Accusatory Theology in the Kyiv Theological Academy: The Tasks and Content of Lecture Courses (1823–1869)

Abstract

The article considers the history of implementation and evolution of Accusatory (Polemical) theology in the Kyiv Theological Academy. The author shows the place where the controversy with other religions and other Christian denominations took place in the curriculum of the Kyiv Theological Academy after the introduction of the Statute of the religious schools of 1808–1814 in Kyiv. The article deals with the content of the lecture courses of Archbishop Smaragd (Kryzhanovsky), Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky), Philip Ternovsky, and Bishop Augustine (Gulianitsky). The author shows that the Accusatory theology was not an independent academic discipline at first, but it was part of the general course of theology. For the first time, lectures on accusatory theology were given in Kyiv in 1823. On the recommendation of the Commission of theological schools, teachers of this discipline were to use the book of the German Lutheran theologian Johann Ernst Schubert «Institutionum Theologiae polemicae» during the preparation of lectures. Comparison of this book with the lectures of hieromonk Smaragd (Kryzhanovsky) shows that the work of the German theologian was used by the Kyiv teacher quite selectively. Next, the article shows how in the following decades the content of the course of accusatory theology varied, depending on the general situation in theological education in the Russian Empire. In particular, the changes that took place in the curriculum of the Kyiv Theological Academy in the 1840’s were characterized on the initiative of the Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, Mykola Protasov. The author drew attention to the personal preferences of professors who found a reflection in their curriculum in Accusatory theology. In particular, Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky) in his course substantially expanded the controversy with the latest philosophical currents that opposed Christianity. Instead, Philip Ternovsky and Bishop Augustine (Gulianitsky) actively used the historical method, resulting in their courses representing the history of the controversy of the Orthodox Church with its various opponents. In the 1860’s, when a large-scale reform of theological education was being prepared in the Russian Empire, the idea of a radical revision of the accusatory theology teaching concept was heard at the Kyiv Theological Academy. At the same time, some professors even advocated the abolition of accusatory theology as an independent discipline and for joining it to the course of church history. Special attention is paid to the fact that the courses of accusatory theology in the Kyiv Theological Academy in the nineteenth century were based on typical contemporary ecclesiology and soteriology of that time. The purpose of the course was seen not in the equal dialogue with opponents, but in revealing their mistakes and attempts to convert them to the Orthodox Church. Article received 03.07.2019