Archpriest Alexander Schmemann, in a number of his articles, speaks of the crisis of modern theology. The most serious consequence of this crisis is the loss of theology's influence on various aspects of church life and even on theological education. For Father Alexander, this signifies a disconnection of contemporary church life from Church Tradition. The original theology, the theology of the patristic period, according to Father Alexander Schmemann, was something like a leaven in culture. It not only influenced the Church but also transformed all life and the entire culture around it. In this regard, he speaks of the need to return to the primary source of theology—the experience of the Church, the experience of the world in the new light of the Kingdom of Heaven. The author of this article introduces another, more general term for this experience: "the experience of religious conversion." This allows us to draw parallels between Father Alexander's proposals, his own life, and the situation in 19th-century Russian theology. Father Alexander simply narrows the scope of the appropriate experience of religious conversion and reserves for such an experience the only undisputed place—the Divine Liturgy. Moreover, he declares that such an experience, if approached correctly, must be constantly repeated. The search for a theological language suitable for describing this experience must be equally constant. In this sense, Father Alexander is dissatisfied with the categories of patristic thought, as irrelevant to modern man; with the language of modernity, as the language of untransformed, fallen thought; and with the language of science, as a language that ignores the experience of religious conversion. His sympathies lean toward the language of art, the language of creativity. Following Father Sergius Bulgakov, he believes that a word is a symbol that not only signifies but also expresses and reveals the essence of what it signifies. A word can be such only if it is transformed. Transformation, in turn, is possible through reference to the experience of the Kingdom of Heaven, the experience of religious conversion; such a word is a testimony to this experience. And theology is called to save words and, through them, to save all culture. Such a theology, according to Father Alexander Schmemann, will truly follow the Holy Fathers and continue their mission.

The article undertakes the experience of a general description of theological methodology, considered in two autonomous, albeit interdependent registers, in bogoslovije and theology. A terminological distinction is introduced between first-order theology (bogoslovije) and second-order theology (theology itself). For each of the types of theology, a reconstruction of the general methodology is proposed. First-order theology is provided by authentic description schemes proposed by ancient and later authors, formalized as a set of thematic questions: what? how? why? (resp. objectivity, method, purpose). On the material of Greek and Byzantine patristics, each of the points receives an indicative presentation and a brief analysis. Second-order theology is considered in accordance with the two main vectors of its work: diachronic (historical) and synchronic (systematic). Each of them receives thematic localization and disciplinary attribution, either to historical theology or to systematic (cf. philosophical, rational) theology. Between the two types of theology, ecclesial and scientific, a complimentary relationship is established that does not imply their isolation or separation.

The paper is devoted to the transformations of method in contemporary theology, prompted by the crisis of the classical metaphysical approach. The study argues for the impossibility of formulating the principles of a universal theological method and identifies key approaches to method in contemporary Western theology. We examine the influence of M. Heidegger's conception of thought on the interpretation of theological thinking as a practice that responds, accepts, and transforms the subject. We demonstrate that "weak theology" (J.D. Caputo) rejects the "strong" method, based on propositions about God as Supreme Being, and epistemological guarantees. It develops a hermeneutics of God's call, focusing not on God's existence, but on what happens when his name is invoked. The radicalization of theology is achieved through work with the "perhaps" mode, which opens thought to an event that cannot be objectified. The methodological core of "weak theology" is theopoetics, understood not as the aestheticization of religion, but as the discovery of something entirely other or impossible, giving narrative form to an event. The theopoetic method, employing narratives, paradoxes, and metaphors, is intended to respond to the "insistence" of God. We explore the application of phenomenological reduction and epochē in theopoetics. Imagination becomes a key tool of the theopoetic method (P. Ricoeur, R. Kearney), providing access to the symbolic dimension of reality and mediating human understanding of the otherness of the divine and human person. The relationship between radical and confessional theology is analyzed. We argue that for Caputo, they are related not as opposing doctrines, but as " insistence" and "existence," where radical theology is the inner limit of confessional theology, revealing its eventual dimension. In conclusion, method in theology is defined as a path-following and the practice of witnessing within the horizon of the impossible.

The article is devoted to the study of the scientific interests of the Soviet historian Alexander Ignatievich Andreev. The author aims to highlight the period of Andreev's formation as a researcher, which occurred in the last pre-revolutionary years, and was subsequently rarely covered in biographical materials. In this regard, the letters of A.I. Andreev to his colleague, the historian from Arkhangelsk, Justin Mikhailovich Sibirtsev, preserved in the State Archive of the Arkhangelsk region, f. 510, arouse scientific interest. Within the framework of this publication, 6 letters dating from 1916-1918 are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The letters reflect the emerging professional interests of the scientist, the mindset at an early stage of his creative career and plans for further scientific work. They serve as an example of communication between two specialists, separated not only by the volume of professional experience, but also by the spatial, geographical and cultural opposition of the capital's scientific centers and the provincial periphery. The publication of existing letters opens up opportunities for studying the role of interpersonal communication in the formation of professional interests and in the formation of the space of science as a whole.

V. V. Zenkovsky's article "The Decline of Autocracy" was published on October 10, 1917, but still has not received a proper response. Meanwhile, it is interesting not only for the formulation of the problem of "Church and government", but also for the concept proposed by V.V. Zenkovsky – "church-political consciousness". The purpose of this study is to trace the history of the emergence of V.V. Zenkovsky's idea of "church–political consciousness" as an analogue of the theocratic consciousness, to reconstruct the process of maturation and writing an article in the years when V.V. Zenkovsky was a church liberal, and recognized that he belonged to the "church-radical group". It is noted that the "church-political consciousness" he derived denoted the mentally coordinated action of the Church and the government in history, in society, in building the Kingdom of God on earth. V.V. Zenkovsky proposed a historiosophical concept of "church-political consciousness" in Russia, described the order of interaction between the Orthodox Russian Church and the autocracy, presenting this interaction as an obvious failure that caused the decline of the Russian autocracy, and spoke about overcoming the "theocratic temptation" that the Church maintained in relation to the state. Belonging at the beginning of the twentieth century to that part of the religious intelligentsia that thought of the revival of Russia in the theocratic discourse, V.V. Zenkovsky in 1906-1907 adhered to the direction of social Christianity and was an ardent follower of S.N. Bulgakov, later, like him, changed the idea of the "religious community" required for the revival of Russia to the need for organization In 1916, he preferred the Orthodox intelligentsia to the "God-seekers", as they were in demand during the transitional period. In 1917, he proposed to replace the "old" theocratic idea with a "new", pro-political one; the democratic Christian community was to become the exponent and mover of the new model of "church-political consciousness". The study was conducted by comparative critical and problem-chronological methods, the method of verification of the texts of articles was used. It is concluded that the content of the article "The Decline of Autocracy" is the quintessence of V.V. Zenkovsky's views of 1906–1917 and at the same time the last chord in his work of a man who previously realized himself as a church liberal.

It has been studied that in the 1990s, the Donetsk-Mariupol and Gorlovka-Slavic dioceses actively developed social ministry. The departments of church charity and social service of these dioceses provided assistance to orphans, large and single-parent families, providing them with clothing, food and organizing festive events. The elderly and disabled received the necessary support through the organization of visits, the provision of medical and household services, as well as the creation of conditions for their social adaptation and communication. Rehabilitation centers and a program to assist in returning to a healthy lifestyle were created for drug and alcohol addicts. In cases of emergency, dioceses responded quickly, providing shelter, food, medical care and moral support to victims. The homeless also found shelter and needed assistance in specially established parish assistance centers. To coordinate and enhance the effectiveness of social activities, a church-wide database was created. The Orthodox volunteer movement has received active development, including thanks to the involvement of volunteers in social work.

The article analyzed certain aspects of the papal magisterium on Catholic monasticism, normatively regulated in the pontificates of Leo XIII (1878–1903) and Pius X (1903–1914). During the era of these popes, Western institutions of «dedicated life to God», engaged in active social, charitable and pedagogical activities among the poor, were not only subjected to pressure from secular authorities, but also faced a number of internal problems that caused the emergence of a group of normative acts of the Papal See, considered in this study. Their content may be of scientific interest in connection with a wide range of issues raised, relevant for modern Orthodox monasticism and Russian church historical science, which has practically not studied this issue despite the increased interest in the topic of monasticism in recent years. Immersion in the essence of the voiced problem makes it possible to get acquainted with the experience of the Roman Church. In the context of the tasks set, the issues of penitential discipline, the difficulties of the philosophical and theological education of novices and newly tonsured monks, the attitude to their conscription for military service, the rules for collecting donations by various orders and congregations, as well as the specifics of regulating the relationships of orders with the episcopate were analyzed. The conditions put forward by the popes for the education of monastics in secular universities, the requirements for the moral character of novices and the criteria presented to candidates for ordination to the priesthood from among those who have taken the tonsure were considered. In addition, the problems of the canonical status of those who renounced their monastic vows and a number of other aspects of the life of the Roman Catholic Church in the context of the formation of the ideas of social Catholicism were touched upon.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the relationship between the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches in 1978–1988. The selected periodization covers the dates of two key anniversaries of particular significance in the history of both churches: the 150th anniversary of the entry of Eastern Armenia and the Armenian Church into Russia (1978) and the celebration of the millennium of the baptism of Rus (1988). As archival sources, materials from correspondence between representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Etchmiadzin Patriarchate, information from the reports of the Council for the Affairs of the Armenian Church, as well as press releases, including communiqués published in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” and the magazine “Etchmiadzin” (in Armenian) were used. Events have been studied that make it possible to establish the content of Russian-Armenian church ties during the period under study. A classification of these events was carried out, which, in turn, made it possible to identify four directions in the history of inter-church interaction: 1) mutual visits of the heads and representatives of the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Churches and participation in solemn official events; 2) cooperation in the field of spiritual education; 3) participation in peacekeeping activities and support for the peacekeeping movement; 4) contacts at the level of working meetings, friendly telegrams, congratulations and condolences. Conclusions are drawn about the mutually beneficial nature of Russian-Armenian church ties of the period under study. It has been established that, despite restrictions on the activities of religious organizations, relations between the two churches in the late Soviet period acquired the character of fraternal, regular and systematic ties. The intensity and success of interchurch cooperation were largely manifested thanks to the personal and business qualities of the heads of both churches - His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus Pimen (Izvekov) and Patriarch-Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I (Palchyan). Significant results of interchurch cooperation achieved in 1978–1988 became the key to close cooperation between the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches in the post-Soviet space.

The article reveals the motives for which Russian women went to Palestine in the period from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. The study is based on narrative and personal sources created by women who visited the Holy Land, as well as on archival and ethnographic materials. At that time, women made up two thirds of all pilgrims from Russia. Detailed texts about trips to the homeland of Christianity were written mainly by representatives of two social groups, viz. the nobility and the clergy. Although there are not many testimonies left by them about their stay in Palestine, the available sources allowed us to make a number of observations about the motives of women’s pilgrimages. These include sincere religious feeling, an irresistible craving for the Holy Land, which could not be explained by rational arguments. The second reason was associated with the development of tourism, when with the improvement of communication routes and the level of comfort, some wealthy people made educational trips around the world, the route of which included Jerusalem. It is indicated that this phenomenon becomes more noticeable by the end of the 19th century. The third reason is material, in that repeated trips to the Holy Land turned into a way of self-suffi ciency and raising social status in the homeland, a type of profession. The fourth is the fulfi lment of a previously given vow. It is concluded that the motives for pilgrimages to the Holy Land among women are as heterogeneous as those of men, and their multi-vector nature increases over time, which is evidence of the growing diff erentiation of Russian society.