Friendship as a Spiritual and Moral Reality in the Parable of the Unjust Steward
The article examines the teaching on friendship in the Parable of the Unjust Steward. The used approach involves the study of the topic of friendship within moral theology. The author is guided by St. Theophan the Recluse’s concept of Christian morality and the patristic understanding of friendship...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Russian Orthodox Church. Ekaterinburg Theological Seminary of the Ekaterinburg Eparchy
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Вестник Екатеринбургской духовной семинарии |
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| Online Access: | https://epds.ru/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1_N48-2024_Theology-Semenova.pdf |
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| Summary: | The article examines the teaching on friendship in the Parable of the Unjust Steward. The used approach involves the study of the topic of friendship within moral theology. The author is guided by St. Theophan the Recluse’s concept of Christian morality and the patristic understanding of friendship as unanimity. Based on the statements of Church Fathers, the author asserts that friendship is not limited to the anthropological level and it has not only a natural, but also a spiritual and moral dimension. The purpose of the research is searching for an answer to the question: does the Parable of the Unjust Steward speak about the spiritual and moral dimension of friendship? And, if so, in what aspect exactly? The author refers to a number of publications and researches in modern Russian Orthodox theology devoted to the Parable of the Unjust Steward or to the topic of friendship, and makes a conclusion that spiritual and moral dimension of friendship in the parable are underexamined by contemporary theologians. The author demonstrates that according to the exegesis of Church Fathers and spiritual writers, the fragment of the Parable narrating the steward’s action (making friends with the mammon of unrighteousness) inexplicitly contains Lord Jesus Christ’s declaration about the friendship which represents: mutuality of mercy in relationships between a human and God, Christian and the celestial beings (Angels and Saints), members of the Church Militant; the unity of members of the Church Militant and Triumphant in the common act of charity and the virtue of indifference to earthly wealth, and also the co-effort that unites them. This friendship is based on charity and, being connected with it, represents the one of the Christian virtues. Its goal and reward is salvation and it is not limited by earthly life but extends to the afterlife of a human soul and to eternal life. The author concludes that this friendship is impossible without Lord Jesus Christ’s Economy and beyond the boundaries of the Church. It is rooted in and acquired by the Christian moral life and, being created by the Divine grace, represents a spiritual, moral and eschatological reality. |
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| ISSN: | 2224-5391 2782-7496 |