On “radical theology” of Constantine V: Philological remarks (original) (raw)
Константин V versus Јован Дамаскин – теолошки погледи за иконоборството
Историја/Journal of History LV/2, 2020
The subject of the paper is the first wave of the iconoclastic movement in Byzantium (726-787). From the many possible aspects of research that can be applied to this period, here we single out the theological view. The content of the paper manifests two main goals: (1) to oppose the different theological views of Constantine V, the Byzantine Emperor, as the protagonist of iconoclasm, and John of Damascus, as the protagonist of iconophilia, presented during the first iconoclastic wave; (2) to analyze the views of the Holy Scriptures regarding the icon, while considering those views as the most relevant judge in this theological dispute. The conclusion itself will indicate some guidelines regarding the reasoning on the iconoclastic issue, while ignoring the historical resolution on the same issue.
The Cosmopolitics of Charismatic Orthodoxy: Stefan (Vasilii Karpovich Podgornyi) and His Followers
State Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide
At the end of Russia's old regime, the transformation of society initiated by the Great Reforms of the 1860s had also transformed the Orthodox Church. After the Emancipation, former serfs found new opportunities as laborers, factory workers, entrepreneurs, and even priests, monks, and holy men. Vasilii Karpovich Podgornyi was one such serf who, after Emancipation, became a successful businessman. Inspired by traditional piety he used his entrepreneurial skills to create networks of religious communities, primarily composed of pious women. Podgornyi's remarkable success sharply split the church hierarchy. Some conservative hierarchs regarded this former serf as a suspicious figure, a pervert who took advantage of his female followers. Because of such accusations, Podgornyi spent ten years in a monastic prison. Other clergy, including Podgornyi's monastic jailers, became his strong advocates and ultimately succeeded in seeing him freed from prison. Podgornyi's movement, however, remained controversial and illustrates the sharp social tensions within the church before the Bolshevik Revolution.
Богословље / Theology, 2022
The subject of analysis in this article is the strategy of St. Justin the Philosopher in his First Apology in the process of refuting the frequent accusation of impiety, i.e. atheism, which was attributed to Christians by their contemporaries in the second century. More specifically, particular attention is paid to Justin’s effort to influence the cessation of the persecution of Christians, caused by negative perceptions, with the argument that the accusation of atheism is completely unfounded. Additionally, his theological views are evaluated in the context of his intention that in addition to reactive and apologetic effectiveness, they also have a return effect on strengthening and preserving the Christian identity and the unity of the Church. Bearing in mind that Justin’s dialogic endeavor takes place in carefully selected categories and conceptual expressions that fully correspond to the cultural milieu of his interlocutors, his apologetic theology is also valued in the context of his protreptic potential to influence the change of mind in a wider social context. As a desired result of Justin’s approach, which arose directly from his own experience of conversion, the First Apology was to bear witness to Christianity as a faith based on Revelation, which does not have a politically subversive potential, but, on the contrary, represents the embodiment of wisdom, the realized union of philosophy and piety, which is characterized by solemnity, responsibility and devotion to virtues and Tradition. ▶ Keywords: St. Justin, Apology, persecutions, protreptic discourse, atheism, pax deorum, nomen ipsum, rational faith, Resurrection Сажетак: У тексту се анализира стратегија Светог Јустина Философа у његовој Првој Апологији у процесу побијања учестале оптужбе за непобожност, односно атеизам, која је била упућивана хришћанима од стране њихових савременика у II веку. Конкретније, нарочита пажња је посвећена Јустиновом настојању да утиче на прекид прогона хришћана изазваних негативним перцепцијама, са аргументацијом да је оптужба за атеизам у потпуности неоснована. Додатно, његови богословски ставови се вреднују у контексту његове интенције да, поред реактивне и апологетске учинковитости, они имају и повратни ефекат на освешћивање, јачање и очување хришћанског идентитета и јединства Цркве. Имајући у виду да се Јустинов дијалошки подухват одвија у брижљиво одабраним категоријама и појмовним изразима, који у потпуности кореспондирају са културолошким миљеом његових саговорника, његово апологетско богословље се вреднује и у контексту његовог протрептичког потенцијала да утиче на преумљење у ширем друштвеном контексту. Као жељени резултат оваквог Јустиновог приступа, који је непосредно происходио из његовог сопственог искуства преобраћења, Прва Апологија је требало да пружи сведочанство о хришћанству као о вери заснованој на Откровењу, која нема политички субверзиван потенцијал, већ, супротно томе, представља оваплоћење мудрости, остварени спој философије и побожности, који одликује словесност, одговорност и приврженост врлинама и Предању. ▶ Кључне речи: Свети Јустин, Апологија, прогони, протрептика, атеизам, pax deorum, nomen ipsum, разложна вера, васкрсење
The paper deals with a lost iconoclastic work by Constantine V, as preserved in Apologeticus atque Antirrhetici by Nicephorus of Constantinople. The examination of this treatise shows that a) the most plausible title for Constantine’s works is not Πεύσεις but Προβλήματα; b) these texts are to be distinguished from other works ascribed to Constantine; c) Problemata combine genre features of a theological treatise and a political apology; d) Nicephorus did not possess the complete text of Problemata; e) the 3rd Problema is less coherent and more aggressive in comparison with the 1st and the 2nd.
Karl Barth`s Radically Christocentric Theological Exegesis
The European philosophical and historical discourse, 2020
The article is devoted to the study of Karl Barth`s Christocentric theological exegesis. The research was undertaken on the basis of comparative analysis of such branches of his theological system as cosmology, anthropology, amartology, ecclesiology and Mariology. The article shows that basic and the only ground for any Barth`s theological research was the person of Jesus Christ, who among other issues also has a crucial epistemological meaning.
Метафраст, 2019
In this article, the A. stydies the dogmatic aspect of the struggle waged by St. Athanasius I, Patriarch of Constantinople (1289-1293; 1303-1309), with adherents of the Arsenite schism (1265-1310), based on sources. Several basic directions were established: triadological, ecclesiological and personal charges of heresy. The main one was the triadological one, connected with the consequences of Lyons Union of 1274 and the disputes about the«Filioque» caused by it. Although objectively after the Synod of Vlacherna of 1285, the purity of dogma in the Church was restored, the sources contain traces of mutual accusations of triadological distortions, as echoes of the union. Perhaps, among other things, the accusations were caused by the indefinite position of the hierarchy in relation to the «Tomos» of Patriarch Gregory of Cyprus about the «eternal manifestation» of the Holy Spirit - an orthodox exposition of faith, rejected by arsenites. The A. put forward a hypothesis about Athanasius's more close connections with hesychasm. It is concluded that the dogmatic aspect in the struggle of Patriarch against the schism was defining, and at the same time theological arguments, especially in cases personal charges, were more likely a means of ideological struggle than an attempt to defend the truth.
The article puts forward the suggestion that the mysterious last will of Metropolitan Constantine I of Kiev, in which he ordered that after his death his body should be torn to pieces by dogs instead of receiving a proper burial, was inspired by a very specific literary text. This text is still used in the Orthodox Christian tradition; it is known as the hymnographical kanon “At the Parting of the Soul from the Body.” While nowadays this kanon is used in the course of an ordinary liturgical rite, in the 12th century, when it first appeared, it was used among some Byzantine intellectual and ascetic circles as a particular element of personal piety. The 12th century is exactly the epoch of Constantine's activities, and the description of а funeral procedure given by this kanon is very close to the last will of Constantine. The kanon “At the Parting of the Soul from the Body” has close ties to another hymn of roughly the same epoch—the “Penitential” kanon written after the 5th chapter of the “Ladder” of John Climacus. Both kanons conceal a didactic story under the structure of a hymnographic pattern. What is more important, both are from the very beginning intertwined with a distinct illustrative program: each monostrophe is accompanied by a specific picture, which discloses the contents of the text. These “comics-like” stories have no parallel among other Byzantine kanons. Finally, both kanons witness the growth of the influence of Palestinian and, more generally, Eastern ascetic traditions on the monastic practices of Constantinople and its surrounding regions. This influence was associated, most of all, with the Evergetian movement, with its strict disciplinary and fasting rules, etc. Metropolitan Constantine, who was an outstanding representative of the Byzantine intellectual elite of those times, should have been acquainted—at the very least!—with this movement. Moreover, the conflicts of the bishops in his circle with the Russian princes concerning the fasting discipline suggest that Constantine was trying to introduce the new Evergetian ascetic standards among the Russians. Thus, the literal adherence to the provisions of the kanon “At the Parting of the Soul from the Body” at the funeral of Metropolitan Constantine Ι should be interpreted as a sign of his full confidence in his ideals.
On Avicennian Reform of Aristotle’s Metaphysics: basic attitudes (in Russian)
Orientalistica, 2019
The article examines the fundamental revision of Aristotle's "Metaphysics" engaged by the greatest Muslim philosopher Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037), in the first instance in the section under the title "Theology / Metaphysics" of his encyclopedic work "The Healing" (ash-shifā'). On the basis of the treatise by Aristotle, which is in fact a conglomerate of fourteen different works, which do not constitute a coherent unity Оригинальная статья Original Paper
Богословский вестник, 2023
This paper is the third part of a study on the ecclesiastical policy of the emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire: Basilisk, Zeno and Anastasios I, during whose reign decrees were issued respectively: «Encyclical», «Enoticon», «Typos» concerning religious church life. The main issue they addressed was the relationship to the Council of Chalcedon, which approved the doctrine of two natures and one hypostasis in Christ. The author examines the historical background in which the reign of Emperor Anastasius I began, his relationship with the followers of Chalcedon, as well as his opponents Severus of Antioch and Philoxenus of Mabbug, and the conditions for the appearance of the «Typos». The article presents the opinions of modern researchers regarding the authorship and time of the appearance of the «Typos», its translation into Russian is given, and the theological content of the «Typos» is analyzed.
The article deals with the activity of the department of scientific atheism based on archive materials and interviews with former employees. The author concludes that the department had two types of activity: 1) research, which, in spite of the limited methodology and negative reception of religion, we can call religious studies; 2) cooperation with the Communist Party organizations in the field of antireligious propaganda and atheistic education. Due to the specifics of its problematic the department of scientific atheism was only nominally integrated to the Institute of philosophy.
Богословский вестник, 2023
In the autumn of 2018, the Patriarchate of Constantinople granted autocephaly to two schismatic denominations (split off the Moscow Patriarchate) which were by this action united and recognized as the «Most Holy Church of Ukraine» — or, less officially, the «Orthodox Church of Ukraine» — and this despite the existence of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the same country.According to the advocates of the theory of the primacy of honour and power of the Patriarch of Constantinople, such recognition was legitimate because of his extraordinary judicial and administrative privileges. However, this action of Constantinople was an example of excessive eikonomia — the sort of eikonomia which, in fact, cannot even be exercised within the jurisdiction of a single Local Orthodox Church, much less extraterritorially. This is what I show in the present article — by criticising the main points of the 2022 thesis by Archimandrite Gregory (Frangakis) which reflects the general logic of the anticanonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
On some aspects of political theology in the early articles of archpriest Dumitru Staniloae
Issues of Theology, 2020
The article is devoted to understudied issues in the intellectual heritage of professor archpriest Dumitru Staniloae, an outstanding Romanian theologian of the twentieth century. More precisely, the article examines the journalistic articles that reflected his philosophical, cultural, social, political, and religious views, which as a whole can be organized into a model of “political ideology”. At the same time, the author considers the attitude to the issues of combining the Orthodox worldview, patriotism, and statehood in the context of developing the conceptual and ideological field of the idea of “Romanism,” which was established in the situation of territorial and social changes in Romania during the interwar period. In this regard, the religious “Romanian traditionalism” becomes the key triad of “Orthodoxy — collegiality — tradition,” which is equally dissociated from the materialistic-atheistic ideologies of both the democratic West with its individualism and capitalism, and the Bolshevik East with its authoritarianism and collectivism. The views of the Romanian theologian are presented on the material of some of his publications in the journal Gândirea and the newspaper Telegraful român. Understanding the specifics of the ideological field of the Orthodox Romanian national and state self-identification, in the context of the formation of a new map of Europe in the 30s, can be taken into account when analyzing elements of the conceptual paradigm of Orthodox “political theology”.
Богословский вестник, 2022
The purpose of this publication is to determine the speci cs of the apologetic argumentation of St. Cyril of Alexandria in his rst book Against Julian in the context of the ancient literary tradition. The article reveals the main polemical theses of St. Cyril, put forward by him in defense of the Christian faith against paganism, as well as quotations and examples from ancient literature, to which the saint widely refers. The scienti c novelty of the publication lies in the fact that an attempt is made to give a general concept of the main apologetic method and theses of St. Cyril in his polemic with paganism. As a result, it is shown that the justi cation for the superiority of Christianity over paganism is based on the main postulates: the antiquity of faith, the continuity of faith, the superiority of the doctrine of God, the superiority of moral principles.
KANT’S ETHICAL ARGUMENT IN RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS THOUGHT: SOLOVYOV, CHICHERIN, TOLSTOY, NOVGORODTSEV
Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Sviato-Tikhonovskogo gumanitarnogo universiteta. Seriia I: Bogoslovie. Filosofi ia. Religiovedenie., 2024
The article raises the question about the meaningfulness of the substantive and stylistic opposition of Kant to Russian religious thinkers, which has become commonplace in the relevant academic literature. As an empirical test of this opposition, the article attempts to reconstruct the discussion related to the reception of Kantian ethics in the Russian religious thought of the last quarter of the 19th — early 20th centuries. The article off ers an explication of the Kantian ethical argument and examines its perception by the major Russian religious thinkers of the period, i. e. V. S. Solovyev, B. N. Chicherin, L. N. Tolstoy, and P. I. Novgorodtsev, and reconstructs the polemics between them. It demonstrates how each of them builds his own logic of relation of the ethical to the religious, the legal and the political, in one way or another relying on the Kantian argument and/or incorporating it into his own reasoning. The idea of the moral autonomy of the subject is harmoniously regarded by all the authors as the main achievement of Kant’s ethics, and the suspicion of its explicit or implicit abolition is one of the central points of polemics between them. The suggests that this conclusion falsifi es the notion that Russian religious thought and Kantianism are incompatible. Finally, the dialectic of the justifi cation of autonomy and the fear of its loss is described as one of the driving forces of Russian religious philosophy, which forced its representatives to seek and design new forms of religious and socio-political life and thought.