The Name-Glorifiers (Imiaslavie) Controversy

2020 ◽  
pp. 326-342
Author(s):  
Scott M. Kenworthy
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Religious Symbols ◽  
Jesus Prayer ◽  
The Church

In 1912–1913, a controversy erupted first among the Russian monks on Mount Athos of the claim in one book on prayer that ‘the Name of God is God Himself’. The so-called ‘Name-Glorifiers’ teaching would be condemned by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, leading Russian religious thinkers, especially Sergius Bulgakov, Pavel Florenskii, and Aleksei Losev, would take up the issue. The very nature of the controversy would provoke these thinkers to reflect broadly on the philosophy of language in general. More specifically, they also reflected on the nature of religious symbols and the role of religious symbols such as language in mediating religious experience between the person in prayer and God. This chapter surveys the genesis of the debate and its treatment within the Church. The debate itself originated in connection with the practice of hesychastic spirituality and the Jesus Prayer, but the Church authorities reacted in a swift way, without fully understanding the issues at stake. One important consequence of the controversy was the revival of the theology of St. Gregory Palamas, the Byzantine theologian who had defended the hesychasts in the thirteenth century, but whose theology had largely been forgotten in Russia. Although the debate erupted on the eve of the revolution and therefore was forgotten by many, the reflections on language and symbols by thinkers such as Florenskii and Losev would have a broader resonance in later Russian thought, not only with regard to language but even in mathematics.

scholarly journals Eurasianists on the Role of Orthodoxy and the Church in the National State Development of Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 254-268
Author(s):  
Sergey V. Bazavluk
Keyword(s):  
Political Identity ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Catholic Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Church

The author analyzes the ideological views of a group of Russian migrants of the fi rst wave, known as Eurasianists, including N.S. Trubetskoy, P.N. Savitsky, N.N. Alekseeva, L.N. Karsavina and others. The author discusses fundamental elements of the classical Eurasianist program, such as the role of the Orthodox Church and the state in the life of Russia and its society, their attitude to Roman Catholic culture, and their place in dialogue with other religions. In addition, other important elements of Eurasianism noted here are the ideas of pan-Eurasian nationalism, ideocracy, the spatial borders of Russia-Eurasia, the symphonic personality, a guarantee state. These issues are associated directly with the authors of these concepts and with Eurasianism in general. The author demonstrates the continuity with the teachings of the Slavophiles and highlights the special attention that the Eurasians paid to the traditional cultures of Russia. Also noted is the interest in Eurasianism of church circles in exile in Europe. At the same time, the Eurasianists’ critical vies on the “Petersburg period” in the history of the Russian church are highlighted, which are also implicit in Eurasianism as an independent ideological and philosophical line of thought of Russian emigration in the fi rst half of the twentieth century. An attempt is made to show how, through conservative thought, Eurasians tried to form a new type of political identity. This ideological direction with an emphasis on spirituality and special institutions was considered by Eurasians as a prototype of the future statehood of Russia as opposed to the Soviet-Marxist system. In the context of the contemporary Eurasian integration (EAEU), of the current role of the Russian Orthodox Church and external political manipulations around the role of the Moscow Patriarchate, the theoretical views of the Eurasians take on a new dimension.

scholarly journals Social and Political Consequences of the Pandemic for the Russian Orthodox Church

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-558
Author(s):  
Roman N. Lunkin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cyber Space ◽  
The Church

In the article analyzed the social and political consequences of pandemic of coronavirus for the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of the reaction of different European churches on the quarantine rules and critics towards the church inside Russia. The author used the structural-functional and institutional approaches for the evaluation of the activity of the Russian Orthodox Church, was analyzed the sources of mass-media and the public claims of the clergy. In the article was made a conclusion that Orthodox Church expressed itself during the struggle with coronavirus as national civic institute where could be represented various even polar views. Also the parish activity leads to the formation of the democratic society affiliated with the Church and the role of that phenomenon have to be explored in a future. The coronacrisis makes open the inner potential of the civic activity and different forms of the social service in Russian Church. In the same time pandemic provoked the development of the volunteer activity in the around-church environment and also in the non-church circles among the young people and the generation of 40th age where the idea of the social responsibility for themselves and people around and the significance of the civil rights was one of the popular ideas till 2019. The conditions of the self-isolation also forced the clergy to struggle for their parishioners and once again renovate the role of the church in the society and in the cyber space.

scholarly journals Conducting a campaign to remove church values ​​during the famine of 1921-1923

2009 ◽  
pp. 170-174
Author(s):  
O.S. Bykova
Keyword(s):  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Independent State ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church ◽  
Active Assistance

With the development of Ukraine as an independent state, interest in its history and especially in the turning points of history is increasing. One such period was the famine of 1921-1923. At this time, contradictions between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church were particularly acute. In 1922-1923, a campaign was taken to seize church values ​​to help the hungry, in which the Church was unable to increase its authority through active assistance to the population and which significantly reduced the role of religion in the lives of Soviet people. The consequences of these events are still relevant today.

scholarly journals The keeper of Church Books: the biography of E.A. Karmanov in the context of the Soviet Era in the History of the Russian Orthodox Church

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 53-62
Author(s):  
Irina V. Lobanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

In the article through the prism of the fate of E.A. Karmanov, a church publisher, editor and bibliophile, shows the complex process of survival of Russian church history science in the Soviet period. Deprived of the possibility of development, it turned out to be focused on the task of preserving its pre-revolutionary heritage and new manuscript evidence, which was to become material for future research. Under these conditions, the role of collectors and keepers of the book culture of the church became very important, as was E.A. Karmanov (1927 1998).

scholarly journals The problem of the effectiveness of social service of the Russian Orthodox Church in penitentiary institutions in the modern history of Russia

2019 ◽  
pp. 70-74
Author(s):  
Vladislav A. Tulyanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Service ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Former Prisoners ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

The article deals with the interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereinafter, the ROC) and the penitentiary system of Russia. The author addresses the problem of the social role of the ROC in penitentiary institutions. The purpose of the article is to analyse the effectiveness of Church social service in penitentiary institutions of modern Russia. The basis of the research methodology is the analysis of statistical information of the Federal penitentiary service and social projects of the ROC on the effectiveness of the Church penitentiary service. It is concluded that the activities of the ROC in the penal system has significant positive outcomes that are associated primarily with the problem of improving relations among specific population of penitentiary establishments, as well as re-socialisation of former prisoners and prevention of offenses, which is an important element in the fight against general crime rate in the country.

The Russian Orthodox Church and the Secret Chancellery in the Context of Reforms of Peter the Great

2020 ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Aleksandr R. Pavlushkov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Peter The Great ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Established Relationship ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

Based on various sources, this article attempts to determine the scope and nature of the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Secret Chancellery during the reforms of Peter I. The chronological framework of the period under study is limited to 1718–1725. It should be noted that the number of works on this topic is rather small. The article dwells on the various aspects and forms of the relationship between the penal body and the Church as a whole. The starting point is the case of Tsarevich Alexei, which exposed the dissatisfaction of the clergy with the reforms of Peter I and initiated the strengthening of punitive policies, involving the tools of the Church. According to the author, the established relationship between the Church and the Secret Chancellery cannot be called sporadic, since there had been a certain unity of mutual interests between the parties. It is emphasized that contradictions had been accumulating between them, related to the violation of the secrecy of confession, lack of legal regulation of official relations, and structural vagueness of the institutions of the Most Holy Synod that had contacts with the Secret Chancellery. Nevertheless, in practice there had been developed a certain procedure for coordinating various issues, which both sides refrained from violating. Further, the author analyses the case of Tsarevich Alexei and the role of the first chief procurators of the Most Holy Synod in the context of the development of the relationship between the Church and the Secret Chancellery. Further, the article indicates the reasons for not only mutual interest, but also the subsequent crisis in their relationship that occurred in 1725. The author concludes that the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Secret Chancellery was in line with the policy of forming a police state.

Alexei Losev

2020 ◽  
pp. 563-579
Author(s):  
Sr. Teresa Obolevitch
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Philosophical Foundations ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Church ◽  
Name Of God

Alexei Losev was among those few religious thinkers who remained in the USSR after the revolution. He was an advocate of the so-called onomatodoxy movement in the Russian Orthodox Church according to which the name of God is not something conventional, but God himself. It was Losev who elaborated the philosophical foundations of this teaching and built a sort of synthesis of Platonism (and Neoplatonism) and the thought of the Eastern Fathers of the Church, especially St. Gregory of Palamas. As an encyclopaedic man, Losev dealt with different branches of philosophy: philosophy of language, music, mathematics, aesthetics, etc. The common denominator of all works was the issue of symbol, which he considered to be an external expression of an internal content. In the context of onomatodoxy debates, it means that the name of God is nothing but His energy (using the term of the Greek Fathers of the Church), or manifestation of His unknowable essence in the world. Therefore, a symbol is primarily of an objective character and at the same time assumes the cooperation (synergy) between God and man.

scholarly journals Monastic and temple sacristies during the prerevolutionary period

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-160
Author(s):  
Larisa Sergeevna Alekseeva
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Art ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Revolutionary Period ◽  
The Church

Throughout many centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church has been creating and preserving inestimable historical and cultural heritage, including the works of the ancient Russian art, ceremonial ware, and other artifacts. The second half of the XIX century marks the surge in preservation of monuments, and the Church takes active part in such activity. For the purpose of preservation of ecclesiastical antiquity were established the church museums. In the pre-revolutionary period, the museums functioned on the premises of theological academies and seminaries, dioceses, temples and monasteries, and other structural divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church. The group of church museums of that time is poorly studied. The subject of this research is the sacristy collections of temples and monasteries. On the example of sacristies under the major temples and monasteries of Novgorod, Pskov, Yaroslavl and Rostov, the article provides a retrospective overview of the activity of the large museums of antiquities. Based on the survived description of sacristies, the author analyzes the content of their collections. The content of such compilations was affected by the cultural and commercial ties of the cities. For example, the Novgorod sacristies preserve the items associated to the spread of Orthodoxy in Rus’, while the Yaroslavl museums of antiquities feature the monuments of later period. Based on the activity of the aforementioned collections, the conclusion is made that they carried out the functions of discovery, preservation, study, and translation of cultural heritage. Therefore, the prerevolutionary monastic and temple museums of antiquities performed the role of church museums. Further development of the group of church museums on the premises of temples and monasteries was hindered by the historical transformations of the XX century.

scholarly journals The cult of the tsar and its promotion by Orthodox religious institutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ion Gumenai ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Component Part ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Imperial Family ◽  
The Church

With the annexation of Bessarabia to the Russian Empire, not only economic, political and cultural changes took place, but also spiritual ones. The strengthening of the role of the Orthodox Church for the idea of the Russian press will take place with the launch by Nicholas I of the well–known triad: “Orthodoxy, autocracy, people” – the three pillars on which Russian statehood will be based. It is interesting that “orthodoxy” in this triad occupies the primordial place and this in a multinational and multi–denominational state, and “autocracy” is on second place giving way to the Church. This position of the Russian Orthodox Church existed before and has been preserved since, with slogans such as “For Faith, the Tsar and Fatherland” or “Russian God, Russian Tsar and Russian People”. Obviously, for this position, the Orthodox Church had to make a significant effort to spread the cult of the tsar, which also refers to Bessarabia as a component part of this colossus. And this is done through all existing measures and possibilities. This also refers to the publicity of books invoking the entire imperial family, to the publication of instructions and special regulations related to the manner and rules of performing divine services in honor of the emperor and the imperial family, as well as various actions aimed at promoting the imperial image.

scholarly journals Archimandrite Damascene (Orlovsky) Has Published a New Book: ‘Through Suffering to Communion: New Martyrs of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus’

2018 ◽  
pp. 953-959
Author(s):  
Zinaida P. Inozemtseva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Religious Persecution ◽  
Religious Consciousness ◽  
Life Paths ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

The reviewed book of Archimandrite Damascene (Orlovsky) ‘Through Suffering to Communion: New Martyrs of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus’ describes 24 life paths of hierarchs and clergymen canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and their spiritual endeavors amid anti-religious persecution of the 20th century. The book opens a door into the world of the heroes of spirit, who recreated reality in the most stifling time of mass anti-religious repression on the territory of the former Russian Empire. New martyrs come to life in the book to show an example of living Christian ideal (as imagined in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) within this world. The group portrait of new martyrs shows features of national elite. Their spiritual endeavor, concludes the author's, is a phenomenon in the history of our currently divided people, which gives hope for creating a new unity through suffering. The source base that has provided biographical and hagiographic material for the book conclusively represents the realities of period in its macro and micro aspects. It consists of archival documents and oral history sources, most of which are being introduced into scientific use by the author. The review recognizes high scientific and archaeographic level of the book, as well as its informative value. The text includes 500 citations from archival documents and scholarship, as well as some documents, rare photographs, and scholarly commentary. It is of value for scientists who study the history of the Church and explore the role of individual and religious consciousness in the historical process.

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