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

f the local church as a gathering of the community of the faithful, provided him with the resources to meet the challenge of integrating the two opposing phenomena of freedom and unity... he describes this synthesis in his essay, The Church is One, by coining a theological term, sobornost.””° In this concept Khomyakov was able to formulate an integral part or even the essence of the Orthodox religiosity.*° ‘This one word contains in itself the whole creedal statement.’”” Khomyakov believed that God’s truth is beyond logical understanding. Moreover, he argued that it was impossible to discover the Truth by reason,”® since Truth is an object of faith, even though faith is not something that contradicts logic or reason. Human beings possess both rational will and moral freedom, freedom to choose righteousness or sin. Salvation from sin is given by God through Jesus Christ, who unites Himself with those who don’t reject Him, with everyone who seeks the truth, which is in the Church. He wrote, The unity of the Church is necessary following from the unity of God, since the Church is not the multitude of persons in their separate individuality, but the unity of God’s grace, living in the multitude of *4 Parushev, ‘Romantické vlivy na pocatku ruského slavjanofilského hnuti,’ p 66. °° Parushev, ‘Romantické vlivy na pocatku ruského slavjanofilského hnuti,’ p 66. 26 | A. Esaulov, “Sobornost v Filosofii A. S. Khomyakova i Sovremennaia Rossiia” [“Sobornost in Philosophy of A. S. Knomyakov and Modern Russia”], in A. S$. Khomyakov — Mislitel, Poet, Publitsist: Sbornik Statei po Materialam Mezdunarodnoi Nauchnoi_ Konferentsii, sostoiavscheisia 14-17 aprelia 2004 in Moscow Literary Institute im. A.M. Gorkoro [A.S. Khomyakov — Philosopher, Poet, Publicist: A collection of Articles Based on the Materials of the International Academic Conference, that took place on April 14-17, 2004 in Moscow A. M. Gorky Literary Institute], Vol. 2 (Moscow, 2007), pp 11-16. 27 Alexey S. Khomyakov, Polnoie Sobranie Sochinenii [Full collection of works], Vol. 2 (Prague, 1867), p 282. 8 Florovsky, Puti Russkogo Bogoslovia, p 350. 38 rational creatures, submitting themselves to grace. Grace is also given to the disobedient, refusing to use it (burying their talents), but they are not in the Church. The unity of the Church is not imaginary or allegorical, but true and substantial, such as the unity of many members in a living body...The Church visible or earthly lives in perfect fellowship and unity with all the body of the Church, whose head is Christ. She has Christ in herself and the grace of the Holy Spirit...” The term “sobornost” means a principle, which connects individual human beings into a special body, gathering, or “Sobor.” It expresses the idea of unity in plurality, which is more than unity created by common interests or enforced from the outside. In addition, the whole that appears as a result of such