From a Society of the Enlightened to the Enlightenment of Society: The Russian Bible Society and Rosicrucianism in the Age of Alexander I

Abstract

Rosicrucianism had a fundamental role in the Russian Enlightenment. It provided Russia with the means to liberate itself from the bonds of dominant ecclesiastical tradition. A close analysis of the history of the Novikov circle (1782-1792) and the Russian Bible Society (1812-1826), reveals concrete links and intellectual affinities which have hitherto been overlooked. They connect both organizations to the same sources and the same reformatory programme which has its roots in Rosicrucianism. Through the work of the Bible Society, the values of Rosicrucianism, formulated in eighteenth-century lodges, spread throughout Russian learned society, to influence not only religious reform but also political and social concerns.