Sobornost’ in the Russian theological tradition

Abstract

In a conversation between Alexander Kyrlezhev and Archpriest Pavel Khondzinsky, the concept of sobornost’, that arose in Russian theology by Alexei Khomyakov under the influence of the theology of J. Adam Möhler and German philosophy, is discussed with particular emphasis on the significance of the latter for the formation of the logical structure of a new ecclesiological concept. The ideas of the ancient father of the Church, St. Augustine, are taken into account. The interaction of the original Russian concept of sobornost’ with theological personalism at the end of the 19th–20th centuries is traced. Issues such as sobornost’ as unity and as unity in diversity, the relationship of Church sobornost’ with social community, a symphonic personality, and personification of the Church are considered. Development of the concept of sobornost’ by such authors as Filaret Drozdov, Vladimir Soloviev, Sylvester Malevansky, Evgeny Akvilonov, Pavel Florensky, Anthony Khrapovitsky, Sergiy Bulgakov, Nikolai Afanasyev, Georges Florovsky, Vladimir Lossky and others is specified. Other issues are also discussed such as the relationship between the Russian concept of sobornost’, the catholicity of the Creed, and the historical practice of church councils, primarily the All-Russian Council of 1917–1918, which marked both the “democratic turn” in the Church (the issue of the status of the laity) and the desire for personification of church unity (restoration of the patriarchate). In the conclusion, issues requiring further theological research are identified.