Priest responds to provocative questions from Krasnoyarsk residents

The online publication NGS24.RU has launched a new feature, «Ask a Priest.» Journalists invite Krasnoyarsk residents to ask clergy absolutely any questions — even the most foolish ones.

Today«s guest is Priest Vasily Vershinsky, rector of the Church of the Three Hierarchs in Krasnoyarsk. He answered the first batch of questions you sent to our channels on Telegram and Max.

If you would like to ask a priest a question, send it with the subject line «Ask a Priest»:

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by email to ngs24@sholding.ru;

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to any of our messengers at +7 999 315–05–05.

— Where in the Holy Scripture does Jesus Christ Himself call Himself the Son of God? Give the exact reference.

— The most direct testimony is in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 36. Addressing those who accused Him of blasphemy, Christ said: «Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, »You are blaspheming,« because I said, »I am the Son of God«?» (John 10:36). Here Jesus Christ quite clearly reproduces His own words: «I am the Son of God.» This is not a later interpretation by the disciples or a conclusion of theologians, but a direct testimony of Christ about Himself.

There is another important episode — the trial before the high priest. Caiaphas asked Jesus: «I adjure You by the living God, tell us, are You the Christ, the Son of God?» Christ answered: «You have said it» (Matthew 26:63–64). In biblical speech this means confirmation: «Yes, you have said correctly.»

It is important to understand that Christ does not simply call Himself the Son of God in the sense that every believer can be called a child of God. He speaks of His exclusive unity with the Father: «I and the Father are one» (John 10:30) and «He who has seen Me has seen the Father» (John 14:9).

One can give a simple image. A sunbeam is inseparable from the sun and carries its light. But the relationship between the Father and the Son is deeper than any earthly comparison: the Son is not a creation or a messenger external to God. He has the same divine nature as the Father. That is why faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God lies at the very center of Christianity.

— Why is the markup on candles in church more than 1000%, when even drugs and weapons do not have such a markup?

— First of all, I would be cautious about the very framing of the question. It assumes that a candle is a commodity and that the church is a commercial enterprise. But the Church lives by a completely different model.

First, the claim of «more than 1000% markup» is itself incorrect. If you compare only the cost of wax and the price of the finished candle, that is like assessing the cost of a book by the price of paper, or the cost of bread by the price of grain. The price includes manufacturing, delivery, storage, maintenance of the church shop, and much more.

But there is a more important point. When a person buys a candle in a church, he is in fact making a donation for the maintenance of the church. The candle is not so much an item of trade but a visible sign of that donation. These funds sustain the church, the Sunday school, pay for utilities, restoration work, help for the poor, the preparation and sending of humanitarian aid to the war zone, and the support of clergy and staff. Orthodox parishes live exclusively on the voluntary donations of their parishioners.

Here is a simple example. When a person buys a ticket to a museum, he is not paying for the piece of paper on which the ticket is printed, but for the very existence of the museum. So it is with a candle. A person donates not for a piece of wax, but for the life of his parish.

And another important point. In the Church, no one sells grace to a person. A candle is not payment for prayer. If a person has no money, he does not cease to be a member of the Church. In many churches, a candle can be taken for free, or the priest himself will give one to someone in need. Because God hears not the one who places the most expensive candle, but the one who comes with sincere faith and repentance.

Therefore, speaking of a church candle in terms of trade markup is like evaluating a family album by the cost of paper, or an art gallery by the price of canvas. Behind outwardly simple things often stands something that cannot be measured by market categories.

— How does Christianity explain the appearance of the Quran?

— The Orthodox Church proceeds from the fact that the fullness of Divine Revelation has been given to the world in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Scripture testifies to this: «God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son» (Hebrews 1:1–2). Therefore, for a Christian, the Gospel is the completion of Divine Revelation.

The Quran appeared in the 7th century and occupies a central place in the religious tradition of Islam. Muslims perceive it as a revelation given to the Prophet Muhammad. The Orthodox Church, respecting the right of Muslims to profess their faith, nevertheless does not consider the Quran to be part of the Holy Scripture or a source of Divine Revelation in the Christian understanding.

This is primarily because the Quran answers key questions of faith differently. In particular, it does not share the Christian teaching about the divine nature of Jesus Christ, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. For Christianity, these very events are the foundation of all faith. As the Apostle Paul writes: «If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty» (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Here is a simple example. Imagine that two historical documents describe the same event but draw mutually exclusive conclusions. A researcher cannot simultaneously recognize both descriptions as completely true. So in this case: the Gospel and the Quran contain different views of the person of Jesus Christ, so the Church cannot consider them equivalent sources of Divine Revelation.

At the same time, it is important to emphasize that the Orthodox attitude toward Islam is built not on the opposition of people, but on respect for the human dignity of every person. The difference concerns doctrine, not the attitude toward the individual. That is why the Orthodox Church calls for peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, and open dialogue, while remaining faithful to its own confession of faith in Christ as the incarnate Son of God and Savior of the world.

— My son is two years old. At what age can and should a child be baptized?

— To put it briefly, a child can be baptized from the very first days of life, and the Church does not recommend postponing Baptism without a serious reason.

This tradition goes back to the first centuries of Christianity. Already in the book of Acts of the Apostles we read that entire families were baptized (Acts 16:15; 16:33), and Christ Himself said: «Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God» (Mark 10:14).

Sometimes one hears the opinion that a child should first grow up and choose for himself whether to be baptized or not. At first glance this sounds logical, but then the question arises: why do parents not postpone everything else until adulthood? They do not wait until the child decides for himself whether he needs education, medical care, or family upbringing. Parents make these decisions because they love their child and wish him well.

From the Church«s point of view, Baptism is not just a beautiful tradition or a family celebration. It is the birth of a person to a new spiritual life, his entry into the Church. Therefore, believing parents strive to introduce their child to this gift as early as possible.

If your son is already two years old, there are no obstacles to Baptism. Moreover, this is a very good age. The child is already beginning to perceive what is happening around him, and after Baptism he can regularly receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ and gradually grow in church life together with his family.

At the same time, it is important to remember: Baptism itself is the beginning of the path, not its end. If after the Sacrament the child is no longer brought to church, not taught to pray, and not raised in love for God and people, then the meaning of Baptism remains unrealized. As a seed needs care to become a tree, so the gift of Baptism needs the living faith of the family to bear good fruit.

— Can confession be used in court? Is there any record or recording of confessions?

— No. The seal of confession in the Orthodox Church is absolute. A priest does not have the right to disclose what he has heard in confession, neither to relatives, nor to an employer, nor to law enforcement officers, nor to a court.

Moreover, Russian legislation also protects the seal of confession. According to Part 3 of Article 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, a clergyman cannot be interrogated as a witness about circumstances that became known to him from confession.

No protocols, audio or video recordings of confession are made. There are no journals or archives where the content of confession is recorded. Everything that a person says remains only between him and God, and the priest is merely a witness to his repentance.

That is why believers can come to confession with full confidence that their frankness will never be used against them. The seal of confession is not only a church rule, but also one of the most important conditions of trust between a person seeking reconciliation with God and the Church.