St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church

This article examines Nikolai’s views on Church-state relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church. These two questions are inextricably linked because having founded and developed the Japanese Orthodox Church, Nikolai sought to build up its relations with the Japanese state, the Russian...

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Main Authors: Alexander Lukin, Olga Puzanova
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University 2022-12-01
Series:Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия
Subjects:
Online Access:https://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/7768
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author Alexander Lukin
Olga Puzanova
author_facet Alexander Lukin
Olga Puzanova
author_sort Alexander Lukin
collection DOAJ
description This article examines Nikolai’s views on Church-state relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church. These two questions are inextricably linked because having founded and developed the Japanese Orthodox Church, Nikolai sought to build up its relations with the Japanese state, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state, according to his understanding of the Orthodox ideal, and his views therefore had a direct bearing on his activities and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church. The topic of Nikolai’s ideas about the status of the Japanese Church is poorly covered by the available literature, which predominantly adopts the simplistic view that Nikolai immediately tried to create a church that was as independent from the Russian Church as possible. This view, however, relies on individual comments taken out of context. The issue is important both in itself and for those who wish to investigate how far the potential indigenisation of the Orthodox Church can be stretched, as well as Nikolai’s views on the matter. The authors conclude that it would be a gross over-simplification to say that Nikolai supported an independent Japanese Church from the outset of his work in the country. In fact, he advocated close ties with the Russian Church for the foreseeable as a guarantee of the Japanese Church’s commitment to true Orthodoxy and fought actively against those who supported premature independence. While it is true that for pragmatic purposes, he would publicly express opinions in support of actual independence for the Japanese Church, this only took place during a period of growth in anti-Russian sentiment in Japan and he would only do so to protect the Church from attacks.
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spelling doaj.art-ffd588cb062b47d4a2f9ade344d3ac4c2023-03-08T10:08:45ZrusSt. Tikhon's Orthodox UniversityВестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия1991-640X2409-46922022-12-0199991129http://dx.doi.org/10.15382/sturI202299.11-298St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox ChurchAlexander Lukin0Olga Puzanova1MGIMO UniversityNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsThis article examines Nikolai’s views on Church-state relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church. These two questions are inextricably linked because having founded and developed the Japanese Orthodox Church, Nikolai sought to build up its relations with the Japanese state, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state, according to his understanding of the Orthodox ideal, and his views therefore had a direct bearing on his activities and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church. The topic of Nikolai’s ideas about the status of the Japanese Church is poorly covered by the available literature, which predominantly adopts the simplistic view that Nikolai immediately tried to create a church that was as independent from the Russian Church as possible. This view, however, relies on individual comments taken out of context. The issue is important both in itself and for those who wish to investigate how far the potential indigenisation of the Orthodox Church can be stretched, as well as Nikolai’s views on the matter. The authors conclude that it would be a gross over-simplification to say that Nikolai supported an independent Japanese Church from the outset of his work in the country. In fact, he advocated close ties with the Russian Church for the foreseeable as a guarantee of the Japanese Church’s commitment to true Orthodoxy and fought actively against those who supported premature independence. While it is true that for pragmatic purposes, he would publicly express opinions in support of actual independence for the Japanese Church, this only took place during a period of growth in anti-Russian sentiment in Japan and he would only do so to protect the Church from attacks.https://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/7768russia japan nicholas of japan church state statusроссия япония николай японский церковь государство статус
spellingShingle Alexander Lukin
Olga Puzanova
St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church
Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия
russia
japan
nicholas of japan
church
state
status
россия
япония
николай японский
церковь
государство
статус
title St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church
title_full St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church
title_fullStr St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church
title_full_unstemmed St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church
title_short St. Nicholas of Japan and his approach to state-church relations and the status of the Japanese Orthodox Church
title_sort st nicholas of japan and his approach to state church relations and the status of the japanese orthodox church
topic russia
japan
nicholas of japan
church
state
status
россия
япония
николай японский
церковь
государство
статус
url https://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/7768
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