Inter-confessional Dialogue Research Articles

Reimagining Ecumenism for the 21st Century—Stăniloae’s Theology as a Source and Inspiration

There are many competent voices who estimate that in recent years ecumenism has been going through a crisis. Concern for ecumenical dialogue is becoming secondary for many theologians or members of the clergy, including hierarchs, who are preoccupied almost exclusively with addressing the problems facing their local and confessional communities. As a result, receptivity to ecumenical dialogue and cooperation is even lower among the faithful, who are preoccupied with assessing their own Christian identity in a socio-cultural context marked by rapid change and unprecedented challenges, of which secularism is only one of many. The disappointing assessment of the state of contemporary ecumenism, has led some ecumenists to an effort of identifying solutions for reimagining interconfessional dialogue in an ever-changing world. Theologians from all Christian traditions seek to contribute to identifying ways to unblock the current situation and to propose concrete approaches for rethinking ecumenism for future generations of believers. One of the ways suggested in the literature is to think of ecumenism less in terms of theological agreements, and more in terms of a process of mutual learning, considering that we can receive and offer our gifts in a mutual process, being aware of the need for each community to be open to such a perspective. In this paper, we argue that the constant receptivity to Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae’s theology, and to his anthropology in particular, that exists in Western traditions can be an opportunity for revitalising the ecumenical dialogue through the gift exchange model described above. We start from the premise that Fr. Stăniloae’s work represents an important gift not just for the Orthodox, but also for many Protestant and Catholic theologians, and we suggest that this direction can produce a reciprocal effect on Orthodox theologians to open up and receive the gifts of Western theology.

Interconfessional Dialogue on <i>Faḍāʾil</i> of the Twelve Imams: Rethinking the Confessional Boundary between Sunnism and Shiʿism in Medieval and Early Modern Islam

Interconfessional Dialogue on <i>Faḍāʾil</i> of the Twelve Imams: Rethinking the Confessional Boundary between Sunnism and Shiʿism in Medieval and Early Modern Islam

The veneration of the Ostrobram icon of the Mother of God in the context of Lithuanian identity

The history of the creation and veneration of the image of Our Lady of Ostrobram is studied as a reflection of the processes of the forming Lithuanian national identity in its dynamics over several centuries. The author analyzes how the icon reflects the main ethnic markers, which include: territory, confessional affiliation, language, historical memory, ideas about the past and the future. Theories of the origin of the image and disputes about its confessional affiliation led to the idea of the formation of interconfessional dialogue and unity in diversity as a marker of the border and frontier zone. Within the framework of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which united the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, the Ostra Brama was perceived as «Strażniczką Kresów», or the guardian of the eastern borders. The preserved historical songs, psalms and hymns dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Vilna emphasize the regional identity. However, at the same time, powerful integration processes in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth led to the assertion of Polishness, which was reflected in fiction, where until the 1920s and 1930s the Ostrobram image was perceived as an integral symbol not only of Polish culture, but also of Polish history and statehood. As the conducted research has shown, the intensified aspirations of the local population for the rooting, the use of the national language and the political processes of the Lithuanian national revival led to the transformation of ideas about the image, which in the 20th century gradually becomes a symbol of Lithuanian rather than Polish. Nevertheless, it is still uncertain whether the Ostrobram Mother of God has become the state symbol of Lithuania as a nation or it remains the guardian of the local original culture and traditions.

Государственная национальная политика в Омске в 2013-2019 гг.: практика реализации, проблемы и перспективы

The article is devoted to the Omsk experience in the implementation of the state national policy. An analysis of the existing positive practices of interaction between the municipality and national and religious associations was carried out; the existing problems and main directions for optimizing the national policy at the municipal level were identified. The mechanisms for implementing the state national policy are built in accordance with the legislation of Russia, taking into account the specifics and the current state of the ethno-confessional sphere of the city of Omsk. Based on a broad factual material, the author shows the activities of the municipality in the formation of civic identity and the upbringing of the culture of interethnic communication. The article considers the positive experience of the Expert Board for Ethnic and Religion Affairs under the Administration of the city of Omsk. Examples of positive practices implemented by the municipality together with national and religious associations are given. The history of the Peoples' Friendship Public Garden, the creative project “ETNO Territory”, the festival of national cinema “300 years together”, an interconfessional dialogue platform is covered. Measures of support for national associations provided by the authorities, in particular the competition of municipal grants, are analyzed. The study identified a number of problems and made recommendations for solving them. The article uses materials of direct and participant observation. As a result of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that the ways of cooperation between the municipality and the national community in the city of Omsk are built. The implementation of the state national policy should take place with the active participation of representatives of the national community.

The Concept of Holy Rus’ in Russian Literary and Cultural Tradition: Between the Third Rome and the City of Kitezh

The paper explores the genealogy of the concept of Holy Rus’ (or Holy Russia) in Russian literature and culture from the nineteenth century onward. An integral part of Russian sacred geography, Holy Rus’ underwent some profound semantic transformations in order to become an epitome of religious and ethnic purity in the context of Russia’s imperial expansion. Focusing on the literary manifestations of Russia’s contacts with the ethnic and religious Other as well as on its struggle with the universalist claims of the European Enlightenment, the study highlights the colonial aspects of the notion of Holy Rus’, thus questioning its potential of providing a viable ‘indigenous’ alternative to the Western epistemological hegemony. Finally, the paper offers a critical review of the present-day exploitation of Holy Rus’ as a transcendental model of both a unifying national force and inter-confessional dialogue.

The Evolution of Protestantism in Post-Soviet Russia and the Impact of South Korean Missionaries

This article explores the revival, scale, and success of Protestantism as the result of Korean missionary activity in post-Soviet Russia. The authors argue that the post-Soviet religious rebirth and subsequent revival of Russia’s Protestantism, especially in the Far Eastern region of the country, has largely been the product of the activity of South Korean Protestant religious organizations. The pioneering analysis of the Korean missions’ work in Russia analyzes their proselytizing works on a grassroots level. The authors elucidate the societal role and status that Protestantism has historically had in Russia and explore the inter-confessional dialogue between contemporary Orthodoxy and Protestantism. They argue that despite the existing negative stereotypes and civilizational challenges, the post-Soviet version of Protestantism has become an inseparable part of Russia’s religious tapestry. For the first time, the authors collected a sample of Russia’s Protestant churches created under the auspices of Korean missionaries. Additionally, the research also presents a contemporary statistical overview of Russia’s Protestant churches. Finally, this article emphasizes a consistent duality of the Russian state’s attitude toward Protestantism evident throughout its consecutive historical periods.

Exomologesis as an absolute form of standing in inter-religious dialogue

The present study intends to offer another perspective over the inter-religious dialogue emphasising the spiritual state of exomologesis as an essential means of accomplishing a better and real understanding of a participant in dialogue. It makes some short analysis of penitential confession as homologation with the Logos, of the prayer as inner dialogue or confession or exomologesis with the Logos and of the confessions as a literary style, which all engages the deep, spiritual dimensions of communion with the Logos and finally analyses and exemplifies the ecstatic and existential spiritual dimensions of the exomologesis as an absolute form of standing in dialogue.Contribution: The study offers the necessary spiritual understanding and impulse for a more efficient inter-confessional and inter-religious dialogue, promoting HTS Journal as a herald of this dialogue essential and indispensable for the life of the world.

Research of the History of Inter-Religious Relations in Ukraine in the Kyiv Theological Academy (Second Half of the 19th – Beginning of the 20th Century)

The article presents the first attempt of a complete and systematic analysis of historic and theological publications of teachers and pupils of the Kyiv Theological Academy in the second half of the 19th – beginning of 20th century in the field of studying the history of relations of Catholicism and Protestantism with Orthodox on the Ukrainian lands. The specifics of Kyiv academic historians studies was determined by the social and-political circumstances in the middle of the 19th century and denoted by an attempt to comprehend this issue in the perspective of the history of interconfessional relations of two Western Christian traditions with the eastern tradition of Orthodoxy in the historical gap of the 16th – 17th centuries – the period of the largest confrontation in confessional relations in Ukraine. The author clarifies the characteristic features of researching the question of inter-confessional interaction in the 15th – 17th centuries, which are expressed in attempts to describe the coexistence of three denominations as multidimensional and provoking а variety of different interpretations. Historical studies present the attempt to show confessional interaction in the political and legal aspects and to provide historical interpretations to the ground of philosophy of history. The article proves the tendency of Kyiv academic researchers to move away from the established Russian historiography of the 19th century view at confessional relations in Ukraine through the prism of hard confrontation and outline in religious life Ukraine conditions and circumstances of inter-confessional dialogue. Also, historians in their studies repeatedly note the significant educational and outlook influence of Western Christian denominations on the formation of educational, cultural, theological, literary traditions in Ukraine.

Logos’ Centrality and Expression in Martyria as a Superior Form of Dialogue

This paper describes some motivations and outlines some limits regarding the possibility and necessity of interreligious, interconfessional, and interideological dialogue, in an attempt to improve our understanding of Orthodox Christianity’s role in these important aspects of domestic and foreign politics. This study aims to resolve the divergent opinions that exist in the Orthodox Church regarding the possibility of remaining in this kind of dialogue. The ancient philosophical mode of dialogue and the modern one are analyzed: dialogue as debate and negotiation. The study begins from the analysis of some technical terms describing the social and spiritual dimensions of dialogue; from the perspective of these spiritual and social dimensions, the possibilities, the potential positive results, and the risks of remaining in dialogue with someone of another confession, belief, or ideology are analyzed. It reveals the evolution of the dialogue’s content, its enrichment with the spiritual dimensions of martyria and exomologesis, and the efficient centrality of the Logos in it, as suggested by the etymological definition of dialogue. It also emphasizes the necessity of a deep understanding of all these spiritual dimensions of dialogue for achieving efficient and fruitful communication with representatives of other social or religious groups. This communication can be seen as a guarantee of peace and social stability.

University as a space for dialogue of religions: Debates about theology

It should be noted that the experience of teaching theology in Western European countries has practically not been studied in modern Russia. The study of this experience is extremely necessary, as it allows you to borrow the best aspe cts of this experience (for example, the cooperative organization of cooperation between church and state in Germany) and not repeat erroneous decisions. Religious education in Western countries is currently facing a number of problems that are not yet known in Russia, but which are likely to await us in the near future. The concept of a postsecular society contains an effective substantiation of the need for theological education in modern Russia. The same concept convincingly shows that to the extent that a return to a secular society is impossible, a return to the dominant position of religious education in universities that was characteristic of the pre-secular era is also impossible. The wide and rather heated discussions characteristic of Russia today about the place of theology in university education can be considered fruitful only if the premise of these discussions is the conviction that we all exist in the new situation of a post-secular society, the main feature of which is inter-religious and interconfessional dialogue. Attempts to determine the place of theology in the system of sciences based on the ideas characteristic of a secular society should be considered deliberately unsuccessful.

Religion in the Social and Political Life of Modern Russia: a Review of the Monography “Religion in Modern Russia: Contexts and Discussions”

The review reveals the main topics described in the monograph "Religion in modern Russia: contexts and discussions", published in 2019. The review examines the role of religion in the modern social and political life of Russia, the development of relations between the religious organizations and Russian state and society, the special features of the inter-religious dialogue in Russia, as well as the theoretical framework for studying the relationship between religion and the public sphere in the modern world. Modern political science pays mounting attention to the socio-cultural dimension and cultural and civilizational aspects of politics, overcoming the paradigm of modernity and the idea of linearity of political processes. Religion begins to act as one of the most important factors influencing the sphere of politics. In the current situation, when political processes are inherently post-secular, while the methods of describing them are still secular, it becomes necessary to develop new theoretical and methodological tools for studying the relationship between religion and politics. The review touches upon a possible theoretical framework for describing the role of religion in contemporary politics. The authors also pay attention to the role of religion in the formation of group identity, the socially significant functions of religious organizations, the role of religion in transmitting the most important values to wide sections of society. The review pays special attention to the problems of interreligious relations, as well as the relationship between religion and politics in Russia, emphasizes the important role of religion in resolving a number of problems in Russian society, where, in the context of the historically established coexistence of various religions and confessions, building interreligious and interconfessional dialogue is particularly important.

Rethinking Sectarianism: Violence and Coexistence in Lebanon

ABSTRACT Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Lebanon and analysis of Lebanese media, this article argues that sectarianism is a cultural practice that posits a necessary link between religious identity and intentions. The resulting sectarian hermeneutics leads both ordinary Lebanese citizens discussing political events and acts of violence and participants in interconfessional dialogue sponsored by the state or by NGOs to assume that individuals’ intentions can be reliably inferred from their official religious status within Lebanon’s confessional system. The article explores activities promoting interreligious dialogue in Lebanon and shows that, in postwar Lebanon, sectarianism and anti-sectarianism, far from being antithetical to one another, in fact share an underlying logic. Both are preoccupied with defining a fixed relationship between religion and politics and between religion and violence. As a result, anti-sectarianism reproduces the understanding of identity and action as determined by religious sect that underpins the sectarian discourse it purports to combat. In so doing, it sidelines the state’s responsibility for social and economic inequality between religious communities.

Интеграция христианских практик социального служения в пространство межконфессионального диалога: возможности и перспективы

The article considers the possibility of integrating the practices of social charitable service of Christian confessions into the inter-confessional dialogue. The phenomenon of «social service» is considered as a developed objectivity of Being, «interfaith dialogue» as an objectivity of becoming available for reflexive penetration of the Dialogue. Constructive inclusion of interfaith dialogue in the problems of social service can become a source of new ideas and philosophical reflection. The relevance of this problem lies in the creative search and justification of adequate ways to include in the discourse of interfaith dialogue topical issues of social service practices of Christian denominations: generating and promoting new forms of assistance, sharing experience, communication, etc. The purpose of the article is to study the potentials of interfaith dialogue in the optimization of social service practices. The author’s task is to show that the experience of serving Christian confessions, focused on the formation of common value-semantic bases, and its communicative processes, goes beyond the understanding of the phenomenon of «social service», only as a tool of religious experience. The article presents a discursive analysis of the possibility of including interfaith dialogue in the issues of social practices of charitable service. The practical significance lies in the application of the research results to the activities of Church institutions, the development of specialized methods for building an interfaith dialogue on the practices of charitable service of Christian denominations. The results of the study may be of interest for practical application. A discursive analysis of the possibility of including inter-confessional dialogue in the social practices of charitable service is presented. The scientific ideas on effective methods and techniques of inter-confessional dialogue are studied, and its socially significant futures are presented. It is shown that among the obstacles to achieving inter-confessional dialogue on issues of social service of Christian confessions may be orthodox confessional paradigm and worldview, for example, endeavor the desire of its participants for a monopoly on truth, as well as the conviction of the exclusivity of their faith and its superiority over others. Therefore, inter-confessional dialogue can only be considered unfulfilled if it carries into the discourse of dogmatics. This goal was solved using methods of philosophical reflection, dialectical and discursive analysis, phenomenological and systematic approaches. The scientific novelty lies in the proposed concept of development of interconfessional dialogue in improving the social service of religious organizations, through the development of interaction. It is noted that social service can be a «field of cooperation» of communities of different confessions. Theoretical and practical conclusions of the obvious prospects for the development of interfaith dialogue are formulated. The article can be useful for training specialists of higher Education institutions studying in the Humanities.

Religion and state relationsin the legislation of the countries of central asia

This article analyzes the history of religion and state relations in Central Asian countries, in particular in the Republic of Uzbekistann, the role of the holy Islamic religion, inter-confessional dialogue, and the current state of religion and state relations in the Constitution and laws of the states of the army. Proposals were made on the tasks that should be carried out in order to further strengthen close military and mutual cooperation between the countries of Central Asia.

The Idea of Christian Unity at the End of the Nineteenth Century (the Case of Vl.S. Solovyov)

Abstract In the face of political rhetoric about Russia being outside of Europe both in the West and in Russia itself, it is all the more necessary to remember that European and Russian culture grew out of the same source: Christianity. Therefore, inter-confessional dialogue between Russian Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Church is particularly relevant today. In this context, scholars have focused attention on the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, who has been described as a forerunner of the ecumenical movement. This article enriches accounts of his thought by shining a spotlight on the context of spiritual and moral thought in Russia in his day. The article also shows how Russian emperors of the nineteenth century (in particular Alexander III) promoted the idea of a rapprochement with the Holy See. The author argues that these mutual initiatives of the Holy See and the Russian government were the political foundation for Solovyov’s theocratic project. The mid-nineteenth century was remarkable both for the flowering of Russian culture and the strengthening of Russian statehood, which together promoted the formation and articulation of key ideas in Russian intellectual history. The author shows that Russia’s mission to restore Christian unity was central to nineteenth-century Russian thought.

Public Libraries in Multicultural Environment: Main Directions of Activities

The article highlights the directions of library activities in multicultural environment. The author presents definition of multicultural environment and notes that public libraries become cultural and educational centres. The article considers the main tasks and directions of work of libraries in the multicultural environment. Among the tasks facing the libraries are the following: creation of conditions for intercultural and interconfessional dialogue, education of tolerant thinking among the younger generation, socio-cultural mediation between migrants and the local community, the promotion of social cohesion of Russian society. The main goal of the activities of libraries in multicultural environment is their involvement in the implementation of the state cultural and national policy. Therefore, the libraries consider their main task in preservation and development of ethnic cultures and languages of all peoples living in our country. The most common areas of work of libraries are organization of ethno-cultural mass events, development of multilingual collections, creation of multilingual electronic resources, cooperation with local authorities and government agencies, educational institutions, national and cultural associations and various public organizations, assistance in the process of adaptation of migrants and refugees to the conditions of new social environment, creation of language educational centres in libraries for all members of the local community, participation in sociological research, methodological support of library activities in multicultural environment. Annual analytical reports of public libraries over the last three years demonstrate the significant increase of their activities in multicultural environment. The article presents the results of survey of the Gasprinsky Republican Crimean Tatar Library on the topic: “Do you know the traditions of your people?” The author concludes that the activities of library in multicultural environment contributes to its development as a cultural and educational centre. Cooperation with local authorities, educational institutions, national cultural associations, public organizations testifies to the importance of libraries and their recognition as active participants in the process of social cohesion of Russian society.

Translating the Jansenist Controversy in Britain and Ireland

Abstract This article explores perceptions of Jansenism in Britain and Ireland in the latter half of the seventeenth century. Grounded in the theology of Cornelius Jansen, the Catholic bishop of Ypres, the wider Jansenist ‘movement’ was a controversial group of theologians, philosophers, clergy and nuns whose disputes with the papacy and French monarchy endured well into the eighteenth century. These centred on questions of divine grace, papal fallibility and even political dissent. In exploring the translation and reception of these ideas, this article foregrounds a moment in the late 1670s when the natural philosopher Robert Boyle and a group of like-minded Protestants attempted to incorporate Jansenist writings into a translation of the Bible into Irish. Enthusiasm for this was based on widely held perceptions that the Jansenists represented a more rational strain of Catholicism which anticipated a broader reform of Catholic Europe. The ensuing ‘Jansenist Preface’ was intended to help unify Christendom by bringing about a more rational religion among Ireland’s Catholics. The shock felt by Boyle and his collaborators upon actually reading Jansenist works, and the reappraisal this engendered, provides the foundation for a wider exploration of how ideas and representations of the Jansenist controversy moved, were translated, and subsequently engaged with across these confessional spaces. In doing so, this article sets British and Irish interests in Jansenism against wider questions of interconfessional dialogue and European reformation, and explores the place of mobility and translation in the framing of the reformation process.

Ethnic and administrative borders: from conflict to stability (on the example of Orenburg Region in XVIII-XIX centuries)

Understanding the historical experience of relations between peoples affects the political, economic and cultural sphere of peoples lives. Ethno-cultural and inter-confessional dialogue in the multi-ethnic space is always in the spotlight of researchers. Over the past two and a half centuries more than 50 thousand scientific works devoted to the history of Kazakhstan of the pre-revolutionary period were published in different regions of the former USSR and abroad. Historians of Russia and Kazakhstan, using an extensive documentary base, study all aspects of the interaction of their peoples. As before, the subject of discussion is a multifaceted problem of Russian-Kazakh relations, in particular, the entry of Kazakhstan into the Russian Empire in the early XVIII century. The paper deals with the nature of this connection in the context of cross-border region relations. The author relies on an approach that is free from emotional influence and reflects both negative and positive consequences of the Empires national policy. Colonization of the Kazakh steppe began with the territory of the southern Urals; the paper demonstrates the conflict potential, the confrontation of tsarism and Kazakh society. The author shows on the materials of Orenburg Region that despite all the vicissitudes of history the Kazakhs and the Russian people have developed sincere relations of good neighborliness and cooperation.

Ethnic and Confessional Relations Coverage in the Mass Media of the Republic of Tatarstan

The article reveals the key ideologemes in the sphere of interconfessional relations in the Republic of Tatarstan – one of economically developed regions of Russia. The authors analyzed different articles of newspapers with various typological background – “Respublika Tatarstan” (“The Republic of Tatarstan”, the official gazette of the Republic of Tatarstan), “Vremya i Dengi” (“The Time and Money”, the edition for business circles), “Vechernyaya Kazan” (“Evening Kazan”, mass media edition claiming to be an independent one). Applying the methods of substantive (quantitative and qualitative levels of cognition of reality), comparative, and discourse analysis of the newspapers on religious issues published in the Republic of Tatarstan, it was concluded that the republican press sought to adequately reflect the situation in the Republic of Tatarstan for the research period. In addition, the article discovers that a number of regional social problems of religious nature were to be muted in the local newspapers selected for the research. However, if such problems were still discussed, journalists and newspapers’ editors always focused on the settlement of any conflict situations in interconfessional relations. Moreover, in 2000-2017 the local press openly supported the manifestations of interconfessional tolerance, trying to deal with the activities of representatives of Islam and Orthodoxy in equal measure. The image of the “enemy” by faith in the research chronological period was not formed in the mass media, instead, journalists often spoke about the existence of an interconfessional dialogue. The results of our study supplement the findings of W. Gudykunst (1997), M. Kim (1994), M. Bennet (1998) and M. Maruyama (1970) through studying the practice of the print media functioning in one of the polyethnic Russian regions – the Republic of Tatarstan.

Vl. Solovyov and the Holy See Explication of the Idea of Christian Unity at the End of the 19th Century

In the face of political rhetoric about Russia being outside of Europe both in the West and in Russia itself, it is all the more necessary to remember that European and Russian culture grew out of the same source: Christianity. Therefore, inter-confessional dialogue between Russian Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Church is particularly relevant today. In this context, scholars have focused attention on the Russian philosopher Vl.S. Solovyov, who has been described as the forerunner of the ecumenical movement. The current article seeks to enrich accounts of Solovyov’s thought by shining a spotlight on the context of spiritual thought in Russia in his day. The article also shows how Russian emperors (particularly Alexander III) promoted the idea of a rapprochement with the Holy See. The author argues that these mutual initiatives of the Holy See and the Russian government were the political foundation for Vl. S. Solovyov’s famous theocratic project. The author worked with the funds of Vatican Secret Archive, concerning relationships between Russian government and the Holy See at the end of XIX century (State Secretary fund 247), personal fund of Leo XIII and the Holy See connection’s with Slavic religious figures (State Secretary fund 283, 248, 1D).