About what are modern Christians silent? Why is the fear of ridicule sometimes stronger than faith, and how can we distinguish wise silence from cowardly renunciation? We talked with Priest Maxim Yanyshevsky, a teacher at the Sretensky Theological Academy and a cleric of the Moscow Novodevichy Convent, about the maturation of the soul, the path from the first seed of faith to profound faithfulness to God, how not to confuse spiritual zeal with pride, and genuinely standing in the truth—with self-affirmation.
Priest Maxim Yanyshevsky. Photo: Foma.ru —Father Maxim, the Apostle Peter renounced the faith when there was a direct threat to his life. Many modern Christians are silent about their faith in far less dangerous situations, fearing ridicule, misunderstanding from people, awkward questions, and problems in their families. What is the spiritual degree of responsibility for everyday concealment of faith, when people keep silent about their religion?
—We can begin here with the following reflection: Faith can develop. In the Gospel we find an image where faith is compared to a small seed that gradually germinates and can grow into a big tree, beneath whose shade you can hide and in whose branches many birds can build their nests. But in order for this seed to turn into a tree it must walk a certain path.
People often perceive faith as confidence in the existence of God. But this is the first step of faith, from which you can gradually rise to something higher. For example, faith as trust. This is also a facet of faith. But to have such faith in God you have to walk a difficult path.
Or, for instance, another facet of faith: faith as faithfulness. When a person is faithful to God, he does not need any proof of the existence of God—for him the relationships is real, he treasures it and preserves it. In this state, a Christian tries to eliminate from his life everything that might destroy this relationship. So we should understand that from the first point, from confidence in the existence of God, faith can develop into trust and faithfulness to God. But for this to happen a certain period of time must pass and certain events in life must take place. This is a path. If we see flippancy in someone’s faith, we should not hurry to judge him. Today he thinks about where and who it is more interesting to spend time with, but tomorrow he may start reading the Gospel or even decide to enter a monastery.
In the Gospel we find that the apostles’ the perfection also grew; it did not appear overnight. It all started with something small, with “hearing” about Christ and an inspiration that carried them away and developed into great faith. But what a thorny path it was, what trials and challenges the apostles had to face!
Here we can draw a parallel with how relationships are built in family. It all starts small, with acquaintance. The first meetings can blow you away and the infatuation can develop into a more serious relationship. But how many difficulties you have to go through for your relationship to become real, to have value and depth! When a person overcomes all this, he values this relationship and is not ashamed of it. A normal family man is not ashamed that he has a spouse and children. A normal monk is not ashamed that he is a monk. It’s the same with Christ. If this has become natural and harmonious in you, then you are not afraid to say that you are a Christian and testify to this to the world around you.
It’s another matter when people have much and understand much, but abandon it. That was the case of Judas who betrayed Christ, or of a man deserting his family and children, or a Christian leaving the Church. When did this crisis occur, what contributed to it, and what spiritual reasons underpin this tragedy?
—We know the Lives of saints and ascetics. There are examples of vociferous confessors who were not afraid of anything and went to be tortured. Even while being tortured, these saints denounced their rulers, as we remember from the Life of Greatmartyr George the Victorious. But there were also those who saved their lives by silence and helped others escape, distancing themselves from the world without undertaking great labors of asceticm. In what circumstances can silence about your faith be called spiritual wisdom, and when is it cowardice and hidden renunciation?
—As for the confession of faith, we believe that everything is in God’s hands. It may happen that by Divine Providence we will be called to testify to our faith before others. But even if this is allowed, the Lord gives us the strength and grace to carry it all out. It is given to everyone according to their strength and capacity. He who can contain more contains more. And from Church history we know very many examples when a huge number of people testified to their faith openly, without fear.
It is a challenge for us now, but if we look at the life of the early Church, when persecutions lasted for over three centuries, then the high probability of the confession of faith was not so acutely perceived by people. Receiving Baptism, Christians already understood that they could be called to account for their faith.
During that period, a wise decision was made in the Church: “If you are asked if you are a Christian or not, you should not deny your name. And if you are called to account, you must give an answer, even if it involves death. But you must not strive for martyrdom yourself.” Some people liked it, others probably didn’t, but such a position was developed in the Church. If we recall Origen, his father suffered for his faith. The young man also wanted to confess Christianity together with his father, but he could not do it, because when his father was being led to his death, Origen’s mother hid his clothes were hidden. The young man was ashamed to run naked down the street, and in such a wise way his mother saved him. Towards the end of his life, Origen nevertheless suffered physically for Christ under Emperor Decius, but that was after he had walked along his thorny path in life.
I think it’s the same in our lives; in no circumstances should we be afraid to say that we are Christians and that we belong to Christ.
When it comes to the fear of open confession in the modern world, where there isn’t such open persecution of Christianity, we can touch on the topic of self-sufficiency and the dependence on others’ opinions. If a Christian pays attention to others and attaches great importance to this, then, of course, it is hard for him to make the sign of the cross and testify that he is a Christian, because he is afraid of ridicule. This is about mental immaturity, not spiritual. Here it is necessary to strive for inner integrity, at which a person is mentally self-sufficient and grows spiritually in Christ.
Having inner integrity is also essential in ordinary life, when you are not afraid to stand out and express your opinions, trying to maintain peace and dialogue with others. This is an indicator of inner maturity and self-sufficiency. In a spiritual sense, it’s the same story. I remember there was a moment when, as a seminarian, I took other people’s words and opinions about me very much to heart. Once when I revealed it to Father (now Metropolitan) Tikhon, he told me in reply: “If you want to become the unhappiest person, then keep thinking about what others think of you. If you don’t want to be unhappy, then stop thinking about it and just live.”
—Where is the borderline between genuinely standing in faith and spiritual delusion? Like when someone, driven by pride and a desire to assert himself, deliberately seeks conflicts where the Lord does not require it.
—That’s a good question. We must remember what we should be motivated by and what we must bring to the world. Let’s recall the Gospel episode when Christ was traveling to Jerusalem through Samaria and was not welcomed by the people of a Samaritan village because He looked like a pilgrim. The Apostles James and John were troubled in spirit and said: Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them (Lk. 9:54). Christ stopped them and replied, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are (Lk. 9:55). Christ called His disciples to the spirit of peace, unity and love. This is the spirit of Christ, this is the spirit of God. And every Christian should strive for this. If you lose this spirit, then problems begin. You can have different spirits—for example, the spirit of superiority over others, the spirit of teaching, or punishing. Even if you have the spirit of teaching but without love, without lenience towards your neighbor, then it is no longer the spirit of Christ; the spirit of pride is mixed in there.
When you lose the spirit of love for another, problems begin. For instance, you want to teach someone the Christian faith. This desire is good, but if the basis of your desire is the human self and a sense of superiority: “I’m better and smarter!” then trouble may be lurking. People will guess it one way or another. If you have no love, kindness, inner warmth, and humanity in you, then your words may be hard to accept. Modern people are vulnerable and oversensitive, and we must take that into account. It is always better to look into yourself carefully and keep track of this moment. If at some point you lost your inner warmth, it is better to stop for prayer and turn to Christ in repentance to regain this contrite spirit. Otherwise, you can fall into spiritual delusion.
—If a Christian feels that he is not ready for open confession and feels fear, then where should he begin the path of acquiring the inner freedom that the martyrs showed in the first centuries of Christianity? And is there a danger of skipping over these stages of spiritual growth on this path?
—Maturation in faith is a gradual process. You need to be conscious of what’s going on inside of you. If you are not ready to do some things, then you have to admit that you are not ready and accept this situation. Everything inside you should develop gradually. Why do we see examples in monastic life when great ascetic labors are not performed by young novices, but by experienced monks? You have to mature to this experience, to go through a novitiate, learn to live in peace with the brethren, with others, perform a series of obediences, and then you can move on to something greater. This is a gradual development. It is the same in the spiritual life: At some point you have to realize with humility that you are not ready, and learn to grow spiritually. After all, this is a gift from God; the Lord can gradually grant you what you need.
In addition, you should have the awareness that humbles you: “Without God, you can do nothing.” You must understand that at the beginning of any work it is necessary to turn to God. It’s a simple idea, but extremely important, and you also need to mature into it. We often think about God last, not first, and at first try to solve the problem ourselves. Perhaps we remember God in passing, but alas, it we don’t immediately turn to Him with all our hearts, share our problem with God and invite God into this situation. Experience comes with time, and we arrive at it gradually, in small steps. We need to take it easier; there should be no rush in spiritual life—we must live and enjoy what we have. All this will gradually come into our lives, in due time and by the will of God.
