Homily on the First Day of the New Year. Christianity and Progress (1860)

Abstract

The text of Archimandrite Nicanor is dedicated to Christian reception of the idea of “progress of humankind”. For Archimandrite Nicanor, the purpose of mankind, according to the idea of progress, is the dispensation of the paradise on Earth in separation from religion. The origins of such an anti-Christian doctrine are both materialism and pantheistic idealism. These doctrines are based on the belief in infinite improvement of mankind, whereas the scientific evidence suggests a growing entropy in the material world. The author opposes Christian eschatology to the doctrine of the progress. Christianity focuses on a person’s moral improvement rather than material values.