The Gospels refer to the sacred texts of Christians written by the holy apostles about the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ. The four gospels are included in the canon of the books of the New Testament and represent one of the most important God-inspired books of the entire Bible.
For the Hritsian, the gospel is not only a historical document that tells about the life and work of Jesus Christ. This is, first of all, the Holy Scripture, which was written through the transmission of divine grace to the holy apostles so that people would learn more about God. The gospel is not just literature, it is the Divine Revelation of God itself to people.
Therefore, for the Christian, the reading of the gospel should be carried out with a sense of spiritual reverence and awe. It is helpful to turn to God with a prayer before reading the gospel for understanding the text to be read. The perception of the gospel text for the mind of the Christian must pass through the general prism of the teachings of the Church about God as Savior, Redeemer, Sanctifier and Creator.
Gospel narratives are far from always necessary to be understood literally. Jesus Christ himself often addressed the disciples in parables, with which he figuratively tried to convey to the consciousness of people the basic moral and doctrinal truths.
It is helpful to have the interpretation of the holy fathers of the Church on the gospel. For example, Theophylact Bulgarian. It must be understood that the gospel was written by the apostles after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them. The Orthodox believe that some difficult-to-understand passages from the gospels are not revealed to the consciousness of man because of a certain sinfulness of the person or a banal ignorance of the basic truths of the doctrine of the Church.
In order to understand the gospel, it is necessary not only to seek answers from the holy fathers of the Church in the interpretation of various narratives, but also to try to live a spiritual life, showing a desire for God. Otherwise, the gospel will be exclusively a book about the myths and legends of ancient Israel for a particular person. However, it should be understood that the main purpose of the apostles when writing texts was to proclaim the truth about the real coming of God to Earth.
