Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

ed further away from it. The listeners, therefore, must enter the act of proclamation (as well as the rest of worship) with humility and reverence. Such an attitude does not leave any room for critical assessment of the message or parts of it. The absence of experiencing God’s grace as a result of participation in the act of worship and preaching, points to the wrong attitude of the worshipper in “ E.g. Heier, Religious Schism in the Russian Aristocracy, p 26. * Archimandrite George, Theosis, p 66. * Ibid., p 71. 35 the first place and not to the poor quality of preaching. Richard A. Jansen addresses the role of the preacher in ‘theotic preaching.’ He argues that preachers proclaim the ‘law,’ if their sermons are directed at the listeners. Instead, preaching should be considered as ‘an instrument of divine presence,’ which allows Christ to come to the believers. Hence, the focus of preaching is not the change of human hearts or lives, but a mediation of divine agency. ‘Preaching of this sort is sacramental in character — a means of grace. It is theosis in action.’*” Concluding this overview of the concept of theosis and its impact on understanding and practicing of preaching, the following convictions should be highlighted: God is at work in the act of worship and preaching. His ways aren’t always clear - often it is a mystery for the participants. Yet when the worshipper comes with the right heart and mind, in spirit of humility and self-rejection, the Spirit of God is allowed to do His work in the lives and hearts of the congregation, which is the only place where theosis can take place. This brings me to the next important concept — sobornost. 2.2 ... walked together with others (Sobornost) Reaction to the advance and growing popularity of Western philosophical thought gave rise to a movement of Slavophiles, a conservative stream of Russian educated aristocracy, which found its reflection in literature, philosophy, theology and ecclesiology of the Russian Orthodox Church.’® Some consider it as a beginning of ” Richard A. Jensen, Envisioning the Word: The Use of Visual images in Preaching (Minneapolis, Augsburg Press, 2005), p 43. At the same time it must be noted that such views of preaching as ‘sacramental in character’ might not be shared by all the Orthodox theologians. | am grateful to Parush R. Parushev for this comment. *8 See Parush R. Parushev, ‘Romantické vlivy na poéatku ruského slavjanofilského hnuti [Romantic Influences at the Beginnings of the Slavophile Movement in Russia],’ in lvana Noble, Jifi Hanus a kol. Kfestanstvi a Romantismus [Christianity and Romantism], Quaestiones quodlibetales series, No. 15 (Praha, Centrum pro Studium Demokrace a Kultury, 2011, in Czech), p 66 (pp. 64-83). Cf. Georges Vasilievich Florovsky, Puti Russkogo Bogoslovia [Ways of Russian Theology] (Moscow, Institute of Russian Civilization, 2009), p 322 and Ivana Noble, Katerina Bauerova,