St. Tikhon’s University Review . Series I: Theology. Philosophy. Religious Studies

The human element is one of the most significant aspects of understanding tradition in the Church. It is true that the Holy Spirit is the principle active person and the guarantee of truth in the process of the handing down of tradition. But on the other hand, God Himself entrusted man with the duty of proclaiming the faith. Still, when man comes into the picture, so emerges the problem of human fallibility and the possibility of distorting the faith which is handed down. It is therefore vital to search for criteria which might help us to separate the truth from its distortion. These criteria are supplied by the authoritative voice of the Church. The problem of authority in the Church is for today one of the most essential questions touched upon in inter-confessional Christian dialogue. It is tightly linked to another problem — that of primacy within the Church — and this is being discussed in the framework of Orthodox-Roman Catholic dialogue.

TRADITION, MAGISTERIUM, AUTHORITY, PRIMACY, HIERARCHY OF DOGMAS, THOMAS AQUINAS, INTER-CONFESSIONAL CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE, ECUMENISM

Morerod Ch.

В статье рассматриваются некоторые протрептические мотивы диалога «Алкивиад I» в беседе свт. Василия Великого «На слова: внемли себе». Как и автор диалога, свт. Василий использует сакральный текст, чтобы побудить своих слушателей заботиться о душе, очевидно, рассматривая библейское «πρόσεχε σεαυτώ» (Втор 15. 9) как аналог дельфийского призыва «γνώθι σαυτόν». Во второй части статьи указывается на некоторые параллели с текстами Порфирия и Евсевия, а также с «Благодарственной речью», приписываемой традиционно свт. Григорию Неокесарийскому. Наконец, третья часть работы посвящена вопросу о том, почему свт. Василий избирает текст Второзакония для разработки протрептических мотивов «Алкивиада I».

ST. BASIL THE GREAT, PHILOSOPHICAL PROTREPTIC, FIRST ALCIBIADES, PORPHYRY, ORIGEN, CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA, DEUTERONOMY, EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA, GENRES OF PATRISTIC LITERATURE

Alieva Ol'ga

This article studies the paintings depicting Saint Onuphrios the Great which decorate the walls of monasteries of Lower Egypt. The author comes to the conclusion that these paintings show a distinctive similarity in their depiction of the saint notwithstanding the fact that they were painted at different locations and in different centuries. They are all based on the depiction of the saint which is found in the shorter version of Onuphrios’ life which came down to us as part of an Arabic-Coptic synaxarion. It is noteworthy that the Coptic icons of Saint Onuphrios which have been preserved do not depict the saint in the same way.

SAINT ONUPHRIOS THE GREAT, COPTIC ART, HAGIOGRAPHY, BYZANTINE STUDIES, CHRISTIAN EAST

Voitenko A.

This article discusses the influence of Kant’s ethics on philosophy of S. Gessen and the attempt of the latter to overcome the formalism of Kant’s moral teaching. It is to be noted, that although Gessen made much use of the achievements inherent in Kant’s ethics, he nevertheless came to the conclusion that the founder of the critical school in philosophy did not have the last word when it came to questions of morality. The Russian neo-Kantian philosopher thought Kant’s concept of ethical duty to constitute only one level of morality. Gessen went much further - reaching out to the essence of a higher order, that of love as the gift of grace.

KANT’S MORAL TEACHING, S. GESSEN, ETHICS, ETHICS OF DUTY, MORALITY, FREEDOM, CULTURE, LOVE

Samoilov Dmitrii, диакон

This article examines the criteria of truth in post-modern philosophy, taking into account the ways it is defined in both the classical and non-classical traditions. Specific to post-modern philosophy is the absence of a universal language of narration and the traditional methods in which knowledge is recognized as legitimate. Basing himself on these concepts, the author examines the problem of the ideal of scientific quality and the transformations this idea has undergone in contemporary philosophy. Truth is understood basically through two means which govern our relation to truth: the will to truth and the concern for truth. These also appear as defining factors of truth in various types of post-modern philosophy: social-operative, social-political, and aesthetic.

POST-MODERNISM, TRUTH, CRITERIA OFTRUTHFULNESS, CLASSICAL AND NON-CLASSICAL THEORIES OF TRUTH, SCIENTIFIC QUALITY, IDEAL OF SCIENTIFIC QUALITY, CRITERIA OF SCIENTIFIC QUALITY, QUASI-SCIENTIFIC QUALITY, PLAGIARISM, PLAGIARISM ON THE INTERNET, DISCOURSE,

Mucha Olga

Examining some theological and philosophical theories of truth, the author concentrates his attention on the experience of giving concrete reality to the Christian discourse about truth and at the same time contrasting this search with the attempts of philosophy to define truth. He draws the reader’s attention to the understanding of truth in language and communication. In his article he discusses the essential theories of truth which are characteristic of western philosophy: classical, correspondent, coherent, pragmatic, communicative and ontic. The author notes the specific traits of a theological understanding of truth and contends that it is based on an ontologically higher level than that of the classic definition of truth viewed simply in relation to reality and the understanding. The knowledge of God given to the Christian faith by the activity of the triune God, is in itself perfect and therefore in no need of further development. It is on this basis that theology develops its knowledge of faith, sweeping aside everything which is not in accord with this fundamental affirmation of faith or with the witness of revealed truth.

TRUTH, THEOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY, CORRESPONDENT, COHERENT, PRAGMATIC, ONTIC THEORY OF TRUTH, CONSENSUS, FAITH, REVELATION

Grosshans H.-P.

This article contains the first complete and annotated edition of a theological work written by Stefan Javorskij, the Metropolitan of Rjazan’ and Murom and the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne of Moscow and all Rus’. For the Yoke of the Lord is Easy and His Burden Light is written as a kind of answer to Feofan Prokopovič’s polemic disputation The Tale of the Dispute of Paul and Barnabas with the Judaizers and the Difficulty of the Oration of the Apostle Peter Concerning the Unbearable Burden of the Law. It also marks the starting point for one of the most significant theological controversies of the eighteenth century.

STEFAN JAVORSKIJ, FEOFAN PROKOPOVIč, YOKE OF THE LORD, FALL OF MAN, LAW, FREE WILL, OLD TESTAMENT, GOD’S LOVE, SIN, GRACE, JUSTIFICATION, DEGREES OF PERFECTION

Grigor'ev Anton