F. M. Dostoevsky on the Pages of the Church Academic Periodicals of the Late 19th - Early 20th Centuries (On the Material of the Journal of the Moscow Theological Academy «Theological Herald») (original) (raw)

F. M. Dostoevsky on the Pages of the Church Academic Periodicals of the Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries / Ф. М. Достоевский на страницах церковной академической периодики конца XIX — начала XX века

Богословский вестник, 2022

The article deals with the problem of perception of the creative heritage of F. M. Dostoevsky in the church academic periodicals at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. The journal of the Moscow Theological Academy «Theological Bulletin» presents a fairly large layer of materials in one way or another related to Dostoevsky (in this sense, the writer leaves Pushkin, Gogol, Leskov and others far behind him). Noteworthy is the breadth of the thematic context in which Dostoevsky and / or his works are mentioned (from historical-literary and religious-philosophical to socio- psychological and natural science). Typical formulas through which the image of a writer on the pages of the Theological Bulletin is determined are a preacher of Orthodoxy, a teacher of pastors, a Panslavist, a psychologist, a philosopher, a genius etc. In most of the publications of The Theological Bulletin, Dostoevsky’s works are not so much an object of historical and literary analysis as they are used as material to comment on current moral and philosophical issues of our time or, as observed in articles of a scientific and theological nature, to illustrate in a language accessible to readers dogmatic foundations of Christianity and Orthodox asceticism. Some articles compare famous people with characters in Dostoevsky’s works (for example, V. Rozanov’s personality and his religiosity are compared with the image of Alyosha Karamazov and his faith in God). Dostoevsky’s reception in The Theological Bulletin is carried out in a religious and philosophical aspect, the writer's creative heritage is viewed not only as the summit phenomenon of Russian literature, but also as a significant factor in Russian Orthodox culture, expressing its most important features.

“Dostoevsky, Faith and Christianity: On occasion of the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birth and 140th anniversary of the writer’s repose”, Тhe Church: Calendar of the Serbian Patriarchate (2021) 113-122 [Serbian]

Summary: Оn the occasion of the jubilee year, the author summarizes Dostoevsky’s attitude towards Christianity and faith, reflecting on the “damned” questions that Dostoevsky dealt with in his works, such as the meaning of suffering and evil, the issue of reforming society and the individual, and the existence and justification of God. He thematizes the spiritual – to wit, the Christological and ecclesial – solution of these questions in Dostoevsky’s work, as well as the presence of a certain Christian typology of character regarding the protagonists of Dostoevsky’s novels. This enables an affirmative but measured assessment of those approaches that regard the presence of Christ and Orthodox spirituality in the opus of Dostoevsky as either secondary or irrelevant in relation to other dimensions, contents and aspects: those approaches that, for example, persist in an immanentist-critical approach to Dostoevsky’s work, in the name of theoretical-literary, philosophical-existential, deep-psychoanalytic or comparative-cultural analyses and reflections. In addition to the polyphony and non-completability that Bakhtin legitimately insists on, the author shows it is important to keep or appropriate what one may call symphony and perfectability. The latter above all signify the fundamental harmony (συμφωνία), or moments of harmony, of Dostoevsky’s faith in Christ as the God-man with his own soul. Dostoevsky’s works testify that the leitmotifs of Christian themes in these works are due not only to “some voices” of “some heroes” but, rather, that in them (and above them) the voice of the author — Fyodor Mihailovich is noticeable, as much as the voice of God through him. Seen from this perspective, which as a vertical intersects the horizontal (Bakhtin’s) perspective, and which (despite its transcendent origin) is no less immanent than the horizontal one (in its own specific way), it imposes itself not only as legitimate but as illuminative (based on the faith of both reader and writer) to affirm a Christian interpretive strategy as the deepest horizon of contextualization of Dostoevsky’s work: followed in fact by many Dostoevskian scholars of Orthodox provenance: from Bulgakov through Berdyaev to Popović and Evdokimov, and others. Certainly, in reading Dostoevsky, as on a chess-board, readers become participants in the intertwined open drama of the novel. Nevertheless, the possibility must be taken into account that this participation, under the presupposition of an act of personal faith illuminated by the Spirit, is at the same time an act of participation in the life of faith of both: Dostoevsky and ourselves — in the one Jesus Christ. No matter how enlightening, the interpretation of Dostoevsky’s work cannot be reduced to a discussion of the theoretical-literary, compositional or character-psychological aspects of his novels, or to other “immanentist” theorizations. The deepest interpretation of Dostoevsky’s personality, opus and creativity – in the spiritual sense – is openned by the Christological hermeneutic framework given through his experience of the (Orthodox) Church. After all, the discovery of the dialogical structure of the novels and the non-completability of the characters coincides with the dialogue with Dostoevsky and his heroes as personalities who, as “images of the living God”, attain or can attain perfectability through faith and life in the Son of God, Christ, whom Dostoevsky unequivocally confessed as the irreplaceable and primary meaning of life. Key words: Dostoevsky, Christianity, faith, immanent critique, transcendent critique, dialogical polyphonic structure, Christological hermeneutical reading Апстракт: Поводом године јубилеја, аутор се осврће на однос Достојевског према хришћанству и вери рефлектујући „проклета“ питања којима се Достојевски бавио у својим делима, каква су питање смисла страдања и зла, питање реформе друштва и појединца, и питање постојања и оправдања Бога. Он тематизује духовно – христолошко и црквено – решавање тих питања у делу Достојевског, као и присуство извесне хришћанске типологије карактера протагониста романа Достојевског. То омогућује афирмативну али одмеравајућу оцену оних приступа који су у делу Достојевског присуство Христа и православне духовности видели или као другостепено или као ирелевантно у односу на друге димензије, садржаје и аспекте: приступа који су, рецимо, истрајавали на иманентистичко-критичком захвату у дело Достојевског а у име теоријско-књижевних, философско-егзистенцијалних, дубинско-психоаналитичких или компаратистичко-културолошких анализа и рефлексија. C Уз полифоничност и недовршивост на којој легитимно инсистира Бахтин, показује аутор, битно је да задржимо или укључимо и оно што можемо назвати симфоничност и усавршивост. Потоње пре свега означава темељну усаглашеност (συμφωνία) вере Достојевског у Христа као Богочовека са сопственом душом. Дела Достојев¬ског сведоче како лајтмотиви хришћанских тема у тим делима нису само „неки гласови“ „неких јунака“ него да је у њима (и поврх њих) приметан и глас аутора — Михајла Фјодоровича, колико и глас Бога преко њега. Гледано из те перспективе, која као вер-тикална пресеца хоризонталну (бахтиновску) перспективу, и која (упрскос свом трансцендентном пореклу) није мање иманентна од хоризонталне (али на свој специфичан начин), намеће се не само као легитимно већ као битно да се, на основу вере и читаоца и писца, афирмише хришћанска интерпретативна стратегија као онај надубљи хоризонт контекстуализације стваралаштва Достојевског, којим су узорито корачали многи теолози достојевскиолози православне провенијенције: од Булгакова преко Берђајева до Поповића и Евдокимова, и других. Свакако да у читању Достојевског, као на шаховском пољу, читаоци постају учесници испреплетано отворене драме романа. Међутим, мора се уважити могућност да је то уче-ствовање, под претпоставком чина личне вере обасјане Духом, уједно чин партиципације у животу вере и Достојевског и нас самих: у једном Исусу Христу. Ма колико била обасјавајућа, интерпетација дела Достојевског не може се свести на расправу о теоријско-литерарним, композицијским или карактерно-психолошким видовима његових романа, или на друге „иманентистичке“ теоретизације. Најдубље тумачење личности, дела и стваралаштва Достојевског – у духовном смислу – даје христолошки хермененутички оквир задат преко његовог опита православља и Цркве. Уосталом, откриће дијалошке структуре романа и незавршивости ликова (децентрираност) коинцидира дијалогу са Достојевским и његовим јунацима као личностима које, као „образи Бога живог“, усавршења могу задобити или задобијају вером и животом управо у Сину Божијем Христу (рецентрираност) којег је Достојевски недвосмислено исповедио као ничим замењив а примарни смисао живота. Кључне речи: Достојевски, хришћанство, вера, иманентна критика, трансцендентна критика, дијалошка полифона структура, христолошко херменеутичко читање

Chumakova T. V. Russian Literature of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries in the Infosphere of Theological Academies of the Russian Empire.

Чумакова Т.В. Русская литература XIX — начала XX вв. в инфосфере духовных академий Российской империи // Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Философия и конфликтология. 2023. Т. 39. Вып. 3. С. 595–60 , 2023

The purpose of the article is an attempt to develop approaches to the reconstruction of the place and role of literature in the intellectual and information sphere of Russian theological academies of the nineteenth — early twentieth centuries. The current publication has been prepared on the basis of sources of various origins: catalogs of libraries of theological acad-emies, periodicals published in the Orthodox theological academies of the Russian Empire (Khristianskoe chtenie (Christian Reading), Trudy Kievskoi Dukhovnoi Akademii (Proceed-ings of the Kiev Theological Academy), Pravoslavnyi sobesednik (Orthodox Interlocutor), Bo-goslovskii vestnik (Theological Bulletin), for instance), Orthodox autobiographies, proceed-ings of meetings of councils of theological academies, programs of training courses, teaching manuals (textbooks and anthologies), etc. The analysis of those numerous sources shows that the libraries of four Orthodox theological academies of the Russian Empire had large collec-tions of fiction in various languages, including works of Russian literature. Studying Russian literature was also part of a number of training courses. Initially, it was due not so much to the desire to provide students with a versatile education, but to the desire to develop their artistic taste and literary abilities, which was necessary for composing sermons. But later, literature was interpreted as something of powerful influence at a person’s worldview, something that could compete with religion. The study shows that the influence of contemporary Russian literature was constantly increasing, and, by the early twentieth century, the programs of theo-logical educational institutions included studying works by almost all Russian writers. At the same time, not only ‘spiritual’ writings were studied, but also those which were considered ‘harmful’, and the last one got almost a central place in the ecclesiastic periodicals (L. N. Tol-stoy

The Moscow Branch of the Family Tree of F. M. Dostoevsky: New Archival and Printed Sources

Неизвестный Достоевский, 2023

The article introduces into scientific circulation new archival and printed sources related to the Moscow branch of the family tree of F. M. Dostoevsky. They pertain to five generations of the writer᾽s ancestors and relatives-from the great-great-great-grandfather of the priest Andrey Grigoriev to the mother of Maria Fedorovna Nechaeva-Dostoevskaya. The certificates of M. F. Nechaeva᾽s birth, her brother Mikhail's (Dostoevsky᾽s uncle) birth and death, the wedding of the grandfather and grandmother of the writer Fyodor Timofeevich Nechaev and Varvara Mikhailovna Kotelnitskaya, the birth and wedding of Alexandra Fedorovna Nechaeva-Kumanina (Dostoevsky᾽s aunt), the death of grandfather F. T. Nechaev, etc. are published for the first time. For the first time, the names of the brother of Dostoevsky᾽s great-great-great-grandfather, the archpriest of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, John Grigoriev, the great-grandmother of the writer Nastasia Kotelnitskaya and some other relatives are established. Clarifications and corrections have been made to the information previously published in genealogical works about members of the Dostoevsky family. The authors of the article paid special attention to the establishment of the Moscow addresses of the ancestors and relatives of the writer, laying the foundation for the creation of the "Dostoevsky᾽s Moscow" map in the future.

Vladimir Soloviev's Way to “The History and the Future of Theocracy”: Controversy About the Dogmatic Development of the Church on the Pages of “Faith and Reason” Magazine (1884-1891)

Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta družby narodov, 2019

Предпринимается историко-философская реконструкция полемики между В.С. Соловьевым и авторами журнала Харьковской духовной семинарии «Вера и разум», пришедшейся на «богословско-публицистический» (или «теократический») период творчества русского философа (1880-е гг.). Особое внимание уделяется спорам, которые вели с Соловьевым по поводу теории догматического развития в церкви Т. Стоянов (К.Е. Истомин), А.П. Шостьин и французский православный священник о. Владимир Гетте. В контексте данной полемики проанализированы также аргументы «в защиту» позиции Соловьева, приводившиеся на страницах журнала «Православное обозрение» богословом, последователем К.Н. Леонтьева И.И. Кристи. Показывается рецепция теократических идей Соловьева и реакция на его взгляды по церковному вопросу как в католических, так и в православных кругах российского и западного общества (в частности, идейно продолжающая полемику с авторами «Веры и разума» критика идей Соловьева на страницах французских журналов «L'Univers», «L'Union Chrétienne», «Revue d'Eglise greque-unie» и т.д.). Продемонстрирована эволюция взглядов Соловьева на проблему взаимоотношений католичества и православия, возобновления церковного общения между христианскими конфессиями, основные результаты чего нашли свое отражение в неоконченной работе мыслителя «История и будущность теократии» (Загреб, 1887). Делается вывод о поверхностности суждений большинства идейных оппонентов В.С. Соловьева, а также более поздних интерпретаторов его наследия, вслед за французским иезуитом Мишелем д'Эрбиньи пытавшихся представить его как «русского Ньюмена», перешедшего из православия в католическую веру. Показано, что разрабатывавшийся Соловьевым проект «религии Св. Духа» и создания на ее основе «Вселенской церкви» следует рассматривать прежде всего в контексте философских исканий автора, а не в связи с конфессиональными и идеологическими дивергенциями того времени.

Chrysostomos Papadopoulos and the Russian theological academic landscape of 19th century

Russian Journal of Church History, 2021

В этом сообщении я сосредоточусь на исследованиях архиепископа Афинского Хризостома Пападопулоса в России XIX в., особенно в области русской богословской академической науки. Это направление, с одной стороны, находилось под влиянием западной философии и протестантского богословия, с другой стороны, характеризуется эволюцией в богословских исследованиях, которым постепенно приписывается систематический характер перевода, изучения и публикаций трудов отцов Церкви. Что касается истории Церкви как академической дисциплины, то, по мнению автора сообщения, в российских высших духовных учебных заведениях она процветала в первую очередь благодаря выдающимся ученым, таким, как историк В. В. Болотов. Ключевые слова: Хризостом Пападопулос, богословские исследования, отцы Церкви, западная философия, духовные академии России. Отношения и деятельность: Доклад автора на конференции, организованной Волосской богословской академией 02/04/2016, на тему: "Архиепископ Хризостом Пападопулос: Богословие и церковная жизнь в межвоенный период". Благодарности. Aвтор благодарит филолога-эллиниста Александру Горбачеву за помощь в переводе статьи на русский язык.

The Problem of «Historical Jesus» in Russia at the End of the 19th Century on the Example of the Books of D. F. Strauss

Theological Herald

В настоящей публикации рассматривается восприятие русскими авторами второй половины XIX в. популярных в Европе и новых для того времени идей Тюбингенской школы на примере книг Давида Фридриха Штрауса, видного представителя библейской рационалистической критики и автора «мифической теории». Цель исследования - показать, насколько неоднозначно в русском образованном обществе были восприняты актуальные для Европы богословские тенденции. В статье представлен разнообразный спектр мнений российских авторов XIX в. относительно творчества немецкого теолога. This publication examines the perception by Russian authors of the second half of the 19th century of the popular in Europe and new for that time ideas of the Tübingen school on the example of the books of David Friedrich Strauss, a prominent representative of biblical rationalist criticism and the author of the «mythical theory». The purpose of the study is to show how ambiguous the theological trends relevant to Europe were perceived i...

Biblical Images and Motifs in the Works of F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Andreeva

Culture and Text

The article provides the examples of the reflection of the biblical tradition in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Andreeva in the typological and historical-functional aspects. The memoirs of the author of Judas Iscariot confirm that the writer called an atheist by his contemporaries, considered Dostoevsky one of his teachers, given his experience in reproducing the images, plots and motives of the Bible. Their similar interpretations are found in both artists, which is due to the creative attitude to Christian texts. At the same time, the difference in the ideological and artistic understanding of “eternal images” and “eternal themes” is also obvious, which in turn is predetermined by the peculiarities of the religious worldview of Dostoevsky and L. Andreev.