Our final installment of the responses to the question posed to Russian priests: How should we preach Christ in modern society? Enjoy!
by Priest Dimitry Shishkin
Preaching Christ is above all expressed in imitating Him and not in words only. This imitation in a deep, spiritual and precise way is only possible in the body of the Holy Orthodox Church, because it is in the Church that we “put on Christ”—that is, receive the possibility and hope of close communion with God. This imitation is in the thorough keeping of the commandments of Christ. And it can be said that the main problem of our time is doing little with the general habit of verbosity. It is not so much outward activity (which can be frantic and have the appearance of good) as the secret labor of keeping and transforming one’s own heart, which results in the transformation of personal life, the acquisition of humility, repentance and contrition. Then our deeds and words receive not the power of our weakness but the power of Christ Who works in us.
