The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov
The article stresses that Georgy P. Fedotov's systematic reference to the Bible enabled him in his historical monographs (Abelard, St. Filipp Metropolitan of Moscow, Saints of Ancient Russia, Spiritual Poems ) to reconstruct the spiritual reality of past eras and symbolically perceive the prese...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
2022-03-01
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| Series: | RUDN Journal of Philosophy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.rudn.ru/philosophy/article/viewFile/30612/20484 |
| _version_ | 1811273020084322304 |
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| author | Alexey A. Gaponenkov Alexander S. Tsygankov |
| author_facet | Alexey A. Gaponenkov Alexander S. Tsygankov |
| author_sort | Alexey A. Gaponenkov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article stresses that Georgy P. Fedotov's systematic reference to the Bible enabled him in his historical monographs (Abelard, St. Filipp Metropolitan of Moscow, Saints of Ancient Russia, Spiritual Poems ) to reconstruct the spiritual reality of past eras and symbolically perceive the present. Fedotov intended to know The Gospel in History, Russian religiosity, exploring it on the material of hagiographies of saints, spiritual poems, folk faith, apocrypha, and prologues. Fedotov considered the history of Russian culture in terms of a "living chain," an integral phenomenon existing due to the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. However, "The sacred tradition of the Church is included in the general stream of historical tradition, all complex, always muddy, human weaving truth and falsehood." Fedotov raised the question of the relationship between scientific criticism and biblical exegetics: how can we reconcile exegetics of sacred texts, which assume that the Bible is an inspired book, and historical criticism, which by its very nature cannot share such a position, being aimed at comprehending objective historical reality? He solved it convincingly practically through hermeneutic religious analysis of hagiographic monuments and spiritual verses. In his Spiritual Poems Fedotov explores folklore material compared to biblical texts, hagiographies, and apocrypha, to comprehend the peculiarity of religious "Weltanschauung" and popular orthodoxy. In spiritual verses, there was a transformation of biblical images (Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Last Judgment) under the influence of folk faith with pagan features. In folklore texts, Fedotov reveals how Christ, from savior and redeemer, turns into a king and dreadful judge. The image of the Mother of God merges in the popular consciousness with the image of the mother earth, suffering from people. Eschatological prophecies are based on impressions from icons, frescoes, and lubok pictures. Fedotov's historical monographs illuminate various aspects of Russian religious consciousness regarding Holy Scripture, considering dogmatic biblical exegetics and historical criticism. All the mentioned facts allow us to assert that Fedotov was the leading secular biblical scholar of the Russian diaspora. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:50:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d44b1ba26716404fb11f3e62c53b7714 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-2302 2408-8900 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:50:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | RUDN Journal of Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-d44b1ba26716404fb11f3e62c53b77142022-12-22T03:13:21ZdeuPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)RUDN Journal of Philosophy2313-23022408-89002022-03-01261304010.22363/2313-2302-2022-26-1-30-4020755The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. FedotovAlexey A. Gaponenkov0Alexander S. Tsygankov1Saratov State University named after N.G. ChernyshevskyRAS Institute of PhilosophyThe article stresses that Georgy P. Fedotov's systematic reference to the Bible enabled him in his historical monographs (Abelard, St. Filipp Metropolitan of Moscow, Saints of Ancient Russia, Spiritual Poems ) to reconstruct the spiritual reality of past eras and symbolically perceive the present. Fedotov intended to know The Gospel in History, Russian religiosity, exploring it on the material of hagiographies of saints, spiritual poems, folk faith, apocrypha, and prologues. Fedotov considered the history of Russian culture in terms of a "living chain," an integral phenomenon existing due to the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. However, "The sacred tradition of the Church is included in the general stream of historical tradition, all complex, always muddy, human weaving truth and falsehood." Fedotov raised the question of the relationship between scientific criticism and biblical exegetics: how can we reconcile exegetics of sacred texts, which assume that the Bible is an inspired book, and historical criticism, which by its very nature cannot share such a position, being aimed at comprehending objective historical reality? He solved it convincingly practically through hermeneutic religious analysis of hagiographic monuments and spiritual verses. In his Spiritual Poems Fedotov explores folklore material compared to biblical texts, hagiographies, and apocrypha, to comprehend the peculiarity of religious "Weltanschauung" and popular orthodoxy. In spiritual verses, there was a transformation of biblical images (Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Last Judgment) under the influence of folk faith with pagan features. In folklore texts, Fedotov reveals how Christ, from savior and redeemer, turns into a king and dreadful judge. The image of the Mother of God merges in the popular consciousness with the image of the mother earth, suffering from people. Eschatological prophecies are based on impressions from icons, frescoes, and lubok pictures. Fedotov's historical monographs illuminate various aspects of Russian religious consciousness regarding Holy Scripture, considering dogmatic biblical exegetics and historical criticism. All the mentioned facts allow us to assert that Fedotov was the leading secular biblical scholar of the Russian diaspora.http://journals.rudn.ru/philosophy/article/viewFile/30612/20484holy scripturebiblical studiesgeorgy p. fedotovexegesishagiologyhistorical criticismspiritual poetry |
| spellingShingle | Alexey A. Gaponenkov Alexander S. Tsygankov The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov RUDN Journal of Philosophy holy scripture biblical studies georgy p. fedotov exegesis hagiology historical criticism spiritual poetry |
| title | The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov |
| title_full | The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov |
| title_fullStr | The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov |
| title_short | The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov |
| title_sort | biblical theme in the historical monographs of georgy p fedotov |
| topic | holy scripture biblical studies georgy p. fedotov exegesis hagiology historical criticism spiritual poetry |
| url | http://journals.rudn.ru/philosophy/article/viewFile/30612/20484 |
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