St. Tikhon’s University Review . Series I: Theology. Philosophy. Religious Studies

This article examines the main elements of the classic Eastern Christian doctrine of divinization as they are found in the Latin Fathers. These include the intimate union of the divinized man with the incarnate God, the divinization of the human nature of Christ, the adoption of man by God in Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit, the ascension of humanity to heaven, as well as the communion of the human person with the divine nature. It would seem that enthusiasm for the idea of divinization drew some western theologians to posit dangerous theories including the pantheistic dissolution of humanity in God as well as the dissolving of the human nature of Christ into his divine nature. Analyzing these theories we can see why Saint Augustine conceived his own juridical theory of divinization based on the concepts of justification and external adoption, which transformed the theory ofdivinization into one of equality with the angelic orders. Because of these developments, the original theory of divinization which at one time was taught by several of the Latin fathers, was unfairly consigned to oblivion.

CHRISTIANITY, THEOLOGY, SOTERIOLOGY, PATROLOGY, SAINT AUGUSTINE, DIVINIZATION, NATURE, INCARNATION

Fokin Aleksei

This article examines how the concept of Bishop Feofan on grace and pure love and the anthropology of Saint Augustine relate to one other. The author explores an aspect of the theology of Feofan which has until now never been studied - his anthropology based on the Philokalia - and goes on to examine how this relates to the theology expounded by Saint Augustine. The author concludes that both Feofan and Augustine are similar in that both base themselves on the essential imperfection in human nature, on the utter depravity of man, and on the irresistible power of God’s grace. On the other hand, they differ on their views regarding human freedom.

SAINT THEOPHANE THE RECLUSE, SAINT PAISY VELICHKOVSKY, SAINT AUGUSTINE, PHILOKALIA, ANTHROPOLOGY, FREEDOM, GRACE, SOUL, MAN, FALL OF MAN, CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Khondzinskii Pavel, archpriest

This article presents a panoramic view of the ideas posited by Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologians of the twentieth century regarding history from a theological point of view and as they were propounded during discussions of philosophy and history. The author wishes to shed light on one of the more knotty problems of the relationship between theology and history, understood as a novel type of theological reflection — the relationship between sacred and profane history. After deep reflection on these questions, one is able to define how theologians are to view history and precisely the way God and man interact throughout it.

PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, THEOLOGY OF HISTORY, SACRED AND PROFANE HISTORY

Mikhailov Petr

Serious and profound reflection is needed when probing the problem of the manysided rapport between philosophy and the social-religious culture of Russia. In the first place, this entails an examination of the relationship between religion and literature. In this article, an attempt is made at defining the major methodological principles guiding such research. However, such an analysis demands concrete examples although the study of them may yield differing results. The author is sure of this basic principle having applied himself to the study of Pushkin, who would seem to be one of the best models for this type of research. Finally the author ends with his own question: What is the best method (reception, approach, the mechanics of study) for discovering and elucidating the complicated interrelationship linking religion, philosophy, and literature in Russian culture?

RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY, FICTION, METHODOLOGY, PUSHKIN, S. L. FRANK, I. A. IL’IN

Gidirinskii Viktor

It was not a chance occurrence that a number of followers of Vladimir Solov’ev wished to group themselves in an association of academics. Rather it was the realization of that concept of knowledge which on the theoretical plane was conceived as universality. The author of this article thought it worthwhile to pursue the study of the thought processes which brought these concepts together on both the abstract and concrete planes and to demonstrate the theoretical and practical relevance of this understanding. In order to realize this aim, the author decided to: 1) present the major aspects of the communicative understanding of knowledge as this was described in the texts of N. J. Grot, the first editor of the scientific journal Questions of philosophy and psychology. These texts contained discussions regarding the problems of the Russian universities as found in the publications of Prince S. N. Trubetskoy; 2) place them in relation to the teaching of Trubetskoy regarding the collective (soborny) nature of human consciousness; 3) demonstrate its genetic link with the concept of universality; 4) and in conclusion point out the points of intersection of these ideas with the concept of an unlimited association of communication as the basis for the social sciences, a concept developed and proposed by Karl-Otto Apel. The author thinks that in spite of the more complete elaboration of these ideas by European philosophers, the contribution of Russian thinkers has not lost it relevance since the russians even more radically highlight the transcendent quality of this ideal communicative association in contrast to any merely empirical society. It is they who underline the importance of the Church in the realization of such an association since it is the Church which is the community of the God-man Christ.

N. J. GROT, S. N. TRUBETSKOY, VLADIMIR SOLOV’EV, KARL-OTTO APEL, QUESTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY, COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS, UNIVERSALITY, INTER-SUBJECTIVITY, INTEGRAL KNOWLEDGE, ETHICS, COMMUNICATIVE ASSOCIATION, CHURCH

Antonov Konstantin

The text of the Letter of Fr. S. Bulgakov to Hieromonk Afanasy (Petrov) is first published from the original manuscript. It was written at the height of the famous «dispute on Sophia». The Bulgakov’s understanding of the sense of his own way of theology is discussed as well as his attitude to existent events and their main participants. The text is supplied with the substantial introduction which specifies the context and circumstances of its appearance, and gives detailed commentary to personalia and main problems related to it.

S. N. BULGAKOV, HIEROMONK AFANASY (PETROV), V, LOSSKY, G. FLOROVSKY, «PARIS SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY», SOPHI OLOGY, SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH ABROAD IN THE TOWN OF SREMSKI KARLOVCI, «GREAT TRILOGY»

Burmistrov Konstantin

This article examines two main approaches to the doctrine of the soul: that of Plato and that of Aristotle. Each of these approaches had its own development and its own interpretations. Plato and his school was more important during the Middle Ages. Through the neo-platonic philosophers it reached Saint Augustine and became a part of the western cultural and religious heritage until finally it was taken up by member of the Franciscan order - Roger Bacon and Bonaventure. But this paradigm could not solve a host of problems connected with the soul and many of them remained unresolved. The end of the twelfth century brought the growth of the universities and the teaching of Aristotle - a new paradigm - transmitted by the Arabic philosophers which was rediscovered by the West. Two commentators on Aristotle - Averroes and Avicenna -were the most important for the West, especially since Avicenna exerted a great influence on Albert the Great. But both Plato and Aristotle, when taken separately, proved to be quite useless in resolving certain problems. But Thomas Aquinas was able to splice the Gordian knot concealing a solution to the problem of the soul. By combining the psychology of Plato with the metaphysics of Aristotle, Thomas succeeded in creating a new concept of the human person. The author of this article has tried to explain the difficulties which faced Thomas and the way in which Thomas was able to resolve a problem which had troubled philosophy through the ages - the problem of reconciling Plato with Aristotle and finding a way to make their conflicting philosophies agree with each other.

HOC ALIQUID, FORMA, SOUL, ANTHROPOLOGY, THOMAS AQUINAS, MIDDLE AGES, MEDIAEVAL PHILOSOPHY, PLATO, AUGUSTINE, APOLOGETICS, ARISTOTLE, AVERROES, AVICENNA, BONAVENTURE, ALBERT THE GREAT

Shilov Evgenii, priest