Russian Religious-Philosophical Thought Between Philosophy and Theology

Review on: Thinking of Being and the Faith of Revelation in German-Language Theology and Russian Religious Thought of the Late 19th and 20th Centuries, ed. by M.A. Pylaev and A.V. Koltsov. Moscow: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University Press, 2024. 324 p.

Abstract

The article offers a review of the collective monograph Thinking of Being and the Faith of Revelation in German-Language Theology and Russian Religious Thought of the Late 19th and 20th Centuries (Moscow: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University Press, 2024). The reviewed volume presents a comparative study of German Protestant theology and Russian religious philosophy. One of the merits of the book, among other things, lies in its formulation of the problem of the mutual delimitation between theology and bogoslovie – an issue particularly relevant in the Russian context, where both terms carry practically equal significance. The author analyzes the main methodological and conceptual directions of the collection, paying particular attention to the problem of defining “philosophical theology” as an independent academic discipline and its relationship to philosophy of religion and theology. The focus is on the interpretation and rethinking of the Christian kerygma in the context of dialogue between German and Russian traditions, as well as on identifying the shared epistemological foundations of phenomenological, hermeneutical, and metaphysical approaches. The review highlights both the achievements of the contributing authors and the controversial aspects of their conceptual framework, especially regarding the questions of the “self-sufficiency” of German theology and the degree of autonomy of Russian religious thought.