Main news for 8 September 2025

In many of his letters Paul describes what inhabitants of the Kingdom should be. And in the letter to the Corinthians he too turns to this theme. What does the apostle draw attention to as the distinguishing features of an inhabitant of the Kingdom? He evidently singles out spiritual collectedness, which is exactly what the apostle speaks of when he calls his addressees to "watch": to watch means, in fact, not to sleep, not to relax, and first of all not to relax spiritually; steadfastness in faithfulness, or "faith," by which, of course, faithfulness to Christ is meant; courage; and strength, which in the Synodal translation is called "steadfastness."

It is not hard to notice that all these qualities are interconnected and are determined by a person's spiritual state. Spiritual collectedness is impossible without that spiritual wholeness which is the result and goal of every ascetic practice, including, of course, Christian ascetic practice. But such wholeness is only a means; it is important not in itself, but as an instrument needed in order to preserve faithfulness to Christ. Indeed, faithfulness is impossible without spiritual wholeness. In its absence a person is too unstable spiritually to preserve faithfulness to anyone or anything.

And without preserving faithfulness to Christ, of course, one cannot speak of any life in the Kingdom: betrayal means the rupture of all relations, and the Kingdom is formed precisely by relations: its inhabitants with Christ and with one another, their relations with God, and finally Christ Himself with the Father. Anyone who breaks these relations loses the Kingdom. If the relations are preserved, then a person receives courage and strength.

The matter, of course, is not physical strength, but that strength of the Kingdom which is so clearly visible in every genuine witness of it. And during trials this strength becomes the spiritual foundation of the courage that gives the faithful power to remain steadfast even in the hardest minutes. But the main feature of the inhabitants of the Kingdom is the love that is their organic spiritual environment, in which all their relations with one another are built. It is no accident that at the Last Supper the Savior points to love as the distinguishing mark of Christians.

Indeed, it is love that constitutes the spiritual substance of the Kingdom, what could be called its nature. And every inhabitant of the Kingdom shares in this love. That is why the apostle calls Christians, as they act in our transforming but not yet transformed world, to do so in such a way that everything happening in the Church is done in love, so that every action of Christians gives this new nature, the nature of the Kingdom transforming the world, an opportunity to manifest itself.