On October 3, 2022, the third issue of the Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary was released this year (No. 3 (16) 2022).
The new issue of The Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary continues the tradition of cooperation with leading experts in the field of theological, church-historical, and humanitarian disciplines on the basis of partnership with spiritual and secular higher educational institutions. Thus, a high level of scientific research is ensured.
Recall that the journal «Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary» is a scientific publication of the Smolensk Seminary, one of the oldest theological educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church. The journal was created with the blessing of Metropolitan Isidor of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh with the participation of the faculty of the theological school.
The journal is included in the scientific base «Russian Science Citation Index» and in the All-Church list of journals in which it is recommended to publish the results of research by applicants for academic degrees in theology and church history.
The new issue of The Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary focuses on several relevant thematic areas: theological, historical, and humanitarian studies.
The Theological Studies section opens with an article by Isidor, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh, «Interdisciplinary Connections between Theology and Jurisprudence: Theory and Practice.» The presented work is devoted to the problem of interdisciplinary interaction between theological and legal sciences. The author believes that finding common subjects and maintaining the subjectivity of each of the parties becomes the key to effective cooperation and dialogue between two scientific areas — theology and jurisprudence.
Andrei Vladilenovich Danilov, a representative of the Minsk theological schools, presented the next part of a series of church-historical studies devoted to the problems of early Christian theology with the article «Anthropology consuetudo Pelagius». This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the main provisions of the controversy of Bliss. Augustine with the anthropological concept of Pelagius regarding the issue of original sin.
Associate Professor of the Department of Theological and Church-Historical Disciplines of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary Priest Vladislav Bagan in the article «The Role and Significance of Domestic Canonists in the Preparation of the Local Council of 1917-1918» refers to a rare and little-studied topic in the domestic scientific space, namely the activities of domestic specialists in the field of church law and their influence on the preparation and work of the Local Council of the Orthodox All-Russian Church in 1917–1918. the author notes that a huge array of preparatory documents belongs to the pen of the leading specialists of the Russian Empire in the field of church law (I. Berdnikov, N. Suvorov, T. Barsov, M. Gorchakov, M. Krasnozhen, N. Zaozersky, N. Kuznetsov, A. Papkov).
Archpriest Nikolai Savchuk, a postgraduate student of the Minsk Theological Academy, in his work “Modification of the concept of pneumatology in the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue of the International Mixed Theological Commission” reflected the themes of the state of modern pneumatology within the framework of this Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. As is known, after the Second Vatican Council, by common agreement, a Mixed International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches was established, which began work in 1980. This article is devoted to the activities of this commission.
Of course, no scientific journal of a higher spiritual institution can do without the theological research of its graduates. The section «Theological Studies» is closed by an article in the field of patrology «The Patristic Teaching on External Feelings and Their Place in Human Nature» by V.P. Markov. This article analyzes the patristic doctrine of «external feelings» and their place in human nature. This paper will present a theological and historical excursion into the doctrine of «external» feelings, starting with the initial philosophical concept of Plotinus and ending with the developed Christian system of Blessed Augustine of Hippo. The author tries not only to synthesize the experience of theologians and holy fathers, but also to outline a number of practical methods that contribute to the education of the senses.
The section «Historical Research» opens with the article «On the Problem of the Socio-Political Prerequisites for the Renovationist Schism in Siberia in the Pre-Revolutionary Period (on the Materials of the Omsk, Tomsk and Irkutsk Dioceses)» by Deacon Sergiy Kulpinov, Associate Professor of the Tomsk Theological Seminary. Within the framework of the presented article, the potential prerequisites for the renovationist split in Siberia in the pre-revolutionary period are analyzed. The author proceeds from the principle of dividing the potential prerequisites for a schism into intra-church and socio-political ones, referring to the latter the clergy’s sympathy for socialist ideas and support for socialist organizations. The study concludes that the socio-political preconditions for the Renovationist schism in the Siberian dioceses under consideration in the pre-revolutionary period were completely absent.
Further, Doctor of Law, Professor Mikhail Nikolayevich Kuznetsov, in the article «Historical and Legal Aspects of the Liquidation of the Royal Family» discusses issues related to the historical and legal assessment of the execution on the night of July 16-17, 1918 in Yekaterinburg of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, members his family and those who were with them. An extensive memoir, journalistic and historical literature is devoted to this event, however, from the legal side, the death of the imperial family has not yet been considered.
The section «Humanitarian Studies» opens with the work of the assistant to the rector of the SPDS for scientific work, priest Maxim Mishchenko in the field of modern philosophy. The article «The System of Things» by Jean Baudrillard: An Analysis of Man’s Relations with Things is a historical and philosophical analysis of the first major work of the French thinker Jean Baudrillard, «The System of Things». The author tries to reveal the conceptual provisions of J. Baudrillard’s critical social theory. In The System of Things, the French thinker carried out an ambitious conceptual project of systematizing the characteristic features and intentions of the «consumer society».
The final article of the journal «Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary» was a work devoted to the description of modern communication technologies. Priest Anthony Rusakevich in his article “A Positive Image of the Church in the Secular Media: Missionary Experience” tries to analyze the existing forms and features of building a positive image of the Russian Orthodox Church in the secular media. The author of the article tries to identify the characteristic features of the mission in the secular media. The article discusses the problems of criteria and principles of mission effectiveness in the framework of the mass media. The article considers the possibility of involving the laity at the level of dioceses and parishes within the framework of complex activities in the secular media. One important detail should be noted: Father Anthony is a successful missionary blogger on the web (pozitivniy_batushka), and this allows us to conclude that his theoretical recommendations are not the fruit of armchair reflections, but the result of practical activities in social networks.
Link to the new issue of the «Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary»: http://en.theologyjournal.ru/2022-n3/
Responsible secretary of the magazine «Theological Bulletin of the Smolensk Orthodox Theological Seminary»
priest Maxim Mishchenko
