The hero of this article is the miter archpriest Nikolai Balashov. The life and biography of this priest will be told in several chapters of the text.
Head Priest
First of all, it is worth saying a few words about who an archpriest is and what the concept of "mitred" means.
In the Orthodox Christian tradition, it is customary to reward some priests who have particularly distinguished themselves in their church activities with special titles and awards. One of these rewards for exemplary service is the rank of archpriest. Translated from Greek, this word means "senior clergyman".
This rank is usually given to a person who has been in church service for more than ten years. In former times such priests were called "protopopes". One of the most famous persons in the history of Russia who bore such a dignity is Avvakum. Sometimes a person who has been awarded the right to wear a special pectoral cross becomes an archpriest. From this point on, at least five years must elapse. Ordination to the priesthood is called ordination and is performed by a bishop.
Headwear
Priests and archpriests can alsobe awarded the right to wear a church distinctive headdress - a mitre. This item of clothing also symbolizes the royal crown, since the clergyman during the liturgy is a symbol of Jesus Christ, the king of the world.
On the other hand, this is a similarity of the crown of thorns, which was crowned with the head of the Savior during the crucifixion. A priest who has received the right to wear it is called a miter. The archpriest is usually the rector of a church. If the right to wear a miter is given to the hegumen of the monastery, who is a monk, then such a person usually receives the rank of archimandrite. And the monastery he leads is called archimandria in such cases.
Begin biography
The hero of this article, Balashov Nikolai Vladimirovich, was born in the fifties of the twentieth century. He embarked on the path of serving the church not at a young age, but went to this decision for quite a long time.
Nikolai Balashov received one of his several higher educations at Moscow State University, where he graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry. In the eighties, he had to work at a construction site. At that time, he already felt that his true calling was not at all in this, so he studied the Holy Scriptures and the heritage of the holy fathers.
Ordination to the priesthood
At the end of the eighties, when many residents of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics paid attention to religion, the future miter archpriest Nikolai Balashov became a reader in one ofcathedrals. After several years of diligent service, he was ordained a deacon, and then a priest.
Activity of Archpriest Nikolai Balashov: works and publications
This priest is known not only for his numerous appearances in programs devoted to the Orthodox faith on radio and television, but also for his work in various church organizations, such as the Committee for International Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Committee for Public Relations, etc. Further. Nikolai Balashov is also the rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word in Moscow. He is also famous for his translation activities. In particular, Nikolai Balashov adapted the works of one of the American theologians into Russian.
On the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian priest Nikolai Vladimirovich Balashov in an interview spoke about his attitude to the possibility of adapting some church traditions to the requirements of the modern environment and spoke about the opinion of the Russian Orthodox Church on this matter, which is considered official. Father Nikolay, making these statements, backs them up with quotations from such saints, authoritative for Christianity, as St. Philaret of Moscow, who was one of the people contributing to the development of eldership in Optina Hermitage.
Nikolay Balashov said that the attitude of the Orthodox Church towards tradition has always been very careful. In his opinion, and according to the canons of Orthodoxy, the main provisions of the tradition cannotbe questioned and should not change under the influence of fashion trends, economic realities and the political life of the country.
On the language of church worship
However, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov believes that some circumstances relating to church services can be somewhat improved in accordance with the needs of modern people. For example, the language of worship can be replaced by modern Russian. But there is no need to hurry with the implementation of such a transfer.
This precedent has already taken place. It was completed at the end of the nineteenth century, when the first synodal translation of the books of Holy Scripture was made. Then, according to Father Nikolai, the text, which was adapted to the conditions of the modern Russian language at that time, lost its relevance after a short time due to the fact that some words and expressions soon became outdated. In addition, the translation of worship has both pluses and minuses. The undeniable advantage is that such a reform will lead to a greater influx of people into the church. This means that many will have the opportunity to join the saving word of God.
At the same time, you need to think about those people who are not new to Orthodoxy. They may perceive the transition to new texts rather painfully due to the fact that many years ago they learned the words of prayers in Church Slavonic. Therefore, any such step must be repeatedly thought out and taken consciously. In matters relating to the foundations of the Orthodoxcreeds, no reform action should be taken.
Besides, Father Nikolai Balashov also mentioned that the language of services had already been changed several times. And modern prayers that are read in churches differ significantly from those of their variants that were used under the holy reverends Cyril and Methodius. Therefore, the leadership of the church in the old days also did not exclude the possibility of changes in the texts of the liturgies, unless, of course, such actions are justified and necessary.
About family life
Mitred Bishop Nikolai Balashov also repeatedly touched upon questions about the family life of believers. For example, correspondents often asked about the attitude of the church towards contraceptive measures. Nikolai Balashov admits the possibility of using non-abortive contraceptives in some situations. When spouses do not want to have children because of selfish motives, this is one thing, but when, for example, a woman’s he alth does not allow her to give birth to a child at the moment, this is quite another.
One of the most important points regarding this topic is the following problem: is marriage possible between people of different religions?
On this occasion, Nikolai Balashov, referring to the words of the holy fathers, says that if the husband is a believer and the wife is not, then the woman in this case has a chance to come to the Orthodox faith through the religious beliefs of her husband. Therefore, the church does not protest in any way.against such marriages.
According to the words of the holy apostles…
The same can be said about the case when the husband is an atheist or another confession. Not only should a wife not upset an existing marriage because of this, but one should not be afraid of marrying such a person. On this occasion, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul said that you need to try to bring your other half to the correct religious understanding of life.
The next rather sensitive question that Archpriest Nikolai Balashov sometimes has to cover is whether some clergy are doing the right thing by refusing to give communion to people living in a marriage that is not approved by a church wedding. To this, he says the following: in the past there were two types of marriage - church through a wedding and secular - through documentary acts specified by law.
Both types were fully recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church as valid. Of course, the sacrament of the wedding is necessary for a married couple to receive the necessary grace of God, which descends on the husband and wife during the ceremony. However, in cases where one of the spouses is not a believer or belongs to another religion, such a sacrament is not possible.
However, the church also recognizes such families and does not condemn the people who are in them. There were also times when marriage required only a few public expressions of your desire to enter into it with a certain person. In such casesthe church also recognized as husband and wife people who entered into an alliance in this way.
