Most Rev. Metropolitan Innocentius – Instructions to the Missionaries I/ II

Instruction Of the Most Rev. Metropolitan Innocentius, formerly Archbishop of Kamtchatka, of the Kuril and Aleutian Islands, to the Missionary at Nushagak, Theophanus, Hieromonk.

 

 

I

 

To leave one’s native country and seek places remote, wild, devoid of many of the comforts of life, for the sake of turning to the path of truth men who are still wand­ering in the darkness of ignorance, and of illuming with the light of the Gospel them that have not yet beheld this saving light, —this is an act truly holy and apostolic.

 

 

Blessed he whom the Lord selects and ap­points to such a ministry! But doubly bles­sed he who labors with undivided zeal, sincerity and love in the work of conver­sion and enlightenment, enduring the hard­ships and sufferings which he encounters in the course of his ministry, for “his re­ward is great in heaven!” But woe unto him who is called and appointed to tell the good news, and who does not tell it! and woe still more unto him who, after travel­ing over land and seas to convert men, makes them he has converted into sons of Gehenna, worse than himself!

And so thou, 10 priest art now appoint­ed to a work for which thou shalt either “enter into the joy of the Lord,” as a good and faithful servant, or receive condemna­tion, as a false, wicked, and slothful servant. And may the Lord preserve thee from the latter fate and grant thee the will and the strength to compass the former! When thou findest thyself in the place of thy ministry, thy duties shall be many and peculiar:—1^st spiritual, as celebrant at the altar and preacher of the word of God; 2^nd tempor­al, as a member of a well-ordered com­munity’s government, and therefore do I here offer thee, for thy guidance, a few in­structions Bearing on both classes of duties.

 

Part First—Most Essential Instructions concerning a Missionary’s spiritual duties

The instructions bearing on this sub­ject are very clearly set forth in the Ukaz of 1777, in which it is said “that he should not regard as his duty the hasty administra­tion of baptism (to converts), but should do his best to instil into them the force of Christian teaching, and to guide them to­wards all manner of good morals, without which baptism administered to savages can hardly be called anything but an abuse of one of the greatest Sacraments of the Christian religion.”

 

I – Preparation to Missionary Work.

1. The first and most efficient prepar­ation is prayer, which alone can open the spring of highest teaching and bring down a blessing upon every good beginning and work. Therefore always, and especially before addressing those whom thou wishest to illumine with the light of truth, turn towards God in ardent prayer.
2. Cultivate always a modest and low­ly spirit, and do not presumptuously pro­mise thyself extraordinary or certain suc­cess in thy labors. Such expectations pro­ceed from pride, and grace is not granted unto the proud. Remember always that the conversion of a sinner or a heathen to the right the path cometh not from us or from our skill, but directly and solely from God. If it be His pleasure to convert anybody, then the simplest words (so they be full of the truth), from the lips of a simple reader will touch the hearer’s heart and sink deep into it. and bear fruit in due time. If it be not His pleasure, —the most convincing words from the lips of the greatest orator will have no saving effect. For we all, from the first to the last, are nothing but tools in the hands of God.
3. Every time that thou addressest thyself to thy work, strive to be calm and to have full control of thy faculties, else canst thou not put into words what thou knowest most thoroughly.
4. Do not begin any work without previous thought, and do not perform it in a careless and absent-minded way, for thy work is God’s work, and he is accursed that does it negligently.
5. Remember always that if the preach­er has not within himself love to his work and to them to whom he is preaching, the very best and most eloquent expounding of the doctrine may remain absolutely with­out effect, for love alone creates, —therefore do thou strive to cultivate within thyself the spirit of holy love.
6. Make it a rule, when thou visitest remote localities (where the foundations of Christianity have already been laid), not to begin any service, nor to administer any Sacrament without first giving to them thou visitest if only some brief instruction.
7. Thou shouldst naturally begin to preach the word of God there where thou hast thy permanent residence. But should circumstances compel thee or opportunity induce thee to visit remoter places, then, even though thou shouldst not as yet have accomplished much among those who live in thy own vicinity, do not miss a chance of going anywhere, and be ready to teach in any place and anybody, according to age, condition and time.
8. Choose for thy teaching and for talks with the natives preferably such times when they are all assembled together. For this purpose thou mayest either go to them, or, if feasible, invite them to come where thou shaft be thyself.
9. At first, while still ignorant of the natives” language, thou shouldst employ an interpreter, to translate thy words for them. Take care to select for the post a man from among the most pious and well-inten­tioned, and instruct him in good time in the Catechism. It will be best to employ al­ways the same interpreter.

 

II – The Order of Preaching

10. Christianity is a need, and a comfort which appeals principally to the heart, not to the mind alone, and therefore, when instructing in the faith, the teacher should aim at acting more on the heart than on the mind. The mind’s curiosity is insatiable; but he who feels in his heart the craving for faith, who tastes of its comfort, —he will receive it quickly and with ease, and it shall not remain within him barren of fruits. But in order to act on other men’s hearts, a man must speak from his own heart. “From out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Hence his lips and wisdom only shall prove irresistible to the hearts of his hearers, whose own heart overflows with faith, and he alone shall know without fail how and when to speak, and what to say. Do thou therefore note and take advantage of such moments when the hearts of them that listen to thee are well disposed. That is the favorable time for the sowing of the Word.
11. Methods of instruction vary according to the state of mind, age, and faculties of him who is to be instructed. Bear in mind, with regard to this, that those with whom thou shalt have to deal, are, in manners and ideas, heathens and erring, and in grade of culture—children. To these facts should be adapted the method and order of instruction in the saving truths.

The order of instruction should be made to conform to that which Providence itself points out to us.

The law of Moses was given earlier than the law of the Gospel; and even before the written law of Moses, the unwritten natural law was known and the author of it—God Almighty, the Creator. Just before the law of Moses solemn signs were manifest­ed of God’s power, almightiness and glory.

Keeping in view this great and universal model, do thou order thy small and individual work as follows:

• Starting from the existence and harmony of visible things, demonstrate the ex­istence (which, however, none of those people appear to doubt), the almightiness, power and glory of the Creator of the Universe, His goodness, knowledge of all things, etc. At the same time with this, tell them the story of the creation of the first man, and of his being the progenitor of all men and peoples, who, in this respect, are living monuments and visible proofs of the Creator’s supreme power and wisdom. Then explain how man consists of soul and body, in what he differs from other animate beings, how he is possessed of an immortal spirit, and indicate the intent of God in creating man i. e.—blessedness.
• Further, show them the moral law of Moses, as being the divinely written natural law, the means towards achieving blessedness; all this do simply and concisely.

Note. When speaking of the law, thou shalt surely hear from the crudest savages things confirming that law, which is graven indelibly upon the tablets of every human heart. Thus, for instance, who does not know that a man should honor his parents, that he should not steal, kill, etc.?! Try to arouse this feeling in them, and make use of it for thy purpose.

• When thy hearers shall have be­come convinced of the existence of God and the law, then (but not before), show them the necessity of observing the law, as being the will of God, and the visible con­sequences of not observing and of break­ing it. Illustrate this with a brief narrative of the Deluge—(the tradition of it, though confused, exists among savage races)—as being the consequence of not keeping the law of God; tell them of the blessing be­stowed by God upon the Patriarchs after the Deluge, and especially upon Abraham (whose descendants exist to this day)—as being the consequence of keeping the law.
• Only now begin the Evangelical in­struction proper, in the way that Jesus Christ Himself began it i. e. by announcing repentance and consolation, and the ap­proach of the Kingdom of Heaven. Try to lead them to a feeling of repentance or of something nearly akin to it. This can be ac­complished by convincing them that they will inevitably be punished for disregard­ing the law written within their hearts, in this life and the next, or if not in this life, so much more heavily, and for all eternity, in the next; that no one can, of his own power, escape these punishments, etc.

Here thou shouldst shape thy speech so as to arouse in them a certain dread of the future; and when thou shalt have brought them into this frame of mind, then do thou announce to them Jesus Christ, the Savior, Redeemer and Hope of all men, to give them comfort.

Note. To bring souls to a state of repentance and contrition is one of the preacher’s most difficult tasks. But this condition is one of the most im­portant factors in the work of con­version; it is as the ploughed up soil, ready to receive the seed of Christ­ianity, which then can sink into the very depth of the heart, and, with the later assistance of grace, can bear abundant fruit.

When thou anouncest the Savior to a sinner who feels guilty before the law, thou dost suddenly and with­out any persuasion thereto implant ’ in him the love of this Savior, Whom as yet he does not know. And one who has in this manner learned to love Christ, will love Him all the more when he does know Him, and will believe all that He said and all that thou shalt say about Him. It will then be easy for thee preach to unfold all the mysteries of our salva­tion, and for those who listen to thee in such a disposition of mind to receive them.

• Having demonstrated the necessity of the redemption of the human race and shown the greatness of God’s love towards men, thou shalt tell of the coming into the world of the promised Redeemer,—of His birth before the ages from the Father (this will be the time and place to touch on the mystery of the Holy Trinity),—of the in­carnation, nativity, and earthly life of Jesus Christ, of His teaching, sufferings, and death, of the resurrection of the dead (in which all American savages believe in their own peculiar way),—of the future life, and the retribution to be dealt to the good and the wicked, according to their deeds.
• Lastly shalt thou tell them that Jesus Christ, during His life on earth, had many disciples, out of whom He chose twelve, imparting to them a special grace and power, and whom he sent forth into the world, to preach the Gospel unto all creation; —tell them how all that these chosen ones taught, and all’ that Jesus commanded is recorded in their writings, which have come down to us, and which are known to nearly all the nations of the earth.—and how all good and simple-mind­ed men to whom it has been given to hear their teachings, have received them with joy and have followed, and are following, in His steps. Tell them that such men are usually called Christians, and that those among them who have strictly kept the commandments of Jesus Christ have become Saints, and the bodies of many among them have reposed these many centuries exempt from corruption etc.

After this (on no account before), thou mayest make them an offer, and ask them whether they should like to join those who believe in Jesus Christ and hope to obtain through Him eternal salvation, blessedness, etc., etc. This instruction will be sufficient at first for such as have not before heard the word of saving truth.

13. In expounding matters concerning the faith, thou shouldst express thyself with deliberation, clearness, precision, and, as far as possible, concisely; otherwise thy preaching will have but poor success. In imparting the teaching of Jesus Christ it is not necessary to expatiate too much; i. e. thou shouldst not repeat all that He said, but only say that the entire doctrine of Christ is comprised in this: that we repent, believe in Him, and have towards Him and all men a feeling of pure, disinterested love. In confirmation of His teaching, thou mayest briefly mention His miracles.
14. When thou shalt see that thy hearers have understood thee, and when they express a wish to be counted among the flock of Christ, then tell them: a) of the conditionst upon which they may be admitted among the faithful; b) of Holy Baptism, as the mystic means of regeneration through water and the Spirit, which opens the new Christian life, and of the other Sacraments as the means of receiving the grace of Jesus Christ; and, c) of the manner after which he should live, who aims at being a true Christian and, consequently, at obtaining all the fruits of salvation.

• The conditions upon which one who wishes to become a disciple of Jesus Christ may be admitted; are the following: 1).—he must renounce his former creed, give up Shamanism and not listen to the Shamans; 2).—he must not observe any customs contrary to Christianity; 3).—he must agree to perform all things that shall be demanded of him by the new law and the Church; 4).—he must confess his sins.
• Those who are willing and desirous to fulfil all the above named conditions must be told that entering the Christian fold is a great and important act, which must be performed solemnly, the neophyte renouncing in the presence of witnesses all that is opposed to Christianity, pledging himself to be a disciple of Christ and con­firming all this by receiving holy Baptism, which is at once the visible token of having entered the community of Christians, the means of purifying the soul from sins, and the door for the reception of the other gifts, or means for imparting the grace of God in other words—the Sacraments of Holy Church, which should here be explained.

This also is the time for explaining the importance and dignity of the holy Cross and the virtue of the sign of the cross; also the reason for the reverence which the Church pays to the holy icons, and her beneficent intent in so doing.

Note In speaking of icons, it might be advisable to mention, among other things, that, for the unlettered, they supply the place of books, etc.

• As regards the instruction about how a Christian should conduct himself, it is best not to go into too much detail at first, but merely say that whoever wants to be a true Christian i. e. a disciple of Jesus Christ, and to profit by all the gifts which the Re­demption has brought to man, should, 1), with faith, hope and love, give himself up to Jesus Christ; and, 2), imitate him in all things, i. e. try, as as far possible, always to act as He acted. Here Christ’s virtues as described in the Gospel should be briefly touched upon, so that the neophyte may understand exactly how he ought to act.

Note. For instance: Jesus Christ forgave His enemies, and we should do likewise.

15. Lastly it should be shown that no one, especially if he rely on himself and his own strength alone, can, without divine assistance, be a true disciple of Christ, and that if Jesus Christ, out of His
    great love towards men, had not granted us His help, no one ever could become a true follower of His; but that now every one who wishes for it may receive assistance from Him. This assistance is the Holy Spirit, Which is given for the asking, and is to be obtained chiefly through prayer. And prayer is a turning of the heart towards God with submission, faith and hope. We can pray at all times and in all places; but divine grace and help are especially near when we ask for them in the prayers of the Church,
16. Such a course of instruction is sufficient for new converts. Further Christian instruction—as an extensive and more spiritual interpretation of the ten commandments, etc., expounding the words of Christ written down in the Gospel, the teachings of the Apostles, and (in part), the traditions of the Holy Fathers—such instruction cannot be called elementary and offers spiritual nourishment not fit for
    infants in the faith, but for the maturer, or at least for those who are growing up in Christianity.

 

 

Russian Orthodox American Messenger, Vol. III, No. 20, 15–27 October 1899, pp. 534–43

 

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