What traits of humanity characterize the image of God. The most important features of the image of God in man

Image of God- the spiritual foundation of the human personality, directly created and reflecting such properties of the Creator as, freedom, the ability to create, etc. The image of God in man is the similarity of man with his Prototype - God.

The spiritual and creative realization of the possibilities destined by the Image of God, the fathers and teachers of the Church associate with the concept of " likeness of God”, meaning the free and responsible assimilation of man to Divine perfection. The image of God gives a person the opportunity, but the free will of the human is required so that through freedom and, with the decisive role of grace, this opportunity is realized.

In what case can the terms "image of God" and "likeness of God" be used as synonyms?

The image of God in man means those features that reflect the Divine perfections. These features are inherent in man by nature (by nature). Among them are: the possession of reason, will, the ability to love, to show justice, mercy, etc.

The meaning of the expression "likeness of God" is used in theology, as a rule, in a different sense. The assimilation of a person to God is expressed in the acquisition of virtue, holiness. Likeness to God implies the disclosure of the features of the image of God, but such a disclosure that corresponds to the calling and destiny of man. For example, if a person uses his mind and will for evil, this does not lead him to likeness to God. Another thing is if he directs them to .

However, the expression "likeness of God" can be used (understood) in a different meaning, close in meaning to the expression "image of God". In this understanding: to be the image of God means to be like Him. That is, if we say that a person is the image of God, implying that he reflects the perfections of the Creator in himself, then the expression “man is like God” (similar to those that reflect Divine perfections in themselves) can also be used in the same sense.

On the pages of Holy Scripture, the concepts of “in the image” and “in the likeness” are found together in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: “And God said: let us make man in our image [and] in our likeness” ().

« For you must have the same feelings that were in Christ Jesus» ().
« And we have the mind of Christ» ().

And God said: Let us make man

in our image and after our likeness...

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

All of us have ever, starting from childhood, wondered about our origin. We saw the world harmoniously arranged around us, and having judged clearly, we understood that it had a Creator. We also see the harmonious dispensation of a person, because having opened a biology textbook, we will clearly see that in the human body there is not a single superfluous organ, not a single extra cell, everything in the human body has a strictly its own function and this translates into harmony. Hearing the voice of our conscience, we also understood that a person consists not only of the body, but also of the soul and spirit, which is the highest part of the soul and it constantly strives for God. We draw this knowledge from the Holy Scriptures, where in the book of Genesis we get a much more important knowledge - man is not just created by God along with animals, but created in the image and likeness of God. What is it - the image and likeness of God, what is it, and what is the difference between them?

The image of God in a person is the essence of his soul, it is in its many different properties and forces: in the immortality of the human spirit, in the mind, capable of knowing the truth and striving for God, for good, in free will, autocracy, in dominion over the earth and over everything that exists on it, in the creative forces. I would like to emphasize the close connection between the properties of God and the gifts given from the Creator to our souls, which are reflections of His perfections, for example, God is eternal - and man has an eternal, indestructible existence, God is wise - and man is given reason, God is the King of heaven and earth - and a person has a royal dignity in the world, God is the Creator - and a person has the ability to create - all this is a manifestation of the image of God in a person, which is given to all people without exception and is indelible in them. It can be defiled, smeared with sinful dirt, but it is impossible to completely erase it from a person.

The likeness of God in a person is his ability to direct the forces of his soul to become like God, this is the opportunity given by the Creator to a person to become godlike through his free personal efforts, which lies in the spiritual perfection of a person, holiness and virtues, in the acquisition of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We should work on acquiring the likeness of God ourselves, thereby realizing the ability of the will given to us by God. Achieving godlikeness is the goal of human life. If a person strives with all his might for goodness and truth, for the truth of God, then he becomes the likeness of God, but if a person loves himself, does evil, is at enmity, lies, cares only about earthly goods, relying in this purely on his own strength, and also caring only about his body, forgetting about his soul, then such a person ceases to be God's likeness, and is completely likened to animals and an evil spirit - the devil. Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom in their numerous works call the state of god-likeness deification, when a person lives not according to human standards, but according to Divine commandments. Then he becomes not an instrument of his own passions, desires, sinful inclinations and thoughts, but an instrument in the hands of God, then the grace of God begins to shine through him and spread to other people; he remains a man, but his every word and every thought, his every action becomes permeated with Divine grace and Divine presence.

But what is the difference between the image and likeness of God? This can be well seen in the relationship between parents and children, because the Lord is our Heavenly Father, and therefore the relationship of a person with God is similar to the relationship of children with their parents. We know perfectly well that children are always the image of their parents, but the likeness is far from always. This image contains the main properties of human nature, which parents pass on to their children: the child also has two arms, two legs, two ears, etc., but the likeness of parents is not given to a child from birth - it must be acquired in the process of life and upbringing. By likeness we should understand the positive personal qualities of the parents. When a child becomes as kind, wise, magnanimous, generous and pious as his parents, then we can say that he became like them, acquired their likeness. And of course, he must strive in every possible way to acquire such a positive likeness.

In the same way, we need to constantly strive to acquire the likeness of our Heavenly Father, which was lost by our forefathers - Adam and Eve through the fall, because before that they had both the image and likeness of God in themselves. But later they preserved only the image of the Creator, which each of us has today. All their offspring, that is, the entire human race no longer has a likeness, but it is vital to strive for it, and the Lord Himself, seeing only the intention of a person, will never refuse help and in every possible way direct him to the right path. Indeed, without likeness, communion with God is impossible, and if we do not become like the Lord, then we become like the enemy of the human race - the devil, since a person cannot stand in his spiritual development - he either moves upward towards God, or falls down to sin and death. We can find the most important signs of similarity in the Gospel: this is love for enemies, purity of heart, humility, mercy and all other Christ's commandments, and those who observe them will certainly restore the likeness of God lost in themselves and become true children of God, kindred in spirit Heavenly Father. They enter into the heavenly family of God, and all the holy celestials who please God become their brothers and sisters. Let us strive to enter this heavenly family for us too, so that we too may be worthy of their grace, their kinship with God, their enduring heavenly glory. Amen.

The theme of the image and likeness of God is one of the central ones in Christian anthropology. To a greater or lesser extent, all ancient church writers tried to reveal this topic. Even Plato said that God "minted" living beings "according to the nature of the prototype." And Philo of Alexandria called man "created in the image of an ideal archetype."

We are not aware of any voluminous works devoted to this topic. However, many holy fathers paid due attention to it. This topic does not lose its relevance and usefulness in our time. The decline of morality and piety in society testifies to a person's elementary ignorance of what potential is laid in him by the creator, what is his purpose in the world. This is where modern society can be helped by Christian culture, the Christian faith, which, unlike all other ideologies and religions, clearly defines the role and place of man in the universe.

And in this work we will try to give a brief sketch of what the holy fathers meant by the terms "image" and "likeness" of God in man.

The Greek word for "image" (eikon, hence "icon") means "portrait" or "image", i.e. something created according to the model and having a resemblance to the image, although not identical to the latter in nature (5:68). The sacred writer about the creation of man tells: "And God said: let us make man in our image and after our likeness ... And God created man, in the image of God create him: male and female make them" (Gen.I, 26-27).

What is the image of God in us? Church teaching only inspires us that man in general is created "in the image," but it does not indicate which part of our nature this image manifests in itself. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church gave different answers to this question: some saw it in reason, others in free will, and still others in immortality. If you combine their thoughts, then you get a complete idea of ​​what the image of God is in a person, according to the instructions of St. Fathers (6;83).

But, first of all, the image of God must be seen only in the soul, and not in the body. God, by His nature, is the purest Spirit, and not clothed in any body and not participating in any materiality. Therefore, the concept of the image of God can only apply to the immaterial soul: many Fathers of the Church consider it necessary to make this warning (6:83).

A person bears the image of God in the highest properties of the soul, especially in its immortality, in free will, in reason, in the ability to pure selfless love. Here is what St. Grigory Nyssa: “Divine beauty is not in external features, not in a pleasant face salary and does not shine with good color, but is seen in the inexpressible bliss of virtue… and, accordingly, they express similarity, so that the beauty of the original is accurately depicted in the list, so imagine that our Creator, as if by imposing some colors, i.e. virtues, blossomed the image to the likeness with his own beauty, in order to show in us his own These colors of the image with which he paints the true image are many-looking and different, as it were, purity, dispassion, bliss, estrangement from all that is evil, and everything with this is homogeneous, which depicts the likeness of the Divine in man. nature" (2; 7). And according to St. Gregory Palamas, man is more in the image of God than angels, because his spirit, united with the body, has a life-giving power with which he animates his body and controls it. This is the ability that angels, incorporeal spirits, do not have (7:212).

So, man appears before us as a miniature reflection of God on earth (4:63). In the Six Days, St. Basil the Great develops in detail his teaching about the image of God in man. In this teaching, man appears as a geocentric being, whose entire being is called upon to reflect the divine life, and who is created in the image and likeness of God. At the same time, man is a "microcosm", as it were, he collects, generalizes (in patristic terminology - recapitulates) in himself the whole created world, the center and crown of which he is called to be (8; 157).

Now let's take a closer look at what properties of the soul, according to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, are the image (or, it would be more correct to say, reflect) of God in man.

Features of the image of God St. The Fathers saw in the rational-spiritual nature of man as "reasonable beings." "Our mind ... is related to God, it serves as a mental image of Him," says Origen. “We are created in the image of the Creator, we have the mind and the word, which constitute the perfection of our nature,” writes St. Basil the Great (5;68). The same is written by St. Gregory of Nyssa: "The Godhead is the mind and the word, for "in the beginning was the word" (John 1:1) and the prophets, according to Paul, have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), speaking in them (2 Cor. 13, 3. Not far from this is human nature. You see in yourself both the word and the mind, the likeness of the true Mind and Word "(2; 6). The human mind makes his will conscious and truly free, because he can choose for himself not what his lower nature leads him to, but what corresponds to his highest dignity. Therefore, the next thing in which the Holy Fathers see the image of God in man is free will and the ability to choose. God created man absolutely free: according to His love. He does not want to force him to do either good or evil. God is an absolutely free and infinitely perfect being, and man is free in choosing and directing his actions, and the highest goal of human activity is striving for perfection (4;63).

Only being free can a person become like God through love for Him. St. Gregory of Nyssa said: "God is also love and the source of love," says the great John: "there is love from God, and God is love" (1 John 4:7,8). "Everyone understands this, that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).

God is an Eternal Being, and our soul is immortal, for the spiritual is indestructible by the continuation of being. Thus, Tatian calls man "the image of God's immortality." In addition to immortality, they also talk about the dominant position of man in nature, about his inherent desire for good as features of the image of God. St. Macarius the Great says that God created the soul "in the image of the virtue of the Spirit, putting into it the laws of virtues, prudence, knowledge, prudence, faith, love and other virtues, in the image of the Spirit" (5:69).

And, finally, a person's ability to be creative is a reflection of the creative ability of the Creator himself. God is the "doer": "My Father is still working, and I am working," says Christ (John 5:7). Man is also commanded to "cultivate" paradise (Gen. 2:15); to work in it, to process it. Man cannot create ex nihilo ("from nothing"), but he can create from material created by the Creator.

Is there a difference between the image and likeness of God? Some combine these two concepts into one, as, for example, we saw in St. Gregory of Nyssa. And some St. The Fathers distinguish "image" from "likeness", noting that the image is what the Creator originally put into a person, and the likeness is what was to be achieved as a result of a virtuous life: "the expression "in the image" means reasonable and endowed with free will , and the expression "according to the likeness" means assimilation through virtue, as far as possible" (St. John of Damascus). A person must realize all his abilities in “cultivating” the world, in creativity, in virtue, in love, in order to become like God through this, for “the limits of a virtuous life are likeness to God,” as St. Gregory of Nyssa (5;69).

Summing up our work, we note once again that by the image of God we understand the mind, free will, love and immortality given to us by God. And under the likeness of God one must understand the ability of a person to direct the forces of his soul to likeness to God - to improve in the pursuit of truth and goodness (9:136).

In humans, a single nature and a plurality of persons are visible. Philosophers call man a microcosm, as an image and likeness of the universe, but this is not the height and beauty of it, but that it is a partaker of the Divine fullness. Man is responsible for the cosmos, for the deification of all creation. Freely in love, a person chooses goodness and merges his will with the will of God, for in the union of wills is deification.

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As mentioned above, the most important features of the image of God in man are: freedom, immortality, creativity, dominion, intelligence, spirituality, conscience, love, virtue, striving for perfection, personality, etc. Let us consider them in more detail.

Liberty

Man is a free being. But, being initially free and realizing himself as such, a person understands that he is at the same time a non-free being. He is tied to the earth, he needs food, air, sleep, communication, he depends on external impressions, he needs God... Human freedom is antinomic. Since ancient times, people have been searching for the solution to the mystery of freedom. It is ajar in the divine Revelation in Holy Scripture at the very beginning of the book of Genesis. Immediately after the creation of man and woman, God gives them commandments and calls them to keep them (see: Gen. 1, 26–29). « 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 27 And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is in all the earth, and every tree bearing fruit of a tree yielding seed; - you [this] will be food; 30 But to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to every creeping thing on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I [gave] all herbs for food. And so it was."

In accordance with the design of his Creator, the primordial man had god-like freedom. Having unceasing personal communion with God and knowledge of His good will, Adam could freely carry out God's plan, partake of the Truth and do good. He had no internal or external obstacles to doing good. In the created world, neither the forces of nature, nor corruption, nor death, nor space, nor the elements of the world 20 prevented him. When Adam did good, his freedom was godlike.

However, the freedom of man, unlike the absolute freedom of God, is conditional. If a person consciously and freely strives to realize the will of God, then he receives for this both grace-filled forces and opportunities; if his choice deviates from the will of God, then the possibilities for realization decrease to the extent that the intention contradicts the will of God, to the point that it may become unrealizable - God will not allow it. But even after becoming a God-fighter, a person does not lose his freedom. He is always able to freely and consciously self-determine. When a person begins to realize his intention, the spiritual essence of the decision he has made immediately manifests itself, which he either implements with the help of God, or tries to implement it contrary to it, using the support of the devil.

Blzh. Augustine singled out two aspects in human freedom: freedom to want and freedom to be able, that is, freedom of personal desires and freedom of action. Rev. Maximus the Confessor distinguished freedom want at all And want anyway.

Summarizing the thought of the fathers, we can say that freedom (ἐλευθερία) understood by them in two ways.

1.Freedom of the individual (αὐτεξουσιότης) - is the ability of a person to consciously self-determine, to make a choice (προαίρεσις) and make a decision (κρίσις), not subject to external coercion or influence, but proceeding from the internal promptings of one's "I". Personal freedom is an inalienable gift of God, it was, is and will be for all people, and in this sense, a person always remains a free being in any situation. Even if a person disposes of his freedom unwillingly, God does not take it away, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable(Rom. 11:29). It is impossible for anyone to take away this freedom, which is why God has the right to judge people for all their actions, words and intentions. St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote: ANDso, since this is the distinguishing property of freedom, to freely choose what you want, then the culprit for you of real evils is not God, who arranged a non-slave and independent nature, but foolishness, choosing evil instead of good 21 .

2. Natural freedom It is an opportunity to freely exercise your free personal choice. God is the only being who is absolutely free in both personal and natural aspects. Man in this respect is always limited, for he is a created being. However, the degree of limitation depends on the measure of his holiness: the more a person's free will tends to implement the will of God and is identified with it, the more opportunities he has in terms of realizing his personal freedom, and vice versa. Clement of Alexandria says that for a person perfect in Christ, desire and doing are inseparable, therefore he is free, for he has nothing that he would desire and could not accomplish: ANDeat and be able (at the perfect. - W. L.) – It is the same. This comes through exercise and purification. And others (imperfect. - W. L.), although they cannot, they have a desire 22.

Natural freedom is found only in God. She is a gift of grace. This idea was succinctly and clearly stated by the apostle Paul: Gthe Lord is Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom(2 Cor. 3:17). The complete loss of natural freedom will be in hell after the Last Judgment, where a person, not having lost personal freedom, will be completely powerless to carry out his intentions, and this will be one of the causes of eternal torment.

3. Freedom and responsibility. Freedom is a great gift and calling, but its realization imposes a huge responsibility on a person and is fraught with many dangers. You are called to freedom, brethren, so long as your freedom is not an occasion for [pleasing] the flesh, but serve one another with love,” the Apostle Paul instructs (Gal. 5:13). Freedom is inextricably linked with responsibility not only before God, who granted it and thus exalted man, but also before other people, and before the whole created world, which "absorbs" the fruits of the use of human freedom, both good and negative.

4. Freedom and love. Man was created by God to live with Him in love. But this original destiny, which allows a person to be a partaker of eternal bliss, can only be fulfilled by a free being, for love is possible only where there is freedom. Man was created free to be able to love.

5. Freedom and will. Freedom is a characteristic of a person's personality. Impersonal beings and elements (animals, plants, forces of nature, etc.) do not have freedom. Will (θέλημα) is the natural tool of the individual to realize his goals. The freedom of the individual is realized in the natural aspect through the will, therefore, in everyday speech, the words “freedom” and “will” are often combined in the expression “free will”. In the theological context, this expression denotes the personal free self-determination of a person and the implementation of his decision, that is, we are talking about a person both in personal and in natural aspects.

Rev. Maximus the Confessor teaches 23 that the will there is a natural force striving for what is in accordance with nature, a force that embraces all the essential properties of nature 24.

6. Freedom and grace. Almighty God never tramples on human freedom. For if you take it away from a person, it will already be some other creature that is not capable of fulfilling the divine destiny of a person. Therefore, the interaction of God and man, the divine will and the human one, takes place freely and in harmony. This type of relationship in theology is called the principle of synergy(from the Greek συνεργία - "cooperation, assistance"). It means that the spiritual growth of a person is possible only with his voluntary cooperation with God. A person turns to God for help and seeks to fulfill His will, and God gives him His love and grace, which is necessary for transformation. In this case, grace becomes the inner spiritual strength of a person, and he becomes capable of spiritual growth. Both independent human efforts and divine calls without mutual consent cannot lead to the final goal - the deification of man. In the Holy Scriptures, this principle is formulated in the simple words of the Savior: TOthat abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing(John 15:5). The Mother of God showed the highest example of synergy when She answered the appeal of the Archangel Gabriel: WITHe, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word(Luke 1:38). Without Her consent, the holy fathers note, it was impossible for the Incarnation of God the Word to take place. The meek answer of the Virgin opened the door to eternal life for all mankind.

Orthodoxy is alien to extremes in understanding the interaction of free will and grace. It does not allow the idea that a person can achieve spiritual perfection outside of God, but just as categorically denies the idea of ​​the irresistible influence of grace, regardless of the personal will of a person and his moral efforts.

Did Adam know good and evil before the fall? With regard to Adam, the holy fathers are unanimous in that he knew both good and evil before the fall, but the nature of this knowledge was different. St. John Chrysostom wrote: Hdon't say that he didn't know what is good and what is evil 25. Adam knew good from personal experience (for he knew God - the highest Good), and he knew about evil theoretically, for God revealed to him what the consequences of violating His commandment would be - you will die the death- but what evil is, he did not yet experience, did not partake of it. St. Basil the Great says: Aladies did not know the evil one experienced 26. Therefore, primitive man could distinguish between good and evil, based not on his own experience, but on the moral feeling that God had originally invested in him. Rev. Macarius of Egypt remarks: Hman(before the fall. - W. L.) able to distinguish passions… 27 . However, he did not use this ability to discern properly. As a result, knowledge of evil for a person from a theoretical one has become personal and experienced, a source of sorrows and tears.

At the heart of Christian anthropology, as its central and basic idea, is the doctrine of man as image of God(Zenkovsky. 1993, p. 39). This teaching elevates a person unusually high in relation to other creatures created by God - not only animals, but even angels.

According to the biblical word "man is created in the image of God" (Genesis 9:6). But it is often said and written that man was created in the image and likeness God's. At the same time, they refer to the following biblical statement: "When God created man, in the likeness of God created him, he created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name: man, on the day of their creation" (Gen. 5, 1-2 ). But this biblical place is not independent and self-sufficient, it tries to retell the act of human creation, which is described in detail in the very first chapter of Genesis.

So, let's turn to the original biblical text: "And God said: let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all creeping things, creeping things on the earth. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:26-28). That is, God really planned to create man both in his own image and in his own likeness (Genesis 1:26), but in reality man was created only in the image. This has a deep symbolic meaning, which many Sts. fathers and about which we will talk a little further.

And according to the New Testament tradition, man "is the image and glory of God" (1 Cor. 11:7). Moreover, every Christian must relate to the image of Christ: “To those who love God, who are called according to His will, everything works together for good. 8, 28-29).

It is important to compare the biblical teaching about Adam and Christ. Adam is the forefather of all living, which, of course, determines the especially respectful attitude of all people towards him (in near-Christian literature, he was considered the most perfect person - a "white magician" who owns the forces of nature). But somehow they forget that it was through the first people that sin entered the world, and that the whole history of the human fall into sin begins precisely with Adam and Eve. As it is written in the New Testament: "in Adam all die" (1 Cor. 15:22). And further, about Adam: "by one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin" (Rom. 5:12).

Therefore, Adam and Christ are often compared and contrasted:

- "The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As the earthly, such are the earthy; and as the heavenly, such are the heavenly. And just as we bore the image of the earth, we will also wear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor. 15 , 47-49);

- "If by the transgression of one many were subjected to death, how much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, abound for many" (Rom. 5:15).

Christ "is the image of the invisible God" (2 Cor. 4:4). He "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" (Col. 1:15). He, "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians 2:6). He, "being the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis, and holding everything by the word of His power, having accomplished the cleansing of our sins by Himself, sat down at the right hand (throne) of the Majesty on high ..." (Heb. 1, 3).

As a result, it is not surprising when Christian writers often directly compare the image of God with Jesus Christ:

“For first the Father said to the Son: Let us make man in Our image and likeness(Gen. 1:26). And God created man– exactly what was created by Him, – and created him in the image of God, that is, in the image of Christ" (Tertullian, 1994, p. 193);

- "The image of God is the Son, in whose image man also originated. Therefore, He also appeared in the last time to show the likeness of the human image with Himself" (Christ: Irenaeus of Lyons. 1996, p. 579); "The Word of God became man, likening Himself to man and man to Himself, so that through likeness to the Son man might become more precious to the Father" (ibid., p. 480);

- "one soul is [created] in the image of one Deity, and the combination of soul and body in us is [created] in the likeness of the Incarnation of the Word" (Anastasius Sinai, 1998, p. 95); and in another place: "When I see a man created by God, and also see the divine, inexpressible and life-giving breath breathed by God into that earthy and material body, then this imprint [of God] I think only [created] in the image For the inhalation from [God's] mouth foreshadowed the existence of God the Word, and the entry [of this breath] into the dust [prefigured] His true indwelling in the flesh, I mean [destined] in the image, and not in equality with Who has become an immutable Man, Who has a complex, single and inseparable Person, and also consists simultaneously of the Divine and humanity" (Anastasius of Sinai. 1999, No. 1 (19), p. 75-76);

- "God, with one of His Faces, assumed His image upon Himself: became human" (Ignatius (Brianchaninov). On the Image... 1993, p.133).

This idea was inherent in such ancient church writers as, for example, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius the Great, Anastasius Sinai, John of Damascus, Nicholas Cabasilas. An analysis of their points of view and a generalization of this problem is entirely devoted to the work of P. Yu. Malkov "The Patristic Teaching on the Creation of Man in the Image of the Son of God" (Malkov. 2000).

Thus, in order for a person to be an image of the divine Prototype, Jesus Christ must be depicted in him (Gal. 4, 19).

And here we can make a few terminological remarks. First, from this point of view, it is necessary to distinguish between the "image of God" and "in the image of God": only Jesus Christ is the "image of God", while man is not actually the image of God, as is often said and written, he is only created " in the image of God." As he wrote about this blessing. Augustine: "and we are the image (imago) of God, although not equal [to the Father], and not born of the Father, like He, for we are made in the image from the Father through the Son. We are the image, because we are enlightened by the light; He - image, because He is the Light that shines. He, having no pattern for Himself, Himself is a pattern (exemplum) for us" (Augustin. 2004, p. 170-171). And further: "as far as we know God, we are similar to Him, but similar [we are] not up to equality, for we do not know Him as much as He is Himself" (ibid., p. 217).

Secondly, it is necessary to speak separately about the concepts prototype And archetype. The last of these is often used in the Western Christian and non-Christian tradition. There it became almost everyday and, in any case, commonly used. There has been an underestimation of the meaning of the term itself and the contexts in which it is used (especially in the analytical psychology of Carl Jung and the so-called archetypal psychology). To dissociate from these "innovations", it would be possible to use, in addition to the Russian concept itself, not the term archetype, but prototype(prototipos), which actually is literally a "prototype, prototype" (Christian: Hilarion (Alfeev). 1996, p. 68).

Thirdly, the question arises, what is a person created according to the divine Prototype? He is an image icon, for this Greek word just means something created according to the prototype of the prototype and having a resemblance to it, although not identical to the latter in nature (ibid., p. 68).

This idea is confirmed by an appeal to the biblical, Old Testament text. The original meaning of the Hebrew word " goal" (image) - shadow. A shadow is something that correlates primarily with the object itself, which casts this shadow. Thus, the biblical narrative about God's desire to create man in his own image (Genesis 5:1-2) can be understood as God's intention to create a being as evidence of Himself, a being that, in the realm of the sensual world, certified, pointed to the existence of the Creator (Bogorodsky. 1903, No. 1, pp. 56-57).

From this point of view, it is important that a person reflects in himself the fullness of God. This is according to the blessed. Augustine is expressed in the creation of man in the image not only of the Son, but of the entire Holy Trinity. Interpreting the biblical story of the creation of man, he wrote: "Divine words: rather, they should be taken in the sense in which this saying is understood not in the singular, but in the plural, namely, that man was created in the image not of one Father, or one Son, or one Holy Spirit, but of the whole Trinity. And the Trinity is such that it is one God; on the other hand, God is one, so that He is a Trinity. Indeed, He does not say to the Son, "Let us make man in thy image," or "in my image," but says in the plural: in our image and likeness; and who dares to separate the Holy Spirit from this multiplicity? But since this plurality is not three Gods, but one God, it is precisely for this reason, one must think, that Scripture is further expressed in the singular and says: And God created man in the image of God; so that [these words] should not be understood as if God the Father [created man] in the image of God, that is, His Son: otherwise, how true is it said: in our image if man was created in the image of one Son? And as God said: in our image right, then the words: create god human in the image of God mean the same as if it were said: "in his own image"; which is the Trinity Itself" (Christian: Augustine. Ch. 7. 1893, p. 151).

But according to the blessed Augustine's idea of ​​the creation of man in the image of the Son does not in any way contradict the idea of ​​man as the image of the Trinity: "if pious faith instructs us (and this is precisely what it does) that the Son is like the Father in the equality of essence, then what is created in likeness of the Son, is also necessarily that which is created in the likeness of the Father" (Augustin. 2004, p. 263), and, continuing further, in the likeness of the Holy Spirit, and therefore of the entire Trinity (ibid.).

FEATURES OF THE IMAGE OF GOD

What exactly is the image of God in man? Different Christian writers have identified different features of the image of God, complementing and continuing each other:

– mind"is the image of God and knows God, and the only one of all that is in the world, if he wishes, becomes God" (Christian: Gregory Palamas. T. 3. 1993, p. 131); "there is uncreated nature, which created all the rest, great and small, and it undoubtedly surpasses those that it created, and therefore also the one we are talking about, i.e. rational and understanding (rationali et intellectuali) [nature ], which is the mind of man, created in the image of the One Who created him" (Augustin. 2004, p. 330); and further: “the mind is His image precisely because it is capable of comprehending God and being His partaker. Such a great good is not possible except through the fact that it is the image of God” (ibid., p. ); right in the mind Augustine saw the main difference between man and animals (ibid., p. 343);

- the image of God in man - intelligence And Liberty(Christian: John of Damascus, 1992, p. 201);

– Liberty in man is the image of God (Christian: Meyendorff, 1995, p. 49); Tertullian was one of the first and most consistent defenders of the correlation of the image of God with freedom, about which he spoke: “This is mainly that side of the soul in which I find the image and likeness of God. human, the one God expressed himself, but in the substance that comes from Him, i.e., in the soul, which He honored with freedom and will power "(quoted from: Ch. 2: Davydenko. 1908, p. 76);

- O immortality Tertullian, Augustine, Maximus the Confessor and many other saints wrote in detail as the image of God in man. fathers (Christian: Macarius (Bulgakov). T. 1. 1999, p. 455).

An interesting summary of Photius, Patr. Constantinople († 891) previous patristic opinions about what, in fact, should be understood by the image and likeness of God in man: 1) some saw the creation of man in the image of God in rationality and free will; 2) others in the pursuit of leadership and domination; 3) god-likeness also lies in the ability of a person to reproduce and create; 4) the spiritual life of a person in the ability to think and speak reflects the intra-trinic life of the Deity (Cyprian (Kern), 1996, p. 251).

According to the famous pre-revolutionary theologian, Metropolitan. Macarius (Bulgakov): "God, as a Spirit, also has the essential properties of the spirit - mind, freedom, and by its very nature is immortal: therefore, in particular, it is possible to believe the image of God, together with some teachers of the Church, in the mind of man; together with others - in his free will; together with others - in the indestructibility of his soul and immortality "(Christian: Macarius (Bulgakov). T. 1. 1999, p. 455).

Thus, summarizing the previous points of view, we can distinguish at least five main features of the image of God in man: rationality (thinking and speech), free will (freedom), immortality, dominion (domination) and creativity.

Let us say in more detail about the image of God as dominion (dominion) And creativity.

Here's what about the image of God dominion John Chrysostom wrote: "Having said: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness, God did not stop there, but in the following words he explained to us in what sense he used the word image. What does he say? And let them possess the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air... So, image He delivers in domination, and not in anything else ... God created man as the ruler of everything that exists on earth ... "(Christ.: John Chrysostom. T. 4. 1995, p. 62). With the same, according to John Chrysostom, the further biblical narrative is also connected: God, wanting to show Adam the dignity of his power, instructed him to give names to animals (ibid., p. 70).

A similar point of view was recorded in the materials of the First Ecumenical Council - in the "Cathedral refutation of the opinions of a philosopher named Phaedo, who defended the impious Arius and his blasphemy": "The creation of man in the image of God means his possession of all the earth. For, as God rules over over all the earth and over everything that is on it, so he made a person, as it were, the second ruler of the earth and everything that is on it "(Christian: Acts of the Ecumenical Councils. Vol. 1. 1996, p. 46).

“God in the beginning created man as the king of everything earthly, and not only earthly, but also that which is under the roof of heaven: for the sun, and the moon, and the stars were created for man” (Christian: Simeon the New Theologian. T. 2. 1993, p.144). But, because of the fall, man lost his original power: “The enemy, having deceived Adam, and thus dominating him, took away his power, and was himself called the prince of this world. Neither the fire overcame him, nor the water drowned him, nor the beast harmed him, nor the poison-bearing animal could have an effect on him" (Christ: Macarius of Egypt, 1998, p. 384).

Something similar can be found in the biographies of Christian saints - people who, by the grace of God, were cleansed from sin and became like Adam before the fall. Settling in the most remote places, they not only were not afraid of wild animals, but often commanded them: asps, birds, lions, wolves, bears, etc., as well as various natural elements and phenomena.

But power over external nature is not an end in itself, no less important from a Christian point of view is man's power over yourself: "the power granted to us over living beings prepares us for dominion over ourselves" (Vasily the Great. 1972, p.38). Namely: "It was given to you to rule over the fish, devoid of reason; thereby you became the master of blind passion ... You rule over every wild beast. But why, you say, wild animals sit in me myself? ... A wild beast anger appears when it cries out in your heart" (ibid., p. 38).

Many writers of the church spoke about the fact that a person is reasonable, free and gifted with various talents, but about creativity, as a special task, not many people said to a person (Theodoret of Kirr, Basil the Great, Anastasius of Sinai, John of Damascus, Basil of Seleucia). So, for example, the latter connected the dominion of man over nature with the co-creation of man with God: “Adam, by naming animals, you confirm your dominion. You imitate the dignity of the Builder. every animal, and they all approached Adam, thus recognizing their slave state... God says to Adam: "Be, Adam, the creator of names, since you cannot be the creator of the creatures themselves... We share with you the glory of creative wisdom"" (quoted in: Cyprian (Kern). 1996, p. 196). To compare the creative destiny of man with the image of God and bring into correlation with the world of spirits more, it would seem, perfect than man, perhaps only one Gregory Palamas succeeded (ibid., p. 375).

Therefore, when St. Gregory Palamas, synthesizing the opinions of former fathers and writers of the church, raised the question of godlikeness in connection with the theme of a creative gift in man, then the image of God took on the meaning of a person’s impulse somewhere upwards from the framework of the determined laws of nature, the desire for the Creator, who gave him be a creator. In a person, in his spiritual essence, those traits are revealed that make him most related to the Creator, i.e. creative abilities and talents (ibid., p. 368). And here it is appropriate to raise the question, what is given to a person, in contrast to angels who do not have this creative gift, and thus less than people created in this image of the Creator? To what kind of creativity and in relation to what is a person called to create in this life? In four main, complementary areas of human existence: in relation to the world, God, people and oneself. Let's start with the last one.

Man is called, first of all, to create his own life, i.e., to reveal and realize the talents placed in us by God, to acquire spiritual virtues with God's help, which are the gospel heavenly treasures (Matt. 6:20).

When the question of asceticism and moral improvement is posed in this way, when it is given a character not only negative, i.e., not only refusal from something and not doing something, but vice versa, when it is placed in the mainstream of the general creative flow of human spiritual gifts, then the very problem of the relationship and alleged contradiction of creativity and salvation (asceticism) ceases to be so irreconcilable (ibid., p. 371). The ratio of genius, as an extremely pronounced form of talent, and holiness, as an ascetic virtue, is a separate interesting topic, which we will talk about later.

God the Creator created man in His own, i.e., creative image, and therefore man must be a creator. In this context, it is appropriate to speak of synergy- joint action - of a person and God, when God helps a person with his grace and when a person participates in God's works.

Sometimes you can find other options for identifying the image of God in a person:

– human spirit: "God is the Spirit and Goodness and Virtue itself, and our spirit was created in the image and likeness of Him, but as a result and because of sin it became worthless ..." (Christian: Gregory Palamas. T. 1. 1993, p. 105) ; "the human spirit was created in the image of God" (Christian: Theophan the Recluse, 1995, p. 325);

– deep "I": "The image of God is our deep "I", for the definition of which we have neither words nor clear concepts. But since our "I" somehow manifests itself outside, these manifestations of it are usually called the image of God in a person, that is mind, lofty feelings, will, freedom" (Ivanov. 1997, p. 151-152);

– being, knowing and wanting: "I would like people to think about three properties in themselves ... These are the three properties: to be, to know, to want. I am, I know and I want; I am knowing and willing; I know that I am and what I want; and I want to be and know" (Christian: Augustine, 1992, p. 203); "they - all three - of course, quite different from the Trinity" (ibid.), but they bear a faint imprint of the divine image.

Some of the ancient Christian writers, such as Justin the Philosopher and Irenaeus of Lyon, sometimes stated that body created in the image of God, or, to be more precise, that "the body is not alien to the image of God" (Christian: Sylvester (Malevansky). T. 3. 1898, p. 183-184). But you need to understand the context in which it was stated. This was done by them in view of the false dualistic teachings about the human body as something low and evil. In order to raise the significance of the latter, they extended the image of God to it, but in doing this they did not at all think of recognizing the body as an equal participant with the soul in the image of God, but only wanted to express the idea that the body is not alien to a share of participation in the image of God, since it was created directly by God Himself, and created in order to serve as a decent dwelling, organ and expression of the soul (ibid., p.243-244).

Irenaeus of Lyons wrote: "The perfect man is the union and union of the soul, which receives the Spirit of the Father, with the flesh, which is created in the image of God" (Christian: Irenaeus of Lyons, 1996, p. 455). But, here it does not mean that the human body is divine, or something like that (which was in some sects of that time), but something completely different. This refers to the human nature of God the Son, and a very original and strong theological idea is carried out, although somewhat covertly, that it was not Christ who assumed human nature in his incarnation, but man in his nature (including according to the body) was created in the image of Christ in his incarnation.

When analyzing the image of God, it is possible and expansion approach, according to which the whole soul of a person, a person or a person in general is the image of God.

She is the image of God soul person:

– “Not according to the organic arrangement of the body, a person is the image of God, but according to the mental nature of the mind, which is not described by the body, which gravitates down. , not quantitative, invisible, immortal, incomprehensible and by no means intelligible to us: so the mental nature given from Him to us, as indescribable, is not bodily, invisible, intangible, incomprehensible, and is the image of His immortal and everlasting glory "(Ch. 2 : Nikita Stefat, The Third Speculative Chapter of the Centurion, 1900, p.145);

- "the soul ... is a clever creature, full of beauty, great and wonderful, a beautiful likeness and image of God" (Christ: Macarius of Egypt. 1998, p. 9); and in other places Macarius the Egyptian speaks of the soul as the image of God (ibid., pp. 5, 121, 312, 354);

- "The very essence of our soul is the image of God. And after falling into sin, the soul remains in the image. And cast into the flames of hell, the sinful soul, in the very flames of hell, remains in the image of God! This is what the Holy Fathers teach" (Ignatius (Brianchaninov). About the image. .. 1993, p. 130);

- "The human soul is created in the image and likeness of God" (Part 2: John of Kronstadt. 1991, p.34);

At the same time, there is a similarity in the essence and main forces of the soul with the Absolute Being:

- "that the soul in relation to the human body is also the Holy Spirit in relation to the Church, which is the body of Christ: the Holy Spirit also acts in the whole Church, just as the soul acts in all members of one body" (Christ: Augustine, 1845, p. 59);

– “the soul is a limited self-active, immaterial substance, expressing its conformity with the Infinite Being in that it strives with its mind to embrace the unconditional truth and wisdom, with its free will to achieve the Highest Good and to express it in its activity, seeks pure and eternal with its feeling bliss, and for the continuation of the existence of one's immortality "(Ch. 2: Golubinsky. 1871, p. 29); and further: "the similarity of the human soul to the All-Perfect Being can be found either in its essence in general, or in its spiritual properties ..." (ibid.).

From the fact that the soul is the image of God is sometimes likened three powers of the soul divine trinity:

- as Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov wrote: “The soul is the image of God, because it has a triple power, but a single nature. The forces of the human soul are: Memory, Reason, Will. Demetrius (Tuptalo), 1717, p.6);

- "The Deity is trinitarian, worshiped in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The image created by Him is also seen as a tripartite - a person who worships God himself, who created everything from non-existent ones" (Part 2: Nikita Stifat. Third speculative chapters centurion, 1900, p. 146); “The image of God is the mental soul, the mind and the word, a single and indivisible nature” (ibid.);

- "Just as in a person there is a mind, a word and a spirit; and neither the mind is without the word, nor the word without the spirit, but always exist both in each other and in themselves. The mind speaks through the word, and the word manifests itself through the spirit. By By this example, a person wears a weak image of the ineffable and primary Trinity, showing in this his creation in the image of God "(Christ: Gregory of Sinai. Chapters on the Commandments ... 1900, p. 186).

Sometimes compared with the Trinity is not the individual forces of the soul, but the soul itself and its most dominant forces - intelligence, mind And word:

- "the soul is unborn and causeless in the impression of the unborn and causeless God and Father, but its thinking mind is not unborn, inexpressibly, invisibly, inexplicably and impassively born from it. The mind is neither uncaused nor born, but is outgoing, penetrating considering everything and everything in the image and likeness of the All-Holy and emanating [from the Father] Spirit, about Whom it is said: "The Spirit searches all things, and the depths of God" ( 1 Corinthians 2:10). The soul is not outgoing as long as it [abides] in the body, for if it were, then we would die overnight. And our mind is not unborn, for in such a case we would be unreasonable and like cattle" (Anastasy Sinait. 1998, p. 101);

- "the mind reflects the Mind and the Father, the word - the Son of God and the Word, and the constant breathing and then the immortality of the soul reflects the immortal and life-giving Spirit of God; the soul itself, being one and controlling the body, depicts God as one in essence, everything, according to its will , managing and disposing" (Christian: Mitrofan Kritopoulos. 1846, p. 351).

But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that, comparing the trinity of the Deity with the three forces of the human soul, one must not lose sight of the fact that the first consists of a trinity personalities (Hypostase), and not forces, as in the soul. But the impersonal cannot be an image of the Personality, and therefore the personal principles of the Trinity cannot be put in full compliance with the impersonal principles of the human soul (Kuraev, 1996, p. 277). However, this is sometimes done, without reservation, in Western Christianity. So, for example, comparing the soul with the Trinity, Meister Eckhart wrote: "it is also trinity in abilities and one in nature" (Eckhart, 2001, p. 150). But any natural capabilities souls are not the same faces Holy Trinity.

With an expansive approach, everything is considered the image of God human, and human personality:

- "Man is the image and likeness of God Himself: this image clearly reflected, like the sun in a drop of pure water, the trinity of the trinitarian Deity" (Ignatius (Brianchaninov). About the image ... 1993, p. 128). And further: "The image of the Trinity-God is the trinity-man ... Our mind is the image of the Father; our word (we usually call the unspoken word thought) is the image of the Son; the spirit is the image of the Holy Spirit" (ibid., p. 129-130 ). "The Trinity-man is healed by the Trinity-God: the Word heals the thought, is transferred from the realm of lies, from the realm of self-delusion, into the realm of Truth; the Holy Spirit quickens the spirit, is transferred from sensations of the flesh and soul into spiritual sensations; the Father appears to the mind - and the mind becomes the mind of God "(ibid., p. 134);

– "personality in man is the image of God, the image of the Absolute Personality" (Zenkovsky, 1993, p.211); therefore, for the Christian consciousness, a person without a direct connection with Christ is simply impossible.

This point of view is based on the most important theological division - nature and personality(both in God and in man). Then, what corresponds in us to the image of God is not a part of our nature (or its separate properties), but our very personality, which contains nature (more about what we will say later - in the corresponding subchapter).

In addition, the broad approach can also include such a point of view, according to which the image of God is not a single person, but family. This follows from the noteworthy parallelism between the biblical story of a husband and wife and the Christian rationale for the Trinity (Kuraev, 1996, p. 278). Namely, during the creation of husband and wife, God called one common name - man (Gen. 5, 2), this is the common name of nature, the name in the singular. Baptism of Christians also takes place in one common name (and not the names) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 26, 19). In addition, in the image of God, it was the man and the woman who were created together (Gen. 1, 27). God is trinity. And this means that man alone cannot be a complete image of the Trinity. Only the duality - husband and wife (and even more so the triad of a family with a child) can be the true image of the Trinity on earth. The family of Adam was conceived as a true icon of the Trinity. As it is said in the Gospel: "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). In the Divine Trinity, the Son and the Spirit receive a beginning (a timeless, logical beginning) from the Personality of the Father. Just as the eternal Father “begets the Son” and “brings out the Spirit,” so also from the earthly forefather a son is born and a wife is brought forth (ibid., 277-278).

IMAGE - SIMILARITY

What is the proportion of a person image And How similarities God's? There are many reflections on this topic in the patristic writings; we will point out a few, as it seems to us, the most typical of them:

- "The Merciful Lord adorned His image and His likeness. The image of God is the very essence of the soul; likeness is spiritual properties" (Ignatius (Brianchaninov). On the image ... 1993, p. 131);

- holy. Dimitry of Rostov: “The image of God is also in the soul of an unfaithful person, but the likeness is only in a virtuous Christian: and when a Christian sins mortally, then he loses the likeness only, and not the image. And if he is condemned to eternal torment, then the image of God is the same in him forever, but there can no longer be a likeness" (quoted from: Makariy (Bulgakov). T. 1. 1999, p. 458);

- "God, bringing into being a rational and intelligent being by His highest goodness, communicated to these creatures four Divine properties that contain, protect and save them: being, ever-being, goodness and wisdom. Of these, the first two bestowed on the being, and the last two moral abilities "(Christian: Maxim the Confessor. Four hundred chapters on love. 1900, p. 199). The first properties refer to the image of God, and the latter - to the likeness, therefore: "In the image of God there is every rational being, in the likeness of only good and wise" (ibid., p. 200);

- "We are all people in the image of God; to be in the likeness is the property of those who, out of great love, have enslaved their freedom to God" (Christ: Diadokh. 1900, p. 9);

- "expression in the image designates reasonable and endowed with free will; the expression is: in the likeness denotes similarity through virtue, as far as possible" (Christian: John of Damascus, 1992, p. 79).

Similarity differs from the image, speaking in patristic language, as a given (what is) differs from a given (what is not, but what should be).

Analyzing the biblical story about the creation of man, Basil the Great wrote: "" And God created man; in the image of God created him." Have you not noticed that this testimony is incomplete? "Let us create man in Our image and likeness." This will contains two elements: "in the image" and "in the likeness." But creation contains only one element. Having decided one thing, has the Lord not changed His Plan? (Basil the Great. 1972, p.36). And further, in relation to the difference between image and likeness: "During the initial creation, we are granted to be born in the image of God; by our own will we acquire being in the likeness of God" (ibid., p. 36).

The image of God is given to man, it is embedded in him as the irremovable foundation of his being, but similarity is that which is realized on the basis of this image, as the task of his life. A person could not be immediately created as a complete being, in which the image and likeness, idea and reality would correspond to each other, because then he would be God, and not by grace and likeness, but by nature (Christian: Bulgakov. 1994 , pp. 268-269).

LIKELIHOOD OF GOD

Let's move on to a more detailed analysis. similarities. Hebrew word d "mut(similarity) and a shortened form of it ladies have both external (phonetic) and ideological connection with the word ladies(blood). The fact is that in the formation of the abstract concept of similarity and similarity in general, the ancient Jews proceeded from the idea of ​​the unity of blood, which determines the similarity of the nature of several creatures (in Russian, "consanguineous", "blooded ones"). Understood in this sense, the word d "mut(similarity) indicates not an external, not an accidental similarity in anything, but an internal, essential similarity. Thus, when God laid down in His counsel to create man, as similarity his own, this testified that He intended to give a person some of the properties that belong to Himself (Bogorodsky. 1903, No. 1, p. 57-58). What are these properties?

Here are some of the spiritual virtues that, according to St. fathers make up the likeness of man to God:

- similarity to God is purity, dispassion, bliss, all evil alienation (Gregory of Nyssa. 1995, p. 16-17);

- "Truth, meekness, righteousness, and together with them humility and philanthropy" (Christian: Simeon the New Theologian. Vol. 1. 1993, p. 31) make up the likeness of Christ.

The acquisition of these and other virtues is the way to the realization of the commandment of Jesus Christ about perfection: "Be perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

Every Christian needs to make an effort to do this, to learn: "A disciple is not higher than his teacher; but even when perfected, everyone will be like his teacher" (Lk. 6:40).

All Christians have one teacher - Jesus Christ, but the method and form of teaching is their own: "Revealing the image of God in us is a task that is special for everyone. We are called to creativity, to solve this problem, to "carry" our cross" (Zenkovsky. 1993, p.54).

PRACTICAL ASPECTS

The problem of the image and likeness of God in man has its own practical aspects, which apply not only to Christians, but also, practically, to every person: it is necessary to purify the image and strive for likeness.

Each of the "sons and daughters of Adam" is the bearer of the image of God, but this image needs to be cleansed from the consequences of sins. About Adam in the Bible it is said that he was created in the image of God, but about the son of Adam it is already said differently: "Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begat son in his likeness, in his own image, and called his name: Seth "(Gen. 5, 3). This means that the image of God remained in man - for it is in the human being itself - but his lordship was eclipsed and beauty was distorted. Adam added something of his own to it, that is, sins (Christian: Barnabas (Belyaev), 1995, p. 57).

This is what is called in the patristic tradition ancestral sin, for sin in all people passed from the forefathers (Part 2: Gregory the Theologian. On the Soul. 1994, p.35). “Human nature is sinful from its very conception. God did not create man sinful, but pure and holy. But when the original Adam lost this garment of holiness, not from any other sin, but from pride alone, and became corruptible and mortal; people descended from the seed of Adam are involved in the ancestral sin from their very conception and birth. Whoever was born in this way, even if he did not yet commit any sin, is already sinful of those ancestral sins "(Christ.: Simeon the New Theologian. T. 1. 1993, p.309).

The image of God is important for upbringing and education. The pre-revolutionary school had two main tasks: the first was teaching literacy and the necessary subjects; the second is spiritual and moral education. In our time, it has somehow been forgotten that "the very word 'education' meant education in the image and likeness of God" (additional: Polovinkin, 1997, p. 15).

The image of God is also important for ordinary life - as the basis of a positive attitude towards other people: "People in essence, in depth, everything is better than in its manifestation in life. One thing is the image of God and the grace received in the sacrament of baptism; this is the personality man, his "I". This is a great gift of God "(Christian: Nikon (Vorobiev). 1988, p. 109).

It is the approach to a person as the image of God that makes love for any person possible and real, regardless of the personal relationship to him. This is the love for enemies that Jesus Christ spoke about: “You have heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. you" (Matthew 5:43-44).

This love also extends to the erring, for the Christian "remembers that one God created both himself and his neighbor; therefore, he honors the Creator in a erring person; he loves him as his brother in exile, regrets his ignorance and prays for him" (Christ .: Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, 1996, p.281). By their disrespect for God, the erring ones punish themselves: "And as they did not care to have God in their minds, God gave them up to a perverse mind - to do indecency, so that they are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, deceit, greed, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malevolence..." (Rom. 1:28-29).

THE IMAGE OF GOD - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Although comparative inter-religious and inter-confessional analysis is not within the scope of this work, let us mention the difference in the approach to the image of God in Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam.

Such an important topic of Christian anthropology as the image of God in man, could not be completely ignored by Catholic and Protestant theology. But at the same time, their attitude towards it is completely different than in Orthodoxy: “In Catholic and Protestant dogma, a cardinal mistake is made in anthropology - precisely in the fact that the doctrine of the image of God in man is not only put on the same plane as the doctrine of original sin, but also moves away, in essence, into the shadows "(Zenkovsky. 1993, p. 39). Some liberal forms of Protestantism have heard about the creation of man in the image of God, but they understand this in the sense of the "fundamental identity of God and man" (ps.: Fromm. 1990, p. 175), which is closer to Eastern man-divine teachings or Gnosticism, but not to patristic teaching . Man is not identical with God, but, according to Christian teaching, he can nevertheless become like Him by grace.

And in Islam, in fact, this topic generally disappears as an independent one: “Mohammed does not seem to say anywhere that man was created in the image and likeness of God, which, however, would not correspond to the general meaning of the Koran” (additional: Fedorov, T. 1. 1995, p. 162). At least in the Russian translation of the Koran, the image of God is not mentioned at all. The only place where the concept of an image somehow correlates with a person looks like this: "He (Allah - Z.Yu.) created the heavens and the earth with truth, gave you an image and beautifully arranged your images" (Sura 64, 3).

THE INCREDIBILITY OF THE IMAGE OF GOD

In conclusion, I would like to restrain the reader against a too rationalistic approach to the definition of the image of God. Yes, something is known more definitely about him - what St. Fathers have worked harder. But what is the image of God in its deepest essence? "The image of God in man, by its very essence, as a reflection of the Inexpressible and Indefinable, also cannot be fully defined and indicated by words" (Ivanov. 1997, p. 151). And further: "To put it in philosophical language, the image of God in man is a noumenon, and its manifestation outside is phenomena" (ibid., p. 152).

God is an unsearchable abyss of mystery and an abyss of the inexpressible and incomprehensible. Consequently, a person created in this divine image bears within himself the seal of this incomprehensible and this mystery. Man is a mysterious cryptogram that no one will ever be able to completely unravel and read satisfactorily (Kyprian (Kern), 1996, p. 385).