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St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological College OSTKIRCHLICHES INSTITUT, REGENSBURG INVITATION AND CALL FOR PAPERS RUSSIAN THEOLOGY IN EUROPEAN CONTEXT: 29 September – 3 October 2004 In September 2003, St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological College in cooperation with Ostkirchliches Institut, Regensburg and with the support of the Catholic Committee for Cultural Collaboration (Rome) organized an International Academic Theological Conference “Russia and the Universal Church: Humanity of God in the Perspective of Contemporary Interconfessional and Interreligious Dialogue" in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Soloviev. Soloviev was not only a great Russian philosopher, but also the founder of a specific philosophical school in Russia. His religious-philosophical ideas of pan-unity (vseedinstvo), God-humanity (Bogo-chelovechestvo), sophianic nature of the creation (sofiynost), political and social existence of the world, were continued and developed by Russian philosophers of the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries and are still relevant for today’s world. Our next Conference is dedicated to the heritage of Sergey Bulgakov, a Russian philosopher, priest, theologian, and public figure, which continued Soloviev’s school with support of the Orthodox tradition and contemporary Western philosophy. The Conference will take place from Wednesday, 29 September to Sunday, 3 October, 2004. The leading theologians, philosophers, and other specialists who made important contribution into scholarship of Russian and Western religious philosophy, are invited. In the Conference we plan to discuss the following themes:
THE THEME OF THE CONFERENCE In his theology and religious philosophy, Bulgakov founded his thought not only on the Orthodox theological tradition, but also on the experience of European thinkers, philosophers, and mystics. Many of his works were written in critical response to certain Western religious and philosophical systems. Serious analysis of the European context of Bulgakov’s thought is necessary for understanding his contribution in the world’s philosophic thought. Besides influence of the European thought on Bulgakov’s thought, there is another important aspect of his heritage, that is how his philosophy influenced the Western thought of the second half of the 20th century. Especially interesting theme is a study of Russian religious philosophy’s influence (and in particular, that of Bulgakov) on development of Catholic theological renewal, of which many ideas were declared during Vatican II (1961-1965). One of the most important aspects of Bulgakov’s philosophy is that of synergetics. The problem of collaboration of God and humans followed from Soloviev’s idea of God-humanity (Bogochelovechestvo) and was developed by many Russian philosophers, especially by Berdiayev and Bulgakov, who used the Orthodox idea of synergy as a condition of salvation and deification (theosis) of the human. This theme involves the study of Bulgakov’s philosophy of creativity as a synergic process. Another aspect of Bulgakov’s synergic philosophy was his philosophy of economy and labor as a part of his anthropology. Bulgakov saw human economical and working activity (as well as artistic and ascetical ones) to be synergic collaboration with God, aimed in restoration of the world’s lost harmony and fulfillment of biblical commandment “to cultivate and keep" the earth. Philosophy of religion of the Russian thinkers, especially of Bulgakov and Florensky, sees religious experience as one of the most important sources of religious knowledge alongside with the tradition. The theme involves the study of interrelations between experiential knowledge and religious (dogmatic) tradition in Bulgakov’s thought. Bulgakov examined the question of Church borders in his exegetical essay on John 4, “At Jacob’s Well", where he in the most serious way approaches the problem of Church’s unity and multitude of Christian churches. The theme supposes discussion of Bulgakov’s ecclesiology in relation to ecumenical questions, and of its relevance for the contemporary interconfessional dialogue. One of the most difficult and controversial themes of Bulgakov’s religious philosophy is his sophiology. Bulgakov continues “sophianic" line of Vladimir Soloviev, though he proposes more detailed research and interpretation of the idea. The theme supposes study of how relevant is Bulgakov’s sophiology for the contemporary Christian theology. Bulgakov’s political and social philosophy is constructed on critique of contemporary European capitalism from one hand, and of nascent socialist movement from another. Instead, Bulgakov proposed his own model of “Christian socialism". The theme supposes the study of the following questions: how adequate was Bulgakov’s social philosophy for Russian and European conditions of his time; and how relevant is his model for today’s Russia. PAPERS AND PUBLICATION Those who wish to present a paper must send a summary (no more than 1000 words) by e-mail to St. Andrew’s by 15 June 2004. The full text of all the papers selected will have to be submitted by 1 September 2004. However, it will be possible to participate without a paper (some priests, teachers, and students are expected to be present). The working languages of the conference will be Russian and English. At the conference every participant will receive a summary of all the papers presented and the conference program. Plenary and sectional papers are scheduled for 30 minutes each. Some papers will be published in St Andrew’s quarterly Pages: Theology, Culture, Education and we hope to publish a collection of papers in a separate volume. Summaries and papers should be sent to: Olga Smolkova ORGANIZATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS The conference will assemble on 29 September for a reception and opening ceremony in the evening. Participants will depart after breakfast on 3 October. The conference will be held at the historical site of the seventeenth-century Moscow estate of “Uzkoe", located in a picturesque park area. Vladimir Soloviev died in this house. Now Uzkoe is a favorite recreation spot for Moscow academicians. The ancient interiors of the estate provide an ideal setting for a peaceful and productive discussion of scholarly issues. The price of a single room and full board at Uzkoe will be approximately €60 per day. REGISTRATION Numbers are limited and early registration is strongly advised. Registration will become effective when the registration form and the full registration fee have been received and acknowledged by the registration officer. The registration fee covers participation in conference activities (other than excursions) and entitles the participant to receive summaries of all conference papers. Early registration fee (until 1 June 2004) EURO 70 A limited number of scholarships will be provided – mainly for participants from Eastern European countries. Should you cancel your registration before 1 August 20 EURO will be deducted and the remainder of your registration fee will be refunded. No refund is possible after 1 August. Payment of registration fees may be made by bank transfer or by check in US$, EURO or UK pounds. Please write to the registration officer for advice. All registration forms must be sent to the registration officer: St Andrew’s Biblical Theological College |
