scholarly journals A new interpretation of the history of Russian religious thought: Philosophy of religion as a significant aspect of religious philosophy

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-383
Author(s):  
Konstantin M. Antonov ◽  
◽  
Alexander I. Kyrlezhev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Significant Aspect ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
Russian Religious Thought

Deification in the Long Nineteenth Century

2019 ◽  
pp. 55-81
Author(s):  
Ruth Coates
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cultural Expressions ◽  
Russian Religious Thought ◽  
The Church

Chapter 2 sets out the history of the reception of deification in Russia in the long nineteenth century, drawing attention to the breadth and diversity of the theme’s manifestation, and pointing to the connections with inter-revolutionary religious thought. It examines how deification is understood variously in the spheres of monasticism, Orthodox institutions of higher education, and political culture. It identifies the novelist Fedor Dostoevsky and the philosopher Vladimir Soloviev as the most influential elite cultural expressions of the idea of deification, and the primary conduits through which Western European philosophical expressions of deification reach early twentieth-century Russian religious thought. Inspired by the anthropotheism of Feuerbach, and Stirner’s response to this, Dostoevsky brings to the fore the problem of illegitimate self-apotheosis, whilst Soloviev, in his philosophy of divine humanity, bequeaths deification to his successors both as this is understood by the church and in its iteration in German metaphysical idealism.

Vladimir Soloviev on Nationalism

1946 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Karpovich
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Western World ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Marked Individual ◽  
Individual Character ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
Great Poet ◽  
History Of ◽  
Russian Religious Thought

The name of Vladimir Soloviev, insofar as it is familiar to the Western world, is known as that of a philosopher and religious thinker. This was, of course, the field in which he was particularly prominent. Russia can boast only a few formal philosophers (as distinguished from philosophizing novelists, poets or historians), and among those Soloviev is probably the most outstanding. Moreover, in the history of modern Russian religious thought, he occupies a central position, serving as a connecting link between the mid-nineteenth century Slavophils and such contemporary writers as Berdiaev and Bulgakov.But Soloviev's was a versatile and many-sided nature, and many other aspects of his life and activity deserve attention and study. He wrote interpretive essays on Russian poetry, some of which were landmarks in Russian literary criticism, and he was a poet himself—not a great poet, perhaps, but one with a strongly marked individual character.

scholarly journals Religion not only within the Bounds of Bare Reason

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-167
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Yuryevna Berdnikova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
History Of

The review is devoted to the analysis of the monograph by K.M. Antonov, which represents a fundamentally new and original methodological approach that allows you to look at the history of Russian philosophy of the late XVIII – early XX centuries as a “secular alternative” to the traditional theology. Because of this new methodology it becomes possible to correlate the ideas of Russian thinkers of that era with the problems of modern religious studies, philosophy of religion and philosophical theology. The work of Antonov in this regard can rightfully be called the "continuation" of classical works on the history of Russian religious philosophy by V.V. Zenkovsky, N.O. Lossky and G.V. Florovsky.

The Tradition of Christian Thought in The History of Russian Culture

2020 ◽  
pp. 676-693
Author(s):  
Igor I. Evlampiev
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Main Trend ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Fyodor Dostoevsky ◽  
History Of ◽  
Christian Thought ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Andrei Tarkovsky ◽  
Russian Religious Thought

This chapter highlights the most important characteristics of Russian religiosity and briefly describes the development of Russian religious thought from Russia’s adoption of Christianity in the tenth century up through the twentieth. It is emphasized that Russian religiosity strives to unite the divine and the earthly, in the interests of imparting to earthly reality a divine perfection. The author develops his view that Russian religious philosophy has always inclined towards the Gnostic version of Christianity, which denies the idea of the Fall and admits that the individual, as well as humanity as a whole, can achieve perfection in earthly life (i.e. the ‘Kingdom of God on Earth’ is possible). This point of view, first expressed by Pyotr Chaadaev, later became known as the concept of Godmanhood. Such a view lies at the centre of the philosophical outlook of the most famous Russian thinkers: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Vladimir Solovyov. The author argues that the main trend of twentieth-century Russian philosophy was to prove the crucial importance of Christianity for the proper development of civilization, while Christianity itself was understood by Russian thinkers (Nicolas Berdyaev, Semyon Frank, Lev Karsavin, Andrei Tarkovsky and others) as a teaching not so much about God as about the divine nature of man.

Faith and Science in Russian Religious Thought

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Obolevitch
Keyword(s):  
Science And Religion ◽  
Synthetic Approach ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Theology And Science ◽  
Science In Russia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lev Shestov ◽  
Lev Tolstoy ◽  
Russian Religious Thought ◽  
The Relationship

The book brings forth a comprehensive presentation of one of the most interesting of contemporary issues, namely an analysis of the relation between science and faith in Russian religious thought. It is a synthetic approach on the development of the problem throughout the whole history of Russian thought, starting from the medieval period and arriving in contemporary times. The key topic is considered the relationship between science and religion in the eighteenth century, the so-called academic philosophy of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the thought of Peter Chaadaev, the Slavophiles, and in the most influential literature figures, such as Fedor Dostoevsky and Lev Tolstoy. The book also analyzes two channels of the formation of philosophy in the context of the relationship between theology and science in Russia. The first is connected with the attempt to rationalize the truths of faith and is exemplified by Vladimir Soloviev and Nikolai Lossky; the second, the apophatic tradition, is presented by Fr. Pavel Florensky and Semen Frank. The book then describes the relation to scientific knowledge in the thought of Lev Shestov, Nikolai Berdyaev, Sergius Bulgakov, and Alexei Losev as well as the original project of Russian Cosmism (in the examples of Nikolai Fedorov, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and Vladimir Vernadsky). Finally, the book presents the current state of the discussion on this topic by paying attention to the Neopatristic synthesis (Fr. Georges Florovsky and his followers) and offers a brief comparative analysis of the relationship between science and religion from the Western and Russian perspectives.

scholarly journals Georges Florovsky

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-126
Author(s):  
Anatoly Chernyaev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
The World ◽  
Science And Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
World Class ◽  
Russian Religious Thought ◽  
Modern Era

Georges Florovsky is one of the world-class thinkers who determined the ways of understanding and developing Russian philosophy and Orthodox theology in the modern era. The youngest contemporary of the brilliant period of the heyday of Russian philosophy, science and culture at the beginning of the 20th century, one of the founders of the concept of Eurasianism, a member of academic corporations of the largest institutions founded by Russian emigrants on both sides of the Atlantic, a participant in the ecumenical movement, he acquired considerable authority and influence in world Slavic studies and religious thought. Florovsky's main works are devoted to the interpretation of the Russian thought tradition and the study of the patristic heritage, on the basis of which he proposed a new project for the development of Orthodox thought: neo-patristic synthesis. It is necessary to consider these areas of Florovsky's activity in interconnection: the picture of the history of Russian religious thought presented in his works is intended to demonstrate that the separation from classical patristic models that occurred in it entailed a crisis of the spiritual culture of Russia, which led to a large-scale social crisis of the 20th century. Florovsky's philosophical and theological program of neo-patristic synthesis was formed in a polemic with the sophiological direction of Russian philosophy and can be regarded as its main alternative; this program received a response and development in the works of a number of domestic and foreign philosophers and theologians.

scholarly journals CRISIS OF RENAISSANCE TYPE OF CULTURE IN RUSSIAN AND FOREIGN THOUGHT: IDEOLOGICAL SOURCES OF N. A. BERDYAEV'S “NEW MIDDLE AGES”

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Anatoly V. Chernyaev ◽  
◽  
Aleksandra Yu. Berdnikova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
German Romanticism ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Russian Religious Thought

The paper undertakes an analysis of the “New Middle Ages” concept articulated by N. A. Berdyaev. It is to show that this concept emerged as a result of Berdyaev's reinterpretation of a number of foreign and domestic thought traditions. To clarify the genesis and specifics of Berdyaev's historiosophical conception, the author provides a reconstruction of its prehistory in a broad cultural and historical context: starting from the origin of those ideas among representatives of German romanticism (and, in particular, the teachings of Novalis), Russian religious philosophy (the concept of “free theocracy” by V. S. Solovyov) up until the development of those ideas in the works of Russian 20th century thinkers (P. A. Florensky, S. N. Bulgakov, D. S. Merezhkovsky). In addition to that the paper renders the reconstruction of ideological evolution of Berdyaev himself. This reconstruction identifies the development of the concept of “New Middle Ages”; in particular, Berdyaev's appeal to such problems and questions as: revolution and reformation, idea of “theocratic socialism”, etc. The paper also highlights the biographical context of Berdyaev's concept of “New Middle Ages”. In particular the paper focuses on the analysis of an episode of the criticism of Berdyaev's early idealistic Marxist ideas brought about by A. A. Bogdanov and A.V. Lunacharsky [a direct consequence of which was Bogdanov's article “New Middle Ages. On “problems of idealism” (1903) ]; and also with Berdyaev's practical understanding of the phenomenon of the Reformation, which occurred in connection with the conflict between G. Fedotov and the leadership of the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris in 1939. Special attention is paid to the influence exerted on the development and shaping of this concept in Berdyaev's work by the ideas of Western thinkers — J. de Maistre and O. Spengler. The paper comes to the conclusion about the "inclusion" of Berdyaev's reasoning into the General trends of understanding the phenomenon of secularization in Russian religious thought at the turn of the 20th century.

Esotericism and the “Coded Word” in Mormonism

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-54
Author(s):  
Clyde Forsberg Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Popular Religion ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Social Commentary ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Book Of Mormon ◽  
Divine Inspiration ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
New Religion

In the history of American popular religion, the Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, have undergone a series of paradigmatic shifts in order to join the Christian mainstream, abandoning such controversial core doctrines and institutions as polygamy and the political kingdom of God. Mormon historians have played an important role in this metamorphosis, employing a version (if not perversion) of the Church-Sect Dichotomy to change the past in order to control the future, arguing, in effect, that founder Joseph Smith Jr’s erstwhile magical beliefs and practices gave way to a more “mature” and bible-based self-understanding which is then said to best describe the religion that he founded in 1830. However, an “esoteric approach” as Faivre and Hanegraaff understand the term has much to offer the study of Mormonism as an old, new religion and the basis for a more even methodological playing field and new interpretation of Mormonism as equally magical (Masonic) and biblical (Evangelical) despite appearances. This article will focus on early Mormonism’s fascination with and employment of ciphers, or “the coded word,” essential to such foundation texts as the Book of Mormon and “Book of Abraham,” as well as the somewhat contradictory, albeit colonial understanding of African character and destiny in these two hermetic works of divine inspiration and social commentary in the Latter-day Saint canonical tradition.

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