Heretical Orthodoxy

Lev Tolstoi and the Russian Orthodox Church
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-1-009-26041-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 316 Seiten, Format (B × H): 229 mm x 150 mm, Gewicht: 462 g

Reihe: Ideas in Context

Lev Tolstoi was not only one of the world's most famous writers, he was also a deeply concerned thinker and hugely influential critic of the Church whose impact was felt long after his death. For an entire generation, Tolstoi set the agenda for ethical and religious thought, in Russia and beyond. Most of Tolstoi's main ideas drew on his Christian heritage – selected and creatively combined. While he claimed that his life's work consisted of rediscovering the pure doctrine of Christ as it had been before the Church perverted it, in fact he radically reinterpreted the Christian faith he had encountered in his own life, Russian Orthodoxy. This book offers a new and comprehensive account of Tolstoi's relationship with the Orthodox Church and its teachings, and shows how the Russian Church reacted to the “Tolstoi phenomenon” and attempted to counteract the influence of this new “heretic" - with scant success.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kolstø, Pal

Kolstø, Pål

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Praktische Theologie Christliche Spiritualität, Christliche Mystik
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Tolstoi as a practicing orthodox; 3. Examination of dogmatic theology; 4. Tolstoi, orthodoxy and asceticism; 5. Lev Tolstoi and orthodox forms of spirituality: elders; 6. Tolstoi and the wanderer tradition in Russian culture; 7. Tolstoi and he ideal of 'the Holy Fool'; 8. Father Sergius: Kasatskii's spiritual journey to holy foolishness; 9. Tolstoi and the social ideal of the Eastern Church: John Chrysostom; 10. The Church mounts a counter-attack: threat perceptions and combat strategies; 11. Between 'almost orthodox' and 'Antichrist': images of Lev Tolstoi in Russian orthodox polemics; 12. The 'excommunication' and its aftermath; 13. A requiem for a heretic? The controversy over Lev Tolstoi's burial; 14. Summary and conclusions.

Über Autor(innen)

Kolstø, Pål
Pål Kolstø is Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Oslo. His previous publications include, as author or editor, ten academic books in English, and numerous journal articles.