The doctrine of the Image of God by Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich) and Amand Polyansky: The comparative analysis

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the doctrine of the image of God by Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich) and the reformed theologian Amand Polyansky. The main engine of church reform, Archbishop Feofan, was repeatedly accused of Protestantism, while others considered his position Orthodox and believed that he used the works of Protestant authors to build his position. The anthropocentrism of the New time has posed new questions to theology that require answers and an appropriate reaction and development of the anthropological provisions of the Christian doctrine. In this era, there is a surge of appeals to the teachings of St Augustine, on which both Protestant and Catholic authors relied. At the same time, the assessment of the Synodal period largely began to be based on the concept of the Western influence of Russian theology. There is no doubt that there was an influence of Western theology on the Russian tradition, but it seems premature and unreasonable to unequivocally negative assessment of this period, which is little studied in the scientific literature. An assessment of this period becomes possible when referring to its origins. Using the example of a narrow section of the anthropology of Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich), the doctrine of the image of God, it is proposed to compare his theological positions with the provisions of Amand Polyansky, the proximity to which has been repeatedly noted by researchers both modern and prerevolutionary researchers.