Christian Holiness as a Revelation of God’s Holiness

Na osnovi toga da su kršćani rod izabrani, narod sveti koji je pozvan da objavljuje τας αρετάς – vrline Onoga koji nas dozva iz tame autor razmatra određene aspekte svetosti s gledišta predaje Pravoslavne Crkve. Nakon kratkoga uvoda, koji podsjeća da je svetost konačna afirmacija vječnoga čovjekovog postojanja kao neponovljive osobe, iznose se pojedina opća razmišljanja o svetosti kao teocentričnom pojmu, ali se i utvrđuje svojevrsni povijesni razvoj toga pojma, kao i pridavanje novih sadržaja tom pojmu. U apostolskom i postapostolskom razdoblju pojam sveti odnosio se na svakoga člana Crkve, a posebno na svakoga sudionika euharistijskoga slavlja. U razdoblju poslije progona pojam se sužava na neke, istaknute i izuzetne, članove Crkve. Također se primjećuje i prostorno pomicanje svetosti iz parohijskoga hrama u manastir i pustinju, a osobito, kako autor ističe analizirajući teoriju o posvećenju, pomicanje svetosti iz naosa u oltar hrama, odnosno s laosa na kler. Iako teorija o posvećenju nije nikada u potpunosti zaživjela u Pravoslavnoj Crkvi, njezine su posljedice vidljive i danas. One su terminološke prirode, u slavenskim se Crkvama članovi naroda Božjega nazivaju svjetovnjacima, prisutna je pasivizacija laika u crkvenom, naročito bogoslužnom životu. Iskustvo je Pravoslavne Crkve da postoji ontološka razlika samo u odnosu kršteni i nekršteni, ali ne i u Tijelu Kristovu u kojem su svi sveti i služitelji Gospodinu svomu. Utvrđujući tu svojevrsnu ekleziološku dekadenciju, u nastavku autor razmatra doprinosi li, možda, suvremeni, postmoderni mentalitet reafirmaciji svetosti kao jednoj zaboravljenoj viziji. U rezul-tatima nedavnih socioloških istraživanja može se primijetiti povratak svetoga u srpsko društvo. Međutim, autor upozorava da vrlo često visoki stupanj samoproglašene religioznosti ne znači i povratak na tradicionalno, u Crkvi utemeljeno, kršćanstvo. Taj se suvremeni mentalitet ispituje dvama temeljnim obilježjima svetosti, njezinim eshatološkim karakterom i njezinim zajedničarskim, koinonijskim, karakterom. U zaključnim razmatranjima iznosi se stav da suvremeni religijski mentalitet ne doprinosi reafirmaciji svetosti, kao što to ne čine ni ustaljeno mišljenje o svetima kao nadljudima s natprirodnim moćima i besprijekornom moralnom čistoćom. Svetost se u svom novozavjetnom značenju pojavljuje kao ispunjenje krsnih zavjeta aktivnim sudjelovanjem u svetoj euharistiji.Based on 1 Peter that the Christians are a chosen race, a holy nation called to proclaim τας αρετάς – the mighty acts of Him who called us out of darkness, the author discusses certain aspects of holiness or sanctity from the perspective of the tradition of the Orthodox Church. After a brief introduction which reminds that holiness is the final affirmation of the eternal human existence as a unique personality, the paper brings some generalities about holiness as a theocentric concept, but it also asserts a sort of historical development of the concept, as well as adding new content to the concept. During the apostolic and postapostolic period, the concept of holy pertained to each member of the Church, especially each participant in the Eucharistic communion. In the period after the prosecution, the concept was narrowed down from all to some, prominent and outstanding, members of the Church. Moreover, a spatial shifting of sanctity from the parish temple to the monastery and the desert can also be observed, and in particular, what author emphasizes by analyzing the theory of sanctification, the shifting of sanctity from the nave to the altar of the temple, that is to say, from the ‘λαός’ (the people of God) to the clergy. Although the theory of sanctification has never been fully actualized in the Orthodox Church, its consequences can be noticed even today. They are of terminological nature – that, in Slavic Churches, the members of the People of God are called seculars (mirjani), and the laity has been passivized in the life of the church, and especially in the liturgical life. The experience of the Orthodox Church is that ontological difference exists only in the relation baptized – unbaptized, but not within the Body of Christ where all are holy and servants of the Lord their God. By ascertaining this sort of ecclesiastical decadence, the author goes on and debates whether, perhaps, contemporary, postmodern mentality contributes to the reaffirmation of sanctity as a forgotten idea. The results of recent sociological study indicate »the return of the sacred« into the Serbian society. However, the author warns that very often a high degree of self-declared religiosity does not necessarily mean the return to the traditional, Church-based, Christianity. These modern mentalities are examined through two essential characteristics of sanctity: its eschatological character and its communal, ‘koinonian’, character. In the concluding thoughts, the author states that contemporary religious mentalities do not contribute to the reaffirmation of sanctity, and neither do customary beliefs about saints as super-human beings with supernatural powers and impeccable moral purity. Sanctity or holiness in its New Testament sense is revealed as the fulfillment of baptismal covenants through active participation in the Holy Eucharist