Alexei Losev

Author(s):  
Sr. Teresa Obolevitch

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.

Author(s):  
Scott M. Kenworthy

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.


Author(s):  
Marina V. Kochergina

The article is devoted to the difficult fate of the old believers' priests of the Russian Orthodox Church of Old Believers in the period of Stalin's repression, the events on the World War II East Front and the postwar period, associated with a new oppression against the Church. The author restores the fate of old believers' priests from the ancient centres of Starodub and Vietka, who managed to preserve, despite the repression by the Soviet authorities, the faith of their ancestors, to show selflessness in relation to their flock, love for the Motherland, patriotism. The analysis of published biographies of old believers' priests of the Russian Orthodox Church of Old Believers, the memories of old believers themselves, recorded by the author, allow tracing the difficult way of restoring the spiritual life of old believer communities of Starodub and Vietka in this period, to show the regional aspects of the activity of old believers' priests in the field of state-confessional relations, their interaction with members of communities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 88-100
Author(s):  
Сергей Александрович Пименов

С самых первых веков своего существования христианство было подвержено разного рода притеснениям переходящим в открытые гонения. Церковь по своему духовному устройству является богочеловеческим организмом, который одновременно присущ миру земному и небесному. Враг рода человеческого не может смириться с тем, что сущность Церкви является неотмирной. Господь наш Иисус Христос в Евангелии дает прямое указание на то, что христиан впоследствии будут гнать и преследовать: «Если Меня гнали, будут гнать и вас» (Ин. 15, 20); «Возложат на вас руки и будут гнать вас, предавая в синагоги и темницы, и поведут пред царей и правителей за имя Мое…» (Лк. 21, 12). В современном мире преследование и дискриминация христиан приобрели системный характер. В то же время не менее интересен тот факт, что христиане по своей численности являются крупнейшей общиной в мире, но, несмотря на это, она находится в худшем состоянии. Цель статьи состоит в том, чтобы в комплексном виде представить факты дискриминации христиан в современном мире, а также действия Русской Православной Церкви, направленные на их защиту. Beginning from the first centuries of its existence, Christianity was subject to various kinds of oppression passing into open persecution. The Church in its spiritual structure is a God-human organism, which is at the same time inherent in the world of earth and heaven. The enemy of the human race cannot accept the fact that the essence of the Church is not out of this world. Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel gives a direct indication that Christians are going to be persecuted: «If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you» (Jn. 15, 20). «They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake...» (Lk. 21, 12). In our modern world, persecution and discrimination against Christians have become systemic. At the same time Christians are the largest community in the world, but despite this fact, it is in the worst condition. The aim of this article is to present in a comprehensive form the facts of discrimination against Christians in the modern world, as well as the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church focused on their protection.


2020 ◽  
pp. 129-142
Author(s):  
Alexey Fedotov

The article considers the significance of the personality of Archbishop Ambrose (Shchurov), who managed the diocese of Ivanovo (IvanovoVoznesensk) and Kineshma in 1977—2006 for the formation of the Orthodox intelligentsia in the Ivanovo region in 1990—2006. The memoirs of its representatives are given, reflecting their personal experience of communication with the Arch-pastor. Archbishop Ambrose was for many years a member of the editorial Board of the scientific journal “Intelligentsia and the world”. The article is devoted to the 90th anniversary since the birth of this Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, who made a considerable contribution to building dialogue between the Church and the intelligentsia in the region, and many Church representatives of intelligentsia.


2020 ◽  
pp. 160-198
Author(s):  
Макарий Веретенников

Статья посвящена содержанию, общим принципам построения и характерным особенностям календаря, или месяцеслова, Русской Православной Церкви. Автор использует методы анализа и синтеза. В итоге делаются нижеследующие обобщения. Месяцеслов был принесён на Русь из Византии в достаточно завершённом виде, однако в процессе исторического развития он дополнился особенными русскими праздниками. Календарь-месяцеслов - это грандиозный собор святых, подвизавшихся в разных местах на протяжении веков, единение Церкви Небесной и земной, история святости и история нашей Церкви. Месяцесловным памятям посвящены составленные гимнографами богослужебные тексты, которые поются и читаются в храмах. Традиционно почитается день кончины угодников Божиих, память открытия мощей святых, перенесения их святых мощей или же день канонизации угодников Божиих, реже - день их рождения. Фенологические наблюдения русского народа связаны с повседневной деятельностью и увязаны с месяцесловом, что свидетельствует о его проникновении в повседневную жизнь русского человека. The article is devoted to the content, General principles of construction and characteristic features of the calendar, or mesyatseslov, of the Russian Orthodox Church. The author uses methods of analysis and synthesis. As a result, the following generalizations are made. The mesyatseslov was brought to Russia from Byzantium in a fairly complete form, but in the course of historical development it was supplemented with special Russian holidays. The calendar-mesyatseslov is a grandiose council of saints who have labored in different places over the centuries, the unity of the Church of Heaven and earth, the history of holiness and the history of our Church. Liturgical texts composed by hymnographers, which are sung and read in churches, are dedicated to the mesyatseslovs memory. Traditionally, the day of the death of saints, the memory of the discovery of the relics of saints, the transfer of their Holy relics, or the day of the canonization of saints, less often - the day of their birth are honored. Russian people’s phenological observations are related to their daily activities and are linked to mesyatseslov, which indicates its penetration into the daily life of the Russian people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 74-93
Author(s):  
V.A. LIVTSOV ◽  
◽  
A.V. LEPILIN ◽  

The main purpose of the article is to analyze the emergence of opposition to ecumenism in the Rus-sian Orthodox Church (ROC) in the post-perestroika period of Russia. The article examines the issues of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC), the aspects of opposition to the ecumenist movement in the Russian Federation in the post-Soviet realities. The author comes to the conclusion that in the post-perestroika period, a number of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were negatively disposed towards ecu-menism and considered this movement a heresy. The issues of this kind caused disagreement not only at the international level, but also within the structure of the ROC itself.


2020 ◽  
pp. 269-274
Author(s):  
Сергей Забелич

В статье рассказывается об истории создания Синодальной Богослужебной комиссии, основных направлениях ее деятельности, задачах. На заседаниях обсуждаются вопросы и принимаются предварительные решения по сложным календарным вопросам, а также введение новых текстов в богослужебную практику Русской Православной Церкви на основе церковного Устава (Типикона) и литургической традиции Русской Церкви. The article is devoted to the history of establishing the Synodal Liturgical Commission, the main fields of its work and the essential tasks. The Commission raises a number of important liturgical questions, takes preliminary decisions on the complicated calendar issues and introduces the new texts of divine services into the worship practice of the Russian Orthodox Church following the Church statutes (Typikon) and the liturgical tradition of the Russian Church.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 60-64
Author(s):  
Evguenia Alexandrovna Belyaeva ◽  
Elena Aleksandrovna Venidiktova ◽  
Dilbar Valievna Shamsutdinova

Purpose: the aim of the undertaken study is to consider the dynamics of the church-state relationship in the context of Russian new cultural tendencies at the turn of the century. Methodology: Thus, The methodological basis of the research was formed by philosophical analysis of the church-state relationship, historicism and comparison principles. The following tasks were being solved: defining the interaction ways between the religious organizations and the state on the modern stage of the Russian society development; pointing out the prospects of consolidation of both the сhurch and the state around the democratic civil society fostering program in XXI century; revealing the need to promote respectful attitude towards human values as an integral part of spiritual culture. Result: The authors achieved the following results within the study: A wider notions of church and state were introduced demonstrating the similarity of some of their functions: offering moral guidance for social well-being; historic doctrinal models “caesaropapism”, “papocaesarism” and “symphony(concordance) of powers” were identified and characterized alongside with their secular counterparts - separation and cooperation models of church-state relationship. In conclusion of the article the urgent need for the transition of church-state relationship from political to social and cultural spheres was justified. Applications: This research can be used for the universities, teachers, and students. Novelty/Originality: In this research, the model of Socio-Cultural Interaction Forms of Church and State on the Example of the Russian Orthodox Church is presented in a comprehensive and complete manner.


2020 ◽  
pp. 71-84
Author(s):  
Алексей Черный

The article attempts to reconstruct various pastoral models that appeared in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church over several centuries. The author identifies several "images" of confession, which are very different, among them: the realization of "despotical" power in a "confessional" family of the sixteenth century, the fulfillment of conscription, deeply personal interaction based on mutual trust and the value of a hierarchical aspect, counseling under the guidance of a "parish elder". The state, depending on the circumstances, either embeds the pastor in itself as a necessary part of its own mechanism, or considers the priesthood as a foreign element, or completely distances itself from religious affairs. The author suggests that the “types” of confession presented in the article can be compared with the forms of pastoral self-consciousness to be found in the modern life of the church. This in turn suggests that in the Russian Church today is characterized by the search for pastoral identity, in which the priesthood plays a key role.


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