When Apostle Paul preached in Athens among the Areopagus about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the Athenians, upon hearing about the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said: ‘We will hear you again on this matter.’ At the time of Apostle Paul’s preaching, a dualistic teaching about man had already crystallized in the Hellenistic world (in various versions). Speaking conditionally, Greek dualism can be characterized by the phrase ‘σώμα σήμα’ (soma sema), meaning ‘body – tomb, grave.’ A grave of what? – A grave of the soul. Body and soul were thought of as two different substances. The soul is eternal, and its homeland is the world of ideals. The body is temporary, material, and is the source of suffering and passions of the soul. From such a point of view, the very idea of bodily resurrection is absurd and even blasphemous, as was demonstrated to Apostle Paul (not only in Athens but also partly in Corinth). The main reason why the Greeks could not understand Apostle Paul lies in the fact that they spoke different ‘anthropological languages’ (anthropology – the doctrine of man). (This misunderstanding since the time of Apostle Paul has not ceased – it continues to this day. Pagan philosophy, which appeals to the thinking of the carnal mind, has gradually almost displaced from Christianity the Biblical teaching about man: pagans talk about the soul and body (or: spirit, soul, and body) as different substances, that is, they analyze (split into components: soul and body, which can be separated from each other and thought of as separate realities) nature; and Christians talk about hypostasis, personality, and nature in its integrity, not dividing (even mentally) it into components (or about nature: as essence and energy, which are inseparable and inconceivable without each other). The Church never talks about the immortal soul (in the sense of a substance, a component of human nature) – these are pagan motifs in philosophy on religious themes). The same words denote different concepts, indicate different realities (see Pt. I about the ‘agreement on terms’). The movement of thought takes place in different ‘coordinate systems’ – biblical-Christian and Hellenistic-pagan (see. Pt. I). The situation is not much better now than it was in Athens two thousand years ago (perhaps even worse, because we are talking about those who call themselves Christians), because people still do not understand the Gospel – what the Church proclaims, what Great Joy it announces. Let’s try to hear together, understand (having previously agreed on terms, concepts) the Gospel, which the Church proclaims, about what It speaks when it preaches ‘the resurrection of the dead,’ ‘resurrection in the body,’ ‘bodily resurrection.’ We see that to understand the language of the Church, it is necessary to clarify, clarify the understanding (clarify the meaning) of three terms (what the Church means by these terms): ‘death’ (we talked in detail in the previous chapter – we will not repeat), ‘body,’ and ‘resurrection.’
Let’s see what the Church understands by the word ‘body.’ (After the previous chapter, we should already understand that probably not the meaning that the world of the 21st century puts into it). Lord Jesus Christ is called the Savior by the Church because He saved us. The Lord took on the whole human nature in His Divine Hypostasis in the Incarnation (the Fathers, arguing with heretics, said: ‘What is not taken (by God into His Hypostasis – V.A.) – is not healed, not saved (not deified)’). Thus, the Lord saved, deified, resurrected the whole human nature (as pagans would say: ‘soul’ and ‘body’), the whole person. The word Σωτήρ (Savior) has the same root as the word σώς – which means ‘whole,’ ‘healthy,’ and the word σώμα – body (the common root ‘σω’ – ‘whole’: whole, whole, to heal, wholeness, Healer). Thus, σώς (sos) – ‘whole,’ ‘healthy,’ σώμα (soma) – ‘body’ (‘whole’ as Belarusians say), ‘wholeness,’ σωτηρία (soteria) – ‘healing,’ ‘acquiring body, wholeness,’ ‘salvation,’ Σωτήρ (Sotir) – ‘Healer,’ ‘Savior.’ (In Ukrainian, these root-related words are translated by different roots: salvation, body, health – therefore, if we want to understand the Gospel, explanations, bridges are necessary). The same picture is traced in other languages. In Latin: sanare (to heal, to heal; hence: sanatorium – a place where they heal, treat; sanitation – healing) – sanus (a healthy person) – sanctus (saved, holy); the common root ‘san’, salvation and healing in Latin are the same action. In German: heilen (to treat, to heal) – Heil (healing, salvation) – Heiland (Savior) – heilig (holy, saved); the root ‘heil’, thus wholeness and salvation – are the same. In English: whole (whole) – holy (holy, saved, happiness)… Therefore, ‘to save’ – is ‘to heal, to give wholeness, to restore wholeness.’
Since the Lord saves not the ‘body’ (in the sense of a substance, as a component of nature according to the teaching of pagans), but a person in her integrity, the process of salvation does not concern some separate ‘component’ of nature. Thus, σώμα – ‘body’ (wholeness) does not carry the concept of materiality.