very poor drugs to heal the sick ,europe outside of the ,church and without the ,church4 ,yet the ,church only possessed the true remedy1 although she became forgetful of it1 because she herself got sick1 and instead of giving the world the necessary remedy she looked about to take it from the world4 ,weakened in her position in the world and forgetful of her external value1 the ,church1 or some parts or parties of the ,church1 made even coquetry with the current and transitory potencies in order to make her position stronger4 ,yet the fact stood in history as big as a mountain that the ,church always failed when making concessions of her spirit to any temporary power1 and when not making concessions as to the visible forms and transitory shapes of human societies4 ,neither ,ritualism nor ,liberalism helps anything without the true ,christian spirit4 ,the modern ,ritualism and ,liberalism are absolutely equally worthless from the ,christian point of view1 being so hostile to each other as they are1 filled with the unclean spirit of hatred1 unforgiveness1 despising and even persecuting each other4 ,they are equally unchristian and even antichristian4 ,measured by the mildest measure they are a new edition of the ,judaistic ,pharisaism and ,sadduceeism4 ,the ,ritualists cling to their ritual1 the ,liberals cling to their protest against the ,ritualists4 ,but the true spirit by which both of them move and act and write and speak is the unclean spirit of hatred and despite of each other1 the very spirit which excludes them both from communion with ,christ and the saints4 ,the ,church has been equally de-christianised by ,ritualists and ,liberals1 by ,conservatives and ,modernists1 by bowers and by talkers4 ,the ,church must be now re-christianised amongst all of them and through all of them4 ,let the ,church be the ,church1 i4e4 the community of the saints4 ,let the world know that the ,church's mission on earth is not to accumulate wealth1 or to gain political power or knowledge1 or to cling to this institution or to that1 but to cleanse mankind from its unclean1 evil spirits1 and to fill it with the spirit of saintliness4 ,let the ,church first change her spirit and then urge the whole of mankind to change theirs4 ,let the ,ritualists know that however devout they might be1 still they can call the ,protestants their brothers4 ,the most devout have been often killers of their neighbours and killers of ,christ4 ,let the learned doctors of ,protestantism think that however learned they might be1 still they are foolish and ignorant enough to be self-satisfied4 ,it is doubtful whether the most elaborate sermon of a ,protestant doctor smells more beautifully than incense4 ,the most learned theologians in ,germany and elsewhere have whole-heartedly supported the criminal enterprise of the warlike and criminal scientia militans4 ,the deepest learning and the meanest spirit have often shown in history a very brotherly alliance4 ,christianity is not that4 ,let the ,pope be congratulated for his tenacious keeping of the idea of ,theocracy4 ,but let him consider this idea only as the starting-point in the social science of the ,church4 ,his ,theocracy has been refused because it was not at the same time ,christocracy and ,sanctocracy4 ,the saints in ,christ are alone infallible4 ,let the ,vatican be filled with saints1 and infallibility then will not need to be preached and ordered but only to be silently shown4 ,nobody believes infallibility upon authority1 but everyone will accept it upon ,saintliness4 ,the way of authority is a fallible way4 ,the way of knowledge is quite as fallible4 ,but the way of saintliness is infallible4 ,every spirit is fallible but the spirit of saintless4 ,the ,church is infallible not by any talisman but by her saintliness4 ,the ,bishop of ,rome or of ,canterbury will be infallible only if they are saints4 ,the saints are detached from everything and attached to ,christ1 so that ,christ incarnates ,his spirit in them4 ,not we1 but ,christ in us1 is infallible4 ,let the people of the ,eastern ,church stick to their ,christian ideal of saintliness4 ,their interpretation of the ,christian spirit may be the best and truest4 ,yet the ideal must become flesh4 ,let them not be proud of their not having pride1 and exclusive because ,god chose them to understand the bottomless deepness of the esoteric ,christianity4 ,by pride towards the proud and by exclusiveness they may spoil and darken their ideals and remain in the dark4 ,let all the ,churches feel their unity in the ideal spirit of saintliness4 ,but if that is difficult for them1 let them first feel their unity in sinfulness1 in committed sins and crimes1 in their nakedness and poverty4 ,just to start with1 this first step seems absolutely necessary4 ,never any great saint became saintly unless he first thought himself equal in impurity and sinfulness with all other human beings4 ,the ,churches must go the way of the saints4 ,their way is the only infallible one4 ,,the ,,only ,,necessary ,,exclusiveness ,,of ,,the ,,church ,when you deeply search in history about the causes of the strength of the primitive ,church and of the weakness and decay of the modern ,church1 you will come to a very clear and simple conclusion4 #a4 ,the primitive ,church was inclusive as to its forms1 but exclusive as to its spirit4 #b4 ,the modern ,church has been exclusive as to its forms1 but inclusive as to its spirit4 ,the primitive ,church was very puritanic concerning the ,christian spirit4 ,she was not particular as to the vessels in which to pour the new wine1 but she was extremely particular as to the wine itself4 ,she borrowed the vessels in ,juda1 ,alexandria1 ,athens1 ,rome1 but she never borrowed wine4 ,the ,christian spirit and the pagan spirit were just like two opposite poles1 like white and black1 or day and night4 ,the ,church was conscious of it1 and jealously watchful that no drop of any foreign spirit should be mixed with the precious spirit of the ,new ,gospel4 ,there existed no thought of compromise1 and no idea of inclusiveness whatever regarding the spirit4 ,the terrific conflict of ,christianity and ,paganism through centuries sprang from the irreconcilability of two different spirits4 ,were the ,church as inclusive as to the spirit as she was to forms1 doctrines1 customs and worships1 conflicts never would arise--but then neither would ,christianity arise4 ,the modern ,church is particular as to its institutions1 but not particular at all as to its spirit4 ,the ,roman ,emperors never would persecute the modern ,church1 for they would easily recognise their own spirit included in her4 ,nor would the ,pharaohs from ,egypt persecute modern ,christianity4 ,nor would ,areopagus or ,akropolis be puzzled so much had ,st ,paul preached to them the modern ,european ,christianity with its complicated spirit of all kinds of compromises with ,heaven and ,hell1 compromise with the ,state1 ,plutocracy1 ,nationalism1 ,imperialism1 ,conquest1 ,war1 ,diplomacy1 ,secular ,philosophy1 ,secular ,science1 ,agnostic ,parliaments1 ,tribal ,chauvinism1 ,education1 ,officialism1 ,bureaucracy1 etc41 etc4 ,all these things have their own spirit1 and every such spirit is partly or wholly included in the spirit of the ,church1 i4e4 of modern ,christianity4 ,none of the ,christian ,churches of our time makes an exception as to this inclusiveness of all kinds of spirits4 ,even ,protestantism1 which claims the simplicity of its ,christian ritual and administration1 represents a lamentable mosaic of spirits gathered from all the pagan corners of secular ,europe and mixed up with the ,christian wine in the same barrel4 ,the ,church of the ,east excommunicated thousands of those who crossed themselves with two fingers instead of using three fingers4 ,the ,church of the ,west burnt thousands of those who did not recognise the papal organisation of the ,church as the only ark of salvation4 ,yet there is rarely to be found in the ,church annals an excommunication on the ground of chauvinism or brutal egoism4 ,no one of the world conquerors--neither ,napoleon nor ,kaiser ,william--have been excommunicated by the ,church4 ,it signifies an extreme decadence of the ,church4 ,and this decadence penetrates and dominates our own time4 ,speaking on the reunion of the ,churches the peoples of the ,east are anxious to know--not whether the ,church of the ,west has preserved the unmixed ,christian spirit in its integrity1 but whether this ,church still keeps ,filioque as a dogma1 and whether she has ikons1 and whether she allows eggs and milk in ,lent4 ,and the people of the ,west are anxious to know whether the ,eastern ,church has a screen quite different from their own screen at the altar1 and whether she has been always tenaciously exclusive in teaching1 worship and organisation4 ,who of us and of you asks about the integrity of the ,christian spirit8 ,if ,st ,paul were amongst us he would ridicule our controversies on ,filioque and all the trifles concerning ,church organisation and the external expressions of ,christianity4 ,he would ask3 ,what happened with the spirit he preached8 ,what happened with this spirit which excommunicated de facto the ,jewish narrow ,patriotism and the ,roman ,imperialism8 ,have we still this exclusive spirit which moved the world effecting the greatest revolution in ,history8 ,i am sure he would have to repeat with good reasons to every ,church and to everyone of us3 ,if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of ,his4 ,well1 we must come again to this source of ,christian strength and greatness1 which is ,christ's spirit4 ,a new revival1 yea1 regeneration of ,christianity1 could be possible only in a united ,christian ,church2 and the union of the ,church is possible only upon the ground of the primitive ,church1 which was inclusive in teaching1 worship and organisation1 but exclusive in spirit4 ,on the day when we all exclude from ourselves the ,jewish and ,greek and ,roman spirit1 and retain only the pure ,christian spirit1 we shall be at once ready to include each other's ,church into one body1 into one ,christianity4 ,we must be clear about it1 and we must confess that the divisions of the church are due to the invasion of a foreign spirit1 an unclean spirit1 into the ,church4 ,when the ,church cleanses herself from this foreign unclean spirit she will be victorious over herself1 and from this victory to the ultimate victory of ,christianity over our planet will be a very short distance4 ,,ecclesia ,,triumphans ,how can the church get her past strength again and triumph over the evil inside and outside her walls8 ,if she were united she could get it by waiting for the ruin of ,europe--i4e4 of a house which is divided in itself--which is not very far off4 ,but she the ,church--is divided too4 ,she is fighting with and for the ,european parties1 and against herself4 ,consequently1 in waiting for the ruin of ,europe she is waiting for her own ruin4 ,therefore she must make up her mind lest it is too late4 ,horribile dictu--she must start a dramatic movement in order to get her soul back4 ,first of all she must become again a heresy towards ,europe and ,european secular1 antidivine civilisation1 just as she was a heresy towards the theocratic ,israel and semi-theocratic ,greece and ,rome4 ,theoretically1 she must stick to ,theocracy1 historically1 to ,christocracy1 and practically to ,sanctocracy4 ,she must loose herself from all the chains binding her either to the chariot of any dynasty or of any oligarch or president1 or whatever political denomination it may be1 and insist upon the ,holy ,wisdom to lead humanity4 ,it ought to be absolutely indifferent to the ,church what political denomination1 or social creed1 or institutional shape a human society shall have as long as this is founded upon any other ideal but saintliness4 ,the ,church ought to know only two denominations--politics and social life1 inter-human as well as international and inter racial-racial relations in trade and business1 in education and family life--i4e4 saintliness and unsaintliness4 ,if you ask what saintliness ought to mean1 ,christianity has not to argue but to show you the saintliness in the flesh4 ,christ the saintly ,lord1 ,st ,paul and ,st ,john1 ,polycarp and ,leo1 ,patrick and ,francis1 ,sergius and ,zosim1 ,st ,theresa and hundreds of other saints4 ,and if somebody thinks still that a few thousands of ,christian saints are not a sufficient argument to show that saintliness is practicable1 then the ,church has still not to give her ideal up and to take as her ideal thousands of great and small ,napoleons and ,bismarcks1 and ,goethes and ,spencers1 or ,medics and ,cromwells or ,kaisers and ,kings--no1 in the latter case it would be much nicer for the ,church to point out the saintly men outside of ,christian walls1 like ,st ,hermes and ,st ,pythagoras1 or ,st ,krishna and ,st ,buddha1 or ,st ,lao-,tse and ,st ,confucius1 or ,st ,zoroaster and ,st ,abu-,bekr4 ,better even is unbaptised saintliness than baptised earthliness4 ,saintliness includes goodness and sacrifice1 and excludes all the earthly impure spirits of selfishness1 pride1 quarrels and conquests4 ,therefore1 when the ,church returns to her fundamental ideal1 she will return to her elementary simplicity in which she was so powerful as to move mountains and empires and hearts at the beginning of her history4 ,that is what the world needs now just as much as it needs air and light1 i4e4 an elementary spiritual power by which it could be moved1 cleared up1 purified and brought out of its chaos to a solid and beautiful construction4 ,,holy ,,church ,,in ,,holy ,,europe ,europe has been eclipsed because her ,church--her soul--has been eclipsed2 the ,church has been eclipsed because her principal ideal has been eclipsed4 ,the principal ideal of the ,church is saintliness4 ,this ideal1 plunged down into darkness like a sun into ashes1 must come out again to illuminate the ,church and ,europe4 ,europe has tried all the ways but the way of the ,church1 the ,european ,church has tried all the ways but the way of ,christ4 ,well1 then1 ,europe must try the only way left1 which is saintliness4 ,the ,church must give an example to ,europe4 ,europe has been materialistic1 heroic1 scientific1 imperialistic1 technical1 secular4 ,at last she has to be holy4 ,whatever she has been1 she has been unhappy and restless1 and brutal and criminal1 unjust and gluttonous4 ,soldiers and traders1 despots and robbers1 popes and kings1 gluttons and harlots1 have ruled ,europe1 but not yet the saints1 the holy wizards4 ,the ,church's duty has been to provide ,europe with such holy wizards4 ,she has failed because she has been obscured by ,europe1 as a fine soul often is obscured by a heavy and greedy body4 ,the body1 one thought1 the soul1 another1 until their thought became one and the same1 i4e4 the bodily thought4 ,now1 after a bitter experience1 the soul must come to its rights4 ,europe and ,europe's ,church have not henceforth to think two different thoughts1 but one and the same1 and this one thought has not to be a bodily one but a spiritual one4 ,the aim of the ,church as well as of ,europe has to be ,god1 ,christ1 saintliness4 ,if this thing is given to the ,church and ,europe1 everything else will be easily given4 ,a ,holy ,church in ,holy ,europe6 ,a holy ,europe only can be a missionary ,europe4 ,no other mission has ,europe on other continents but a ,christian one4 ,it was an illusion to speak about ,europe's mission in the wide world without ,christ4 ,well1 but only a ,christlike people can be a missionary of ,christ4 ,how could an unholy ,europe preach the ,holy ,one8 ,do you think that the ,arabs1 who gave ,europe knowledge1 are expecting from ,europe knowledge8 ,no1 they expect ,europe's goodwill4 ,or do you think that ,india1 whose history is a history of saints1 is anxious to accept ,german materialistic science1 individual philosophy1 and a destructive and shallow theology8 ,no1 they expect from ,europe more saintliness than they have had in their history4 ,and that is just very difficult for ,europe to give them4 ,or do you think that ,chino-,japanese civilisation has anything worth mentioning to borrow from ,europe but ,christian ideals8 ,no1 nothing that could make them happier than they have been4 ,well then1 let ,europe kill her pride and self-conceit in this war and become humble and meek4 ,the ,church ought to give an example to secular ,europe3 an example of humility1 goodness1 sacrifice--saintliness4 ,but which of the ,churches ought to give this example for the salvation of ,europe and of the world8 ,yours1 if you like4 ,why not just your ,anglican ,church8 ,but whichever undertakes to lead the way will be the most glorious ,church4 ,for she will lead the whole ,church and through the ,church ,europe and through ,europe the whole world to holiness and victory1 to ,god and ,his ,kingdom4