Influence of orthodox theological thought on the philosophy of the early Slavophiles on the example of the letter of hegumen Anthony (Bochkov) to I.V. Kireyevsky

In the first half of the 19th century, two religious and philosophical movements, diametrically opposite in their views, emerged in Russia, later called “Westernizers” and “Slavophiles”. Both worldviews, based on the foundations of the Western Christian and Eastern Christian understanding of the structure of church and state, public relations, the influence of tradition on the historical choice of the state development vector, led to heated discussions between their founders, and subsequently their supporters. In support of the representatives of the philosophical and social thought of the “Westernizers” “Slavophiles” on theological issues, as well as the reviewing of particular articles, both Catholic and Orthodox clergymen were involved. We reveal the influence of the Orthodox theological thought of the 19th century on the religious philosophy development of one of the founders of “Slavophilism” in terms of posing and solving the problem of historical tradition. The relevance of the study is due to the increased interest in the issue of the spiritual life of society and church-state relations. The work contains for the first time introduced into scientific circulation a handwritten letter from hegumen Anthony (Bochkov) to I.V. Kireyevsky from the funds of the Russian State Library with author’s comments and explanations. The problems of religious and philosophical thought of this period are revealed, that is the influence of Roman (pagan) philosophy on the formation and development of Western theology, opposing the development paths of Russia and Europe, recognition of the negative influence of ritualism on the formation of a true Orthodox worldview, understanding of Peter I reforms as a “Russian reformation”. The analysis of the epistolary source made it possible to reveal the direct impact of the arguments of hegumen Anthony on the views of I.V. Kireyevsky, reflected in his works.

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