The Influence of Byzantine Culture on the Russian Religious Faith and Literature
Byzantine heritage was the source of cultural life for Kievan Rus. Later, the territories known as Russian Empire, adopted the main principles of faith borrowed from Rus which developed into the whole system of philosophical views. Despite the fact that Byzantium fell in sixteen century, its cultural legacy continues existing today and it takes its rightful place in world culture. The main contribution of the Byzantine Empire to the spiritual life was made primarily through the establishment and development of Orthodox Christianity (Hussey). Thus, under the influences of Eastern tradition of Christianity the Russian religious faith and literature was exposed for …show more content…
Russian literature is based predominantly at the basement of Orthodox religious thought. Such remarkable writers as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Herzen, Berdyaev, Solovyov, S. Bulgakov, Florensky and others in their words elaborated the idea of closeness of Russian State and its people. Moreover, the connection between the messiah duty of Russia is a frequent topic for Russian religious thought as well. Interestingly, but the concept of “Russian Idea” is present in the philosophical works of almost every important Russian philosophers (Mirsky). The idea of choseness of the Russian people and state is crucial for the understanding the influences of the Byzantine Orthodoxy on the culture and literature of Russians. The great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was deeply influenced by the Orthodox bringing in the Russian Empire. Even though Tolstoy was anathematized by the Christian Church of Russian Empire, he was deeply religious person, whose interpretation of Christianity was controversial for their times, but still received lots of attention from the greatest mind (Nabokov). The most notable work, where Tolstoy elaborates his views on Orthodoxy is “Confession.” More or less, all novels by Dostoevsky are pierced by the thought of Christ and his mission in Earth. However, the most remarkable are his novel “Idiot”, where protagonist Myshkin is considered as image of Christ, he is kind-hearted person with exclusively good intentions. As we see from the mentioned the leitmotif of Eastern Christianity one way or another is present in all the literature heritage of Russian
Byzantine heritage was the source of cultural life for Kievan Rus. Later, the territories known as Russian Empire, adopted the main principles of faith borrowed from Rus which developed into the whole system of philosophical views. Despite the fact that Byzantium fell in sixteen century, its cultural legacy continues existing today and it takes its rightful place in world culture. The main contribution of the Byzantine Empire to the spiritual life was made primarily through the establishment and development of Orthodox Christianity (Hussey). Thus, under the influences of Eastern tradition of Christianity the Russian religious faith and literature was exposed for …show more content…
Russian literature is based predominantly at the basement of Orthodox religious thought. Such remarkable writers as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Herzen, Berdyaev, Solovyov, S. Bulgakov, Florensky and others in their words elaborated the idea of closeness of Russian State and its people. Moreover, the connection between the messiah duty of Russia is a frequent topic for Russian religious thought as well. Interestingly, but the concept of “Russian Idea” is present in the philosophical works of almost every important Russian philosophers (Mirsky). The idea of choseness of the Russian people and state is crucial for the understanding the influences of the Byzantine Orthodoxy on the culture and literature of Russians. The great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was deeply influenced by the Orthodox bringing in the Russian Empire. Even though Tolstoy was anathematized by the Christian Church of Russian Empire, he was deeply religious person, whose interpretation of Christianity was controversial for their times, but still received lots of attention from the greatest mind (Nabokov). The most notable work, where Tolstoy elaborates his views on Orthodoxy is “Confession.” More or less, all novels by Dostoevsky are pierced by the thought of Christ and his mission in Earth. However, the most remarkable are his novel “Idiot”, where protagonist Myshkin is considered as image of Christ, he is kind-hearted person with exclusively good intentions. As we see from the mentioned the leitmotif of Eastern Christianity one way or another is present in all the literature heritage of Russian