Orthodox Culture Research Articles

Gloriosa Regina or “Alien Queen”?: Some Reconsiderations on Anna Yaroslavna’s Queenship (r. 1050-1075)

The article questions the image that has emerged in secondary sources of Anna Yaroslavna (r. 1050- c. 1075), the Rus-born wife of King Henri I of France (d. 1060), as an “alien queen” who remained a foreigner in Capetian society. Focusing on charter evidence, it examines the ways in which Anna exercised her queenship and demonstrates that while limited evidence suggests that she maintained contact with the Orthodox culture of her homeland, she also became assimilated into her husband’s western-Christian court culture. The article thus also sheds light on relations between western and eastern Christianity in the mid eleventh century.

Проблемы методики преподавания православной культуры в школе в аспекте государственно-церковных отношений

Проблемы методики преподавания православной культуры в школе в аспекте государственно-церковных отношений

Life Satisfaction and Intercultural Tolerance Interrelations in Different Cultures

Summarizing the results of different researches on intercultural interaction, we can state that people feel tension in intercultural contacts when they perceive the situation as threatening their well-being. There are also many empirical evidences that people belonging to different cultures understand well-being in different ways. This understanding depends also on social, economic and other factors. Thereby it is important to study general relationships of subjective well-being and intercultural tolerance and cultural specifics of these relationships. Objectives of the empirical study was to analyze the satisfaction with life as an important factor of cross-cultural interaction; to reveal cultural specifics of modern representations of subjective well-being, and interrelations of the styles of intercultural interaction with subjective well-being in different cultures. Methods: Scales of: Psychological well-being (Ryff), Life Satisfaction (Neugarten, Havighurst, - Tobin), Subjective Happiness (Lyubomirsky - Lepper), General Communicative Tolerance (Boiko) and Ethnic Identity Types (Soldatova, Ryzhova), Student’s T-test, Spearman's rank correlation. Sample: 330 persons (18-55 years old) of 10 different nations and 5 religions. By the time of the survey, all the participants had lived in Russia for some (not less than 3) years, all of them lived in some biggest Russian cities.Results: It was discovered, that people’s satisfaction with their lives directly relates to general and intercultural tolerance. People, more satisfied with their lives, are usually better control their negative emotions, adapt to changing situations, forgive others’ mistakes. Such people admit their and others’ ethnicity and more rarely exhibit extremism in inter-ethnic relations, although they often avoid contact with other ethnic groups. Cross-cultural differences in well-being were revealed among residents of modern Russian big cities. In particular, people belonging to the Jewish religion, were significantly more satisfied with their lives than all the others were. People brought up in the Orthodox culture, were the least satisfied. In many subjective well-being indicators, representatives of the Buddhist and Muslim cultures showed quite good results. Different statistically significant connections between subjective well-being and tolerance were revealed in cultural subgroups. For example, for people belonging to Jewish religion, general tolerance is associated mostly with meaningfulness of life and openness to the world; and ethnic tolerance is associated to environmental mastery and personal growth. For Buddhists meaningfulness of life positively correlates with general and ethnic tolerance, and personal growth correlates only with ethnic tolerance. Muslims showed the similar results, but besides – the correlations of both types of tolerance with ppurposefulness and overall mood tone. For Orthodox Christians, both types of tolerance is mostly related to positive relations with others and overall level of subjective well-being. Conclusions: the life satisfaction and subjective well-being are important factors of intercultural interactions. There are common and culturally specific mechanisms of these factors interaction. In psychological support of cross-cultural interaction it is important to take into consideration cultural differences in well-being understanding and its relations with general and intercultural tolerance.

THE SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROJECTING IN THE SPIRITUAL AND MORAL FORMATION OF THE FUTURE TEACHER

В статье раскрывается воспитательный потенциал социально-образовательного проектирования в духовно-нравственном становлении будущих педагогов. Обосновывается необходимость использования традиций православной культуры и педагогики в подготовке студентов к созданию условий духовно-нравственного развития школьников в учебной и внеучебной деятельности. Описывается социально-образовательный проект для студентов-будущих педагогов «Православие – путь к духовной безопасности русского человека и русского народа», включающий обучение студентов истории православной педагогики, семинары «Слово Пастыря и Учителя» о традиционных православных ценностях, культурно-образовательные экскурсии по православным монастырям, волонтерские акции «Милосердие» « для детей, оказавшихся в трудной жизненной ситуации. Социально-образовательное проектирование позволяет сформировать у студентов социальную активность, общекультурные и профессиональные компетенции будущей педагогической деятельности в области духовно-нравственного развития школьников.

Secondary School in the Russian Federation and Russian Orthodox Church at the Beginning of the 21st Century

In this article we review major points of view of supporters and opponents of church presence into Russian secondary school in the modern context. Those who support church presence in the secondary school claim that it is necessary and argue that people are willing to have Orthodox education, relations between the church and the government have been improved, it is necessary to introduce the pluralistic model of public-church relations, it is in line with the historical identity of the tradition, and that there is a necessity to eliminate systemic imbalances between secondary and faith school. The opponents of the Orthodox education introduction into the context of modern secondary school include atheist parents of students, followers of other religions, supporters of liberal modernization models for Russia, and the group of Russian “intelligentsia” who traditionally do not trust Orthodox Church as a social institution. Major periods of interaction between Russian Orthodox Church and Russian secondary school are specified. We have analyzed the situation in several regions where Orthodox education encountered resistance from the representatives of other religions. Major tendencies of Orthodox education development in the context of new government approaches to the problem are estimated. We explored the role of the course “Fundamentals of Orthodox culture and ethic”, as a compromise of a kind, due to which the problem of Orthodox education promotion in the republics with non-Orthodox population was resolved.

BELARUSIANS’ SELFIDENTIFICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CIVILIZATIONAL BORDERLAND

The article is focused on Belarusians’ self-identification within civilizational borderland as it appears to have a considerable impact on the nation’s complex identification process and remains critical in contemporary Belarus under its strongman A. Lukashenko. Significantly, the current head of state and, most importantly, the official political course can be regarded as the key “identifier” of the Belarusian nation in the geopolitical and civilizational dimension. Lukashenko’s pendulum-like foreign policy highlights the national identity reference points and defines its either pro-Russian or pro-Western leaning. In the context of regime’s relentless maneuvering between Moscow and Brussels, Belarusians’ pro-Russia and pro-West orientations reached parity at the end of 2010. It might imply that the country’s identification trajectory can be modified in accordance with the ruling elite’s foreign policy imperatives and the current political conjuncture. Despite the fact that the elements of European identity are present in Belarusians’ identity code, notably as the symbol of better living standards, its role is far from relevant. Instead, strong bonds with the Eastern Orthodox civilization—nurtured within the Pan-Slavic “Russian world” paradigm—will probably prevail as the dominant vector for the nation’s identification in the long-term perspective.

Методика преподавания православной культуры как новая область дидактической науки

Методика преподавания православной культуры как новая область дидактической науки

EVOLUTION OF NATIONAL SYSTEM OF AESTHETIC EDUCATION

The authors of the article consider the main historical stages of the evolution of national system of artisticaesthetic education with the aim to identify its distinctive features. Historical-pedagogical analysis of this system corresponds to the research of characteristic features of the development of aesthetic culture of Russian people and identification of natural connections and mutual influence of these two processes from ancient times till now. Thus, for example, the authors make the analysis of features characteristic for public consciousness of eastern Slavs in the pagan epoch (associativity, flexibility, polysemy etc.). These features of public consciousness correspond to traditional methods of education based on domination of public interests in the period. The authors analyze cardinal changes of public consciousness of inhabitants of Ancient Russia after they had adopted the orthodox culture: basics of religious outlook have been gradually formed instead of mythological outlook. It leads to the development in Russia of new spheres of creative activities (stone building, monumental and easel painting, book production, literary creativity etc.). From that time it is possible to speak about the origin of national system of aesthetic education (training of professional artists, formation of the first art schools and of methodical system of training painters). At the same time, characteristic feature of our ancestors’ outlook is combination of Christian and pagan elements, what allows to speak about the uniqueness of Ancient Russian culture. The period of revival of Russian culture in the 14 th – 15 th centuries is marked by the appearance of new aesthetics based on the high spirituality and artistic perfection. Since the 16 th century, secular elements have gained strength in Russian culture, especially in the 17 th century when the medieval paradigm of public consciousness definitively collapsed. From the 18 th century the culture of Russia is divided into two streams "secular" based on European cultural values and "Old Russian" (folklore).

EVOLUTION OF NATIONAL SYSTEM OF AESTHETIC EDUCATION

The authors of the article consider the main historical stages of the evolution of national system of artisticaesthetic education with the aim to identify its distinctive features. Historical-pedagogical analysis of this system corresponds to the research of characteristic features of the development of aesthetic culture of Russian people and identification of natural connections and mutual influence of these two processes from ancient times till now. Thus, for example, the authors make the analysis of features characteristic for public consciousness of eastern Slavs in the pagan epoch (associativity, flexibility, polysemy etc.). These features of public consciousness correspond to traditional methods of education based on domination of public interests in the period. The authors analyze cardinal changes of public consciousness of inhabitants of Ancient Russia after they had adopted the orthodox culture: basics of religious outlook have been gradually formed instead of mythological outlook. It leads to the development in Russia of new spheres of creative activities (stone building, monumental and easel painting, book production, literary creativity etc.). From that time it is possible to speak about the origin of national system of aesthetic education (training of professional artists, formation of the first art schools and of methodical system of training painters). At the same time, characteristic feature of our ancestors’ outlook is combination of Christian and pagan elements, what allows to speak about the uniqueness of Ancient Russian culture. The period of revival of Russian culture in the 14 th – 15 th centuries is marked by the appearance of new aesthetics based on the high spirituality and artistic perfection. Since the 16 th century, secular elements have gained strength in Russian culture, especially in the 17 th century when the medieval paradigm of public consciousness definitively collapsed. From the 18 th century the culture of Russia is divided into two streams "secular" based on European cultural values and "Old Russian" (folklore).

Church Teaching Literature as a Phenomenon of the Russian Orthodox Culture

Addresses understanding the Russian Church (patristic) literature from the pedagogical perspective. The author analyses specific features of religious literature in terms of its pedagogical potential including the reliance in Scripture, personal experience of organising the spiritual life, attention to the issues of spiritual and moral personal development and guidance.

Intimacy and Antipathy: Ukrainian–Russian Relations in Historical Perspective

When protests began in Kyiv in November 2013, no one could have predicted that they would ultimately result in the collapse of the Yanukovych government, the Russian annexation of Crimea, and a war in eastern Ukraine that would claim thousands of lives. Yet the crisis in Ukraine is not merely the product of a perfect storm of contingent events; it has deep historical roots in that nation's crucial but ambivalent relationship with Russia. Ukraine played a central role in the consolidation of the tsarist empire, the invention of Russian nationalism, and the creation of the Soviet regime. It has also generated bold liberationist schemes that have shaken the very foundations of Russian/Soviet hegemony. Over the centuries, numerous parties have endeavored to simplify this complex history of intimacy and antipathy--to align Ukraine widi a single ethno-religious group, ideological tradition, or cultural idea. Each of these efforts, however, has only generated new conflict and violence. The 2013-14 crisis in Ukraine--the most recent iteration of this cycle of simplification and brutalization--provides a tragic reminder of the suffering that this pattern produces as well as the difficulty of escaping from it. The Ukrainian lands played a crucial role in the definition of the Russian imperial project. In the mid-17th century, the Zaporizhian Cossacks wrested control of contemporary east-central Ukraine from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and established a polity of their own, the Hetmanate, under the protection of the Muscovite tsar. Claiming to defend ancient Rus' customs that supposedly had been defiled by the region's non-Orthodox populations, the Cossacks transformed a contested border zone into the spiritual center of Orthodox civilization, creating the Russian Empire's densest network of Orthodox churches, seminaries, and printing presses. The cultural capital of the Hetmanate and the key role that it played in defending the Orthodox Church on its vulnerable western frontier offered its native sons the opportunity to propagate the Cossacks' unique cultural concerns and historical memory across the empire. Russia's tsars relied on Ukrainian clerics to run the church and on Kyiv monks to write the first history of the East Slavs; it was a Hetmanate native, Feofan Prokopovych, who defined the mission of the autocracy under Peter the Great. (1) In spite of its contributions to the institutions and the ideology that undergirded the autocracy, the Hetmanate generated a potent critique of the tsarist system's centralizing ambitions. Insistent that the Hetmanate's long-standing traditions of martial democracy and decentralization reflected authentic Slavic values that dated back to Rus', members of the Cossack elite denounced the autocracy as a German innovation. Pointing to the key role that they had played in advancing Orthodox interests on a sensitive frontier, they insisted that they were equals of the Russian tsars--not merely die slaves of the autocrat. The imperial state responded to these challenges with further infringements on Cossack rights, and eventually abolished the Hetmanate altogether. Yet the Cossack dream of freedom survived; well into the 19th century, the descendants of Cossack generals continued to nourish the culture and memory of their ancestors. (2) In die 19th century--by which time the Russian Empire had marched west to claim almost all of contemporary Ukraine, with die exception of the Austrian province of Galicia--the Ukrainian lands became the empire's major center of Russian nationalist agitation. Although the rise of Russian nationalism was aided by the Russification efforts promoted by the imperial state, local actors generated much of the ideological content of the movement. Building on the early modern discourse that portrayed Ukraine as the center of Orthodox civilization, local clerics and intellectuals now insisted that their native land was the cradle of an Orthodox, East Slavic nation that had originated in Rus'. …

Ekonomija ili hrematistika - slučaj Srbije

The nations are worth as much as it is worth their economies. In today's global world, people gain or lose independence primarily by how successful their economy is . Of course, freedom and independence of a people is defended in all fields, but the economic success is the key to success to all the rest. A society that is for us and the former socialist countries, termed transition, represents a return to predatory capitalism and the way in hypocritical, orchestrated democracy; it is now the world of lasting evil and bigger injustice that undermine the state and relentlessly pushing them into ,,peripheral capitalism' (Ljubisa Mitrovic). The word 'economy' is of Greek origin and translated into our language it means' skill of housekeeping (economy)'. What we habitually continue to call economy in the world today and in Serbia, we can not call the skill of keeping. The term 'economy' has long been superseded, in his place is the term 'chrematistics' also a word of Greek origin that means inserted enrichment. This term in use is introduced by Aristotle. This ancient philosopher emphasized that the economy and chrematistics are antipodes and that chrematistics destructive to society. By its nature, it leads to the destruction of the economy. Practically, it can be called 'destroyers skill of keeping the economy.' Today in the world and Serbia do not have the economy, we have chrematistics (speculation on commodity markets , pyramid schemes, the development of the securities market , games on the stock market ... ) . Chrematistics the trick word, and that's why we can replace it with the term 'casino-economy.' A new form of monarchy, which is expressed as a new imperialism, is not based on ' cunning mind' (Hegel ) and the 'spirit of the law' ( Montesquieu ), but the 'cunning of the economy', which is dominated by raw (Hobbes ) laws of the market and where the economy becomes policies. Figure of societies of Eastern Europe, where the neoliberal social Darwinism, disenfranchising the largest population, has created an entire class of poor, who are now struggling to realize their right to work, confirms the emptiness of neoliberal democracy. As a result of chrematistics in transit societis 'capitalism without capitalists' is created (Mladen Lazic) in which the capital, grabed during social conflicts, mediated by political elites, by which the redistribution of accumulated social wealth ended up largely in private hands. If proved, and it is, that the current neo-liberal approach and form (paradigm ) does not give the expected, and so the required results, then the need to search for a new paradigm of development and more prominent. We need one another, a different view of society and especially its development, freed from the constraints and domination of the theory and methodology of the global powers imposed as the only desirable (required ). So, we need a self-reflective approach to social issues especially in orthodox societies. It is a request that it turned to itself and see their potential and opportunities. This paper is an attempt to draw attention to the devastating consequences of chrematistics in the world, and especially in our society, but also to make an effort to search for the 'principle of hope' and point out the different possible directions of development of Serbian society. We are convinced that, as the basis of Western civilization with the neo-liberal development model is the social doctrine of Catholicism, Orthodox civilization, which can and should be the centerpiece and developer 'planetrly humanism' (Danilo Z. Marković) (which in the present Russia partly realized), there should be the social doctrine of Orthodoxy at the basis of Orthodox ethics and domestic economics.

Orthodox culture in a secular state: Legal and political instruments of educational and cultural policies in Serbia

The topic of the paper is the relationship of the secular state towards the Orthodox culture in Serbia during the 20th and 21st centuries. Basic research problem is a usability of cultural values of Orthodoxy in contemporary Serbia after a period of antireligious propaganda in Yugoslavia. Therefore, the research is focused on the question of whether secular state legal and political instruments encourage or limit the protection, preservation, and the inclusion of Orthodox culture in the cultural life of the majority of the Serbian people on the territory of Serbia. Basic methods of empirical research is the media archeology applied in order to establish how much relevant data are available on-line. The survey results show a lack of participatory mechanisms of decision making on key issues of cultural life and cultural development, which is reduced to the secular dimension of culture. Therefore, the contemporary cultural policy mainly relates to the protection and preservation of the Orthodox cultural heritage, while in the arts, creativity and in?novation, there are no systemic solutions that encourage generic potential of Orthodox culture and influence the development of human capabilities in accordance with the Orthodox Christian values.

Социальная система, обращенная в прошлое (Часть 1)

Social system of modern Russia is regarded as a continuation of soviet socioeconomic order which historical roots have deepened in the centuries-old past of the country — representative of Eurasian Orthodox civilization. Different stages of its development are explored since XIII century to current day. Eventually it is shown the collapse of communist system in Russia has implied a transition of Eurasian civilization to the new stage of its evolution which is Neo-Etacratic socio-economic order and classic authoritarianism.In the first part of the article the influence of the passed way on social system of modern Russia is putting forward as well as it’s shown that by the middle of XIII century Rus was early feudal society, deeply intertwined with Europe through economic, political, cultural and dynastic links. Horde system, accompanied with Asian despotism and Asian (state) mode of production, introduced classless social structure without private property into Russia. Afterwards state has forever dominated over Russian society and become main factor of its development. Based on this historical ground, estate order has formed as a distinctive institutional and stratification system of Muscovy Rus — as well as tsarist, soviet and post-soviet Russia.

Социальная система, обращенная в прошлое (Часть 2)

Social system of modern Russia is regarded as a continuation of soviet socioeconomic order which historical roots have deepened in the centuries-old past of the country — representative of Eurasian Orthodox civilization. Different stages of its development are explored since XIII century to current day. Eventually it is shown the collapse of communist system in Russia has implied a transition of Eurasian civilization to the new stage of its evolution which is Neo-Etacratic socio-economic order and classic authoritarianism.By 1917 the European line in development of Russia hadn’t yet won which conditioned by the fact that that private property hadn’t become tradition for most Russians. Hereon recovery of estate system, conversion into estates by state, forming of peculiar service stratum had become possible. In other words path dependence theory brought into life, reproducing in ХХ–ХХI centuries power-estate relations of, it would seem, dead and gone medieval Rus.For centuries inside of highly stable etacratic order the estate hierarchy and authority had being recovered in modified way under conditional rights of everybody except for all-powerful sovereign (differently titled in each epoch — a Prince, a Tsar, a Imperator, a General Secretary, a President).The nature of socioeconomic system formed in post-soviet Russia — Etacratism in new phase of its development i.e. — Neo-Etacratism. The role of state is still dominating, but it isn’t the only one as it was in USSR because private-property market component matters. In Russia dualistic social stratification combining estate (dominating) and socio-professional hierarchies has formed.

Women on the Fault Lines of Faith: Pussy Riot and the Insider/Outsider Challenge to Post-Soviet Orthodoxy

This article examines the explosive reaction to ‘Punk Prayer’ as a religious act. It argues that the power of the performance as iconoclash resulted from the fact that it tapped, resonated with, and disturbed Russia’s Orthodox culture through its appropriation of Orthodox sound, space, and symbols – namely, the image of Mary, the Mother of God. The perceived position of its performers as insiders or outsiders to Orthodoxy, the evaluation of the sincerity of Punk Prayer as prayer, and the paradoxical role that gender played in shaping these perceptions contributed to the tumultuous response.

Памятники православного культа как элемент региональной традиционной культуры и турресурс городского округа Тольятти

The article analyses the role of traditional cultural heritage in the development of tourism industry and describes the history and the modern situation of the temple construction in Togliatti. The authors depended on the complex historical method, system approach, various postnonclassical methods and systematized and analyzes historical facts connected with the Orthodox culture in Togliatti city district. The article also reveals positive tendencies and mechanisms of preservation and development of the most successful phenomena of traditional culture and of their popularization by religious tourism. The following thesis is introduced and proved: the unity of the past and present in regional culture manifests itself through cultural codes and the creation of elements of traditional media in young industrialized cities will contribute to the revival of the conventional spirituality. Power and business receive ideas of restoration of traditional spiritual components of social consciousness through the creation of appropriate environment that would demonstrate the beauty and the greatness of the architectural forms of the Orthodox culture and of their spiritual development abilities.

Историческая преемственность изучения православной культуры в России

Историческая преемственность изучения православной культуры в России

Исторические памятники православной культуры Кобринского района Брестской области

What is explored in the article are the historical monuments of the Orthodox culture in the Kobryn Region in Brest Province of Belarus – the country of centuries- long and rich culture, where specific traditions of sacral architecture have always been present. Some unique cases of sacral wooden architecture in the town of Kobryn are presented in the text. A detailed description has been provided of the wooden St. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church. The role and rank is indicated of stone Orthodox churches in the cultural space of the Kobryn town and region. The author concludes that at the beginning of the 21st century the wooden and stone Orthodox churches there became the symbol and pride of Belarusian culture. Nowadays, in the conditions of coexistence between the Belarusian state and the Orthodox Church and of the development of agri- and ecotourism, wooden and stone Orthodox churches become both an inseparable part of cultural space and a determinant of Belarusians’ self-identification.

The Way: Religious Thinkers of the Russian Emigration in Paris and Their Journal, 1925–1940 by Antoine Arjakovsky (review)

Reviewed by: The Way: Religious Thinkers of the Russian Emigration in Paris and Their Journal, 1925–1940 by Antoine Arjakovsky Dennis J. Dunn The Way: Religious Thinkers of the Russian Emigration in Paris and Their Journal, 1925–1940. By Antoine Arjakovsky. Edited by John A. Jillions and Michael Plekon; translated by Jerry Ryan. (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. 2013. Pp. xiv, 766. $65.00 paperback. ISBN 978-0-268-0204-8.) Antoine Arjakovsky, a professor of ecumenical theology at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and research director at the Collèges de Bernardins in Paris, has written a masterful history of Russian religious thinkers who left Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution, took up residence in the West (mainly in Paris), and established a journal called Put’ or The Way. The journal was published between 1925 and 1940 in Russian, usually in quarterly editions, and had sixty-one issues before the Nazis occupied Paris. It was a thoroughly Russian émigré endeavor that was led by Nikolai Berdyaev, a brilliant thinker who was a maverick among Russian Orthodox intellectuals, and was largely financed by such Protestant organizations as the YMCA, the World Student Christian Federation, and the Anglican Church. Its major contributors were Berdyaev, George Florovsky, Boris Vysheslavtsev, Vasilii Zenkovsky, Vladimir Ilyin, Sergius Bulgakov, Lev Shestov, Nicolas Zernov, George Fedotov, Nikloai Lossky, Simeon Frank, Nikola Arseniev, Mother Maria Skobtsova, and Sergei Bezobrazen. It also included contributions from such Catholic writers as Jacques Maritain and Cardinal Pierre-Paulin Andrieu, and such Protestant authors as Paul Tillich, Pastor Christoph Blumhardt, [End Page 627] Hans Erenburg, and Paul F. Anderson. Its core teaching—what united the Russian émigrés—was that God could not be separated from human life in any dimension. Thus it insisted upon examining every subject—including history, literature, art, science, psychology, philosophy, and politics—from a religious perspective. The Way was little known in the West or in Russia until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It finally was released in 1998 on CD-Rom in Russian. In analyzing The Way’s files, articles, and archives, Arjakovsky was able to uncover what is clearly one of the most profound intellectual developments in the history of Orthodoxy—on par, perhaps, with some of the work of the Greek Fathers. Revealing the influence of Alexei Khomiakhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Vladimir Solovyov, and a bevy of fin-de-siècle German and French philosophers, as well as the enduring belief in Russia’s exceptionalism and spirituality, the Russian émigrés offered new insights on ecumenism, church-state relations, ecology, socioeconomic harmony, and especially theology, including such mythological notions as God’s personalism, ever-present Holy Wisdom (Sophia), and constant centrality in human existence and life. That these and other ideas had not come up before in Orthodoxy and appeared only outside of Russia in the freedom of interwar Paris speaks to a conundrum faced by Russians, whether exiled or not: the debilitating effect of authoritarianism on Orthodoxy under the Romanovs and the Bolsheviks. In the end, Arjakovsky’s work is more than a history of the interwar Russian emigration and its periodical. It also is a thought-provoking reflection on some of the core values that led to separate Western and Orthodox civilizations, including such issues as papal primacy, the relationship of reason to faith, separation of church and state, and the critical importance of law in limiting government. Surprisingly, many of the Russian savants never found an adequate explanation for why Russian Orthodox civilization went awry with its adoption of Leninism-Stalinism. The émigrés were rightly worried about the future of Russia. None of them lived to see the fall of the Soviet Union and Vladimir Putin’s revival of the Romanov model of autocracy, orthodoxy, and nationality to guide Russia in the twenty-first century, but it is safe to say that they neither expected nor hoped for such a restoration. Dennis J. Dunn Texas State University Copyright © 2014 The Catholic University of America Press