Abstract
In this article, we will analyze the influence of Greek spirituality on Russian culture in the second half of the 18th century, when Enlightenment ideas infused Russian society. Russian intellectual circles and the upper social class were inspired by Western categories of thought. The absence of a living theology that would give man the true meaning of life has caused tension and a great spiritual crisis in Russian society. One possible solution was to start a fight against the Enlightenment and reject any Western ideas. The second solution was to pay attention to the forgotten tradition and look for inspiration in it for the renewal of spiritual life. The spiritual renewal, known as the philokalic movement, leaned towards the second solution, building upon the Byzantine hesychastic tradition of the 14th century. This paved the way for a new era of Orthodox spirituality, which significantly influenced thinking and spiritual life in Russia. The movement of spiritual renewal is associated with the translation and publication of manuscripts written by Byzantine niptic authors, which were published in the book Dobrotolublye (gr. Philokalia). This significantly contributed to the spread of the hesychastic tradition in Russia and became an impetus for a return to Byzantine spiritual values. This article examines the spiritual, literary, and cultural activities of the most important centers of Russian Hesychasm, such as Sarov, Valaam, and Optina, and their influence on Russian society, which has not yet been recognized sufficiently.
Highlights
Prior to analyzing the influence of Greek spirituality on Russian culture, an outline of relations between Russia and the Holy Mountain Athos, which go back as far as the10th century, needs to be provided
On the basis of historical information about the life of the Russian monk Anthony of Kiev, who lived for a time at the Holy Mountain as a hermit in the 11th century, it can be concluded that Russian monks gravitated towards an eremitic way of monastic life, as opposed to cenobitic
It is not known what typikon1 was in force in the oldest Russian monastery on the Holy Mountain Athos, where Anthony lived; on the basis of the fact that, after his return to Russia, he preferred eremitic monastic life to cenobitic, it can be assumed that he had not come into contact with the monastic typikon of Athanasius the Athonite of the Great Lavra, not introducing it to Russia on his return
Summary
Prior to analyzing the influence of Greek spirituality on Russian culture, an outline of relations between Russia and the Holy Mountain Athos, which go back as far as the. Despite historical sources not providing clear testimonies of Anthony’s stay at Athos, we subscribe to the view that he did, visit the Holy Mountain Athos and lived there as a hermit for a time It is not known what typikon was in force in the oldest Russian monastery on the Holy Mountain Athos, where Anthony lived; on the basis of the fact that, after his return to Russia, he preferred eremitic monastic life to cenobitic, it can be assumed that he had not come into contact with the monastic typikon of Athanasius the Athonite of the Great Lavra, not introducing it to Russia on his return. We will introduce the publishing activities of Macarius of Optina and clarify the importance of the issuing of Philokalia—Dobrotolublye in the Russian language, which had a major impact on Russian spirituality and culture
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
