DEGREES OF COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES In English, as in Russian, ...
In the church-religious style, the genre of sermon arose, therefore, people should have appeared who would read, narrate, verbalize them. These people are called preachers.
Famous Preachers of the Christian Church of the Ancient Period:
Clement of Alexandria- head of the famous Alexandrian school. Born in Athens in a pagan family, he received an excellent pagan education. However, he did not find satisfaction in paganism and accepted Christianity. In order to acquire a Christian education, he traveled to the main cities of Greece, Asia Minor, Italy and Egypt. In Alexandria, he met with the head of the remarkable catechization school there, became his student, and then his successor in leadership of the school, and received the rank of presbyter (199). He died at a ripe old age around 219. Of his preaching works, the conversation on the topic: “Which rich man will be saved?” is especially famous. Due to some weaknesses in his theology, inconsistent with the teachings of the Church, Clement was not honored with canonization and is not considered the father of the Church, but only a "teacher" and church writer.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem- was born in Palestine around 315. From his works we can conclude that he received an excellent education. As an educated and pious person, he was early accepted into the clergy of the Jerusalem church. In 346 he was already a presbyter and performed the duties of a catechist and preacher. Already 4 years later he was ordained Bishop of Jerusalem instead of the deceased Bishop. Maxim. He waged a stubborn struggle with the Arians, as a result of which he was exiled more than once. Only imp. Theodosius the Great in 378 finally returned it to his flock. He reposed in 386. From the works of St. Cyril, 18 catechumens, 5 secret teachings, and one pre-challenge teaching are especially known. catechetical teachings were pronounced before those who were preparing for St. baptism in the continuation of the entire St. Forties. The occult ones were recited before those who received St. baptism on Bright Week. The catechetical teachings are dogmatic-polemical in nature: they first set forth the misconceptions of those who think differently about any dogma, then the Orthodox teaching about it and prove it on the basis of Holy Scripture and rational considerations, and finally, the application of the dogma to life is shown. In the secret teachings of St. Cyril explains the positive teaching of the Church about the sacraments of baptism, chrismation, and communion. The teachings are distinguished by loftiness of thoughts and simplicity of presentation.
St. Basil the Great , Archbishop of Caesarea Cappadocia, was born in 329 in an exceptional family in its piety, a number of whose members were honored with canonization. In the words of St. Gregory, piety in this family was hereditary. The early education of St. Basil received from his father, a lawyer, the Law of God was taught by his mother, St. Emilia and grandmother St. Macrina. At the age of 18, Basil went to Constantinople, where he listened to the famous rhetoric Livanius, and then spent several years in the center of the then philosophical education in Athens, where he became friends with St. Gregory the Theologian. Returning to his homeland, Basil, after 4 years of law practice, received St. baptism and was initiated as a reader, and then, wanting to get to know the then flourishing monasticism, he went through Syria and Palestine to Egypt. Returning to his homeland, he founded several monasteries and wrote a charter for them, which has a fundamental positive significance for our Orthodox monasticism to this day. On the occasion of the famine that had befallen the Caesareans, he gave a wonderful discourse, which made such a strong impression on the rich that they threw open the doors of their granaries for the hungry. All this brought St. Basil gained immense popularity, and in 370 he was elected archbishop of his native city. Exorbitant labors and asceticism so undermined the strength of the saint that he died before reaching the age of 50, in 379. Despite his short life, he left behind a rich contribution to patristic literature. From his preaching works have come down to us: 1) 9 conversations on the Six Days, 2) 13 conversations on the psalms, 3) 25 conversations on various occasions. Vasily, verse by verse, word by word, gave a complete interpretation of the narrative of the book. Genesis about the creation of the world. But these conversations also differ in a moral and practical direction. “I have one goal - to turn everything into the edification of the Church,” said the saint himself. He achieves this goal by depicting nature as a school of faith and morality. Describing the structure of the world, St. Basil everywhere reveals traces of the wisdom, goodness and greatness of the Creator. From the life of nature itself, the preacher draws moral lessons, pointing to the good and bad properties of different animals. The construction of conversations is the most artless, the speech is lively, approaching conversational. The liveliness of the presentation is facilitated by the frequent use of the question-answer form. The same is true of the conversations on the psalms - with the difference that in them St. Basil emphasizes their mysterious, prophetic and transformative meaning. Of the conversations on various occasions, moralizing ones are especially remarkable, in which St. Vasily depicts with the brightest colors all the ugliness of human passions and vices in order to arouse in the listeners a natural disgust for them. Reposed St. Vasily on January 1, on which day his memory is celebrated.
St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, was born in 347 in Antioch. His parents were pious Christians. The father of Secundus, who held the high post of military commander, died shortly after the birth of his son, leaving him in the care of the young mother Anfusa, who was distinguished by high moral qualities. The mother devoted herself entirely to her son, refusing a second marriage. She herself read the Bible to him, instructed him with conversations in Christian morality, reinforcing this with the example of her personal life. At the age of 16, John entered the training of oratory to the then famous teacher of eloquence, Livanius. He showed such brilliant success that Livanius wanted to see him as his successor. At 20, he completed his education and became a lawyer. But secular life did not satisfy him, he locked himself in his mother's house and devoted himself to ascetic deeds: prayer, fasting and reading the Holy. Scriptures. Having already accepted at a mature age, St. baptism, as many then did, fearing to sin after receiving this great sacrament, he was made a reader. After the death of his mother, he retired to a monastery near Antioch and spent 4 years there in strict feats of abstinence, prayer and obedience to one elder. Then for two years he asceticised himself in complete seclusion and silence so that he ruined his health. For five years he visited the rich in order to beg from them for alms for the poor, and in this way acquired the comprehensive knowledge of life, which is so evident in his sermons. After becoming a presbyter, St. John preached for 12 years at least once a week, and sometimes every day. The people listened attentively to his inspired sermons and called him Chrysostom for them. The fame of him as a great preacher spread everywhere and reached the capital. In 404, he was exiled first to Armenia, where he stayed for two years, and then sent to the most remote city of the empire, Pythiont, on the Black Sea coast (in present-day Abkhazia), but on the way, to the city of Komana, exhausted by a long journey and cruel treatment soldiers, died on September 14, 407 with the words: "Glory to God for everything."
St. Chrysostom at all times was considered and is still considered the most perfect model for all preachers. More than 800 sermons have come down to us from him. In these sermons we find an explanation of almost all of the New Testament and much of the Old Testament. According to the content of Chrysostom's sermons of a moral and practical nature, they aim at correcting the sinner and confirming him in virtue. Chrysostom considers love for God and neighbor to be the beginning and end of virtue. In his sermons, the spirit of paternal meekness is felt: he speaks in a tone of request and prayer, consoles and encourages. All his conversations, which were mostly impromptu, are devoid of any artificiality. He often reminds listeners of what was said and invites them to remember, asks questions, resolves perplexities. Therefore, his sermons are very lively and convincing, the language is of extraordinary simplicity, clarity, and accessibility for understanding. As an interpreter of St. Scriptures, St. Chrysostom was far from the extremes of both crude literalism and arbitrary allegorism. Being a graduate of the Antioch school, he first explains the literal, historical-grammatical meaning, and then indicates the highest mysterious meaning. His conversations at St. Scripture is usually divided into three sections: introduction, explanation, and moral appendix. The content of introductions is quite varied. In them, the preacher either indicates the reason for the conversation, or invites listeners to pay attention, or depicts the height and importance of the Word of God. In the second part, he explains grammatically and logically the very text of St. The Scriptures, showing why this and not another word is in a given place, takes into account the context of speech, makes historical, chronological remarks, etc. The third part offers moral lessons in relation to the condition of listeners. Sermon at Chrysostom is the main means of educating the flock. Therefore, it has the closest relation to the life of listeners. He uses all the circumstances of their lives to call them to repentance and direct them to the path of virtue. He takes care of his flock literally like a father takes care of his children: in order to correct the stubborn, he turns to the assistance of the pious members of his flock, admonishing them to take care of the salvation of their neighbors. Only in extreme cases does he resort to strict measures, threatening excommunication from the Church. His denunciations were always imbued with deep sorrow and concerned not persons, but deeds. If he noticed that his word had a beneficial effect on the listeners, then he expressed joy, otherwise he expressed grief, combined with the hope of correcting those who persisted in sin. Perseverance in this regard is the hallmark of the preaching of St. Chrysostom. This perseverance is the reason for his success. The most remarkable of his words and creations: "The Book of Virginity", "Six Words on the Priesthood", depicting the ideal of the shepherd, "Discourse on the ordination to the presbyters", twelve "Words against the Anomeans", eight "Words against the Jews". Words about prayer, about almsgiving, about spectacles, against those who go to theaters, on the occasion of the overthrow of royal statues, the Word of the catechumen for Holy Pascha, which, according to our charter, is always supposed to be read at the end of Paschal Matins, the praise of St. to the Apostle Paul, a eulogy to all the holy martyrs, a farewell conversation spoken before going into exile, and many others.
There are many outstanding personalities in Christianity. All of them, under the guidance of God and with the support of their relatives, achieved success in their messianic work. Some received recognition through sermons, others selflessly sacrificed themselves in the vastness of Africa, helping the natives. Some of their wise sayings amaze even now.
A well-known figure of the twentieth century is David Wilkerson. He is known for his sermons, books, prophecies.
He was born in the middle of 1931 (May 19) in Indiana. From childhood, he adopted Christian truths, being brought up in a believing family of a preacher. From the age of 8, he seriously engaged in the knowledge of biblical truths and from the age of 14 he tried to preach. David Wilkerson received a theological education in Springfield. The biography of the preacher is permeated with love for his work. He devoted his whole life to serving God and people.
From 1952 he became a pastor, moved to Pennsylvania, and married the following year. He combined his ministry with writing a large number of sermons in which he called on people to be closer to God. He also talked about the coming disasters for humanity.
The preacher tried to read more spiritual literature, especially the book The School of Christ by Theodore Austin-Sparks touched him deeply. With the help of this spiritual book, he rethought some moments of his life, trying to continue to devote himself to writing sermons and serving people. The preacher studied the development and life of the State of Israel. He argued that this state would fall in the event of a Third World War, during which a third of the world's population would die.
Ministry of David Wilkerson
The preacher could not look indifferently at the corruption of the youth. It was this that led to the writing of a kind of Christian bestseller, The Cross and the Knife (1963), on the basis of which the films were created. Even before this book was written, David Wilkerson moved to New York, where he was actively engaged in the rehabilitation of people suffering from drug addiction. In addition to active service to such people, the preacher tried to tell those around him and those who listened to him about the coming troubles on earth. He talked about financial difficulties, disasters, the moral decline of the population.
Preacher's Prophecies
In 1973, David Wilkerson wrote the book The Vision about his prophecies. It caused a different reaction from readers, since not everyone is ready to accept the information presented there. All prophecies are divided into six chapters in the book.
- In the first paragraph, he noted that people are waiting for a financial crisis and an aggravation of the military situation. Problems with cash should lead to "live credit cards", which, for the sake of convenience, will have to be applied to the forehead and right wrist. And this means that a person begins to obey no longer God.
- The next chapter says that people in the US and Japan are waiting for a huge earthquake (some say it was in 2011), which will kill a large number of people. It is also noted here that some countries in Africa and Asia will face famine, and Europe will face severe frosts. In addition, frequent epidemics are possible.
- In this part of the book, David Wilkerson writes that the world is waiting for moral corruption. He predicts constant TV shows with homosexuals, sadism, naked women and various sexual perversions. In addition, children in schools will also be subject to constant sexual zombies, and occultism will flourish. Spouses will begin mass betrayals, young people will devote a lot of time to study, sports, but not to God.
- Legalization of drug addiction. Parents have problems with their children.
- Unification of religions, spiritual awakening in some countries.
- In this chapter, the preacher predicts the last world war. It will kill up to 2 billion people. The center of attention at this time will be Israel.
David Wilkerson: List of Sermons
Throughout his life, this famous Christian wrote many sermons. They are also in audio recordings and videos. They are published by many publishers. The sermons of David Wilkerson call on Christians to adhere to biblical principles so as not to be exposed to the negative and evil influence of unbelievers.
Among the most famous sermons are:
- "God closes and opens doors";
- “God is faithful even if we are unfaithful!”;
- “God cares who your friends are”;
- "In His hand are all the keys";
- "The High Price of Mercy";
- “God forgive me for making you cry”;
- "The Self-Destruction of America";
- "Sorrows and experiences of a contrite heart";
- “That terrible day that no one wants to talk about”;
- "The Church is not ready for a revival";
- "Womb of Hell";
- "These times require special attention."
The End of the Preacher's Life
The sermons of David Wilkerson are known all over the world. Thanks to his complete dedication to dependent people, sincere communication, and kind heart, this preacher was appreciated wherever he went.
Wilkerson tragically died in a car accident when he was 79 years old. He is survived by his wife, 4 children and 11 grandchildren.
We, the sectarians, pay too much attention to beauty. More precisely, it is reprehensible to take care of beauty and you need to lean more on the beauty of the spirit. Let's see who chose the life partner of our spiritual leaders, in other words, I present to you TOP 10 most beautiful wives of sectarian pastors according to the magazine "Muskin Journal".
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So, the 10th place in the ranking by a single vote went to the wife of the leader of the Jewish-Christian (these are Jews who both observe the Sabbath and believe in Christ) movement in Ukraine, Boris Saulovich Grisenko, Anna. Here she is with a dog, her husband and some leftist man:
And here she is at a sermon with her husband. 
And here is her husband at the sermon with her. 
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The ninth place goes to the wife of that very "left man" from the first picture, Seryoga Shidlovsky, Olga.
Shidlovsky became famous throughout the Russian-speaking Christian world not only for his spiritual practices (imagine, he gets up at four in the morning especially for prayer), but also for saying that Sunday Adelaja (another famous preacher, he will be lower) is a thief. Oh what a noise...
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Eighth place is occupied by the wife president Christian channel CNL (it should be noted that CNL is the only sectarian channel on my TV) Max Maksimov, Larisa.
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Seventh place - Ledyaev's wife - Olga! Ledyaev, one might say, is the main culprit in the formation of charismatics on this earth. And although, of course, he will object, but believe me, if there were no Ledyaev, we would hardly recognize this sectarian trend in all its diversity. Personally, I like Ledyaev for the song " My son ... something is there ... behind the veil .. "
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Sixth place - tadam!!!
The wife of one of the saaaaam conservative Protestants in our land, a very smart man, chairman of the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations Evangelical Christians- Baptists - Gregory with a cool surname Komendant! Nadezhda Danilovna. An amazingly beautiful woman, in my opinion, in the opinion of the editors of our magazine.
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I decided to give the fifth place to the wife of the pastor of the many-thousand-strong charismatic church "City of Light" Dmitry Masson, Alena Mason (Why Alena, if there should be Sveta?). Renowned philanthropist.
Here she is with her family 
But by itself 
Sorry for the quality of the photo, dear friends... I did not find a larger resolution :(
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Fourth place in an unequal fight with teeth in a jump is pulled out by the wife of an odious preacher, Sunday Adelaja, Bose Adelaja. I don't know if there is a person in the Orthodox world who needs to be told about Adelaja?
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So, the winning trio of leaders.
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The second place was given by the experts of our magazine to the wife of the pastor of the "Almaz" church Nikolai Skopich.
Mainly Almaz Church is famous for the fact that its adherent is HOLY MOZART HIMSELF! ( holy_mozart
)
The wife's name is Katya. Look how beautiful she is! :)
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Well, in the first place, quite rightly, is Victoria Muntyan, the wife of the pastor of the spiritual center "Renaissance", Vladimir Muntyan. Imagine, they have been together for more than twenty years! Mother of three, can you believe it?
Christian morals for my favorite friends
The young men grow weary and weaken, and the young men fall,
but those who hope in the Lord will be renewed in strength; they will lift up their wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not be weary.
(Isaiah 40:30,31)
So, dear friends, if you disagree with the results of the one-man and independent secret ballot of the editors of Muska's Journal, you can express your opinion on who should actually get what place in the comments. Happy March 8th everyone!
This article is about the church figure pastor Andrey Shapovalov. From this article, we will be able to learn about the biography of the preacher, about life's milestones, his path to fame, opening a church and preaching around the world. We will also talk about the Shapovalov family and emigration to the USA.
Biography of Andrey Shapovalov - Pastor of the Church "Transformation Center"
Shapovalov was born in 1974 on November 7th in Ukraine, in the city of Zaporozhye. When Andrei was 17 years old, he emigrated to the United States of America under the program (the child of believing parents). Shapovalov was brought up only by her mother, she divorced her father at an early age of Andrei. Andrey settled in the city of Everett, State. Within a year after emigration, Shapovalov had many troubles associated with car accidents, of which there were five.
The heart of the young man was disturbed by many questions about life and death and why such accidents happen to him. After the last fifth accident, which was very serious, Andrey felt that he would no longer be able to survive such car accidents, during this period of time he worked in a supermarket as a packer and packer. After a year of living in the city of Everett, Andrei went to church to repent and give himself to the service of the Lord God. In 1993, Shapovalov graduated from the Effafa Bible School. By the way, Andrei brought to the service of God many of his friends who had problems with the law and drugs.
Two years later, in 1995, Andrei Shapovalov married a girl, Svetlana, with whom he still lives in a strong marriage and preaches. In the period from 1993 to 2005, Andrei made many attempts to open his own Bible school, various home groups and churches, but from time to time the attempts failed. After all the failures that Andrei endured, he decided not to try to open his own church anymore.
In 2000, Andrei Shapovalov and his wife Svetlana became members of the American Church, in which they received a lot spiritually, but gave nothing away, and this did not suit Shapovalov, he felt indebted to God. In addition, at this time, Andrei had a strong quarrel with his mother, on the grounds that he no longer wanted to preach. After a quarrel, they did not communicate for two years.
Andrey's path to the opening of the church
At the beginning of 2004, according to Andrei Shapovalov, God turned to him and said that the time had come to repay the Lord for everything he had done for him. The first thing the Lord asked of him was to lose all his worldly addictions, the second was to tell his wife about his past, the third was to clear all his bank accounts and send them to those in need, the fourth was to spend a forty-day fast and, finally, the fifth was to give his collection the Porsche 911 model, which was very dear to its owner. Andrei overcame all these trials, and after one of the unremarkable days his wife had a dream in which her husband was able to create his own church and unite thousands of people under its roof. Svetlana told her husband that he would see what he dreamed of.
Opening of the Church "Transformation Center"
In 2005, a new chapter began in the life of the Shapovalov family, they managed to open a church that exists to this day and unites under its wing about five hundred thousand people of different racial and linguistic affiliations. Pastor Andrey Shapovalov has formed a very powerful help center for people, which is called the Center for the Transformation of the International Church. It is based in Seattle, Washington.
Since the landmark year 2005, Andrey Shapovalov has been actively preaching and traveling all over the world with his sermons, gathering huge halls of people. He also opened another church in the city of Portland.
If you read various Russian-language forums about this person, then we can conclude that the reviews about Andrei Shapovalov are ambiguous. Some call him overly charismatic, with a rather aggressive delivery and neo-Christian manners, but there are those who like his sermons.
What is the pastor doing now?
Today pastor Andrey Shapovalov and his wife Svetlana have three children. He actively preaches around the world in different parts of it, and also appears on television. With pastor Andrei, various talk shows are often released in which he is engaged in his traditional activities. Since this "Church of the covenant" has its own website, people from different states and other countries actively visit it, thus forming another church of the pastor's beliefs on the Internet. At the moment, the preacher is 44 years old, and he still has a lot ahead of him.
