The role of the Catholic Church in culture. Catholicism: features of doctrine and cult

The current state of the Catholic Church

Maxim Kozlov

According to data for 1987, there were about 600 million Catholics in the world (including Uniates) - this is about 15% of the world's population. Of them:

Catholic bishops 3500 people. (with Uniates);

there are about 400,000 elders;

There are about 2 million members of various monastic organizations, “religions”;

There are about 250 cardinals.

There are about 250 million Catholics in Europe. The most Catholic countries are Italy, Spain, France (80% of the population considers itself to be a member of the Catholic Church). In West Germany, about 30% (now lower) of the population are Catholics (30 million people in total).

On the American continent, Catholics mainly live in South America, especially in Brazil (about 60 million people) and Argentina (about 20 million people). In the USA, Catholics make up 20% of the population, i.e. 45-50 million people It is in the USA that Catholicism is the most growing denomination (in 1945 - 15% of the population are Catholics, in 1987 - 20%). Jesuits are active in the United States. Some of the best American universities and private schools are Catholic. In Canada, about 40% of the population is Catholic (French in the province of Quebec). There are approximately 35 million Catholics in Mexico. There, after 1918 (revolution), the church was separated from the state, and Catholics were oppressed.

In the Philippines (a former Portuguese colony), 75% of the population is Catholic.

In India, about 7 million people are Catholics.

There are Catholics in China, but according to secular laws they cannot obey the pope and are in schism (the people's Catholic Church in China).

There are about 2 million Catholics in Vietnam, 1 million in Indonesia, and there are also many Catholics in Sri Lanka.

In the post-war period, Africa was actively Catholicized. According to data for 1987, the number of Catholics has increased since 1924 from 2.5 million to 34 million people.

The Pope is the head of the modern Catholic Church

In the RCC, the pope is the final decisive authority on all issues, including dogmatic and moral ones. No church body can judge the pope or his decisions. According to the 1556 canon of the current code, “the supreme department cannot be judged by anyone.”

A dogma of the Catholic faith is the recognition of the pope's special gift of infallible teaching (as defined by the First Vatican Council). The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), despite the strong renovationist movement within it, categorically repeated the definition of the First Vatican Council on the infallibility of papal decrees. Moreover, the dogmatic constitution of the Second Vatican Council extends to the faithful the obligation to religiously submit their will and mind to the instructions of the Roman Pontiff even in cases where he does not speak from the pulpit (ex cathedra).

True, at the Second Vatican Council, the college of bishops headed by the pope was also recognized as the bearer of full and supreme power in the Church. But if the college cannot exercise power without the pope, then the pope is always free to exercise his power. That is, the essence of the issue remains the same.

The Pope acquires the right of ecclesiastical teaching (magisterium). It also includes the proclamation of infallible doctrinal and moral truths. And the RCC during the period of interpapacy was not the bearer of church teaching, that is, it could not make dogmatic, doctrinal and moral decisions.

Election of the Pope

In the ancient church, the Bishop of Rome was elected like any other bishop. As a rule, this was a person in the rank of deacon or presbyter. It was rare for a bishop to be transferred from another see (for the first time - in the 9th century).

Now, for several centuries (since the 11th-12th centuries), the pope has been elected by transferring a bishop from another see, and the last case of election not from a bishop was in the 14th century.

If earlier the election process was in the form of consecration as Bishop of Rome, now it is simply a transfer from another see. And the sudden acceptance of unlimited power is explained as follows: the pope is given full power not by consecration, but by elections, together with the consent to accept the choice. That is, when the bishop gives consent, he becomes the bearer of papal power, and enthronement is only a rite.

In 1957, Pius XII spoke of election: “if any layman were elected pope, the power to teach and govern as well as the charisma of infallibility would be imparted to him at the very moment of his consent.”

In ancient times, the people, clergy and neighboring bishops (the usual canonical method) participated in the election of the pope. From the 5th century, elections began to be influenced by secular monarchs (both in the East and in Rus'), first the Byzantine emperors, then the German ones (especially in the 10th-11th centuries). This is beginning to cause opposition to the RCC. The Roman Council of 1059 assigned the main role in the election to cardinals, although it did not exclude the participation of emperors. And the Lateran Council of 1179 (XII Ecumenical Council of the RCC) decided to elect the pope with 2/3 of the cardinal votes. This rule is still observed today.

However, secular monarchs were finally excluded from electing the pope only in 1904 (before that they influenced the elections through Austrian cardinals, who had the right of veto).

Since 1271, popes have been elected in conclaves, that is, in a locked room. (In 1271, they could not elect a pope for 2 years - the people closed the voters and did not let them out until they elected a pope).

Now the place of conclaves is the Sistine Chapel, in which only a window remains for the transmission of power.

Now, theoretically, any lay Catholic can be elected pope. But, as a rule, the pope is now elected from cardinals who have the rank of bishop. Thus, in 1378, the last pope was elected not from among the cardinals (Urban VI), and the last pope elected not from among the bishops was Gregory XVI (1831).

Upon entering the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals take an oath not to follow outside instructions and to maintain the secrecy of the conclave.

The elections themselves are held either by the usual method of secret voting through ballots, or by inspiration: someone out loud proposes a candidate, and everyone agrees (however, there were no such cases).

There may be several rounds of voting until someone gets 2/3 of the votes. Then the chosen one is asked about his consent to be the pope. If consent is given, then the chosen candidate becomes Pope. Then, according to tradition, the new pope is given a name chosen according to his wishes. This tradition has been strengthened since the 11th century (the name is of great importance for the pope).

After the election, adoration follows - the cardinals' adoration of the pope. Previously, this ritual was complemented by kissing the cross depicted on the pope’s shoe.

The people are notified of the election of the pope by white smoke coming from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. In unsuccessful elections, the smoke is black. The elected pope comes out in a white cassock onto the balcony of the Sistine Chapel.

A few days later, the enthronement ceremony takes place. The papal tiara is placed on the head of the pope (a crown of two parts - a symbol of secular and spiritual power, a symbol of two keys). A ball of linen thread is burned in front of the pope with the words “this is how worldly glory passes.”

All cardinals participate in the election of the pope, including the sick, who are taken to the Chapel and lie there in their cells. Cardinals who have reached the age of 75 are not eligible to participate in elections due to possible senile insanity. For the same reason, they are not elected to the role of pope.

In recent centuries there have been no cases of voluntary abandonment of the Roman See (they occurred only in the Renaissance).

Papal Masses and Papal Temples

The papal color is red. When celebrating Mass, the pope wears a cape (phonon) made of white silk with red and gold stripes along the vertical. An omophorion is placed on top of it - a palium (of any color). The distinctive feature of the pope is the rod, which ends in the form of a cross, while the bishops have a curved rod. During ceremonies, a portable throne is used, although rarely (several times a year).

At solemn papal masses (once every two weeks or more often), one of the priests tastes the bread and wine for the papal mass, since there were attempts to poison the pope even in this way.

The pope's daily uniform is a white cassock with a hood and shoulder pad. On top of his head dad wears a white cap. Catholic clergy had the custom of cutting the top of their heads (this was also the case in the East - the top of the head was cut under the skuf). Sometimes dad may wear a wide hat. On his ring finger, dad wears a “fisherman’s ring” with the image of St. Peter casting nets. On my dad's chest is a 4-pointed pectoral cross.

There are five Roman temples (basilicas), called papal:

Lateran Basilica, Church of St. Paul the Apostle;

Vatican Church of St. Peter the Apostle;

Basilica of St. Mary the Greater;

Basilica of St. Paul the Apostle outside the walls;

Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls.

These churches have a papal altar, in which no one has the right to serve without the permission of the pope, and a papal throne. Visiting these basilicas is considered a means of obtaining particularly effective indulgences.

The Pope's cathedral is the Lateran Basilica of St. Paul the Apostle. Latera (laterani) is a palace of ancient aristocrats in Rome, given over to the Roman bishops by Emperor Constantine the Great. A basilica with a baptistery was built in it. The temple acquired its modern appearance in the 18th century.

The residence of the pope is the Vatican with the grandiose church (basilica) of St. Apostle Peter. The temple was built from the beginning of the 16th century. until the beginning of the 17th century. The city of Rome stands on seven hills. One of the hills is called the Vatican Hill. Aristocrats lived there, and the Vatican is part of historical Rome. According to legend, St. is buried on the site of the Vatican Basilica. ap. Peter. The relics of the apostles Peter and Paul are hidden there.

Bibliography

To prepare this work, materials from the site http://psylib.org.ua/ were used

Concept and periodization of the Middle Ages. The collapse of the Roman Empire and the search for new foundations for the cultural unity of European peoples. Feudal hierarchy, corporatism and Christian religiosity as specific features of medieval culture. An attempt to restore the Roman Empire during the Carolingian Renaissance. Reform of Pope Gregory VII and strengthening of the Catholic Church; struggle for investiture, celibacy. Church opposition to feudal ideology: the doctrine of the Last Judgment, pilgrimage. The formation of a pan-European intellectual elite: universities, the Latin language and interethnic communication, the “sum” genre and the universalism of scholastic thinking.

Literature. Pigalev A.I. Culturology. Volgograd, 2006; Rosenstock-Hussy O. Great Revolutions. Autobiography of a Westerner. M., 2002; Berman G. Western tradition of law: The era of formation. M., 1998.

Topic 8. Secularization and modern trends in culture. Renaissance

Concept and periodization of the Renaissance. Italy in the late Middle Ages: the flourishing of urban culture, Byzantine influence, ancient heritage. The peculiarity of Renaissance humanism and its significance in the process of formation of the mentality of modern European man: the humanist as a scientist, humanism as anthropocentrism, the phenomenon of titanism, immoralism as the shadow side of Renaissance humanism. Illusionism and direct perspective as the fundamental principles of new painting and new mentality.

Literature. Pigalev A.I. Culturology. Volgograd, 2006; Batkin L.M. Italian Renaissance as a historical type of culture. M., 1991.

Topic 9. Secularization and modern trends in culture. Reformation and the genesis of secular culture

The concept of the Reformation. The idea of ​​reform of the Catholic Church during the late Middle Ages. Religious, political and economic reasons for the Reformation. Martin Luther is the founder of the Reformation, the birth of Protestantism. The principles of justification by faith, the supreme authority of Scripture, the universal priesthood. Mystical origins of the Reformation and the principle of religious autonomy of the individual. Freedom of religion and secularization of politics. Calvinist version of the Reformation: the idea of ​​absolute predestination and the bourgeois work ethic; new principles of church structure and the roots of Western European democracy. The role of the idea of ​​divine chosenness in the formation of Western mentality.

Literature. Pigalev A.I. Culturology. Volgograd, 2006; Rosenstock-Hussy O. Great Revolutions. Autobiography of a Westerner. M., 2002.

Topic 10. Features of Russian culture

Formation of the Russian centralized state in the 15th–16th centuries. The role of Orthodoxy in the formation of Russian culture; the dispute between Osiphlites and non-acquisitive people as a choice of cultural model. Inclusion of the peoples of the Volga region and Siberia into the orbit of Russian culture. The death of Byzantium and the influence of Western Europe on the intellectual culture of Russia. Integration of Russia into the European economic system (“world-economy”). The sociocultural meaning of the reform of Patriarch Nikon. Westernization of Russian culture in the 17th–18th centuries. and its contradictory consequences; understanding of these contradictions in cultural and philosophical discussions of the 19th century. The problem of coordinating modernization and cultural identity of Russia. "Soviet project".

Literature. Pigalev A.I. Culturology. Volgograd, 2006;

Catholicism and Orthodoxy are the main branches of the Christian religion. The origins of Catholicism come from a small Roman Christian community, whose first bishop, according to legend, was the Apostle Peter. The process of isolation of Catholicism in Christianity began in the 3rd-4th centuries, when economic, political, and cultural differences between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire grew and worsened.

The division of the Christian church into Catholic and Orthodox began with the rivalry between the popes and the patriarchs of Constantinople for supremacy in the Christian world. Around 867 there was a break between Pope Nicholas I and Patriarch Photius of Constantinople.

Catholicism and Orthodoxy are often called the Western and Eastern Churches, respectively. The split of Christianity into the Western and Eastern Churches is considered to be the great schism of 1054, generated by disagreements that began around the 9th century.

The final split occurred in 1274. The main reason for the split in Christianity is the political struggle of the clergy for spheres of influence. It is not surprising that the schism begins precisely during the process of establishing Christianity in Western and Eastern Europe, and ends by the time the combination of church and state politics becomes strongest.

However, there is one important factor that played a certain role in the schism of the Churches. This is a difference in the understanding of Christianity, associated with the difference in the mentality of the peoples of Western and Eastern Europe. This is the difference between the mentalities of a rationalist and a mystic. In terms of the mentality of peoples, this is the difference between the Western mentality, which has a more pronounced rationalistic tendency, and the Eastern one, where the mystical tendency is more pronounced.

Catholicism is the largest movement in Christianity. It is predominantly distributed in Southwestern, Western and Central Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia), the USA and Latin America. This religion is followed by a third of the African population.

Catholicism is also professed by part of the population of the Baltic states (in Lithuania, in the southeast of Latvia), as well as the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus. Catholic doctrine is based on the Bible (“Holy Scripture”) and Tradition (“Sacred Tradition”), which are declared by the church to be two sources of divine Revelation. The content of the Holy Tradition among Catholics differs from the Orthodox: if the Orthodox recognize the decisions of only the first seven ecumenical councils (held from 325 to 787), then Catholics consider the decisions of the twenty-one ecumenical councils valid (the last of them took place in 1962 - 1965). Also included in the Holy Tradition are the judgments of the popes on church and worldly issues.

The main dogmatic difference between Catholicism and Orthodoxy (despite the rather close similarity of their beliefs) is the position about the descent of the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church claims that the Holy Spirit can come not only from God the Father, as stated in the Creed adopted at the first two Ecumenical Councils (325 and 381), but also from God the Son (“filioque” “and son”) . The Eastern (Orthodox) Church also recognizes the descent of the Holy Spirit only from God the Father. The leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches have always considered and consider this disagreement to be the most important and even the only irreconcilable one.

According to Catholicism, God's transmission of Revelation ended with the death of the apostles and disciples of Christ, but Revelation can be improved today through its correct comprehension. The Pope, who according to Catholic teaching is the vicar of God on earth and the successor of St. Peter, who holds the keys to heaven, as well as the college of bishops, the heirs of the apostles, jointly create church teaching that has the status of “infallibility.” Thus, the Catholic Church justifies the orthodoxy of the adoption by the head of the church and councils of dogmas, which should be perceived by believers in the same way as the Revelation of God himself.

A unique teaching about the role of the church in the matter of salvation was also formed. It is believed that the basis of salvation is faith and good works. The Church, according to the teachings of Catholicism (this is not the case in Orthodoxy), has a treasury of “extraordinary” deeds - a “reserve” of good deeds created by Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, saints, pious Christians. The Church has the right to dispose of this treasury, to give part of it to those who need it, that is, to forgive sins, to grant forgiveness to those who repent. Hence the doctrine of indulgences - the remission of sins for money or for some merit to the church. Hence the rules of prayer for the dead and the right of the pope to shorten the period of stay of the soul in purgatory.

The dogma of infallibility in matters of faith and morality of the Pope plays a significant role in Catholicism. Unlike Orthodoxy, Catholicism is characterized by celibacy (celibacy), which is mandatory for the clergy.

Speaking about the dogmatic features of Catholicism, it should be said about the special place of the teaching about the Mother of God and the cult dedicated to her. In 1854, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God appeared, and in 1950 the dogma was approved, according to which the Most Holy Theotokos, the Ever-Virgin, after the end of her earthly journey, was taken to heaven “with soul and body for the Heavenly Glory.” In honor of this, a special holiday was established in 1954 dedicated to the “Queen of Heaven” the Virgin Mary.

Catholicism is the largest denomination in Christianity (from 580 to 800 million adherents). There are especially many Catholics in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Latin American countries, and the USA.

In a small Roman Christian community, the first bishop of which, according to legend, was the Apostle Peter.

The process of separation began in the 3rd-5th centuries, when economic, political, and cultural differences between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire deepened. The division began with the rivalry between the popes and the patriarchs of Constantinople for supremacy in the Christian world. Around 867 there was a break between Pope Nicholas 1 and Patriarch Photius of Constantinople. At the 8th Ecumenical Council, the schism became irreversible after the controversy between Pope Leo 4 and the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Celuarius (1054) and was completed when the crusaders captured Constantinople.

basis Catholic dogma Like Christianity as a whole, the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition are accepted, but the Catholic Church considers the Holy Tradition to be the decrees of not only the first seven Ecumenical Councils, but also all subsequent councils, and also the papal epistles and decrees.

The organization of the Catholic Church is highly centralized. The Pope is the head. Elected for life by the conclave of cardinals. It defines doctrines on matters of faith and morals. His power is higher than the power of the Ecumenical Councils. Catholicism maintains that the Holy Spirit comes from both God the Father and God the Son. The basis of salvation is faith and good works. The Church possesses a treasury of “super-duty” deeds – a “reserve” of good deeds created by Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, and saints and pious Christians. The Church has the right to dispose of this treasury, to give part of it to those who need it. That is, to forgive sins, to grant forgiveness to those who repent (hence the doctrine of indulgences - the remission of sins for money or other services to the church). The Pope has the right to shorten the period of stay of the soul in purgatory.

The dogma of purgatory (a place between heaven and hell) is found only in Catholicism. The souls of sinners burn there in a cleansing fire, and then gain access to heaven. The dogma of papal infallibility (adopted at the first Vatican Council in 1870) (that is, God himself speaks through the pope), of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary (1854)

Cult part of Catholicism is also expressed in the presence of a ritual part.

Catholicism also recognizes seven sacraments, but the understanding of these sacraments is somewhat different: communion is made with unleavened bread (among the Orthodox - leavened bread); during baptism, they are sprinkled with water, and not immersed in a font; anointing (confirmation) is performed at the age of 7-8 years, and not in infancy (in this case, the teenager receives another name and image of a saint, whose actions he intends to follow); In Orthodoxy, only the black clergy (monasticism) takes the vow of celibacy, while among Catholics, celibacy (celibacy) is mandatory for all clergy.

Much attention is paid to the attire of the clergy (priest - black cassock, bishop - purple, cardinal - purple, pope - white cassock. The pope wears a miter and tiara as a sign of the highest earthly power, as well as a pallium - a ribbon with crosses sewn on it made of black cloth).

Important elements of the cult are Catholic holidays and fasts. Nativity Fast - Advent. Christmas is the most solemn holiday (three services: at midnight, at dawn and during the day, which symbolizes the birth of Christ in the womb of the father, in the womb of the Mother of God and in the soul of the believer). Epiphany - the feast of the three kings - commemorates the appearance of Jesus to the pagans and the worship of the three kings. The Feast of the Heart of Jesus - a symbol of hope for salvation. Feast of the Heart of Mary - a symbol of special love for Jesus and salvation, Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (December 8). One of the main holidays is the Ascension of Our Lady (August 15). Feast of Remembrance of the Dead (November 2).

Catholicism spread beyond Europe in the form of missions to non-Christians.

The residence of the Pope - the Vatican (area 44 hectares) has its own coat of arms, flag, anthem, guard, and maintains diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries of the world.

1. Features of the “modern world”

Just like modern philosophy, modern world is not the fruit of polemics: it is a certain historical type of civilization, the spiritual dominant of which is the ideas of Renaissance humanism, the Protestant Reformation and the Cartesian Reformation. How to characterize it from the point of view from which we find ourselves? In it, as in every civilization, there is a positive moment of ontological tension and vitality, which, as it seems to us, is based on a bold, tireless desire to give human nature the maximum that can be obtained on earth. But with this good, in itself positive moment, worthy of respect and love, there is also one drawback. Let's say, although this has already become banal, it has not ceased to be true - let's say this: culture, in the process of its natural growth, moved away from the sacred in order to turn to man himself.

The Middle Ages shaped human nature in accordance with the “sacred” type of civilization, based on the conviction that earthly institutions, with all their youth and strength, consist in the service of God and divine affairs for the realization of his kingdom on earth. The Middle Ages stubbornly built this kingdom on earth, dreaming - ultimately not too persistently, without stopping life from doing its job - of a hierarchically ordered world, where the Pope, at the top of the spiritual, ensures the unity of the church, and the Emperor, being at the top of the temporal, would ensure the political unity of Christianity. The dream of the Holy Empire, which constituted the ideal, the "myth", is closely connected with the cultural conditions of this era; such a dream, discarded once and for all, presupposed, along with an enviable faith in principles, a thorough ignorance of the world and extreme optimism; her corpse weighed down the New History for a long time. It took Napoleon and the entire 19th century to finally bury him.

But let's return to the modern world. Culture, such as he understands it, sets itself purely earthly tasks, which from now on are self-sufficient and are not in their totality too elevated in relation to the Kingdom of God; Let's use a word that has been used many times recently: this is an anthropocentric type of culture. Let us not forget that by virtue of the natural law of growth and under the influence of the evangelical ferment introduced into humanity, a certain progress is being made in the bosom of this civilization, and it could be called material, giving this word a broader philosophical meaning, for material culture is progressing not only in the field of scientific and technical means of exploiting nature, but also in the field of intellectual, artistic, spiritual tools of development; Even the level of, I won’t say, moral life or moral ideal, but concepts and feelings as a means of forming stable conditions for moral life has increased. It's a fragile structure, I know, but at the end of the day, the idea of ​​slavery or torture or forcing people with weapons to do things contrary to their conscience, and a number of similar ideas today seem to disgust more people than before, at least the condemnation of these ideas has now become officially recognized platitudes, and this already means something.

Ultimately, it seems that, having withdrawn into himself, a person experienced, as if against his own will, the movement of introversion characteristic of the mind; he plunged into himself - and not to seek God. General process self-awareness is also a hallmark of our time. While the world was mostly turning away from spirituality and from that love which is our true goal, for the sake of external goods and the exploitation of sensible nature, the universe of immanence showed itself, sometimes through narrow gates; subjective depth revealed in science, art, poetry, in the very passions of man and his vices their inherent spirituality; the need for freedom became the more acute the more efforts were made in advance to avoid genuine conditions and genuine knowledge of freedom. In short, due to the ambivalence of history age of reflexes with all the defeats and losses associated with this concept, he also brought undoubted enrichment, and this should be attributed to his achievements in the knowledge of creativity and humanism, especially since this knowledge was supposed to flow into that inner hell that a person carries within himself and become his victim. This dark path is not hopeless, and the idols born in it have replenished our substance.

Everything that we have just outlined here in a very general form is precisely what we mean when we talk about material the progress towards which modern civilization is striving, and the efforts which are being made to enable human nature to obtain its maximum benefit on earth. It should be added, and this will clarify some aspects of the modern world, that much of what should have been done (and at any cost, for the will of the Lord of history is not afraid of interference) to the Catholics was done not by them and against them, but they showed cowardice. Heresies and schisms, wars and destruction, and the devil himself - fall under the universal power of the hand of God, work against their own desires for an intrigue visible to God, stimulate history and advance its cause. The boundaries of their possessions accurately indicate the limits of our inferiority.

Joseph de Maistre XV believed that the French Revolution was from Satan. He was too deep a thinker to conclude from this that it was necessary to achieve simply the complete disappearance of the French Revolution from the huge book of world history. What nonsense! This book is written according to the will and permission of the Lord God; Satan may at some moment take up the pen, and then it will be cowardice not to call by his own name the evil that has been created forever; but it would be foolish not to also understand that, despite all possible distortions, the line of existence continues, what God wrote can be read by angels, 7 and still a large or small benefit is achieved (if minimal, what to do is what God wanted). We know that the wheat and the chaff grow together and will only be separated on the last day of XVI. God has already advised us not to remove one, so that there is no risk of removing the other at the same time; this shows that sound judgment is beyond our strength, I mean sound judgment about the meaning usefulness events or people for the divine bins and for the common good of creation, that is, in relation to the final limit, which is unknown to us. The bishops of the Restoration believed that they were working for the good of God, in support of the wormhole-eaten throne, and, without knowing it, they were preparing such misunderstandings that seemed to threaten the destruction of all of Europe. Another sound judgment that reason requires of us is the meaning truth or lies, kindness or malice in earthly affairs in relation to those timeless laws that we know; and we must try to highlight, from this point of view, the spiritual dominants of our history.

2. Anthropocentrism and genuine humanism

So, we say that modern culture, whatever its positive historical purpose and achievements, in its spiritual dominant is, as I tried to show, anthropocentric: humanism here separated from the Incarnation. In the concept according to which the era of the New Age and modernity was formed and is now being formed by culture, we can distinguish three stages, or three moments: the first moment is the one when civilization generously distributes its most beautiful fruits, forgetting about the roots, where the juices that nourish it come from . It is believed that it must establish, based only on the authority of reason, a certain human order, considered still in the Christian style inherited from previous times, a style that becomes burdensome and begins to deteriorate. We can call this moment classic moment of our culture, the moment of Christian naturalism.

The second point allows us to note that a culture devoid of higher supernatural standards must inevitably turn against itself; then she is required to establish an order that is considered to be based on nature and is designed to liberate man and establish in him the spirit of wealth, to bless him for the quiet possession of the earth: this is a moment of rationalistic optimism, bourgeois moment in our culture. We have a hard time getting out of it.

The third moment is the moment of materialistic pessimism, revolutionary the moment at which man, clearly seeing his ultimate goal in himself and no longer able to withstand the machinations of this world, begins, as we see it today in Russia, a courageous battle against the transcendental foundations of natural law and against their creator; he takes upon himself the task of creating a completely new humanism out of radical atheism.

These three moments, despite their obvious contradiction to each other, are connected by continuity; if we thoroughly schematize the state of affairs, then we can say that these moments succeed each other chronologically; but they both coexist and mix with each other at various stages. All these concepts ignore human nature and ultimately begin to demand for it the privileges of pure reason, however, in the bosom of itself and through the strengthening of purely material power. False liberation, corruption and waste of human substance with an endless increase in needs and despondency.

Dominion over the birth rate is not through chastity, but through disruption of the natural course of affairs; domination of a race through eugenic sterilization of inferior subjects 8 ; human domination over himself through the abolition of family ties and care for the younger generation; dominion over life through suicide and euthanasia. It is noteworthy that a certain idea of ​​human domination over nature is paid off in an impressively uniform way, with the same result: the cessation of life.

The Christian concept opposes the “anthropocentric” concept of culture as a truly humane and humanistic, and in using the word “humanistic,” I think of the only humanism that does not lie against its etymology and the example of which Thomas Aquinas taught us: humanism purified by the blood of Christ, the humanism of the Incarnation.

Such humanism, observing the hierarchy of essences, places contemplative life above active life; it knows that contemplative life leads more directly to love for the first Principle, which contains perfection. This does not mean that active life should be sacrificed, but it should gravitate towards the type that it took on among perfect people, that is, to the kind of activity that flows entirely from superabundant contemplation.

But if we take the contemplation of saints as the highest level of human life, then should we not say that all human actions and civilization itself should be oriented towards it as a goal? It seems that it should be so, said (perhaps not without some irony) St. Thomas Aquinas. For what is slave labor and trade for, if not for the body, provided with all the necessities of life and, therefore, ready for immersion in contemplation? What are moral virtues and prudence for, if not for pacifying passions and finding inner peace, which is so necessary for contemplation? What is all the management of civil life for if not to strengthen the external world necessary for contemplation? - “Thus, if we consider them properly, then all the functions of human life seem to serve those who contemplate the truth” 9.

Here is the idea of ​​a hierarchy of values, completely different from the concept of industrialism, entirely directed towards production, which the modern world has derived for itself from civilization. We see to what extent the primacy of the economy, which itself follows from a regime based on the fertility of money - unlimited fertility, like everything that follows from certain natural conditions - and the materialist concept of culture, be it capitalist or Marxist, are opposed to the thought of the universal Teacher of the Church .

Doesn't this mean that the Christian concept of culture has nothing in common with the modern world, except for a relationship of incompatibility? And that it cannot offer us any other ideal than the ideal of the past, finally absorbed by history, the Middle Ages? Need I repeat that the movement of time, as we know, is irreversible. Christian wisdom does not invite us to return to the Middle Ages. First of all, she invites us to move. Moreover, the civilization of the Middle Ages, as great and beautiful as it really was, and, of course, even more beautiful in memories, cleared of history, remained far from the full embodiment of the Christian idea of ​​​​civilization.

Yes, this idea is opposed to the modern world, but to the extent that it is inhumane.

And to the extent that, despite its qualitative defects, the modern world brings real historical development, no, the Christian concept of culture does not oppose it. Quite the contrary, she would like to save in him and bring into reasonable order the riches of life that he possesses.

The suffering itself, the great suffering that is tearing apart the modern world, where does it come from, if not from everything that is permeated with inhumanity? And this means that the world, without knowing it, is striving for a civilization of the Christian type, such as the civilization about which the principles of St. Thomas.

How can we not remember on this occasion one of the geniuses responsible for the troubles from which we suffer today, I mean our dear enemy Descartes? It would be interesting to note the imprints on culture, here I want to say primarily about the political and economic culture that Cartesian dualism left. For Descartes, as is known, the human being is divided into two complete substances: pure spirit and geometric space. Angel driving the car.

Move this concept into the system of political and economic relations. Descartes himself never carried out such a movement, I hasten to remind you of this. But exactly Cartesian spirit is guilty of it.

Then a political and economic machine will become clear, analogous to the machine of the body in Cartesian philosophy, in which only natural laws of the same type will reign as the laws of mechanics or chemistry. And to this machine, which will exist on its own and evaluate itself, to this machine with its own purely material, inhuman needs, you can, if you are an idealist and recognize moral values, add a certain moral superstructure, the requirements of justice and virtue, which will fulfill the same role as spiritual substance in the Cartesian machine. If you are inclined towards realism or cynicism, you will look at this superstructure as a completely unnecessary epiphenomenon, just as La Mettrie did in the 18th century. considered the Cartesian soul unnecessary and put forward a theory of man-machine like Descartes' animal-machine XVII.

But be that as it may, the important thing is that in this concept politics and economics have their own and distinctive goals, and these goals are not at all human, these goals are purely material. Purpose of the policy - prosperity, power and material achievements of the State, and everything that can contribute to the achievement of this goal, even perfidy, even injustice, is, from the point of view political, good. The goal of the economy is the acquisition and unlimited increase in wealth, material wealth as such. And everything that can contribute to the achievement of this goal, even injustice, even oppression and inhuman working conditions, is, from the point of view economic, economic good. Justice, friendship and any other truly human value from now on become alien in the structure of political and economic life, and if morality arises with its own requirements, then it comes into conflict with political and economic reality, with political and economic science. You can imagine "homo oeconomicus" XVIII whose sole function is to accumulate material wealth. If you try to place next to him another person who obeys moral standards, a truly humane person, then this operation will not be successful. In reality, economic man, whose appetites are insatiable, will simply swallow his moral counterpart, and that will be the end of it; he will, like a bloodthirsty machine, industriously chew on the hapless true humanity vegetating in the dungeons of history.

This kind of political and economic physicalism has literally poisoned modern culture. What stands against it is precisely that truly human concept that tradition can teach us anew "philosophia perennis" XIX. The author of this concept, of course, is not St. Thomas, and the best minds of antiquity, albeit pagan. St. Thomas, following Aristotle, clearly formulated its basic principles: politics and economics do not belong to the natural sciences, they form part of ethics, the science of human deeds. Such a huge proportion of conditions as here are determined by the nature of material things and their automatic functioning, however, relates precisely to how our freedom will use and how it should take advantage of those conditions that determine such a science. Her goal is honest, respectable human life here on earth: a way of life worthy of man and that which is most important in man, that is, the spirit. Political and economic laws are not laws of nature in their pure form, like the laws of mechanics or chemistry; they are laws of human activity, which complements them with moral values. Justice, humanity, sincere love for one's neighbor constitute an essential part of the very structure of political and economic reality. Perfidy is not only a thing forbidden in personal morality, it is a thing politically bankrupt because it leads to the destruction of the political health of society. The oppression of the poor and wealth as a self-sufficient goal are not only prohibited in personal morality, they are also economically unprofitable since they are directed against the ultimate goal of the economy itself, and its ultimate goal humane.

St. Thomas teaches: in order to lead a moral life, in order to develop virtues in oneself during life, a person needs a certain minimum of well-being and material security. This position means that poverty in the social sense is, as Leon Blois XX and Péguy well saw, a kind of hell; it also means that the social conditions, which place the majority of people in circumstances that force them to sin and require a certain heroism from those who want to live according to God's law, should, judging by strict justice, be tirelessly exposed and tried change.

At present the world seems to be gripped by two opposing kinds of barbarism. We don't know if he can free himself from them. However, we must not forget that the Christian concept, although it was not the spiritual dominant of civilization for a number of centuries, nevertheless survived; it was only suppressed, but not abolished. The opportunity to once again become the dominant culture for this concept saved and today. Only God knows whether this opportunity will be realized. Be that as it may, we must work with all our might to realize it - not in the name of the medieval ideal of the Holy Empire, of course, but in the name of a new, much less unitarian ideal. In accordance with this ideal, the moral and spiritual activity of the liberated Church will lead in our temporal life many politically and culturally heterogeneous peoples, whose religious differences are not yet ready to disappear. Facts need not correspond to these expectations, and if the work of Christianity is now to be carried out in the bosom of what the Holy Scriptures call the mystery of iniquity, which in former times flourished in Christianity, can we at least hope that in the new world there will arise a truly Christian culture - “not united and cohesive, as in the Middle Ages, into a single body of a homogeneous civilization that occupied a small privileged part of the inhabited earth, but spread as a network of centers of Christian life across the entire surface of the globe, among all peoples in the form of a huge supracultural unity of the Church . Instead of a fortified feudal castle, one for all lands, there is a whole armada of stars scattered across the sky.”

4. Christianity must revitalize culture

The diverse remarks that we have just outlined here allow, it seems to me, to clearly understand by virtue of what necessity, what primary requirements of the life of mankind, Christianity must penetrate into its very depths and revive culture, and Christians must prepare themselves in order to try to translate into historical reality correct ideas in the field of culture, philosophy, social, political, economic life and in the field of art.

The complete detachment of which certain churches of the East are proud, the refusal to lay hands on the humble labors of this world, the immense passion for self-abasement and spiritual freedom, which prompted Dostoevsky to rebel against the wisdom of Rome, conceal behind them the rejection of the calling sent down to all who bear the cross by the highest laws of the Redeemer. They leave the path of Jerusalem to Jericho, raising their eyes to the sky, crying with pity over the wounded nature; and at the same time they do not dare to heal the sick body with the healing remedies of justice, they respect their misfortunes so much that they consider it a temptation of the worldly spirit to attempt to alleviate them by subordinating earthly and social affairs to the requirements of the Gospel and common sense. As for us Catholics, we still have the opportunity to make up for the long time that we have so sadly lost. How many things, for example, could have been completely different if a little more than sixty years ago 10 a follower of St. Thomas, who would write about Capital the same bold book as Marx, but based on the right principles? Alas, our principles are asleep, but our errors are awake, active and bold. We have already spoken elsewhere of the appalling inattention of the Catholic world to the warnings of Leo XIII concerning social questions XXI; on the whole, despite the efforts of individuals who have saved their honor, the failure of this world during the last century in the face of problems directly related to the dignity of the human person and Christian justice is one of the saddening phenomena of modern history.

The fact that the religion of Christ should permeate culture through and through is important not only from the point of view of the salvation of human souls and their destiny: in this regard, Christian civilization truly manifests itself in a maternal way, as a sacred mentor, ensuring earthly well-being and the development of various types of natural activities in accordance with with due regard to the highest interests and deepest callings of the human soul. The same is true from the point of view of the special goals of civilization - it must be Christian. For the human mind, considered outside of any relation to God, is not capable of providing good to people and nations by itself, with its own natural powers 11 .

In the conditions of actual, present life alone, it is impossible to ensure a thorough and constant flourishing of human nature; this is possible only under the sky of grace. Man himself can only lack the hard-to-achieve harmony of virtues, the complex rational settlement, the harmony of justice and friendliness, without which culture departs from its highest goals. What applies to civilization is that St. Augustine said about the city: “The city has no other source of its well-being than man, because the city is nothing more than a multitude of people living in harmony” 12. But only one name has been announced to people by which they can be saved. The most powerful civilizations that do not know this name inevitably deviate in one way or another from a full understanding of civilization and culture; order or freedom make them equally cruel. Even a truly Christian civilization does not escape many occasional flaws. But only Christian civilization can be freed from significant shortcomings.

5. Christianity is transcendental to any culture

However, the relationship between the Catholic religion and culture includes, as already mentioned, another aspect. If Catholicism must permeate a culture for the good of the world and the salvation of souls, this does not mean that it itself must be connected with this or that particular culture, or even with culture in general and its various forms, other than as living, transcendent, independent and life-giving principles to some extent (any comparison is not enough) as a soul that exists separately, like the “abstract world mind” of the Averroists XXII, and transmits its life to other living substances. It shapes civilization, but is not shaped by it. He feeds on the fruits of the earth, for he dwells on the earth, but he himself is not from the earth and his food is not from this world. All the elements which he borrows from human civilizations, the language of his worship and sermons, the architecture and decoration of temples, the common and precious materials used for the practice of worship, the human wisdom adopted by his theology, the flower of the liberal arts and poetry with which the very sanctity of Gertrude XXIII is imbued. or John the Baptist - all this was taken by mercy, the same mercy that the Incarnation gave us. Jesus ate and drank with his friends in Bethany, he was received in Bethany, but it was Bethany who received from Jesus. The Roman era and the Roman system were not conditions given from the outside for the Incarnation of the Lord and the spread of the Church; it was an environment chosen from above, freely chosen. Not inevitable, not irreplaceable in itself, but on the contrary, revealing its virtues only as a result of this free choice." The Church owes it, first of all, persecutions and martyrs, who glorified it as the church of sufferers and martyrs. And when this order began to be considered necessary for the world, it was destroyed.

We have already noted, and this should be especially emphasized: “With varying degrees of mediation and subordination, which is dictated by the level of their metaphysics, all religions, except the Catholic one, are components of certain cultures, adapted to a certain ethnic spirit and a certain historical formation. Only the Catholic religion, due to its supra-natural nature, is absolutely transcendental, supra-cultural, supra-racial, supranational.

This is one of the signs of her divine nature. This is also one of the signs of that contradiction, which until the end of time will be a source suffering Church" 13.

The Church knows that not a single civilization, not a single nation has preserved the purity of its hands: omnes quidem peccaverunt et egent gloria Dei XXIV . But she also knows that even those who are born far from her, in such a cultural climate, the sins of which have darkened all cultures and all civilizations of the earth, individual deviant forms capable of surviving in this climate, hold on only to the good that they carry within themselves, and are rich in human and divine truths and in the fact that the Providence of the Lord takes care of all peoples. This is why God's mercy can support one and all and straighten and grow everyone.

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