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Table of contents

1. Theories on the origin of religion (Origins of the study of religion. Mythological concept (M. Muller). Materialist concept (K. Marx, F. Engels). Animist concept (E.B. Tylor). Theory of pre-monotheism (E. Lang, W. Schmidt). Pre-animistic concept ( J. Fraser, R. Marett) Psychoanalytic concept (3. Freud, C. G. Jung) Sociological concept (E. Durkheim) Phenomenological concept (R. Otto, M. Eliade) Structuralism (C. Levi-Strauss , J. Dumezil))
2. Early forms of religion (Religion of Neanderthals and primitive peoples. Religion of Ancient Egypt. Religion of Ancient Mesopotamia. Religion of Ancient Iran (Mazdaism). Religion of Ancient Greece. Religion of Ancient Rome. Religion of the peoples of Central America)
3. Religions of the Ancient East (Religion of Ancient China (Taoism, Confucianism). Religion of Ancient Japan (Shintoism). Religion of Ancient India (Brahmanism, Hinduism))
4. Buddhism (Buddha, the basic principles of his teachings. The “Four Noble Truths” of Buddhism. The spread of Buddhism. Mahayana and Hinayana. Tibetan Buddhism. Modern Buddhism: main features)
5. Judaism (The origin and early history of Judaism. The emergence of monotheism. Gnosticism. Talmudism. Judaism in the Middle Ages and in modern times. Kabbalah. Modern Judaism)
6. Early christianity (The origin of Christianity. The historical background of the image of Christ. The history of the creation of the Gospels. The canon and apocrypha. The transformation of Christianity into the official religion. Apologists of Christianity. The Church Fathers. The formation of a system of dogmas (Ecumenical Councils))
7. Christianity in the Middle Ages and Modern Times (The split of Christianity (Orthodoxy and Catholicism). Features of the development of Catholicism in the Middle Ages. Scholastic philosophy and mystical teachings. Sects and heresies. The period of the Reformation. The formation of Protestantism)
8. Contemporary Western Christianity (Counter-Reformation. The period of religious wars (XVII-XVIII centuries). The crisis of Catholicism in the 19th century. Modern Catholicism: traditions and innovations. Directions of Protestantism, their emergence and development. Mormons)
9. Russian Orthodoxy (Features of the adoption of Christianity in Rus'. Development of the Russian Church in the XIII-XVII centuries. Church schism in Russia. Old Believers. Church under state control (1700-1917). Revolution and a new schism of Orthodoxy. Renaissance of Orthodoxy in modern Russia)
10. Islam (Muhammad, the main sources of Islam. Sacred texts and laws of Islam. Early history of Islam. Shiites and Sunnis. History of Islam in the 9th-19th centuries. Islamic sects (Ismailism, Sufism, Wahhabism, Bahaism). Modern Islam: paths of modernization and fundamentalism)
11. Religion in the modern world (Processes of secularization of religion. Modern sectarianism: main features. Ecumenism)
12. application

Introduction

Religion occupies an important place in everyone's life. In the sphere of interests of a believing person, it turns out to be already due to his faith in God (or gods), and an unbelieving person, faced with a manifestation of religiosity, should be able to explain to himself why he is not satisfied with religious faith as the main dominant of spiritual existence. Religion accompanies us throughout our lives, because we receive the first ideas about the existence of the supernatural from our parents, grandparents at the age when the information received is assimilated without much effort, superimposed on the unclouded children's consciousness and forming the initial idea of ​​​​religion that can remain unchanged throughout life, and can be modified in accordance with changes in external circumstances or the spiritual qualities of the person himself. In the end, history knows many cases of disappointment of a believer in his beliefs, but also no less cases of reverse transformation, when a convinced atheist became a sincere believer. And this is not about giving up one's views under the influence of a changed socio-political situation (a vivid example of which was Russia in the 1990s), but about a radical reorientation of consciousness as a result of a collision with some phenomenon that does not fit into a one-sidedly rational picture of the world . Isn't it surprising that many scientists who glorified their names with fundamental discoveries in the field of nuclear physics or neurosurgery were believers who managed to rationally justify to themselves the need for the existence of faith?

The subject "History of Religion" is taught today both in higher educational institutions and in ordinary schools. At the same time, it is important to understand that freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution of Russia, so the task of this subject is not to increase the number of believers, but to transfer to secondary school students and students the initial amount of knowledge regarding the specifics of religion, theories of its origin and development, the place of religion in modern the world. We must not forget that religion is one of the most important layers of culture, without knowledge of which it is impossible to claim the title of a cultured and educated person.

Topic 1. Theories of the origin of religion

1.1. Origins of the Study of Religion

Religion became an object of study by representatives of philosophical knowledge very early, and primacy in the study of religious phenomena should be given to ancient Greek philosophers and scientists. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras (500-428 BC) argued that gods are created by people in their own image and likeness, therefore “Ethiopians write their gods black and with flattened noses, Thracians - red-haired and blue-eyed... "[1] Other ancient philosophers also took a rationalistic approach to the study, arguing that the basis of the worship of gods was fear of natural phenomena, such as storms and earthquakes. This position alone indicated that in ancient society there was a transition from religious culture to secular culture, which generally made it possible to impartially study the very phenomenon of religion in all the diversity of its manifestations. Of course, statues of gods continued to rise on the streets of Athens, holiday and memorial sacrifices continued to be made, and commanders regularly asked oracles for advice before significant battles, but among ancient thinkers, religion was gradually becoming the subject of close study.

For one of the most famous ancient philosophers - Plato (427-347 BC), myths about the gods have already lost their areola of inaccessibility and sacredness, becoming just one of the rhetorical ways of clarifying theoretical positions for an ordinary listener who is not able to operate with speculative constructions, consisting of philosophical terms, and comprehend them by ear. In addition, it was Plato who committed an act for which his immediate predecessors could pay with their lives: he not only used existing myths, giving them a different, more philosophical sound, but he himself began to compose myths, which thereby completely broke with their religious origin, becoming element of philosophical reasoning or literary works.

Early Christian thinkers, for example Tertullian (III century), were very hostile to attempts to rationally study religion, asserting the priority of faith over reason: “I believe in order to understand.” [2] This position was dominant for centuries. It did not allow to scientifically study religion and write its history without dividing all the diversity of religious manifestations into “false” (pagan) and “true” (Christian). And only in the era of scholasticism (a set of religious and philosophical teachings that existed in Western Europe in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries) steps were taken towards eliminating such extremes and the emergence of a more balanced point of view on religion.

Medieval theology perceived religion as a revelation given to people from God as the only means of salvation and atonement for original sin. The means of comprehending this revelation for the medieval philosopher and writer Pierre Abelard (1079-1142) was not blind faith, but reason: “I understand in order to believe.” [3] In order to believe that Christianity is the only absolute truth, it is necessary to approach the analysis of its postulates from a standpoint of rationality, to identify the advantage of its provisions over the statements of other religions (primarily Judaism and Islam). It was in the works of Abelard that the prerequisites for the comparative and rational study of religion were set out, which became widespread among philosophers of the Enlightenment.

The most detailed explanation of the emergence of religion is set out in the works of the French educator Paul-Henri Holbach (1723-1789). According to him, the psychological basis for the existence of religion lies in the feeling of fear and anxiety inherent in man by virtue of his nature. As this fear disappears in the process of development of human cognitive abilities, the need for religion gradually disappears. Holbach's undoubted merit is his attempt not only to record the main features of religion, but also to present its evolution, the main stages of development: from the worship of material objects and forces of nature, through belief in the existence of spirits that control these forces, to the emergence of the idea of ​​a single god. [4]

The next stage in the study of the history of religion was the emergence of scientific schools that tried to present different points of view on the nature, mechanism of the emergence and development of religious views. It was from the beginning of the 19th century. One can talk about the emergence of a specialized history of religion, which began to be built not on speculative reasoning, but on the study of specific facts and their subsequent generalization in the form of a hypothesis or theory.

1.2. Mythological concept (M. Müller)

The first scientific concept of the origin of religion arose in the first half of the 1823th century. among German philologists, whose most prominent representative was Max Müller (1900-5). An outstanding researcher of Sanskrit and Indian culture, he approached the problem of religion from the linguistic side, starting from the study of classical religious texts of Ancient India, most of which he himself first translated into German and thereby made it the property of European culture. Religiosity, according to Muller, does not come from a sense of divine revelation (as Christian theology interpreted religion), but serves as one of the manifestations of the sensory experience that a person receives in the process of direct contact with reality. [XNUMX]

There is no supernatural side of religion, since human mental activity is based solely on sensory perception. It is with the help of the senses that the cognizing subject gets an idea of ​​the surrounding world, which is made up of objects of two kinds. Some of these items are easily accessible and accessible to ordinary human senses (touch, smell, hearing, etc.). Others are accessible to any one sense, but remain inaccessible to all others. For example, the Sun, Moon and stars become the property of human thinking through vision, but it is impossible to touch them, therefore their inaccessibility inspired the primitive man with the idea of ​​the Unattainable and Infinite, which ultimately led to the emergence of the idea of ​​God. Imagery, originally characteristic of human thinking, is manifested in the fact that the idea of ​​God is not a pure abstraction, but always exists in the form of concrete things or phenomena. The sun was not originally a god, but only symbolized the idea of ​​divinity, but then the metaphorical nature of the comparison was forgotten and the person began to consider the Sun God.

Such a transition from metaphorical to literal understanding Muller calls the "disease of language." In our everyday language, we often use the expression "The sun rises", thereby attributing to it the characteristics of a living being. According to Muller, primitive man was aware of the conditional, metaphorical nature of this expression, but then for some reason forgot it and began to consider individual phenomena and things as deities. Words that were originally expressions that had a figurative meaning later acquired an independent meaning.

From this point of view, religion does not develop, but degrades, since the only true understanding of God was peculiar to primitive man. Language managed to distort this understanding, so modern people have already got the miserable remnants of true faith as a religion.

The most accurate method of studying religion, from the point of view of the mythological concept, is the method of philological and etymological research, which allows revealing the original meaning of myths and legends enshrined in sacred texts. According to one of the ancient Greek myths, Apollo fell in love with Daphne, who fled from him and was turned into a laurel bush by an angry deity. Muller offers the following interpretation of this plot: Apollo is a solar (solar) deity, and the name Daphne, in addition to the literal meaning "laurel bush", also has a figurative meaning - "dawn". Thus, in this myth, which describes a common natural phenomenon, the coming of the Sun to replace the morning dawn is told.

This method made it possible to explain some myths, but its absolutization led to such controversial statements that, for example, the Trojan War was also a solar myth. Müller's reasoning about the nature of the origin of religion, relatively correct from a philological point of view, turned out to be completely unsupported by historical data, therefore the most accurate characteristic that sums up the entire mythological concept are the words of the British anthropologist and religious scholar Edward Evans-Pritchard (1902-1973): " Max Müller's influence on the study of religion was short-lived, and Müller himself managed to survive it." [6]

1.3. Materialistic concept (K. Marx, F. Engels)

Other German researchers who contributed to the study of the origin and functioning of religion were Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1821-1893). The attitude towards them in modern Russian science cannot be called balanced and calm - the period of undivided dominance of their ideas, turned into absolute dogmas, turned out to be too long, after which the time of oblivion began. Neither one nor the other option can be considered successful, since these researchers wrote their own page in the history of religious thought.

A feature of Marx's approach to religion was the recognition of the social nature of this phenomenon, its inclusion in the system of not just social, but socio-economic relations. The specificity of religion is generated by the fact that it is a product of certain social conditions that "program" the forms of religiosity, their structure and role in society. In addition, the social nature of religion lies in the function that it performs in society, serving the interests of the ruling class and maintaining in indisputable dogmas the postulate of the unequal position of the class of masters and the class of slaves. Any religion, according to Marx, is developed by government circles in order to subjugate other social groups, which allows for a more subtle and effective impact on people. The primitive violence that prevails in pre-class society is being replaced by religious postulates that cover the true motives of power with a veil of religious and moral norms.

It is not difficult to notice that the very existence of religion in Marx is associated with the presence of acute social contradictions, which faith is fundamentally unable to resolve, but can only soften the awareness of the subordination of one class to another, which does not contribute to liberation from slavery, but only prolongs its oppression. Religion makes a person unfree because it alienates a person from his own nature, the essence of which Marx sees in work and in the ability to fully enjoy the results of one’s labor. Religious alienation is only one of the partial manifestations of a much more comprehensive economic alienation: “religious alienation as such occurs only in the sphere of consciousness, in the sphere of the inner world of man, but economic alienation is the alienation of real life - its abolition therefore covers both sides.” [7] The conservatism of religion is manifested in the fact that it legitimizes the established order, preserving the contradictions and shortcomings that exist in it, and not just preserving, but sanctifying them with the authority of religious values. Even the Christian religion, having emerged as a social movement of the lower classes, after establishing its dominance in the territory of the former Roman Empire, became an ideal way to justify social inequality by appealing to the divine establishment of such a world order. Having appeared to satisfy the needs of class society along with the emergence of the state, religion, according to Marx, has a transitory nature and therefore will disappear along with the destruction of class inequality.

If Marx, being a philosopher, considered religion purely theoretically, without focusing on the heterogeneous nature of religious manifestations, then Engels, in his work “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State” (1884), used the method of historical reconstruction to identify the consistent evolution of social and economic institutions, giving rise to such a social phenomenon as religion. [8] The growth of labor productivity and the division of labor lead to the emergence of private property and the state, which, in need of ideological “support,” builds a centralized religion from disparate cults. Based on surviving direct and indirect sources, Engels identifies similar phenomena in the emergence of religion among the ancient Greeks, ancient Romans and Germans.

Already at the beginning of the 9th century. Many observations of theorists of the materialistic concept of the origin of religion were criticized by researchers of the primitive [XNUMX] peoples of Africa and Oceania, in the development of which the connection between the emergence of religion and the processes of class formation turned out to be almost impossible to trace. In addition, the very starting point of Marx’s concept, according to which religion only consolidates the changes that have occurred, without participating in the social transformations themselves, left out of the scope of consideration the possibility of religion to determine the further development of society and to develop together with this society.

1.4. Animistic concept (E.B. Tylor)

Second half of the 1832th century in religious studies passed under the unconditional dominance of the so-called animistic theory of the origin of religion, which was greatly facilitated by the brilliantly written and encyclopedically detailed works of its founder, the English anthropologist Edward Barnet Tylor (1917-XNUMX). The English researcher made the term "anima" (from Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit) the key concept of his version of the origin of religion, which gave the name to his theory as a whole. It is animism (the belief in the presence of a soul both in humans and inanimate objects) that Tylor considers the initial stage in the formation of religion, from which other, more complex forms subsequently developed. In his work Primitive Culture, he fixes two premises from which he proceeds when considering the issue of the origin of religion:

1) religious teachings and rituals are considered as parts of religious systems generated exclusively by human consciousness, without the intervention of supernatural forces - a rational formulation of the question of religion;

2) the similarities and differences between traditional religions and the religions of civilized societies are analyzed - a comparative (comparative) analysis of religion.

Based on these fundamental points and having analyzed in detail the abundant material presented by the myths of the peoples of Asia, Europe, Africa and America, Tylor comes to the conclusion that primitive man sought to rationally explain the phenomena that he encountered in his daily life, primarily death and dream. [10] Observation of dreams without a corresponding movement of the body in space led a person to the assumption that, along with the physical shell, there is also a spiritual shell - the soul, which is connected with its material carrier by not very strong ties. At the very least, it can be torn away from the body - either temporarily (during dreams) or forever (the final separation of the soul from the body is death).

The primary stage of animism is the idea of ​​people having a soul. At the secondary stage, this idea also extends to natural phenomena and inanimate objects. According to Tylor, primitive man, having become convinced that he had a spiritual basis, without hesitation, transferred this observation to the world around him, perceiving surrounding objects as endowed with a soul. In addition, the possibility of separation (even temporary) of the soul from the body led primitive man to the idea of ​​souls that do not have a body and are, ultimately, spirits. It is the transition from the idea of ​​an individual soul to the idea of ​​the presence of supernatural beings, incorporeal in essence, that Tylor declares to be the condition for the emergence of religious consciousness. [eleven]

The animistic concept of E.B. Tylor was undoubtedly a step forward in resolving the issue of primitive forms of religion, which, unfortunately, did not save her from significant flaws. Its main drawback was the unreasonable transfer of evolutionary ideas about the stages of the formation of religion from the simplest form to a more complex one to the psychology of primitive man. According to the animistic concept, the primitive man had the idea of ​​the existence of the soul, which, through a long evolution, could become the idea of ​​God. However, this position does not agree well with the study of modern peoples who are at a primitive stage of development, in which the idea of ​​God is present, while the concept of the soul is in its infancy. Indirectly, this position is confirmed by Tylor himself, who, to prove his theory, uses mythological plots related to sufficiently developed religious systems - ancient Egyptian and Scandinavian.

1.5. The theory of pra-monotheism (E. Lang, V. Schmidt)

The British philologist Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was one of the few people who, not satisfied with the animistic conception of the origin of religion that prevailed at that time, tried to find another explanation for the existing diversity of religions and religious manifestations. Being an evolutionist in his views (a supporter of the consistent development of religion), Lang strongly opposed the assertion that the primary form of religion is the belief in the universal animation of the world. If this form is primary and it is from it that, through a long evolution, the rest of religious manifestations proceed, culminating in the appearance of the idea of ​​God, then it remains unclear how in many regions of the globe that are not directly connected with each other, there is not just the idea of ​​supernatural beings, but the idea one God. The English scientist called his theory, which defends the presence of faith in a single god as the initial form of religion, the theory of pramonotheism (from Latin mono - one and Greek theos - god).

Belief in the existence of a single God can be explained by the rational conclusion of primitive man, according to which the surrounding world, not being a product of human labor, was created by a supernatural being. Lang refutes the confidence of animism that the soul (spirit) became the prototype of God with the help of facts from the mythology of the primitive peoples of Oceania, indicating that God is perceived not as a spirit, but as a real living humanoid creature. Based on this, the scientist concludes that faith in God “during its development did not require any reflection on dreams and ghosts.” [12] The confidence in the existence of a disembodied soul, perceived from the existence of dreams and death, has a fundamentally different origin than the belief in a single God, which is present in the unclouded consciousness of primitive man, but is then subject to distortion by animistic ideas. Only the analysis of myths and epic literary works ("Iliad", "Odyssey", "Mahabharata", etc.) makes it possible to cleanse religion of later layers, figures of various gods and spirits and return to its original state. It is interesting that Lang, based on his concept, positively assessed the role of Christianity, which, in his opinion, restores the lost religious unity, combining the differing traditions of intellectual religion of the era of Hellenism and Messianic Judaism. [13]

In the XX century. the idea of ​​pra-monotheism found a response in the writings of those representatives of the Catholic Church who tried to reinforce the biblical idea of ​​"initial revelation" by using the latest scientific data. An Austrian priest and researcher of primitive religion, Wilhelm Schmidt (1868-1954), who devoted 12 volumes of his work "The Origin of the Idea of ​​God" (1912-1955), became an active successor to the theory of pra-monotheism. Based on the data of anthropological studies, Schmidt argued that the most primitive peoples are those who lack agriculture and cattle breeding. Among such peoples, he ranked the Pygmies of Africa, the natives of Australia, the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands and the inhabitants of the Far North - the Eskimos. Despite the fact that the researchers were not able to fix the presence of any animistic, totemistic or fetishistic beliefs among these tribes, belief in a single god turns out to be inherent in these small peoples, which confirms the presence in their development of a pra-monotheistic stage, which was later overcome by other peoples.

The weak point of the supporters of the theory of pre-monotheism was the unjustified use of the very term "monotheism", which in the strict sense means the denial of polytheism, while Lang and Schmidt identified it with the idea of ​​a Supreme Being (not necessarily God), which preceded polytheism or existed in parallel with the belief in the presence of many gods and spirits. The decline of the pra-monotheistic concept was associated with the crisis of the very theory of evolutionism, which sought to build a consistent chain of successive forms of religion, which was criticized for the arbitrariness of its constructions and the inability to confirm the change of these forms using anthropological or archaeological data.

1.6. Preanimist concept (J. Fraser, R. Marett)

Dissatisfaction with the undivided dominance of the animistic concept of E.B. Tylor led to the emergence of the concept of pre-animist. The term "preanimism" itself was introduced into scientific circulation in 1899 by the English explorer of primitive peoples Robert Marett (1866-1943). Subsequently, several more religious scholars and anthropologists joined this point of view, the most famous of which, of course, was the English anthropologist James Fraser (1854-1941). At the same time, preanimism cannot be considered a unified theory, since each of the researchers who considered their position to be preanimistic defended their own views, and they were united only by the conviction that the animistic stage of the formation of religion formulated by Tylor was not the initial one, since it was preceded by other, more primitive forms.

So, R. Marett, without denying the importance of belief in spirits, believed that the very need for a rational explanation of the world is not primary, since not ideas are expressed in the corresponding actions and rituals, but actions give rise to ideas. Religion is born as an emotional response to what is happening in the natural or social world, initially expressed through psychomotor actions - ritual movements or dances. The ideological component of religion arises only at the moment when the need to explain the actions and deeds performed becomes urgent. It was then that "backdating" the idea of ​​spirits is formulated, for the appeasement of which it is necessary to perform certain rites. Primitive man, according to Marett, acted first with his body, and only then with his mind: body movements preceded rational explanation, and ritual preceded the emergence of proper religious ideas. A person in his activity is faced with some objects or phenomena that, at an unconscious level, can cause manifestations of various emotions - fear, surprise, hatred, or, conversely, affection and love. Feelings experienced in a collision with these objects, the representative of primitive society transfers to the objects themselves, endowing them with supernatural properties and making them objects of worship.

At the primary stage of its existence, religion cannot be separated from magic, from which it subsequently breaks and begins to persecute (for example, the famous witch persecutions organized by the Church during the Middle Ages). The emergence of magic, according to Marett, also has an emotional explanation, which consists in the desire of a person to cope with the emotions embracing him by transferring these emotions to an impersonal object, which becomes a "substitute" for the real object of emotional affection. The belief that a symbolic impact on an object can lead to real consequences makes magic significant for both primitive and modern man (love elixirs, sentences, spells, etc.).

Another explanation for the origin of magical phenomena was proposed by J. Frazer, who considered magic to be the most primitive form of religion, preceding the emergence of fairly rational animistic views. A brilliant researcher and extremely industrious man, this English anthropologist gained worldwide fame with The Golden Bough (1911-1915), which is still considered one of the classic works on the history of religion.

Frazer attributed the emergence of magic to the practical needs of primitive human communities, as people depended on the environment and tried to find ways to influence it in order to improve their situation. If modern man builds his actions in relation to nature on the basis of certain laws (for example, he is able to state that the appearance of a cloud is the first symptom of the approach of rain, but is aware of his impossibility to influence this process), then primitive man was deprived of such an opportunity. He built his guesses on the basis of superficial comparisons and analogies, the essence of which can be expressed in two laws - the law of contact and the law of similarity. The law of contact consists in the belief that two objects that have been in contact with each other continue to influence each other in some way, even being at a certain distance. For example, it is enough to step on the trail left by the enemy in order to harm him. The law of similarity is based on the belief that objects that are similar in their external characteristics are in an invisible relationship with each other. For example, by influencing a photograph of a person or a doll made in his likeness, you can influence the person himself.

Primitive magic, which at first was disposable and did not obey any canons, gradually turns into a special type of activity assigned to a healer or sorcerer. But, breaking away from specific cases of application, magical practice thereby loses its evidence, requiring a rational explanation, which gives rise to religion. Fraser gives the following example. In primitive societies, a sheaf of wheat was often left in the field for magical purposes to ensure fertility for the following year. Within the framework of religion, this act was given the following explanation: the sheaf is a sacrifice to the deity of fertility.

The weak point of the theory of both J. Fraser and other representatives of pre-animistic theories is the insufficient argumentation of the transition from the stage of magic to the stage of religion, because even in the above example we are talking about rethinking magical practice within the framework of religion, and not about the transformation of magic into religious beliefs. An equally important argument for a cautious attitude to the pre-animistic concept is the presence of historical facts indicating that religion does not replace magic, but coexists with it. This calls into question the original premise of this theory, which consists in a successive change of stages.

1.7. Psychoanalytic concept (3. Freud, C. G. Jung)

Psychoanalysis, which became one of the key theories in the humanities in the 1856th century, managed to prove itself in the study of religion, offering an extremely original interpretation of its origin. The founder of the psychoanalytic method, Sigmund Freud (1938-1913), was a practicing psychiatrist, so his concept grew from observing patients and transferring the experience of curing individual nervous and mental diseases to a wide range of problems, one of which was the problem of the emergence of religion, which he understands in "Totem and Taboo" (XNUMX).

Religion, according to Freud, is based on guilt. In his medical practice, the Austrian psychiatrist often came across a feeling of animosity that a son feels towards his father. The reason for this was the repressed love for the mother, which resulted in hatred towards the one who had the preferential right to sexual relations with her. At the same time, the father served as a role model for the child, so hatred that found no way out was driven inside and served as a source of constant mental stress. This complex Freud called Oedipus, using the plot of the famous ancient myth, according to which Oedipus became the Theban king by killing his father and marrying his own mother. Having put forward the assumption that ontogenesis (the process of individual development) coincides with phylogenesis (the process of the gradual development of society), Freud concluded that the Oedipus complex that exists in a child somehow repeats the real development of events that occurred at the beginning of the emergence of society.

At the primitive stage of human existence, a situation arose when the leader of the horde arrogated to himself the predominant right to all the women of the horde, for which he was killed by his sons, who subsequently repented of their act and declared a taboo on murder and incest (incest). [14] The murdered father became a totem animal, the eating of which was prohibited, and the periodic violation of this prohibition during ritual celebrations served as a source of periodic recollection of the gravity of the crime committed. Such a memory of the figure of the murdered father later served as the basis for the appearance of the figure of God, that is, it became the source not only of the formation of primitive forms of totemism, but also of developed religious forms.

Freud's student, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), largely rethought the views of his teacher, abandoning excessive focus on the problems of the formation of sexuality and focusing on the presence of certain plots that are universal for all types of cultures and transmitted on an unconscious level. These stories, which underlie any religion, Jung called archetypes. In his works, he tried not only to theoretically substantiate the existence of such archetypes in different eras and in different types of culture, but also turned to specific myths in order to compare them and identify common symbols. For example, the symbolism of the circle can be observed in a variety of religious traditions: the circle as an ideal form - in Pythagoreanism, the mandala (i.e., the symbolic display of the universe in the form of a circle) - in Buddhism, etc. In one of his works ("Divine Child ") Jung analyzes the myths about the "divine baby", which are present in almost every developed mythology. For example, Perseus - in ancient Greek mythology, Jesus - in the Christian tradition, similar Middle Eastern and Indian myths. Of course, in the case of such a scatter of plots, it turns out to be difficult to assume that all these myths are borrowings from one source, therefore, recognizing them as archetypally present in the human subconscious makes it possible to avoid useless searches for the source of borrowing.

The originality of the psychoanalytic concept of religion has caused a lot of criticism from different sides. The most controversial was Freud's idea of ​​identifying individual human development with the progress of society, since this identity can hardly be reliably confirmed with the help of archaeological or anthropological data, and without taking this into account, the whole concept of the generation of the Oedipus complex crumbles to dust. Within the framework of the Freudian concept, the mechanism for transmitting information at the subconscious level also remains unclear, since Freud and Jung repeatedly emphasize that religious symbolism is generated by the human subconscious, which already contains the entire set of symbols (or complexes). A more specific reproach to Freud is his interpretation of the myth of Oedipus, which seems strained and does not agree with the rest of the complex of ancient Greek myths, in which the repeatedly present plots of parricide and incest have practically no overlap with each other. [15]

1.8. Sociological concept (E. Durkheim)

The French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) became one of the most famous scholars of religion in the 1912th century, and his Elementary Forms of Religious Life (XNUMX) is still a classic work on the history of religion, although some provisions from this book are already are outdated, and some are too controversial to be accepted unconditionally. One way or another, it was precisely around Durkheim that a whole school of supporters of the sociological approach to religion developed. Some of its representatives, such as L. Levy-Bruhl, M. Moss, entered the history of religious thought with their works.

The starting point of Durkheim's reasoning is the thesis about the social nature of religion, which predetermined the specifics of his research. Unlike his predecessors - supporters of the evolutionary theory of the development of religion - the French scientist, although he tried to grasp the chronological relationship between various forms of religiosity, set himself a completely different task. “There is no clear moment when religion began to exist, and we are not talking about discovering an ingenious way to mentally transport ourselves to it ... We set ourselves a completely different task. We would like to find a means of identifying the constantly operating causes on which the most essential forms of religious thought and religious practice." [16]

In other words, Durkheim tries to determine those social conditions that create the originality of religious forms, determine the significance of religion for society as a whole or for individual social groups. Sacred as the basic concept of religion can be used in a broad sense as a set of prescriptions that is binding on all members of a particular social group. It is easy to see that such a definition of the sacred also includes the laws adopted in society, the violation of which is also severely prosecuted precisely because it destroys the integrity of society, endangering the unshakable values ​​on which this society rests. Durkheim's conclusion is that religiosity is an obligatory attribute of the social structure, whether it manifests itself in the form of an official religion or hides under the guise of norms and rules of behavior accepted in a given community. The main function of religion, in his opinion, is to ensure social integration, that is, the cohesion of society, which is the main reason for the emergence of religion in its most primitive form - totemism.

Totemism is an associative identification of any animal or plant with a social group, which is usually played by a clan. It is precisely the presence of the clan system that explains Durkheim's choice of the Australian communities of gatherers and hunters as the most primitive forms of the existence of religion. As a sociologist, for him the main criterion for choosing an object of study is the simplicity of social organization, which must correspond to the form of religiosity. Thus he comes to the conclusion, which was subsequently refuted by comparative analysis of primitive societies: totemism corresponds to the clan system, and the clan system corresponds to totemism.

The totem serves as a kind of symbol of the clan, in the deification of which all members of this clan feel that they belong to one social group that differs from other groups that have their own totems. In addition, the totem is not an abstract concept, but finds its material embodiment in the symbolic image of a sacred animal, which is a wooden figurine, called "churinga" by the natives of Australia. During the performance of collective rituals around the image of the totem, spiritual unity of the social team is achieved. It is from the totem that the figure of a god grows, since each god was once the totem of a particular clan. The pantheon of gods in polytheism was a form of unification of the totems of various clans belonging to the same tribe; a way to emphasize the uniqueness of each clan, but at the same time their common origin and belonging to a larger social association. Abstract thinking, which develops in the later stages of human development, forms the concept of a god from individual totems, which is no longer tied to a specific clan, but serves as a source of integration for society as a whole.

The weakness of Durkheim's sociological concept was the insufficient connection of his theory to the facts concerning primitive societies, since the very term “totem”, adopted from the language of the North American Indians and used to analyze the communities of the Australian aborigines, lost its specific content during this transfer and became too vague. But even in this extremely broad understanding, totemism could not be recorded in many primitive societies, and where it existed, it did not necessarily act as an attribute of the clan organization of society, which Durkheim strongly insisted on. Having made a giant step forward in correlating the type of social organization with religious ideas, he was unable to fully use the comparative method to identify specific forms of this connection. According to the English anthropologist E. Evans-Pritchard, at best, Durkheim can be classified as a philosopher rather than a scientist engaged in the study of religion. [17]

1.9. Phenomenological concept (R. Otto, M. Eliade)

If the sociological approach emphasized the social nature of religion, its critics tried to isolate the origins of belief in God in the specifics of human thinking itself and ways of perceiving the world. This approach is called phenomenological (from the Greek phenomenon - phenomenon). Its founder was the German theologian Rudolf Otto (1869-1937). In his book “Das Heilige” [18] (1917), he expressed the need to study religion outside the historical context, taking into account only the psychological mechanisms that transform the direct perception of the world into religious experience.

According to R. Otto, the natural emotionality of a person is manifested in the fact that when he encounters some unusual phenomenon, he begins to experience specific feelings that are dual in nature and are the starting point in the formation of religious faith. The duality of these feelings is manifested in the fact that, depending on the emotional state of the person himself, he is able to perceive the sacred both in a negative and in a positive aspect. The negative aspect lies in the perception of the sacred as something terrible and majestic, the consequence of which is the emergence in a person of a feeling of his own insignificance, the subordination of his life to divine providence. The positive aspect consists in emphasizing in the process of perception the beauty and splendor of the sacred, which gives rise to the observer's feeling of divine mercy and love. The specificity of Otto's phenomenological approach was to study the psychological mechanisms that contributed to the emergence of religion, but the ahistorical formulation of the question in his works did not allow identifying the historical conditions for the emergence and transformation of various forms and manifestations of religiosity.

The combination of a phenomenological approach with an attempt to consider religion from a historical point of view was done in the works of the famous Romanian religious scholar and anthropologist Mircea Eliade (1907-1986). The specificity of perception, coupled with the psychological characteristics of the observer himself, according to Eliade, is already a sufficient condition for the rise of individual faith, but this faith turns into universal faith at the moment the observer transfers his religious experience to other people. The words he chooses to describe his feelings and emotions, what aspect of the sacred he places voluntary or involuntary emphasis in his narrative - all this leaves an imprint on the forms of religiosity that dominate in specific societies and in specific historical eras. It is also important that the choice of objects that serve as a source of religious experience is not the exclusive property of the person himself. For example, viewing a thunderstorm can evoke religious experiences in a person belonging to a social group or tribe where thunderstorms are given special significance. Unfortunately, Eliade remained undeveloped in addressing the problem of the cultural conditioning of religious manifestations.

In the book “Sacred and Profane,” Eliade traces how the fundamental contradiction between the sacred and ordinary spheres of life is realized in various religious traditions. The opposition “sacred - profane” itself is found in E. Durkheim, but for him it plays the role of a theoretical construct, and its presence in primitive societies is practically not indicated. Eliade shows that the division of life into sacred and profane existed in both spatial and temporal aspects. The sacred center in primitive society was the personification of the stability of order amid the surrounding chaos. As we moved away from the center, the degree of holiness weakened and the role of the everyday, the everyday, increased, which, precisely because of its distance from holiness, served as a source of danger and constant threat. In the temporal aspect, the heterogeneity of the world was manifested in the division into holidays, which had ritual significance and returned a person to the moment of the creation of the world, requiring him to carry out supporting rituals, and everyday life, imbued with any connection with the supernatural, true world. [19]

The phenomenological approach to the problem of the emergence of religion made it possible to abandon the evolutionism that dominated religious thought throughout the XNUMXth century, and to propose its own version of the conditions under which the emergence of religion is possible. Recognition of the commonality of religious experience, regardless of the time and place of its experience, made it possible to grasp the universal psychological basis on which religion is based. However, the lack of attention to the ways of understanding this experience in various traditions has significantly narrowed the possibility of applying this approach to the study of the history of religion.

1.10. Structuralism (K. Levi-Strauss, J. Dumezil)

The last of the main approaches to the study of religion was the structuralist approach, the principles of which were formulated in the 1940s. in the writings of the French anthropologists Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-1990) and Georges Dumézil (1898-1986). The key concept of the structuralist approach is the concept of structure. Thus, Levi-Strauss saw in all spheres of human life - from language to kinship systems - the dominance of the same principles of structuring, which remain unchanged and are built on the opposition "raw - boiled", "living - dead", "old - new", "top - bottom", etc. (i.e., a binary system). Such a structure may not be realized by the person himself, therefore, an impartial view of the researcher is needed, who is able to isolate the basic connections in the confusing picture of social life.

The same approach underlies the structuralist study of myths: each myth or individual version of a myth is not considered as a unique work; the object of consideration are all variants of myths that form a whole. It is in the complex of various interpretations of the myth that one can single out the basic opposites that appear in any of the variants, regardless of how far it differs from the original version. At the same time, the structure being built is not the original, most ancient version of the myth, but is only a myth model, based on which newly discovered interpretations can be considered. For example, K. Levi-Strauss analyzes the myth of Oedipus, isolating behind the external sequence of events (which had once served as an object of study for 3. Freud) an internal structure that manifests itself in the opposition of ideas about the birth of a person from the earth (the appearance of armed warriors from dragon teeth sown in the field) and its appearance from the marriage of a man with a woman (the fate of Lai). From this point of view, Freud's version is just a new version of the original myth, showing exactly the same structure and therefore subject to analysis on a par with ancient counterparts.

Such an approach, although it avoids speculative and purely theoretical attempts to reconstruct the original myth, at the same time deprives the study of myths of any correlation with real history: if all variants of a myth are equivalent, then there is no difference between the one that arose earlier and the one , which is the fruit of individual artistic creativity. In addition, the very position of Levi-Strauss about the presence of initial binary oppositions in myths does not mean that only one such opposition can be singled out. In any myth, one can find several elements opposing each other at once, so the search for those that are most consistent with the structure of the myth is left to the researcher's imagination.

J. Dumezil used a structuralist scheme along with a comparative method of research for his reconstruction of the social structure and religious views of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. [20] In his work, he proceeds from the assumption that Indo-European society was originally characterized by a rigid social structure, determined by the basic needs of a primitive society: priesthood, warriors and peasants. Each of these social groups had its own function: priests - the function of ordering the cosmos by performing appropriate rituals; warriors - a function of protecting their own social group and aggression towards others; peasants - the function of providing material living conditions. The celestial hierarchy, according to Dumezil, clearly corresponds to this social structure: in Iranian, Indian and Scandinavian mythology there are “triples” of gods responsible for the patronage of the listed social groups. The weak side of Dumézil's concept is the numerous stretches to which he has to resort to maintaining a trinitarian structure in religious pantheons, as well as the lack of archaeological data that could support the very assumption of the existence of three social groups.

Topic 2. Early forms of religion

2.1. Religion of Neanderthals and primitive peoples

Religion is so organically present in the life of modern man that it seems that it accompanies humanity throughout the history of its existence and development. But this point of view is erroneous, since the archaeological data that have survived to this day allow us to fix the approximate time of the emergence of still primitive, but already religious rites. For the first time, the presence of such rites is found in Homo sapiens neandertalis (the Homo sapiens Neanderthal), which in everyday speech is often called simply a Neanderthal. This subspecies of humanity has become a dead end branch of development, and many researchers explain its disappearance about 40 thousand years ago precisely by the activities of the ancestors of modern man. Within the framework of the history of religion, the Neanderthal is the object of close study, since it is to him that archaeological data allow us to attribute the first manifestations of religious feelings known to us. How did the natural and social conditions in which the Neanderthal lived contributed to the emergence of religion?

Neanderthals lived in small groups of 30-40 people, were engaged in gathering and hunting, led a nomadic lifestyle, but roamed over a fairly limited area in search of the most fertile fields and forest or forest-steppe lands rich in game. The famous caves in the south of France, in which rock art was first discovered, allow us to state with full certainty that these places were visited and supplemented with fresh drawings over many generations of people who clearly belonged to one or more kindred tribes. At the head of each such group was a leader who had very limited functions, most often related to hunting, so his role in the everyday life of the tribe was small. Periodically there were clashes with neighboring tribes, which led to death in a fight or injuries, which, in the difficult conditions of primitive life, turned into the same death, only more painful. Death accompanied the Neanderthal on the heels, and his life expectancy was short: most of the Neanderthal skulls that have survived to this day belong to 30-40-year-old people, and many ended their lives even earlier - death in childhood and adolescence was a common event.

It can be difficult for historians to reconstruct the thinking of a person whose life is separated from the present day by several hundred years. What can be said about the thinking of the Neanderthal, whose existence turned out to be separated by such a large time barrier that it fell out of the historical memory of modern man for many millennia? We can judge the processes that took place in the head of a Neanderthal man from the few pieces of evidence that have survived to this day, and it must be borne in mind that such a reconstruction is in any case hypothetical. So, evidence of the existence of the rudiments of religion already in the era of the Neanderthals are:

1) the presence of a certain funeral rite. Perhaps the primary function of the funeral was a purely utilitarian concern for the hygiene of the habitat, but such care was not obligatory in the case of nomadic tribes, therefore, the surviving burials allow us to reliably state that the primitive man took care of the deceased. Of course, on the basis of archaeological data, it is not possible to restore the funeral rite, but the surviving traces suggest that the deceased was buried in a certain position (as a rule, facing east - towards the rising Sun), and the burial place was sprinkled with red ocher. A special attitude towards the dead was manifested in the fact that the primitive man believed in the preservation of a certain form of life after death, was afraid of harm from the dead members of the tribe, and sought to prevent this through rituals;

2) ritual rock paintings. Throughout the XNUMXth century Several similar caves have been discovered, the most famous of which is the Lascaux cave in southern France. Initially, the researchers suggested that the images of animals and people did not carry an additional semantic load, but were a prototype of the emergence of art. But numerous incisions and depressions in the drawings of animals made it possible to reconstruct the rite that was performed in such caves and has been preserved almost unchanged to this day among the natives of Australia. Immediately before the hunt, the men of the primitive tribe "played out" their subsequent actions, hitting the painted animals and thereby ensuring their luck in a real hunt. Obviously, primitive rites of initiation (initiation) took place in the same caves, which were supposed to introduce young men to adulthood. Only after performing such a ceremony could these young men be considered adults, their biological age had only an indirect relation to social age.

Despite the fact that Neanderthals are not the direct ancestors of man, the similarity of the rudiments of their religious views with the rites and myths of the primitive tribes of Homo sapiens is undoubted. From these primitive forms grew the whole variety of religious manifestations that existed among primitive man and later turned out to be united within the framework of already established religions. In particular, some features of the original religious forms were preserved among the inhabitants of Equatorial Africa and the natives of Australia. However, religiosity in primitive societies was reduced not only to the rites and rituals performed, but also to the verbal accompaniment of these rituals - myths.

For modern man, myth is still synonymous with something unrealizable and magical, which does not really exist. This point of view was first formulated by philosophers of the Enlightenment, who created a cult of science based on rationality, from the positions of which the surviving remnants of ancient Greek mythology, which came down mostly in the free retelling of ancient authors, were untrustworthy fables and fairy tales. The famous Russian philologist V.Ya. Propp (1895-1970), in his work "The Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale", examines the relationship between a fairy tale and a myth and comes to the conclusion that a fairy tale is only a myth that has lost its function, that is, it has ceased to serve as a verbal accompaniment to any ritual or to explain the established social order. In a primitive society, the myth does not lose its function; it is closely connected with religious ideas and rituals. In relation to the religions of the Ancient World, it is difficult to talk about the development of coherent theological (theological) teachings, since the main part of religious beliefs, especially common in the lower strata of the population, continued to exist in the form of myths. Myths were told by parents to their children and passed on from generation to generation. The farther the myths moved away from those ancestral rites that once gave rise to them, the more absurd and exaggerated details they gradually became saturated, turning from a form of religious feeling into an entertaining story.

In the most brief but complete form, the specifics of primitive mythology are presented by the American researcher of primitive religion and mythology, Samuel Hook. He identifies the following types of myths: [21]

1) ritual myth - probably the most ancient form of myth, born from the verbal accompaniment of the ritual and designed to explain to the uninitiated the main points of the ongoing action. Initially, the ritual was accompanied by chants and spells, which made it possible to strengthen the influence of the actions performed, having a calling or commanding character. Gradually, individual evocations and magical formulas acquired the character of a coherent story, commenting on each step of the ongoing rite;

2) cult myth. It is a kind of ritual myth, but is associated with a more developed form of religious thinking, in which the telling of the myth does not accompany the ritual, but serves as a way of awakening religious feelings at the time of celebrating any holiday that has sacred significance. The cult myth preserves the history of a tribe or state formation, tying it to a particular religion or cult of a particular deity;

3) etiological myth (myth of origin) - a relatively late version of the myth, which is being developed in a society that has already lost direct connection with ritual practices and is trying to justify the existence of the ritual with the help of a pseudo-historical or religious explanation. For example, the Egyptian myth of Osiris and Isis marrying despite their blood relationship is an attempt to justify the existence of an ancient custom according to which the Egyptian pharaohs took their sisters as wives;

4) eschatological myth (the myth of the end of the world). The origin of this type of myths is usually associated with Judaism, but religious views about the end of the world are already contained in Babylonian myths. If a cyclical idea of ​​the passage of time dominates in a primitive society (this is due to the close dependence of primitive man on nature, subject to the cyclical change of the seasons), then the eschatological myth is a manifestation of a somewhat different relationship to time - a linear one. Linear time, unlike cyclic time, does not close in a circle and has a clear start point and, of course, an end point, for which one should prepare in advance. It was this myth that formed the basis of Judaism, and later Christianity;

5) the myth of prestige. It serves as a common way for primitive societies to emphasize the superiority of one's clan, tribe, or city over others by ascribing divine intervention in the birth of a hero or the creation of a state. Thus, the inhabitants of Athens have always proudly emphasized that their city bears its name in honor of the goddess Athena, who was its founder and extended her divine protection to this city.

2.2. Religion of ancient Egypt

The religion of Ancient Egypt is an extremely interesting phenomenon for researchers. The origins of its originality lie in the peculiarities of the ideological views of various peoples, from which the Egyptian ethnos has been formed over the centuries. The formation of archaic ancient Egyptian myths was greatly influenced by the ecological parameters of the existence of the Egyptian state: the floods of the Nile, which served as a source of fertility and prosperity, and periods of drought were reflected in the plot of the struggle of Set with Horus, the son of Osiris. The peculiarities of the formation of the ancient Egyptian state contributed to the fact that there was no unified system of religious beliefs in Egypt, and each nome (separate region) had its own beliefs and cosmogonic systems, the main of which were Heliopolis and Memphis.

According to the Heliopolitan version, Chaos (Nun) - the Primordial Ocean, in which Atum suddenly appeared - the original deity - suddenly appeared as the source of origin. Tired of being alone, Atum swallowed his own seed and gave birth to a new deity - Shu (the god of air), spitting it out of his mouth. In the same way, he subsequently created Tefnut, the goddess of moisture and world order. Shui Tefnut became the parents of Geb (the god of the earth) and Nut (the goddess of the sky), with the emergence of which the originally united world was divided into two component halves. To stop the constant quarrels between Geb and Nut, the other gods separated the firmament of the earth from the firmament of heaven, establishing a clear hierarchy between the various levels of the universe. In the space formed between earth and sky, a place appeared for people, but periodically Geb and Nut nevertheless converged, resulting in the birth of four more gods - Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Set, as well as the Nile, fertile soil, rain and others. natural phenomena, without which the normal life of people would be impossible. All of these deities (with the exception of Chaos, which is not personified) form the Great Heliopolitan Nine of Gods, which was considered the official pantheon of Egypt during the existence of the Old and Middle Kingdom.

The Memphis version of cosmogonic beliefs has some differences from the Heliopolis. So, the creator of the world in it appears to be Ptah, which is a hill rising in the middle of the primordial Chaos, which, at its own request, first makes itself a god, and then conceives the creation of the world, which it does by pronouncing the name of the creature being created. This is how (through the pronunciation of the name) Atum was born, who becomes Ptah's assistant, taking on part of his duties - he creates the rest of the gods (also the Nine), and Ptah breathes soul into them with the help of the word.

The most important element of the ancient Egyptian religion, which had a great influence on all cultures that in one way or another came into contact with Egypt, was the funeral cult. The Egyptian had to devote most of his life to preparing for the transition to another world, which was served by constantly studying the “Book of the Dead” - a kind of “guide” of the soul in the world of the dead - and building a tomb - a safe repository for his body. According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the soul after death passes through several gates, simultaneously avoiding various dangers - fiery ponds, hills, dangerous monsters. The result of this journey is that the soul of the deceased enters the judgment seat, which is carried out by the Great Nine of Gods. Appearing before them, the deceased must make a confession and list the entire list of sins that he did not commit in his earthly life (the full list consisted of 42 sins). The Egyptian also received knowledge of how to avoid dangers, what and to which of the deities to say after entering the posthumous court from the “Book of the Dead,” which is a set of sacred texts, the final version of which was formed during the era of the New Kingdom (XVI-XV centuries BC). AD). [22]

Religious holidays were officially approved ceremonies and were the most important sphere of life of ancient Egyptian society. Any Egyptian considered it his duty to take part in a religious celebration embodying one or another mythological plot, as Herodotus observed accordingly. The historian, who belonged to a completely different cultural tradition, perceived with surprise and incomprehension the scenes of religious holidays, during which large crowds of ordinary Egyptians consumed huge volumes of meat, participated in collective beatings and orgies, likening themselves to the heroes of the corresponding myths. [23] However, the official festivities hid behind them another side of the ancient Egyptian religion, carefully guarded from outsiders - secret mysteries, to which only dedicated priests were allowed. By participating in theatrical performances embodying the myths of Horus and Isis, the death of Osiris, etc., the priests thereby performed an initiation rite that allowed them to gain intimate knowledge about the structure of the universe. Gradually, starting from the era of Persian rule and the Ptolemaic dynasty, elements of mystery cults began to open up to the mass public, gaining popularity in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome.

2.3. Religion of Ancient Mesopotamia

The complexity of studying the religion of the Sumerians - the autochthonous (indigenous) population of Mesopotamia in the XNUMXth-XNUMXrd millennia BC. e. - lies in the fact that the myths and information about religious rituals that have survived to this day are difficult to clear from later Semitic layers. Reconstructed on the basis of surviving clay tablets and comparative ethnographic material, Sumerian myths fall into three main groups: myths about the creation of the world; about the creation of man; about the Flood.

The myth of the creation of the world. A characteristic feature that makes Sumerian cosmological myths related to similar ideas of other Middle Eastern peoples is the absence of the concept of "non-existence". The world is never created from emptiness, its creation is always just an ordering of the primordial chaos. According to Sumerian myths, the universe was originally a mountain, in which the earth (the goddess Ki) and the sky (the god Anu) inseparably merged. The act of creation of the world can be considered the separation of heaven and earth and the formation between them of a layer consisting of air. The supreme god of the Sumerian pantheon was Enlil (although the surviving myths do not tell us the story of his origin), originally revered as a formidable lord of the winds, capable of driving thunderclouds and thereby exposing the country to the threat of flooding. Other deities who belonged to the top of the Sumerian pantheon - Anu and Ea - were considered Enlil's assistants. Anu personified the sky, and Ea, who was especially revered by the coastal communities of fishermen and depicted as a fish, was obviously the patron of the sea and the cultural activities of man.

The myth of the creation of man. Man is created in order to serve the gods, the merit of his creation belongs to the god of wisdom Enki, to whom the other gods come with a complaint that there is no one to serve them and serve wine. Heeding the requests of the gods, Enki takes clay from a source of sweet water and sculpts a person from it, and he succeeds only on the seventh attempt - the previous creatures turn out to be too unsuitable for life. But even the man created as a result remains too weak and powerless compared to the mighty gods - this is probably how the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia realized themselves compared to the ruthless forces of nature (floods and hurricanes) that invaded their lives.

The myth of the Flood. This myth is characteristic to one degree or another of almost all the peoples inhabiting the globe, but for the Sumerians it had a special meaning. Unlike the Egyptians, for whom the floods of the Nile, bringing fertile silt, were a source of prosperity and well-being, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia feared the floods of the Tigris and Euphrates, which eroded crops and doomed people to starvation. The essence of the myth is that the gods, fearing the strengthening of people, are plotting to do away with them with the help of a flood. But the god Enki decides to save one king named Siparra and reveals to him the secret of the future flood. The king manages to build an ark, thanks to which he escapes from inevitable death, and his descendants repopulate the land liberated from other people. Later, this myth almost in its original form entered the biblical text, becoming the story of the salvation of Noah and his sons.

In late Babylonian mythology (III-I millennium BC), which has come down to our time in a better preserved form, the story of the Flood becomes part of the adventures of Gilgamesh, who can be considered the main hero and character of Babylonian myths, although he is already mentioned as a historical character in Sumerian texts. [24] It is in the myth of Gilgamesh that the theme of death and immortality is clearly manifested: Gilgamesh, whose best friend Enkidu dies, suddenly realizes the frailty of his existence and goes on a journey, trying to take possession of the elixir of immortality. Having overcome all the obstacles that came his way and reaching Utnapishtim - the only person who managed to cheat death and find eternal life, Gilgamesh receives from him the sought-after elixir, but he fails to gain immortality - the elixir is carried away by snakes, and the hero himself remains sitting on the shore of a reservoir, devoid of illusions about his existence.

Among the Babylonians, one can attest to the presence of magical and divinatory rites. Clay tablets with texts of conspiracies related to both folk medicine and black magic, designed to harm a certain person, have survived to this day. In Babylon, there was also a special board of soothsayers (baru), who predicted the future by the flights of birds, by the shape of oil spots on the surface of the water, but most often by the entrails of ritually slaughtered animals. Subsequently, these divination methods were widespread throughout the Mediterranean, especially in Greece, Rome and North Africa. The religion of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia - the Sumerians and Babylonians - did not sink into oblivion along with these peoples and was adopted by their heirs. Many myths were borrowed by Judaism, and the idea of ​​the Babylonians as the keepers of deep wisdom survived until Greek times: it was believed that the famous Greek philosopher Pythagoras brought secret knowledge about the structure of the universe from Babylon.

2.4. Religion of Ancient Iran (Mazdaism)

Ancient Iranian tribes separated from the Indo-European roots in the 25nd millennium BC. e., therefore, in the later layers of the Iranian religion, remnants of religious views characteristic of all Indo-European tribes, for example, the cult of deceased ancestors, were preserved. At the same time, we can talk about the existence of a special Iranian religion - Mazdaism, the holy book of which is the Avesta - its composition dates back to the XNUMXth century. BC e. The prophet Zarathushtra is considered the legendary author of the Avesta in Mazdaism, which is why the entire religion is sometimes called Zoroastrianism. [XNUMX] However, regarding the Avesta, as well as regarding many other sacred books, we can say that it was developed over several centuries. If its oldest part (Yasnu), which is a collection of prayers and hymns, really dates back to the XNUMXth century. BC e., then other parts, which are comments and additions, were compiled until the XNUMXth century.

The key idea of ​​Mazdaism is a dualistic (dual) understanding of the world as a combination of black and white principles. The personification of the white principle and, accordingly, the main god of the Iranian pantheon was Ahuramazda (Ormuzd), who was opposed by the deity of darkness - Ahriman (his name is practically not mentioned in the sacred texts or is replaced by epithets). Both gods are initially equal, they participate in the process of creation of the world, but the scope of their activities is different: Ahuramazda creates goodness, beauty, benefit for man; Ahriman - evil, lies, disease and death. The coexistence of the two supreme gods cannot be called peaceful, there is a constant struggle between them, in which deities of a lower order participate: the Izeds - from the side of good and the devas - from the side of evil.

Many researchers tried to unravel the reason for the emergence of such a sharp dualism, putting forward a variety of versions - from the peculiarities of the psyche of the ancient Persians to the influence of climatic and geographical factors. Today in Russian science there are two hypotheses that offer a solution to this problem. According to the first of them, which A. M. Zolotarev adhered to, dualism in the system of religious views is a reflection of the dualistic organization of primitive society, divided into various age and sex groups. [26] Another point of view expressed by S.A. Tokarev and the more widespread one, the appearance of two warring gods is considered a reflection in the archaic consciousness of the fact of the conquest of the agricultural population of the future Iran by the alien nomadic Aryans. [27] The superimposition of two mythological systems on top of each other led to the emergence of the idea of ​​a confrontation between two principles.

The cult component of Mazdaism was expressed very clearly: the priests had a monopoly on the performance of all religious rituals, which primarily included the rites of sacrifice, fire maintenance and funeral rites. Surviving sources do not report human sacrifices, but it is known that livestock was sacrificed. The number and size of the sacrifice depended on the wealth of the donor and on the importance of the issue being resolved. The rite of maintaining the fire served to keep the fire in the hearth, since, according to the Mazdaists, the well-being of the family and the well-being of all its members depended on this. If the fire in the family hearth still died out, then the family members had to undergo the rites of purification necessary to avoid the threat of death hanging over them. Death - the product of Ahriman - and everything connected with it, were considered unclean in Mazdaism, therefore it was necessary to avoid any contact with the corpse. In order not to defile any of the sacred elements (earth, fire or water) with a dead body, the Persians built special towers (dakmas), on the tops of which they placed the bodies of the dead, making them food for vultures.

The essence of the ethical views of the Mazdaists is to follow the established norms, observe ritual purity and avoid the unclean, therefore, the most terrible sins that an adherent of this religion can commit are improper burial of a corpse (burning in fire), the use of carrion in the cooking process and unnatural sexual passion.

The fate of Mazdaism abounded in numerous twists and turns: having managed to be the state religion during the reign of the Sassanid dynasty (III-VII centuries) and serving as a source of views for the emergence of the early Christian sect of the Manichaeans, it was for a long time expelled by supporters of Islam from their original places. At present, most of the followers of Mazdaism live in Western India, and only a few communities have managed to maintain their location on the territory of modern Iran.

2.5. Religion of ancient Greece

The ancient Greek religion is noticeably different in its complexity from the ideas that the average reader has about it based on acquaintance with adapted versions of Greek myths. In its formation, the complex of religious ideas characteristic of the ancient Greeks went through several stages associated with a change in the social structure and the people themselves - the bearers of these ideas.

Minoan era (III-II millennium BC). The Greeks separated from the Indo-European root and occupied the territory now belonging to them only in the XNUMXnd millennium BC. e., replacing another, more ancient and developed culture. The hieroglyphic writing that has survived from this era (which is commonly called Minoan) has not yet been fully deciphered, therefore, the religious ideas of the predecessors of the Greeks who lived in Crete and the Peloponnese can only be judged by the remnants preserved in the religion of the Greeks themselves. The gods of the inhabitants of Crete had a zoomorphic (animal-like) character: they were depicted in the form of animals and birds, which obviously resulted in the myth of the Minotaur - a creature that had a human body and a bull's head. Interestingly, most of the information that has come down to us refers to female deities, while male deities were either present in the Minoan religion in the background, or the rituals associated with them were shrouded in a veil of secrecy that did not allow unnecessary statements. Agricultural cults were also widespread - it was from local monasteries that the Greeks of a later era borrowed ideas about a dying and resurrecting deity, whose death and rebirth symbolized the restoration of nature after a period of drought.

Mycenaean era (XV-XIII centuries BC). It was this religion that was preserved in the oldest of the Greek epic poems that have come down to us - Homer’s Iliad. Despite the political fragmentation, the Greeks during this period managed to maintain cultural unity, going back to common Indo-European roots, integrating individual elements of the religion of the local population into their existing religious ideas. The main deity of the Greeks during this period, as far as can be judged from surviving sources, was Poseidon, who performed not only the function of ruler of the seas, which the Greeks of the classical era attributed to him, but also disposed of the land. The surviving sources also mention Zeus, whose very name is of Indo-European origin (Zeus = deus, i.e. in the literal sense this is not a name, but an epithet meaning belonging to a deity), but he clearly plays a subordinate role. Another significant deity of the Mycenaean era is Athena, but not in the more familiar form of the goddess of wisdom, but as a patron goddess, extending her protection to individual aristocratic families or entire cities. [28]

Regarding the cult component, it can be said that sacrifices in Mycenaean Greece were a common attribute of any religious festival, but they sacrificed not captives, but livestock (most often bulls), and the number of animals sacrificed could be very significant. Special priests and priestesses carried out sacrifices, although the Mycenaean Greeks did not build special temples dedicated to individual gods. Sanctuaries were usually altars in sacred places or oracles, in which the will of God was proclaimed through the mouths of high priests falling into a mystical trance.

Classical era (IX-IV centuries BC). Invasion of Greece in the XNUMXth century BC e. Dorian tribes belonging to another branch of the Indo-European peoples, led to a cultural decline, which was called the "Dark Ages" in the research literature. The religion that resulted from another synthesis acquired a general Greek significance, taking shape in the form of an integral pantheon of gods headed by Zeus. All the gods revered in certain areas of Greece (Hera, Dionysus) or having a borrowed character (Apollo, Artemis) entered the divine pantheon as children or brothers of Zeus.

The work of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (VIII century BC) "Theology" ("The Origin of the Gods") presents a complete picture of the creation of the world. The world was not created from nothing, it turned out as a result of the ordering of the primordial Chaos and the emergence of several deities - Gaia (earth), Tartarus (the underworld) and Eros (life-giving force). Gaia, having given birth to Uranus (sky), enters into marriage with him and becomes the mother of the older generation of gods - titans, headed by Kron. Kron overthrows his father and, trying to avoid a similar fate, devours his children, whom the same Gaia gives birth to him. The Greeks of the Hellenistic era, trying to rationally comprehend this myth, correlated the name of the god Kron with the word hronos - time, arguing that in allegorical form their ancestors tried to express the following idea: time is ruthless in relation to its own children - people. Krona, according to the prediction, overthrows his own son Zeus from the throne and sends to Tartarus, who becomes the ruler of the land, giving other spheres to his brothers: Poseidon - the sea, Hades - the underworld. In classical Greece, Zeus acts as the supreme god, retaining the function of the god of thunder, the lord of thunder and storm, inherent in him even among the Indo-Europeans. The functions of some other gods change: Hera from a warrior goddess becomes the wife of Zeus and the patroness of the family hearth; Apollo and Artemis, who are of Asia Minor origin, become the children of Zeus and the patrons, respectively, of art and hunting.

Another innovation of the classical era is the appearance of the cult of heroes, to which certain aristocratic families erected their origin, more precisely, such cults existed before, but now they are beginning to correlate with the divine pantheon. Heroes acquire the status of demigods, becoming the children of Zeus from ties with mortal women, and the greatest of them, no doubt, is Hercules, to whom the kings of Sparta, Macedonia and some other regions of Greece erected their family. A more frequent manifestation of this cult was the honors given to the winners of the Olympic Games in their hometowns: a statue was erected to the winning athlete at the expense of the townspeople and food was provided for life, and some of them after death became the patrons of their own city, acquiring a semi-divine status.

The era of Hellenism, which began with the victorious conquest of Persia and Egypt by Alexander the Great, introduced its innovations into Greek religion: cults of alien deities - Isis, Amon-Ra, Adonis - were established in the original Greek territory. The signs of respect towards the king are colored with a religious feeling, in which one can also see the Eastern influence: the figure of the king is deified, which the Greeks of previous eras could hardly have imagined. In this modified form, ridiculed by writers (Lucian) and attacked by early Christian thinkers (Tertullian), Greek religion survived until the collapse of the Roman Empire, after which its traces are lost.

2.6. Religion of ancient Rome

Despite the common Indo-European origin and the fact that the Romans themselves claimed the identity of their gods to Greek counterparts (Jupiter - Zeus, Juno - Hera, Mars - Ares), their religion had its own characteristics, generated by the specifics of the emergence of the Roman state and its development. Characteristic features of the Roman religion are:

1) the close relationship between religion and the state, manifested in all areas of religious practice. Many religious festivities, originally of a tribal or family nature, later acquired national significance and served as official state events. No less characteristic is the position of the priests, who were not singled out as a separate category of the population (as it was, for example, in classical Greece), but were civil servants. As such, augur priests, engaged in fortune-telling on the insides of animals, were necessarily attached to individual legions of the Roman army in order to choose the best time for battles and predict their result. Another consequence of this connection was the absence of the mysteries common in Greece: the Roman religion of the period of the republic was of a purely rational nature, excluding the possibility of manifestation of frenzy and frenzy.

Despite the fact that the priests did not differ in their property rights from ordinary citizens, there were several priestly colleges, whose members were initially grouped around a separate clan, and then began to be elected. The most honorary of the priestly colleges were the pontiffs, augurs and vestals. The duties of the pontiffs included monitoring the observance of the calendar and the course of religious holidays. The augurs were the official soothsayers who gave advice to the officials of the Roman Republic. Vestals (priestesses of the goddess Vesta) were representatives of the most noble families who took a vow of chastity and devoted themselves to the goddess Vesta;

2) the mixed nature of the Roman religion itself. The pantheon of Roman gods was divided into four main groups:

a) the primordial gods of the Romans (Jupiter, Juno, Lares - patron gods of the hearth);

b) gods borrowed from the cults of other Italic tribes at the early stage of the existence of the Roman state, when the tribes subordinate to Rome added their gods to the state cult;
c) gods borrowed from Greek religion already in the Hellenistic era;
d) personified philosophical concepts (happiness - Fortuna, justice - Justitia, etc.), for which temples were erected and in honor of which state festivals were held during the era of the Roman Empire.

The original religion of the Romans included the worship of lares - the deities of the house or individual family; they were a kind of guardian spirits, designed to watch over the family hearth and protect family members from possible dangers. Of the gods common to the Indo-Europeans (to whom the Romans themselves belonged), the existence of Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, who played the role of the god of thunder, the patron of thunderstorms and male unions, is most clearly traced.

A significant role in the formation of the Roman religion was played by the faith of the Etruscans, a tribe of obscure origin that lived in southern and central Italy even before the arrival of the Romans. Having settled in the territories cultivated by the Etruscans and subordinating the indigenous population to their dominance, the Romans fell under the cultural influence of a more highly developed people, which was not slow to affect the nature of their religion. So, initially the Roman idea of ​​the afterlife as a realm of torment and suffering turned out to be mixed with the inherent Etruscan belief in the "Gardens of the Blessed", where those who earned this right with their lives go after death. Mars, who in the official Roman pantheon served as the god of war, was originally the supreme god of one of the Italic tribes, who received a narrow specialization only in the process of joining the union of tribes that ruled the Romans.

It is interesting that sacrifices, although preserved in Roman society throughout the existence of the state, were of a much more modest nature: instead of heads of cattle, heads of garlic or dry fish were sacrificed. Ritual killing of animals was used only in divination, when specially trained priests studied the insides of a dead animal in order to get an answer to a pre-asked question. The fortune-telling system had an extensive character and was practiced in solving almost any issue of great political importance (campaign, construction of a new city, election of consuls, etc.). The most common methods of divination were auspices (predictions by the flight of birds) and haruspices (predictions by the appearance of the insides of dead animals), also borrowed by the Romans from the Etruscans.

An important role in the religious life of Roman society was played by private cults, which, as a rule, united representatives of the same clan. The object of worship was the legendary ancestor of one kind or another (for example, Askaniy-Yul of the Yuliev clan), who often acquired divine features and moved to the state pantheon of gods: this happened with the god Faun, who was responsible for meadows and fields within the Roman pantheon, but originally a tribal god of the Fabius family. Later, the practice of worshiping a separate patron god spread to trade unions, each of which acquired its own deity.

A characteristic feature of the Roman religion is scrupulousness in compiling a list of revered gods and a careful schedule of the functions performed by them. Each feature of the human character, each constantly performed action had its own patron god: it is known, for example, that in the Roman pantheon, three different gods were responsible for door leaves, locks and door hinges.

Significant changes in Roman religion were associated with the penetration of alien influences into the closed world of the Roman community. The era of Hellenism introduced a large number of new gods of Greek origin into the religious ideas of the Romans and changed the very attitude of the representatives of Roman society to the ways of manifesting religious feelings. So, in the III century. in Rome, state temples dedicated to individual gods begin to be built, and their statues are erected. The subsequent surge of religious innovations was generated by the expansion of the Roman Empire far to the East, which led to the penetration of the cults of eastern deities - Isis (Asia Minor goddess) and Hermes Trismegistus (a deity of mixed Greek-Egyptian origin) into the territory of Rome. The wide distribution of these cults, which had a mysterial-ecstatic character, threatened the existence of the official Roman pantheon, but the final blow to the Roman religion was dealt by the emergence of Christianity. The desperate attempt of Emperor Julian (d. 363), nicknamed the Apostate by Christians, to restore the veneration of traditional Roman gods on the territory of the empire was superficial and was forgotten immediately after his death.

2.7. Religion of the peoples of Central America

The information that has survived to this day about the religion of the American tribes is fragmentary and, moreover, comes from the pen of outsiders, often hostile observers. The most developed were the religious representations of three cultural centers: the Maya (Yucatan Peninsula), the Aztecs (Central Mexico) and the Incas (the western coast of South America).

Mayan. At the head of the pantheon of deities, the total number of which was very numerous, was the god Itzamna, who, in all likelihood, was the tribal god of the upper class of Maya society. It was Itzamna who was the creator of the world and the creator of man. Another god, analogies to whose existence are found in the religion of the Aztecs, was Kukulkan - half-man, half-snake, the embodiment of wisdom, but at the same time cunning and resourcefulness.

The world, according to the Mayan Indians, was created many times and each time destroyed by global floods sent by the gods to people for their faults and lack of due respect for the supreme deity. The creation of man was also not a single act; the final creation was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts. At first, Itzamna tried to create people from wood, but the wooden people accidentally burned out from the fire that the god wanted to give to his creatures. The next time he tried to mold clay people, he forgot to burn them, causing the clay people to be washed away by rain. Only the third attempt was successful - people created from cornmeal turned out to be viable enough to exist on earth. This myth is based on agricultural cults, because corn was the main food product on which the existence of the tribe depended.

In addition to primitive fertility cults, the essence of which was to donate part of the harvest to the gods in the hope that they would take care of the next harvest, the Maya also had state cults. Archaeological excavations show that in the central cities of the Maya (Mayapan, Chichen Itza) there were numerous stepped temples, on the flat tops of which sacrifices were made, often human.

Aztecs. The religious pantheon of the Aztecs had a complex character, which was probably due to the peculiarities of the folding of their state from several tribes, the supreme gods of which made up the triad of gods most revered by the Aztecs. At the head of this triad was Quetzalcoatl ("feathered Serpent"), who simultaneously performed the function of a cultural hero: it was believed that it was he who gave people writing and taught the skills of cultivating the land. Quetzalcoatl was depicted as an old man with a long white beard. It was this circumstance that made it much easier in the XNUMXth century. to the conquistadors the process of conquering the Aztec empire, since one of the most popular myths among the Indians was the myth that Quetzalcoatl did not die, but sailed on a wonderful boat at sea, promising to return someday and thank his subjects for waiting. The arrival from across the sea of ​​white people, many of whom also wore beards, was originally perceived by the Aztecs as the fulfillment of an old promise made by Quetzalcoatl.

Inferior to the previous one in strength, but superior in cruelty was another god - Tezcatlipoca - the embodiment of the sun in its scorching and scorching incarnation. This god demanded obligatory human sacrifices, which were performed in his honor during all religious holidays, and the number of people sacrificed could number in the hundreds. The third god of the Aztec pantheon, Huitzilopochtli, had agricultural origins, but paradoxically he also transformed into a “lover” of human sacrifice. In order to satisfy the needs of gluttonous deities and their numerous priests, the Aztec state had to wage brutal wars with neighboring tribes, not for the sake of conquering new lands or wealth, but solely for the sake of prisoners, who were sacrificed. S.A. Tokarev cites an interesting fact: an agreement was concluded between the Aztecs and neighboring tribes on the periodic resumption of war, so that there would be enough captives to participate in bloody ceremonies. [29]

The Incas. Despite the fact that the Inca state was formidable and powerful, the Inca tribe itself was relatively small, and the main population of the state was the tribes conquered by the Incas. The head of state was also the high priest at the same time, so the state pantheon combined the deities of individual tribes subordinate to the Incas, and was a rather artificial formation, which was worshiped only during official ceremonies, managing in everyday life the gods of their own tribe. The most revered deities included Pachacamac and Pachamama (and their counterparts in tribal pantheons), associated with fertility cults and acting as the personification of natural factors that contribute to a good harvest - rain, sun, earth, etc. The Incas also had human sacrifices, but the number of captives sacrificed was small, and the very number of sacrifices was strictly regulated and associated only with particularly significant events, for example, the accession of a new ruler to the throne.

Topic 3. Religions of the Ancient East

3.1. Religion of Ancient China (Taoism, Confucianism)

The religious beliefs of the ancient Chinese differed markedly from those religious systems that were created by representatives of the Indo-European peoples in the Middle East and Europe. Different natural conditions, a different type of social structure and, accordingly, a completely different type of thinking gave rise to peculiar forms of religion in China, the most famous of which were Taoism and Confucianism.

As far as can be judged from the surviving sources, the emergence of religious ideas in ancient China took place as early as the XNUMXrd millennium BC. e. and they manifested themselves in the form of various branches of mantika (fortune-telling) and the cult of ancestors. The most common type of divination was to write a question, which required a divine answer, on a tortoiseshell plate and throw this plate into the fire. After the fire burned out, a special priest interpreted the cracks formed on the plate, what answer the deity had given. Subsequently, this method formed the basis of the divination technique, which consisted of a combination of solid and broken lines and set forth in the book I-ching.

The cult of ancestors, although it is present in almost all world religions, but it was in China that its significance turned out to be so high that the existence of this cult left its mark on the entire daily life and system of ethical norms of the ancient Chinese. The origins of this cult are closely connected with the worship of Heaven, which was considered the supreme and, perhaps, the only deity in the Chinese religion. Heaven was an absolute law, so detached and indifferent to a person observing or not observing it that it was simply pointless to show any respect towards him. The only way to prove one's obedience to this absolute law was to show unquestioning obedience and reverence towards the Chinese emperor, who was considered the Son of Heaven and his manifestation on earth. The cult of the emperor and his deified ancestors, an endless series of which ascended directly to Heaven itself, gradually transformed into the cult of ancestors, which was in use both among aristocrats and among ordinary inhabitants of the empire. Particular attention was paid to the closeness of these ancestors, and even better kinship with the imperial house, since any contact with the Heavenly dynasty made it possible to get closer to Heaven itself.

According to the ideas of the Chinese, the human soul consists of two parts - material and spiritual. After the death of a person, the material part of the soul is buried along with his body, so the burial of his most devoted servants, the best horses and most of the wealth along with the deceased serves as a sign of caring for it. But the other part of the soul - the spiritual one - goes to heaven, where it occupies its proper place, determined by the status of its owner in the earthly hierarchy. The way to support this part of the soul was the construction of special ancestral temples, in which tablets with the names of all the ancestors of this or that aristocrat were kept. Preserving the memory of the deceased ancestors made it possible both to support their souls in the afterlife, and to substantiate the aristocrat's claims to a certain place in the social hierarchy in the earthly world, which makes it possible to lead less noble relatives and simple peasants.

Taoism. The characteristic features of the Chinese religion of the early period - the focus on ethical norms and the place of a person within society - were also preserved in Taoism, although they acquired a metaphysical coloring. The founder of Taoism in the VI century. BC BC, according to legend, became Lao Tzu (his name literally means "Old Child" or "Old Philosopher"), whose existence, unlike his contemporary Confucius, remains unconfirmed by any documents. It is Lao Tzu who is credited with the authorship of the fundamental Taoist treatise - "Tao Te Ching", although modern researchers prefer to date the time of its occurrence to the XNUMXrd century BC. BC e., without denying, however, that the provisions expressed in it could exist in the form of an oral tradition or disparate sayings.

The key category of Taoism is Tao - that natural path followed by all things in the world and to which the world itself obeys. Inaccessible to the senses, not grasped by human thinking, it underlies everything, shaping and giving meaning to each specific thing. The projection of Tao onto the world of people is de - a moral law that establishes the norms of relationships between people and the rules of people's attitude to the world around them. The third fundamental category of Taoism is qi - the universal vital energy that fills a person and gives him the will to comply with the universal law - following the great path of Tao.

The goal of human life, from the point of view of Taoism, is the familiarization of an individual person with the Tao. This can be achieved not only through meditation and mental cutting off everything perishable, which only expresses the will of Tao, but is not Tao itself. Since Tao has no end and no beginning, a person can join it through the achievement of immortality. For this, there were special exercises: first, those who wanted to achieve immortality had to gradually refuse food intake and reduce the amount of food itself until they learned to feed on their own saliva. Then it was necessary to move on to a complex of physical exercises, which is very similar to yoga, designed not to strengthen the body, but to master breathing exercises to such an extent that the Taoist could stop breathing at will, and then resume it at the right moment. Of course, the condition under which a person who has learned to control his own body could achieve immortality is also spiritual purification: following the path of Tao, he had to perform 1200 good deeds, and the only unseemly deed reduced all accumulated merit to nothing.

The Taoist doctrine of immortality and the achievement of bliss by following the universal law of nature had a place in the ranks of the Chinese aristocracy, retaining its influence throughout the Middle Ages. In the VI-VII centuries. Taoists extended their influence to almost all of China, building a network of monasteries and getting along well with Confucianism. The share of the latter accounted for the substantiation of the social doctrine by which every Chinese was to be guided. Paradoxical as it may seem, but Taoism, which appealed to the soul of every person and urged to take care of moral purity, was in demand whenever the Chinese state was subjected to sharp social upheavals. Several large-scale uprisings, starting from the rebellion of the "yellow bands" in the III century, were raised by adherents of Taoism under the slogans of cleansing the state from filth and returning to its roots. In the XX century. Taoism was tested: in 1927, its spiritual head (tien-shih) was forced to flee from his residence to Taiwan, but the religion managed to maintain a significant influence on ordinary Chinese even under the communist regime.

Confucianism. Another religion that managed to prove its relevance under any ruler and political system was Confucianism, which so permeated Chinese society that even the leaders of communist China were forced to appeal to the moral and social norms that were developed by Confucius and his followers. Confucius (551-479 BC) is a real historical character who lived and acted in a difficult period for China, when the state was on the verge of collapse, and the ruling elite was unable to find the right way to save the country. Under these conditions, the religious and philosophical doctrine of Confucius, which combined ethical and social elements into an inseparable integrity, was picked up by a wide circle of the population, acquiring the status of a new state religion.

The sacred texts of Confucianism are fixed within the framework of two canons, called the "Pentateuch" (Wu-jing) and "Tetrabook" (Su-shu). The composition of the "Pentateuch" includes the following works: "I-ching" - a book of divination by solid and broken lines, as well as magical conspiracies; "Shu-jing" - a mythologized history of ancient China; "Chun-qiu" is another brief historical excursus from the history of China in the period of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. BC e.; "Shi-jing" - a collection of ancient hymns and chants, partly religious, partly purely poetic content; "Lu-ji" is a description of rituals and rituals, the exact execution of which is mandatory for an adherent of the Confucian teachings.

"Tetrabook" includes "Da Xue" - a summary of the main provisions of the Confucian teachings; "Lun-Yu" - a collection of sayings, the authorship of which is attributed to Confucius himself; "Zhong-Yun" is a philosophical treatise that examines in detail the idea of ​​Confucius about observing the principle of the "golden mean" in all undertakings; Mencius is a retelling of the teachings of one of the main disciples of the founder of Confucianism.

Any person who wants to remain a worthy member of society and at the same time be a highly moral person must follow two basic Confucian principles: "ren" (humanity) and "yi" (duty). The understanding of humanity was spread by Confucius extremely widely and included a number of human qualities, such as justice, philanthropy, integrity, peacefulness, etc. Duty is a moral obligation that a person striving to be virtuous imposes on himself. The concept of duty includes a respectful attitude towards parents, and unconditional devotion to the ruler, and the preservation of marital fidelity.

Unlike many religions that sought to break with the previous tradition in order to favorably set off their moral and social norms, Confucianism relied on the restoration of traditions. Considering the traditional focus of the Chinese on the past, where the "golden age" once existed, Confucius and his followers claimed to embody in their works the rules that would allow turning back time, returning humanity to its original state. Confucius expressed his ideal of returning to the past at a time when this was the only way to rally Chinese society and give it new strength in the face of the threat of internal collapse or external conquest. His followers, who tried to be guided by the letter rather than the spirit of Confucian teaching, turned the recommendations he preached into universal laws, a set of rules, the automatic observance of which can ensure a happy existence for a person. Hence - the focus of Confucianism on the ritual, the scrupulous fulfillment of the smallest instructions, the refusal to change even individual movements in the ceremonies performed, so as not to deviate from the path of salvation outlined by the Teacher.

Confucianism not only did not seek to turn its adherents away from the state in which they happened to live, but also directly indicated that even a person who has reached a high level of wisdom should not give up his social activities, life in society, among friends and close relatives. This circumstance served the Confucian religion in good stead, having done it by the XNUMXnd century BC. BC e. the official religion of Chinese society. The desire to translate the ethical ideals proclaimed by Confucianism into practice led to the fact that Chinese officials had to pass a mandatory exam in order to get into public office, demonstrating not so much the knowledge of the subject as his moral qualities and all-round development. According to the precepts of Confucius, only a moral person can hold a public office, since it is precisely such an official who has a duty (“and”) that will be stronger than a natural sense of gain.

Confucian teachings have been the intellectual backbone of Chinese society for several millennia. In medieval China, the education system, built on Confucian principles, was mandatory for all representatives of state power, although Confucianism did not claim sole power over the consciousness of each individual person, sharing it with Taoism and Buddhism. The desire to renew the teachings of Confucius, give it new energy and individualize to the utmost, bring it to human consciousness became the leading stimulus for the Chinese thinker Zhu Xi (1130-1200), who was the founder of neo-Confucianism. The principle of xin xue proclaimed by him, which used certain provisions of the Buddhist doctrine to update traditional Confucianism, was popular in Chinese society until the beginning of the 1911th century. In the XNUMXth century It was Confucianism that became the basis for the formation of Chinese conservatism, which asserted unconditional adherence to the principles on which Chinese society was based from the time of its inception, and accordingly rejected any borrowings and changes in the Western manner. As a result of the revolution of XNUMX, the dominant role of Confucianism as the official Chinese religion was shaken, but Confucianism finally lost its official status after the communists came to power.

However, this religion would not be so viable if it so easily lost its influence during periods of social upheaval. Despite the fact that there is no official state religion in modern China, since it is replaced by the ideology of the Communist Party, Confucianism has retained its influence among ordinary people. Behind the scenes, it is present in the intellectual and religious atmosphere of modern China, demonstrating once again its ability to appeal not to changing social factors, but to permanent human nature.

3.2. Religion of ancient Japan (Shinto)

For a long time, Japan was in cultural isolation, which was not long in affecting the nature of the religion that had developed in it, which managed to combine such various manifestations of religious feelings as the relentless adherence of the samurai to their code of honor, and with it the innate politeness of the Japanese and their desire to please as much as possible. guest.

According to the mythological ideas of the ancient Japanese, the world was originally a combination of heaven and earth, which, not obeying external causes, but solely by their own desire, gave rise to several divine couples. The last of these, and the most powerful, was the married couple of Izanagi and Izanami. It is Izanagi who is considered the founder of Japan - from the spear raised by him, drops of moisture fell into the oceans, which, having hardened, became a ridge of the Japanese islands. In addition, Izanagi gave birth to the sun goddess Amaterasu, who became the patroness of the Japanese and the most revered deity of the entire Japanese pantheon. Emperor Jimmu, the founder of the Japanese imperial dynasty, was considered her offspring, whose direct descendants rule the Land of the Rising Sun (as Japan is allegorically called) to this day.

In addition to some generally significant deities, which were worshiped by all representatives of the Japanese nation, each clan and family had their own tribal patron gods (komi). The total number of deities in Japan was so huge that it was impossible to record them all by name. The oldest religious treatises that have survived to this day, written in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. (Kojiki and others), give only the total number of gods, which, depending on different sources, is either eight thousand or even a million. There are no special rituals of worship of these gods in the Japanese religion, but their habitat was considered to be a small stone temple, built, as a rule, in the courtyard of the ancestral dwelling. The Japanese themselves did not come up with a name for their original religion, so their neighbors, the Chinese, had to do it for them. The phrase "shin-to", which served as the basis for the name of the national Japanese religion - Shinto, in translation from Chinese means "the path of the local gods."

Despite the fact that Buddhism, which penetrated the island state in the Middle Ages, occupied a significant place in the culture of Japan, Shinto managed to get along with the new religion and merge so organically into it that often in Buddhist temples a separate corner was allocated for the fetishes of patron spirits that served as objects of Shinto worship. . There were (and still exist) in Japan purely Shinto temples, which are distinguished by a more modest decoration than their Buddhist counterparts, as well as the almost complete absence of any religious objects. The role of the latter in the Shinto religion is played by the emblems of deities in the form of animal figurines (a legacy of primitive totemism). The servants of the Shinto shrine are special priests (kannushi), whose position is hereditary and passed within the same family from father to eldest son. The ritual of worshiping the figurines of the gods is also extremely simplified, it consists in offering modest gifts (rice, fruits, seafood, etc.) and pronouncing established magical formulas.

The moral demands that the Shinto religion makes of its worshipers are few and far between and quite mundane. From those who profess the religion of their ancestors, unconditional submission to the imperial power and recognition of the divine origin of the emperor are required; purity, understood both in the aspect of everyday cleanliness, and in the refusal to come into contact with ritually unclean objects or animals and from committing unseemly acts. It is interesting that in Shintoism cruelty to animals was condemned, while religious precepts were silent about a similar attitude towards people.

In the 1889th century The establishment of the military dictatorship of the mikado led to the fact that Shinto was declared the state religion, and Buddhism was banned. This was due to the presence in the Shinto religion of unconditional approval of any actions performed by the emperor. But the interaction of these two religions turned out to be so strong that already in XNUMX a law was issued in Japan officially proclaiming freedom of religion.

In modern Japan, Shinto continues to play a leading role in the religious life of the country, although its scope is more limited to the sphere of family life than to public ceremonies, which are more festive than religious in nature. Despite the fact that Shinto is not a single religion, but breaks up into many separate currents, there is no struggle between the branches of Shinto, so each Japanese family is free to adhere to the version of Shinto to which its ancestors belonged, or change it in accordance with their own intentions.

Modern Japanese culture, which welcomes the flourishing of new computer technologies and strongly encourages efforts to increase the technization and informatization of society, continues to combine technological progress with traditional forms of religion with an enviable sense of harmony. Medieval professional corporations are being replaced by cutting-edge firms, but the very Japanese principle of doing business remains unchanged, which consists in mutual respect for business partners, observance of clear subordination and hierarchy within each individual enterprise - those norms that have been brought up in the Japanese for centuries thanks to the Shinto religion.

3.3. Religion of ancient India (Brahmanism, Hinduism)

India is often perceived only as the birthplace of Buddhism, which denies a very ancient and ramified religious Indian tradition, which goes back to two fundamentally different sources - the religion of the indigenous population of India (Dravids) and the religious ideas of the newcomer Indo-European population (Aryans), whose appearance in the river valley The Indus is dated by researchers around the beginning of the XNUMXnd millennium BC. e. Unfortunately, it is difficult to say anything definite about the Dravidian religion due to the impossibility of deciphering the inscriptions that have come down to us, but, judging by the images, even then (in the III-II millennium BC) the indigenous population of India worshiped a deity, which in a later Indian religion was named Shiva. Images of this god with three faces and six arms are preserved on the seals found at the site of the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

Brahmanism. That cult design of religious ideas, which dominates modern Indian religion, is associated by most researchers with the influence of the Aryan tribes. It was the Aryans who for the first time recorded a clear division into three main varnas (social groups) - Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Much later, a fourth varna, the Shudras, was added to them, which included the enslaved indigenous population of the Hindustan peninsula. Varnas were divided according to the functions they performed in society. Brahmins served as priests and were responsible for performing sacrifices, which were the main form of religious rituals in the first stage of the existence of the ancient Indian religion. Wars and rulers of numerous Indian principalities originated from the varna of the Kshatriyas. Vaishyas were engaged in crafts and trade. The Shudras were engaged in agriculture and those types of work that were considered unworthy of the representatives of the three higher varnas.

The idea of ​​a clear division of the varnas was substantiated in a mythologized story about the history of their occurrence. According to this myth, the gods, having decided to create the world, performed a ritual on the giant Purusha, dividing his body into separate parts, each of which became the prototype of the corresponding natural or social phenomenon. From the soul of the slain giant, the Moon arose, from the eye - the Sun, the head turned into the sky, and the legs became the earth, his ears became the cardinal points. Brahmins appeared from the breath of Purusha (therefore, they were considered the keepers of wisdom, and each of their words was evaluated as a manifestation of indisputable authority), from the hands of kshatriyas (protectors and warriors), from the hips - vaishyas (workers), and from the feet - sudras. The inequality of the Shudras in comparison with the rest of the varnas was also manifested in the fact that they were forbidden to participate in the performance of many religious rites, even to be present during the utterance of mantras (sacred incantations). Despite the fact that political power was concentrated in the hands of the Kshatriyas, they were considered subordinate to the Brahmins, since they had the exclusive right to communicate with the gods, so the early form of Indian religion, which existed almost unchanged for more than a thousand years, was called Brahmanism.

The sacred texts of Brahmanism were the Vedas (from the Indo-Aryan root ved - "to know", cf. Russian "to know"), of which there were four. The most significant and ancient in origin was considered the Rigveda - a collection of sacred hymns, the earliest of which served as witnesses to the existence of an Indo-European religious community. The Samaveda and Yajurveda, which included sacred incantations and magical formulas with a description of the rites performed in the process of their pronunciation, were inferior to her in time. The latest of the Vedas is the Atharva Veda, which included hymns and hymns, referring already to the era of the Aryans in India. Judging by the hymns of the Rigveda, the total number of Indian deities was enormous: only the main gods were 33, and the total number of all deities was 3339, spirits were added to them - devas and asuras. Interestingly, the asuras in Brahmanism were in the position of negative beings, and the devas were positive, while among the Iranians, who belonged to the same group of Indo-European peoples as the Aryans, the distribution was reversed: good asuras and evil devas. This fact can only testify to the fact that in the original Indo-European religion there was no clear division of spirits into good and evil, but they (devas and asuras) were divided according to some other principle unknown to us.

Many of the Indian gods had a clearly expressed Indo-European origin, for example, Dyaus-pitar (cf. Zeus-pater - god-father) - the god of the sky; Ushas (Greek Eos) - the goddess of the morning dawn, etc. The most popular gods from the Indian pantheon at the early (Vedic) stage of the development of religion were Varuna, Indra, Surya and Agni.

Varuna was sung in many hymns as the supreme god, but, apparently, such an appeal, often found in Vedic hymns, was a kind of respect for the god to whom the petitioner addressed, and in no way reflected the real hierarchy of the deities of the pantheon. In the surviving texts, Varuna acts as the personification of the sky in its gloomy, thunderous appearance, as well as the flowing waters.

Indra was considered the god of rain, so he had lightning as an obligatory attribute, and the most common mythological plot, of which Indra was the hero, was the story of his victorious battle with the serpent Vritra, which prevents the access of water to the drought-tormented lands. Striking the snake with a blow of his lightning, Indra releases a stream of water that spills over the parched fields.

Surya acted as the god of the sun, therefore, in ancient Indian myths, he appeared in the form of a radiant horseman, riding his fiery chariot across the sky and giving people light and warmth (Helios performed a similar function in Greek mythology).

One of the most revered (in terms of the number of hymns dedicated to him and rituals held in his honor) was the fire god Agni. Emphasizing the importance of fire for ensuring the normal existence of the family and the whole community, the ancient Indians respectfully called Agni "the guardian of the house."

According to the religious ideas of Brahmanism, any living being consists of a body and a soul, and the soul is immortal and has the ability to persist even after the death of the material body, which falls into the kingdom of the god Yama, the ruler of the world of the dead. After death, the human soul moves to another body or object. Who exactly the soul will reincarnate into is determined by the presence of good or evil deeds in its previous earthly existence. The law of the reincarnation of the soul, depending on the positive or negative characteristics it has accumulated, is called karma, and the chain of reincarnations that the individual soul goes through is called samsara in Brahmanism. To ensure a favorable rebirth, one must lead a moral life, do good deeds and avoid bad deeds, otherwise a person may be reborn as a member of a lower caste or an animal. Any reincarnation is not the end of the chain, others will surely follow, therefore it depends on each living being how much he wants to correct the consequences of previous rebirths and improve his karma.

Hinduism. The gradual development of religious ideas in Indian society, accompanied by increased competition from Buddhism, has led to the fact that the Vedic (Brahminist) religious system has undergone a significant transformation, adapting to the more complex social structure, which requires simplification of the foundations of dogma and religious practice. The result of the reform of Brahmanism was the emergence of Hinduism (III-II centuries BC).

Hinduism adopted from Brahmanism such important features of religious teaching as belief in the existence of an immortal soul, ways to improve karmic fate (asceticism, yoga), as well as attention to the performance of everyday rituals. The role of ritualistics, already devoid of excessive specification and binding to varnas and castes, turned out to be so high in reformed Hinduism that, despite the principle of proselytism proclaimed by this religion (only one who was born in a family professing Hinduism can become a Hindu), there are often cases when a person another nation or race can become a Hindu by carefully observing all the ritual requirements of that religion.

Two gods came forward as the supreme deities of Hinduism, who were also present in the ancient Indian pantheon, but there were in secondary roles. We are talking about Vishnu and Shiva, whose admirers form two main trends in modern Hinduism: Vishnuism and Shaivism.

Vishnuism. Vishnu is mentioned in the early sacred hymns of the Rig Veda as one of the minor gods, whose original function was to provide fertility. In Hinduism there is a reorientation of his activity, and Vishnu becomes the patron god, the bearer of happiness and good luck, the savior and protector. It is he who becomes the supreme deity of the Hindu pantheon, while other deities or heroes begin to be perceived as his avatars (reincarnations). Initially, there were nine avatars: fish, turtle, boar, lion, dwarf, Parushurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha. In the XNUMXth century a tenth avatar was added to them - a rider on a white horse, marking the end of the existence of this world with his appearance.

Shaivism. As already mentioned, the god Shiva (or his analogue) existed among the Dravidian population of ancient India. Subsequently, he entered the pantheon of Indian gods as a deity dangerous and requiring constant sacrifice to reduce the danger emanating from him. The very name Shiva is an epithet meaning "good". The real name of this god is Rudra. His function in the universe was, according to Hindus, ambivalent: he was responsible for creation and at the same time for destruction. For example, in one of the most popular mythological stories, he acted as a dancer who destroys this world, but immediately creates a new one on its remains. That is why Rudra was often called not by his real name, but by one of the epithets reflecting that of his hypostasis, which was central within a certain ritual or cult. Shiva's wife is Devi, who also had dual characteristics: she simultaneously acted as both a guardian goddess and an avenger for the crimes committed.

In modern India, it is Hinduism in its two main directions - Vaishnavism and Shaivism - that is the dominant religious movement (Buddhists in India, paradoxically, are practically absent, and Muslims occupy only the north of the Hindustan peninsula). Of course, some changes in the religious life of Indians are taking place. They are connected primarily with the fact that the importance of caste and varna affiliation is decreasing. Thanks to the perseverance of modern reformers in Hinduism, there is a tendency towards a gradual reconciliation of representatives of the four varnas with another group of the population, which in traditional Indian society was so disenfranchised that it did not belong to any varna, but bore the name "untouchables". Representatives of this community performed the dirtiest work that was unacceptable for representatives of the Hindu religion - cleaning sewage, organizing funerals, etc. At the same time, many religious rituals retain their significance even now, for example, funeral rites, which consist sometimes his widow is burned together with her husband), the desire for ritual purity, rituals associated with eating, etc.

Topic 4. Buddhism

4.1. Buddha, the basic principles of his teachings

Tradition attributes the merit of creating a new religion to a wandering preacher, although belonging to a royal family, Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC), better known by his nicknames "Shakyamuni" (sage from the Shakya tribe) and "Buddha" (enlightened, awakened). Siddhartha was born into the family of the leader of the Shakya tribe who lived in the Ganges valley, was brought up in luxury and never encountered the phenomena that accompanied the growing up of his peers from less noble families - illness, poverty, death. In due time the young prince married, his wife gave birth to an heir, and only then did the story occur, which was often told by Buddhist preachers as an instructive incident. Once leaving his palace, Siddhartha met a beggar on the way, then a cripple, and finally met a funeral procession, after which he realized that if there is a goal in his life, as in the life of any other person, then this goal is to save other people from suffering. At the age of 29, the prince left the chambers of his palace to find a path that could save humanity from suffering, and only after seven years filled with ascetic mortification of the flesh and constant meditation, Siddhartha Gautama was able to achieve enlightenment and understand the true cause of suffering. From that moment began the preaching activity of the Buddha, which lasted until his death. Together with a group of disciples, the Buddha wandered throughout India, expounding the foundations of his teaching, which he called dharma (moral law).

Despite the fact that stories about the life of the Buddha are extremely common and are mentioned in many sources of the Buddhist canon, these sources themselves, the most famous of which is the Tripitaka, were compiled only in the XNUMXst century BC. BC e., so the question of the historicity of the stories told can be reduced to the following statement. Siddhartha Gautama is a historical character, but how far the views attributed are really his, and not the product of the work of other preachers, who wandered a lot in that era on the roads of India, this question cannot be decided with absolute certainty.

Buddhism was a natural result of the gradual transformation of the Brahminist religious system towards a world religion, addressed not to a particular caste or social group, but to all who wish to achieve divine wisdom. Much Buddhism took over from traditional Indian religious ideas, giving them a new meaning. Thus, the numerous pantheon of gods and spirits was not formally denied by Buddhism, but, in fact, the role of deities became secondary and insignificant, because the followers of the Buddhist doctrine argued that the worship of the gods in itself does not bring a person closer to salvation. Buddha was placed by the supporters of the new religion noticeably higher than the gods that preceded him, since they could not comprehend the wisdom that he was able to convey to people with his speeches and actions. In general, Buddhism paid very little attention to differences in ritual practices, although it focused on those forms of worship that were familiar in traditional Indian culture.

The connection of Buddhism with previous religious systems is also present in the main provisions of the dogma regarding karma and nirvana. Thus, the concept of the accumulation of spiritual merits, which determine the incarnation of the soul in the next life, is also preserved in Buddhism, but the priorities of human activity are radically changing. If in Hinduism the highest virtue was seen in ensuring the best rebirth for oneself by one's actions, then Buddhism insists that the only goal that is worthy of a person is to break the chain of rebirth and go beyond it. Understanding that the human soul (Atman) is equivalent to the World Soul (Brahman), leads a person to realize the illusory nature of the entire chain of rebirths, since the soul is eternal and unchanging, and constant rebirths serve as a cover of mystery that prevents a person from realizing this simple truth. Having managed to escape from the web of delusions, a person finds himself, as it were, aloof from the illusory side of the universe; in that fixed point relative to which everything moves, but which itself remains eternal and unchanging. It is this point, which is synonymous with a blissful state, that the followers of Buddhism call nirvana (although the concept itself already existed in the Hindu religion).

4.2. "Four Noble Truths" of Buddhism

The Buddha himself formulated his religious program in the form of four main provisions ("four noble truths").

1. Life is suffering.

2. There is a reason for suffering.

3. Suffering can be ended.

4. There is a path leading to the end of suffering.

The cause of suffering is a terrible thirst, accompanied by sensual pleasures and seeking satisfaction here and there; it is the desire for sense gratification, for well-being. The variability and inconstancy of a person who is never satisfied with the fulfillment of his desires, starting to desire more and more - this is the true cause of suffering. According to the Buddha, truth is eternal and unchanging, and any change (including the rebirth of the human soul) is evil, acting as a source of human suffering. Desires cause suffering, since a person desires what is impermanent, changeable, and therefore subject to death, because it is the death of the object of desire that causes the greatest suffering to a person.

Since all pleasures are transitory, and false desire arises from ignorance, the end of suffering comes when knowledge is achieved, and ignorance and false desire are different aspects of the same phenomenon. Ignorance is a theoretical side, it is embodied in practice in the form of the emergence of false desires, which cannot be fully satisfied, and, accordingly, cannot give a person true pleasure. However, the Buddha does not seek to justify the need to obtain true knowledge as opposed to the illusions that people usually indulge in. Ignorance is a necessary condition of ordinary life: there is nothing in the world that is worth truly striving for, therefore any desire is, by and large, false. In the world of samsara, in the world of constant rebirth and variability, there is nothing permanent: neither things, nor the “I” of a person, because bodily sensations, perception and awareness of the world external to an individual person - all this is only an appearance, an illusion. What we consider "I" is only a series of empty appearances that appear to us as separate things. By isolating individual stages of the existence of this flow in the general flow of the universe, viewing the world as a set of objects, not processes, people create a global and all-encompassing illusion, which they call the world.

Buddhism sees the elimination of the cause of suffering in the eradication of human desires and, accordingly, in the cessation of rebirth and falling into a state of nirvana. For a person, nirvana is a liberation from karma, when all sadness stops, and the personality, in the usual sense of the word for us, disintegrates to make room for the realization of one's inseparable involvement in the world. The very word "nirvana" in Sanskrit means "attenuation" and "cooling down": attenuation resembles complete annihilation, and cooling symbolizes incomplete annihilation, accompanied not by physical death, but only by the dying of passions and desires. According to the expression attributed to the Buddha himself, "the liberated mind is like a fading flame," i.e. Shakyamuni compares nirvana to a fading flame that straw or firewood can no longer support.

According to canonical Buddhism, nirvana is not a state of bliss, since such a feeling would only be a continuation of the desire to live. The Buddha means the extinction of false desire, not the entire existence; destruction of the flames of lust and ignorance. Therefore, he distinguishes two types of nirvana:

1) upadhishesha (extinction of human passion);

2) anupadhishesha (extinction along with passion and life). The first type of nirvana is more perfect than the second, since it is accompanied only by the destruction of desire, and not by the deprivation of a person’s life. A person can achieve nirvana and continue to live, or he can achieve enlightenment only at the very moment when his soul is separated from his body.

Deciding which path is preferable, the Buddha came to the conclusion that the true path cannot be traversed by those who have lost their strength. There are two extremes that one who has decided on liberation from the constricting bonds of samsara should not follow: on the one hand, the habitual commitment to passions and pleasures derived from sensually comprehended things, and, on the other hand, the habitual commitment to self-mortification, which is painful, ungrateful and useless. There is a middle path that opens the eyes and endows with reason, leading to peace and insight, higher wisdom and nirvana. This path in Buddhism is called the Noble Eightfold Path, because it includes the eight stages of cultivation that are mandatory for passing.

1. Right view comes first because what we do reflects what we think. Wrong actions come from wrong views, therefore, the best way to prevent wrong actions is the right knowledge and control over its observation.

2. Right striving is the result of right vision. This is the desire for renunciation, the hope of living in love with all things and beings that are in this world, the desire for true humanity.

3. Correct speech. Even right aspirations, especially in order for them to lead to proper results, must be expressed, that is, they must be reflected in right speech. It is necessary to refrain from lying, slander, rude expressions, frivolous conversation.

4. Right action does not consist in sacrificing or worshiping the gods, but in non-violence, active self-sacrifice and willingness to give one's life for the benefit of others. In Buddhism, there is a provision according to which a person who has secured immortality for himself can help another person achieve enlightenment by transferring some of his merits to him.

5. Right life. Right action leads to a moral life free from deceit, lies, fraud and intrigue. If up to now we have been talking about the outward behavior of a saved person, here attention is drawn to the inner cleansing. The goal of all efforts is to eliminate the cause of sadness, which requires subjective purification.

6. Right effort consists in exercising power over the passions, which should prevent the realization of bad qualities and contribute to the strengthening of good qualities through detachment and concentration of the mind. To concentrate, it is necessary to dwell on some good thought, assess the danger of turning a bad thought into reality, divert attention from a bad thought, destroy the cause of its occurrence, divert the mind from the bad one with the help of bodily tension.

7. Right thinking cannot be separated from right effort. In order to avoid mental instability, we must subdue our mind, along with its tossings, distractions and absent-mindedness.

8. Right calmness is the last stage of the noble eightfold path, the result of which is the rejection of emotions and the achievement of a contemplative state.

4.3. Spread of Buddhism. Mahayana and Hinayana

The religious doctrine of Buddhism was in demand by Indian society, so not only mendicant monks, but also representatives of the nobility quickly began to join the number of its adherents. Already in IVb. BC e. a council was assembled in Rajagriha, at which, according to legend, a list of statements attributed to the Buddha himself was agreed upon, and the first attempt was made to compile a religious canon, since there were many discrepancies in understanding even the basic provisions of Buddhism.

Buddhism at that time did not know the superiority of any one school, there were several dozen of them, and the disputes between them were of a theoretical nature and did not lead to skirmishes and wars. This is due to the fact that already in early Buddhism a fairly clear monastic structure (sangha) was formed, subject to strict standards and retaining the absolute right to preserve the teachings of the Buddha in its original state. The adherents of the monastic way of existence of Buddhism were called Theravadins. Supporters of the division of all adherents of Buddhism into monks, whose ascetic way of life likened them and brought them closer to the Buddha himself, and parishioners, who were required only to observe the minimum necessary rituals, were opposed by the mahasanghiks. This school (or direction) of Buddhism insisted on the need for the utmost simplification of the ritual structure and focus on spiritual practices (meditations). Following the practices was mandatory for both monks and parishioners of monasteries, which removed the need for the existence of a large number of monks and limited their number to the minimum that was necessary to maintain religious shrines and perform the necessary rituals. Later Mahasanghika, already in the III century. BC e. who began preaching the Buddhist religion outside of India (in Ceylon, in Southeast Asia), became the founders of the reformist trend in Buddhism, called the Mahayana.

Mahayana and Hinayana. The final demarcation of the supporters of the conservative trend in Buddhism and the supporters of its reformism took place at the second council in Vaishali, after which two directions were formed that continue to exist in modern Buddhism. Spread first in the Ganges valley, Buddhism in the I-II centuries. continued to develop in North-Western India (Kushan Kingdom), where its new form appeared - Mahayana (Great Vehicle), while the former form was called Hinayana (Small Vehicle).

The prominent Buddhist thinker and theologian Nagurjuna (XNUMXst century BC) is considered to be the founder of the Mahayana. This creed has a missionary character, here the deification of the Buddha and faith in bodhisattvas (saints worthy of nirvana, but who abandoned it for the sake of instructing others on the true path) come first. In contrast, Hinayana considered participation in the highest truth and nirvana the lot of a relatively small spiritual elite. In the Hinayana, the Buddha is not a deity, but a real historical figure, even if he is a role model for other people. It is impossible to influence him with the help of prayers and sacrifices in order to achieve the fulfillment of his own desires, since he serves only as a mentor, and it is up to the person himself to go the whole way - from realizing the cause of his suffering to finding a way to eliminate them, and no one will help him take a decisive step. in power. In the Mahayana, the Buddha is a doctor who heals both conscious and unconscious patients to full recovery, while in the Hinayana, the Buddha is an instructor who explains how to act and gives his own destiny a personal example, but only to those who have realized their own disease and has the determination to cope with it.

In addition, Mahayana Buddhism is based on the idea that Siddhartha Gautama is not the only Buddha, and the total number of sages who have achieved enlightenment and have the opportunity to use this epithet reaches 1000. The idea that it is not necessary to be a monk and keep numerous vows, mortifying your flesh and humble your spirit, in order to achieve nirvana. Nagarjuna claims that any person is able to come to enlightenment, and his belonging to a spiritual rank can only facilitate this process, but does not guarantee its result at all.

An interesting interpretation within the framework of the Mahayana is given to the idea of ​​posthumous retribution, which was absent in traditional Buddhism (a person either continued to be reborn in a different guise, or was completely eliminated from samsara), - the concepts of hell and paradise arise. In hell, those who do not observe the moral standards preached by the followers of Buddhism are condemned to languish and be subjected to severe torment. Heaven is reserved for those souls who have only one rebirth on earth before reaching nirvana. Mahayana, which promised liberation from suffering not for the elect, but for all who are able to decide on the path leading to this liberation, turned out to be much more popular than Hinayana.

Hinayana preachers brought Buddhism to Ceylon and Southeast Asia, as a result of which adherents of this branch of Buddhism currently live in these areas. The followers of the Mahayana turned their gaze to the north and northeast: in the I-II centuries. Mahayana Buddhism entered China (Chan Buddhism), from where it spread to Korea and Japan (Zen Buddhism). But the adherents of this doctrine, especially after the final displacement of Buddhism from its homeland, found their main refuge in Tibet.

4.4. Tibetan Buddhism

After the III-IV centuries. the process of ousting Buddhism from India began, and Southeast Asia found itself in the sphere of the spread of the Hinayana direction of Buddhism, Tibet became the main center of the Mahayana. Almost the entire further history of Buddhism is connected with this country. Initially, adherents of Hinayana brought Buddhism to Tibet, but this school did not gain much popularity, so it was replaced by the Mahayana, which managed to get along with the local Tibetan Bon-po religion, contributing to the creation of Tibetan Buddhism.

The main Bon gods were Heaven and Earth. In addition to them, there were a lot of different spirits (spirits of mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, etc.), as well as numerous evil demons. In the Bon religion, to this day, there is a priestly organization, whose representatives communicate with spirits, conjure, trying to appease some and suppress others. The remnants of shamanism are especially pronounced in the Bon religion, which left its mark on the Tibetan version of Buddhism, which was unable to avoid the influence of the local indigenous religion. Tibetan Buddhism is the result of mutual influence and practically a merger of two religious trends: local Bon-po and Indian Buddhism. This process began in the XNUMXth century. Later, around the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, the process of separating the most influential Buddhist trends, schools and sects from a single religious stream, primarily the Gelugpas and Sakyas, began.

The first Mahayana preacher who brought the Buddhist religion to Tibet and actively contributed to its spread was Padma Sambava (XNUMXth century). Following the basic tenets of the Buddhist creed, he focused much attention on providing the ritual side of Buddhism, providing this religion with a rich toolkit of magical rites, spells and divination. Already in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, after a short struggle with the orthodox supporters of the Bon religion, Buddhism managed to finally gain a foothold in Tibet, forming a whole network of monasteries inhabited by monks, who, according to the Tibetan tradition, were called lamas (hence another name for Tibetan Buddhism - lamaism).

The history of Tibetan Buddhism marked the gradual strengthening of some schools and directions, and then their replacement by others. So, in the XIII century. The most influential Buddhist monastery in Tibet was Saskia, maintained by the Chinese emperors of Mongolian origin from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). From the name of the monastery comes the name of the sect - Sakya. Its power turned out to be short-lived and already at the end of the XIV century. was undermined by the emergence of the Gelugpa sect. The founder of this sect, Tsongkawa (1357-1419), proclaimed the slogan of the moral purification of Buddhism and a return to harsh monastic morality, which resulted in the centralization of the spiritual power of Tibet in the hands of the Panchen Lama, who was the embodiment of Buddha-Ami-taba, and the Dalai Lama, who was considered an avatar bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The hereditary principle was not used in the election of the Dalai Lama, and the determination of the future ruler was carried out by a council of higher lamas, who found a child in the Tibetan villages, who was the rebirth of the deceased Dalai Lama, and proclaimed him a new spiritual head. Already in 1639, the Dalai Lama combined both spiritual and secular power in his hands, and theocratic rule was established in Tibet (a form of government in which the highest power belongs to representatives of a particular religion). The residence of the Dalai Lama was the holy city of Lhasa, the entrance to which was strictly forbidden to foreigners, since it was there that the main Buddhist shrines were concentrated, and the number of sacred Buddhist books stored in Lhasa and numerous commentaries on them was simply immense.

Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) relegated nirvana as the supreme goal of salvation to the background, replacing it with a carefully designed cosmology within which there was enough room for everyone: believers and non-believers, laymen and monks, people and animals. The gigantic cosmological system in Lamaism is centralized and hierarchically ordered. At the head of the world hierarchy is Buddha Adi-Buddha - the creator of all things. Its main attribute is emptiness as potentially any of the possible forms that can be created. The goal of human life is also not to achieve nirvana (more precisely, nirvana is an extremely distant and practically inaccessible goal), but to get into the sphere (loka) of the Universe, the most favorable for a person. As such a sphere, one of the sections of paradise most often acts, the very concept of which is borrowed from Mahayana Buddhism, which is under the auspices of the Buddha Amitaba. The immediate goal of human actions is to accumulate good karma, which will allow you to be successfully reborn and get an experienced lama as your guide in your next life, who will help you achieve the desired paradise. According to Tibetan Buddhism, in this position, which diverges from the orthodox Buddhist tradition, the achievement of nirvana is impossible without the help of the lamas, each of whom is significant not only in himself, but also as an avatar of the great bodhisattvas of the past.

Particular attention in Lamaism is paid to death and proper preparation for it, since a person can achieve enlightenment not only during life, but also in the intermediate state in which the soul is on the way from one body to another. The so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead” is dedicated to a description of the actions that a soul must perform in order to achieve bliss and liberation from suffering, the full name of which, translated from Tibetan, is “Liberation through listening in the post-mortem state” (abbreviated as “Bardo Thodol” "). [30] This book discusses three states that the soul goes through after death:

1) Chikhai Bardo - mental states that the soul goes through immediately at the moment of death;

2) Chonyid Bardo - the state of "karmic illusions" that accompanies the stay of the soul in an intermediate incarnation;

3) Sidpa Bardo - the awakening of the birth instinct and the path of the soul towards the body intended for it.

During each of these states, the soul can free itself from the bonds that attract it to samsara, which is served by parting words designed to keep in the memory of the dying person the steps that he has to take on this path, as well as prayers and mantras read over the body of the deceased in order to facilitate the process of liberation of his soul. The easiest way to get into nirvana is instant liberation at the time of death, but if the merit accumulated during life is not enough for this, then you have to use other methods. In the second stage, the liberation of the soul is hampered by the appearance of various illusions that look material and are designed to distract the thoughts of the deceased from liberation with the help of various tricks. If they succeed, then the chance of salvation is sharply reduced, since at the third stage nirvana is practically inaccessible: all thoughts about a possible liberation are interrupted by the instinct of a new birth.

4.5. Modern Buddhism: main features

At the moment, Buddhism, despite the upheavals to which it was subjected in the 800th century, is one of the three world religions, numbering about 1959 million followers, most of whom live in East and Southeast Asia. The end of the existence of an independent Buddhist state came in 2004, when China captured Lhasa, after which the XNUMXth Dalai Lama was forced to leave the Holy City and continue his missionary work to spread the Buddhist faith outside his homeland. Currently, the conflict between the Chinese government and the Buddhist hierarchs led by the Dalai Lama remains unresolved, so numerous Buddhists living in China are forced to do without the spiritual guidance of their mentor and head, although at the instigation of the Chinese Communist Party a separate Buddhist Church of China was organized , having its own head. The XNUMXth Dalai Lama carries out active educational activities, visiting on official or unofficial visits almost all countries of the world where Buddhist communities exist (in XNUMX he visited Russia).

German religious scholar G. Rothermundt identifies the following directions for the activation of Buddhism in the 31th century. [XNUMX]

1. Strengthening the role of Buddhism in both purely religious and political aspects in Southeast Asia. Already in 1950, the World Fellowship of Buddhists was organized in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the residence of which was moved to Thailand a few years later. Particularly noticeable manifestations of this Buddhist "renaissance" became noticeable in the 1960s, which was served by active protests by Buddhist monks against the use of napalm by the United States during the war with Vietnam. Several monks in 1963 and 1970 staged public self-immolations in protest against such an inhumane way of warfare.

2. The emergence of new religious trends and sects, the doctrine of which is dominated by the principles of the Buddhist religion. This process is especially active in Japan, where traditional Buddhist views are being reoriented in the light of modern problems and questions that ordinary people demand answers from religion. So, by the mid-1960s. the number of Buddhist sects in Japan exceeded 165, although this number does not yet mean a qualitative assimilation of Buddhist teachings. Most of these sects focus their attention not on issues of dogma, but, interpreting the main provisions of the Buddhist religion in a simplified way, turn to the solution of topical social issues, for example, they try to solve the question of the justification for the widespread use of technical innovations from a religious standpoint.

3. The revival of the Buddhist movement in India. Almost disappeared on the Hindustan Peninsula in the Middle Ages under the pressure of orthodox Hindus and Muslims, Buddhism is gradually returning to its homeland. This is obviously due to the change in Indian society itself, which is gradually being freed from caste and varna enslavement, which requires corresponding changes in the religious system. Buddhism turns out to be more convenient and in demand by the general population. The first steps towards the return of Buddhism were associated with the decision of the Indian government to allocate territory in the north of the country for the location of the residence of the Dalai Lama, who was expelled from Tibet in 1959. It was on the territory of this residence that the First World Council of Buddhists was held in 1976, with delegates from almost all over the world.

4. Striving for the gradual unification of the various Buddhist sects. This process goes in parallel with the formation of new sects, but it is aimed at reaching an agreement between the traditional areas of Buddhism, primarily between representatives of the Mahayana and Hinayana. Despite the discrepancies that exist between representatives of various branches of Buddhist teaching, the Dalai Lama has been trying in recent years to intensify the process of centralization of various sects and schools under the auspices of Tibetan Buddhism.

5. The activation of missionary activity and the penetration of Buddhism into the countries of Western Europe and the USA. A special role in this process should be recognized for Dr. Suzuki (1870-1960), a representative of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Numerous books and brochures written by him in a popular science style, which set out the postulates of Zen Buddhist teaching in a simple and accessible form, became especially popular in the second half of the XNUMXth century. Of course, such an interpretation of the Buddhist canon leads to an almost complete rejection of rituals and rituals, but much attention is paid to koans - riddles that cannot be solved with the help of logic, but can move a person to instant insight. The confession of Buddhism in such a simplified form led to a fashion for other oriental teachings - feng shui, divination from the I-ching book, etc.

To these five areas of Buddhism revitalization, one can add the sixth - the restoration and rapid development of Buddhism in Russia. The history of Russian Buddhism dates back to the 1917th century, when the peoples traditionally professing the Buddhist religion, Kalmyks, Buryats, joined the Russian Empire (at the beginning of the 1741th century, Tuvans joined them). Before the revolution of XNUMX, Buddhism was under the patronage of the Russian government: under the datsans, according to the decree of Empress Elizabeth I of XNUMX, schools were opened in which the indigenous population studied. One of the mentors of the future Dalai Lama XIII was the Buryat Lama Agvan Dorzhiev.

After the October Revolution in Russia, a struggle began against both shamanists and Buddhists. In 1931, the Mongolian and Kalmyk-Oirat types of writing were replaced by the Latin alphabet, in 1939 - by the Cyrillic alphabet. From 1927 to 1938, all 47 datsans and dugans that previously existed in the Baikal region and Buryatia were closed and destroyed. Not a single datsan operated from 1938 to 1946, only in 1947 two monasteries resumed work - Ivolginsky and Aginsky. The next increase in the number of datsans occurred only in 1991, but it was significant - by 10 at once. At present, it is in the Ivolginsky datsan that the residence of the head of Russian Buddhists and the viceroy of the Dalai Lama of KSU, who bears the title of Bandido Khambo Lama, is located.

Topic 5. Judaism

5.1. The origin and early history of Judaism. Rise of monotheism

The mythology of Judaism is based on the mythological systems that preceded it - the Sumerian-Babylonian and Egyptian, although many elements of the Jewish myths proper, found in biblical stories, can be reconstructed even now. The formation of Jewish myths in line with these two traditions is explained by the history of the emergence of the Jewish linguistic and national community, which was not originally such.

Researchers distinguish three waves of invasions of Semitic nomadic tribes on the territory of modern Israel, which resulted in the emergence of the Jewish state. The existence of these waves was also attested in biblical stories. The earliest invasion (referred to in the Bible as "the migration of Abraham") took place in the middle of the XNUMXth century. BC e., and the starting point of this migration was the territory of Mesopotamia, where, in fact, the Sumerian cities were located. The second wave of settlers dated back to the XNUMXth century. BC e. and included the Aramaic tribes, who were for a long time the southern neighbors of the Sumerians and Babylonians. Biblical mythology preserved the memory of this event under the guise of a story about Jacob (Israel). The third wave of nomadic tribes that rushed in the XIII century. BC e. from the southeast, came from Egypt or Egyptized tribes of nomadic Semites - it was they who brought with them echoes of a completely different cultural tradition, preserved in the Bible under the name of Moses and his laws. Such a variety of cultural and religious traditions makes any assumptions about the religious beliefs of the Semitic nomadic tribes, who were the founders of the Jewish state and Judaism, obviously hypothetical.

The famous British anthropologist and religious scholar J. Frazer, having studied the history of Abraham's children - Esau and Jacob, the latter of whom bought the birthright from his older brother for lentil stew, came to the conclusion that initially this mythological story reflected the minority system that existed in the ancient Hebrew tribes. [32] Minorate is a method of inheritance in which the eldest children are separated with their families from the main estate, transferred by the father to the younger son for management. This method of inheritance was practiced in those primitive societies where strict patriarchy was preserved and, in order to avoid competition between the father and his growing sons, the latter had to leave the family, starting an independent life, which resulted in the transfer of paternal property to the youngest son. A similar system that existed around the XNUMXnd millennium BC. e., was forgotten by the time of the final editing of the Bible texts, which led to the need to explain an incomprehensible fact through the prism of categories familiar to the editor.

Ancient sources testify to the existence of many tribal deities among the Jews, whom they worshiped back in the nomadic period and which were later replaced by the cult of a single god, whose name is Yahweh (an outdated pronunciation is Jehovah). Yahweh becomes the only god of the Jewish people only in the VIII-VII centuries. BC e., as evidenced by inconsistencies in the text of the Bible itself. So, in relation to God, the term "elohim" is used there - the gods, and then the name of the god Yahweh. With the destruction of the tribal organization - the twelve tribes of Israel - the tribal deities inevitably disappear, and the attributes of other tribal gods are transferred to Yahweh. From now on, he combines the functions of a harvester, a mentor in the craft, a protector and patron during battles. Other gods occupy a subordinate position, turn into his servants or separate incarnations (such as the "golden calf", which, according to biblical legends, the Jews for some time worshiped instead of the true god). The sacred text of Judaism at this time becomes the Torah ("Pentateuch"), the author of which was considered Moses.

An exceptional phenomenon of the religious life of Israel in the XNUMXth century. BC e., along with the final design of monotheism, is the emergence of religious prophets. The original function of the prophets, as far as can be judged from the surviving references, consisted in divination and predictions, but gradually they were transformed towards religious thinkers of the traditionalist direction. For example, the prophet Isaiah (VIII century BC) made the main refrain of his speeches the demand for observance of moral purity and a return to the worship of the god Yahweh instead of the cults of individual gods. In a later era of the existence of the Diaspora, when the ancestral land of Israel was conquered, and a significant part of the Jews were forced to exist surrounded by other peoples, the prophets demanded to preserve customs and not deviate from them even a step.

The beginning of the diaspora period can be dated to the 70th century BC. BC e., when a significant part of the Jews, as a result of the Assyrian and then Persian conquests, was resettled far beyond the borders of their homeland. The mass emigration of the Jews began after the final loss of state independence and the destruction by the Roman emperor Titus in XNUMX AD of the Jerusalem temple, which was a symbol of the entire Jewish religion. Jewish communities at the end of the XNUMXst - beginning of the XNUMXnd centuries. appear in almost all major cities of the Mediterranean, and some of these cities become real centers of Jewish communities. Such changes in political life could not but entail changes in religion, which manifested themselves both at the level of dogma and at the level of the administrative organization of the Jewish Church.

With regard to dogma, it should be noted that the idea of ​​God's chosen people, the first sprouts of which were observed as early as the XNUMXth century, has significantly increased. BC e. The essence of this idea was that the Jewish people persistently asserted their dissimilarity to any of the neighboring peoples, and saw the cause of the disasters that fell on them in their own insufficient diligence in observing the sacred laws given by God. The guarantee that God would take care of his people and lead them to the true path was the expected appearance of the messiah, who would have to come in order to save the Jewish people. Initially, the function of the messiah was seen as restoring an independent Jewish state, but later this idea was replaced by another, more abstract one: the messiah marks his appearance as the beginning of a "golden age" for his people, an era of happiness and bliss, not overshadowed by any disasters and troubles.

The cult organization of the Jewish religion also underwent significant changes. In the absence of a centralized organization of Jewish communities, the function of a religious institution begins to be performed by a synagogue (from the Greek synagoge - assembly), which was a separate house that served as a meeting place for members of one or more Jewish communities living in one city and its environs. The synagogue had its own treasury, where each parishioner made donations and from where money was taken to help the poor members of the community. The most significant difference of the synagogue was the ban on the implementation of sacrifices, since the sacrifice of sacred animals could be carried out strictly within the Jerusalem temple.

5.2. Gnosticism

Gnosticism is an original teaching that arose at the junction of Judaism entering the phase of formalization and emerging Christianity. The main sources of its formation were:

1) the Greek idea of ​​true knowledge (gnosis), obtained through mystical means;

2) the eastern (Mazdaist) concept of dualism, which explains the existence of opposites in the world, the main of which are “good” and “evil.”

The term "gnosis" is of Greek origin and means "knowledge" in translation, but since the time of Plato, this concept began to take on the character not so much of rational procedures for understanding the world, but of a mystical path of knowledge that is inaccessible to the uninitiated. The mystical nature of Gnosticism turned out to be in demand by the Jewish tradition, and already in the works of the famous thinker and scientist Philo of Alexandria (XNUMXst century), knowledge of the world around us is carried out in the process of revelation: it is not a person who learns some facts, but the world enables a person to learn something about himself . At the center of Philo's religious views is the Logos (from the Greek logos, that is, a word expressing direct action). God has no attributes other than extension in time and space, so the only way for him to influence the created world is the Logos - the divine Word. The Logos serves as an intermediary bringing the divine truth to human ears, therefore the ascent of the believer to the deity is possible only through the comprehension of the Logos, through the mystical way of obtaining true knowledge. But far from everyone can comprehend the truth, which is explained by the long and difficult path that the divine Word has to overcome on the way to a specific person. Getting into the created world, the Logos undergoes deformations, the main of which is materialization - the clothing of the spirit in the flesh.

The reason for the distortion of the divine Logos is world dualism: in addition to the light (divine) beginning, there is also a dark (devilish) beginning in the Universe. These beginnings do not depend on each other, so their irreconcilable struggle continues throughout the history of the world. In this position, Gnosticism turned out to be a follower of Iranian Mazdaism, the echoes of which were reflected in the existence of the Middle Eastern mystical cults of Ormuzd and Mithra, from which the ancient Jews could borrow them. Man, according to dualistic teaching, is a prisoner of the world, which is burdened by its materiality, which is the result of the influence of dark forces. It is precisely such a gloomy picture of reality that one of the oldest primary sources of Gnosticism, the Odes of Solomon, dating back to the XNUMXnd century BC, paints. and originally written in Greek, apparently by one of the representatives of the Greek-speaking Jewish diaspora.

The deity has an exclusively spiritual nature, not stained by touching material entities, therefore, in order to explain the mechanism of God's creation of the world, the representatives of the Gnostic teachings (Basilides Karpocrates Valentin) had to present the act of creation in the form of an endless chain of emanation (outflows). Just as sunlight is reflected on unsightly objects without losing its radiance and purity, so the god, by emanation, gradually descends from spirit to matter, without losing his divinity.

An endless series of divine creations, filling the abyss between light and darkness, good and evil, god and devil, the Gnostics called angels, or zones. The main of the angels is the demiurge, who initially has a divine nature, but is subject to numerous shortcomings, to which he is doomed by proximity to the material world. It is the demiurge who is responsible for the creation of man, and the act of creation of man serves as a pale copy (reflection) of the act of creation of the world, therefore man himself is not the Son of God. At the same time, that spark of the divine nature that is contained in him gives him the opportunity to hope for the rejection of the matter that burdens the spirit and elevation to the divine state. The remnant of the divine energy that is preserved in every person, regardless of how moral or immoral the way of life he leads, was called pneuma by the followers of Gnosticism. Hence the name of people who can overcome the limitations of their nature for the sake of spiritual purification - pneumatics.

Gnosticism also finds a place in its views for Jesus, arguing that his existence on earth was only an illusion, since the divine nature would not tolerate incarnation in a mortal shell. Accordingly, the followers of this doctrine also denied the assertion, vehemently insisted on by the early Christians, that Jesus lived his earthly life and died on the cross to atone for human sins. Basilides believed that the bodily appearance of Jesus was apparent, which means that his death was the moment of the liberation of the divine spirit from the illusory shell, so it is impossible to talk about death as such. Later, this point of view was inherited by one of the Christian heresies, called docetism (from the Greek dokein - to seem to hide). Christ is also one of the aeons, the thirty-third in a row, therefore, he begins the chain of emanation and he is not its completion, therefore, according to the Gnostic Valentine, it is foolish to fear the second coming of Jesus and the Last Judgment following him. The worst thing that could happen to a person has already happened: his nature has been corrupted by the invasion of devilish forces, but it is in his power to change this situation and return to his creator.

Gnosticism as a religious trend reached its heyday in the II-III centuries. in Egypt, Middle Asia, Rome, being actively attacked by gradually growing Christianity, whose apologists (Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Epiphanius) included the Gnostics among the most notorious heretics, accusing them of belittling Jesus. Nevertheless, the number of followers of Gnosticism, not only among the classically educated intellectuals, but also among the illiterate Middle Eastern artisans and peasants, remained quite large. Commoners were attracted to this current by a simple ethical basis (a person must strive for moral perfection in order to rise above matter and return to his original divine state), as well as the widespread use of myths. Gnostics often resorted to mythological subjects in their treatises and religious writings, endowing them with allegorical content, which made it possible to convey the basics of their doctrine to people ignorant of speculative reasoning.

5.3. Talmudism

The changes that took place in the religious life of the Jews also affected the attitude of the representatives of this community to the place of religion in their lives. A characteristic feature of the critical period of the existence of religion is a sharp increase in the number of trends and sects offering their own ways of modernizing the doctrine. In the XNUMXst century The most influential movements in Judaism were the following:

1) the Sadducees, who came for the most part from the priestly rank and adhered to a sharply conservative orientation. Advocating strict adherence to the precepts of Moses and the observance of the ritual side of the Jewish religion, they denied the existence of the afterlife and any mystical elements that were introduced into Judaism through other Middle Eastern cults. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, around which the Sadducees were grouped, their influence abruptly disappeared;

2) the Pharisees, who hold relaxed views on the development of Judaism. They called for the rejection of the most obsolete and incomprehensible rituals, ritual simplification, but the preservation of the entire system of dogmas on which the Jewish religion was based;

3) the Essenes, who preached an ascetic life and called for the rejection of ritualism and a focus on the moral life. For refusing to keep the covenants prescribed by the Torah, the Essenes were persecuted by the official Jewish priests, so there is little evidence of the activities of their community. The manuscripts of the Essenes sect discovered at Qumran in 1947 contain provisions that are largely similar to the teachings of early Christianity, and the authorship of these provisions is attributed to a certain Teacher, in whom some researchers see Jesus or his predecessor.

After the defeat of the II Jewish uprising in 13, the Jews were finally forced to move out of the territory of Judea, which led to another change in religion. A conservative revolution took place, and henceforth all the thoughts of the exiles were focused on not losing anything from the spiritual heritage of their ancestors. That is why the 5nd century It is considered the time of the final formation of the Jewish religion, which was fixed by the appearance of the canon of sacred texts, called the Talmud. Along with another sacred book, the Tanakh (better known in the Christian world as the Old Testament), the Talmud constitutes a set of sacred texts in Judaism called the Torah.

The Talmud was a collection of religious, legal and philosophical rules and norms, divided into two main parts: the Mishnah and the Gemara, of which the first was an interpretation of the texts of the Torah, and the second acted as a commentary on this interpretation. The peculiarity of this situation lay in the fact that, fearing to make the truth expounded by the Jewish religion the property of not only God's chosen people, but also strangers, Jewish theologians presented their comments in a deliberately confusing form. The multi-stage system of comments and explanations served not only to clarify the sacred rules and norms for the true adherents of Judaism, but also to confuse and mislead the uninitiated, who dared to turn to these texts.

The Jewish thinker and theologian Yehuda Anasi is considered the author of the Mishnah, and the date of compilation of this work in the Jewish tradition is determined approximately 210 BC. e. The Mishnah is divided into 63 treatises, grouped into six major books:

I book - Zeraim ("Crops") includes 11 treatises, considering resolutions, prayers and laws, related mainly to agriculture;

II book - Moed ("Holidays") contains 12 treatises and regulates the behavior of the Jews on the days of religious holidays;

Book III - Ours ("Wives") contains 7 treatises outlining the laws on marriage and family;

Book IV - Nezikin ("Injuries") contains 10 treatises on civil and criminal law;

V book - Kodashim ("Holy things") is devoted to the issue of sacrifices and contains 11 treatises;

VI book - Togorot ("Cleansings") in 12 treatises contains instructions on ritual impurity and rules of purification.

The Gemara combines the comments that were made by the most learned representatives of the Jewish community in Palestine and Babylon on the Mishnah. Taking into account some disagreements between representatives of these communities regarding discrepancies in the understanding of the basic sacred texts, two Talmuds are usually distinguished - the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian) and the Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem).

The Talmud has become the main document regulating not only the religious but also the secular life of all Jewish communities, no matter how far they are from their former homeland. Quite soon, a special estate of theologians and thinkers emerged who had the exclusive right to interpret Holy Scripture and express their opinions in rare situations not provided for by the Talmud. Initially, these theologians were called talmid-chahams, but their other name, rabbis, became more common.

From a dogmatic point of view, the same religious ideas that developed in the previous era of the existence of the Jewish religion were embodied in Talmudism, but it was in this form that they received their final consolidation. Especially widespread are eschatological ideas (eschatology - the doctrine of the direction towards the end of human or world existence), in which special attention is paid to the coming of the future messiah. Talmudism denies Jesus the status of a messiah, considering him only one of the prophets, whose appearance foreshadows the appearance of the messiah himself in the future, but he is not.

5.4. Judaism in the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Kabbalah

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, representatives of the Jewish people settled throughout almost all of its former territory, forming large communities in the lands of Germany and Spain, and also spreading their influence into the territories occupied by the Arabs. Through trade and moneylending, the Jews quickly gained economic power, allowing them to survive and maintain the integrity of their community even during periods of social upheaval. In the VIII-IX centuries. Judaism was the state religion in the Khazar Kaganate: although the population of this state were not ethnic Jews, the strength and power of the Jewish stratum was such that it was their faith that was recognized as the most state one. After 967, when the Russian prince Svyatoslav destroyed the capital of the Khazar Khaganate, this tribal entity was dealt a mortal blow, ending its existence. The period of existence of Judaism as an official religion also ended.

The fundamental trend in the development of Judaism in the Middle Ages was an appeal to mysticism, perceived through the prism of the Muslim tradition, which preserved the spiritual heritage of the ancient Neoplatonists and mystics. The essence of this doctrine was reflected in Kabbalah (translated as "tradition", "perception"), the main work of which was the Zohar (Radiance), created among Spanish Jews in the XNUMXth century. God was perceived in cabalistics as a being, whose very nature is so much superior to the ordinary human mind that a person is unable to give him any definition, to describe through a set of defining properties and characteristics. God is an absolute power, but only traces of this power are directly given to man, by which one can judge the cause that gave rise to them no more than one can judge rain by the dewdrops left on the grass. According to Kabbalistics, there are three main conditions due to which any information related to the religious sphere requires careful concealment:

1) "No need". Truth cannot be spread in the form of rumors and random phrases that are not needed by either the speaker or the listener, since in this case it ceases to be truth. The secret can be revealed only if its disclosure is necessary for the spiritual good of all people. For a long time there were practically no comments on sacred Jewish texts, and those that did appear consisted only of allusions and allegories, which was seen as the dignity of their authors, expressing their thoughts in such a way that only a select few were able to understand them;

2) "Impossible". Language is a product of human nature, and not a product of divine creation, therefore it is unable to convey the full power of the Divine Word. Initially, in the Aramaic language, which gradually transformed into Hebrew, there were no vowels, and all words were combinations of consonant groups, which was explained very simply - God does not need vowels, which only facilitate pronunciation, but add confusion and distort divine truth;

3) "Personal secret of the Creator". The main reason why disclosure of the truth is considered the most serious religious crime is that the hidden truth does not belong to a person, but is the personal affair of God, who is free to announce it through his messengers, and is free to keep it in deep secret. Most people seek the truth not disinterestedly, but for the sake of being able to use it in the future for their own benefit. Those few who were admitted to the sacred Jewish books (Kabbalah) went through a series of trials designed to identify among them those who are able to succumb to worldly temptation and subject the Jewish faith to a severe test by divulging its sacred secrets.

It was in Kabbalistics that the picture of the appearance of a person passing through a series of stages in his spiritual development turned out to be unfolded. The first stage is the stage of development in which desire, strength, will are born, but this desire remains undifferentiated. The inanimate nature that dominates this stage is content with the little desire that fills it, but does not prompt any actions aimed at satisfying its needs and achieving greater pleasure. The next stage, corresponding to the development of vegetable nature, shows the gradual spread of desire and its embracing of each particular organism. The plant is no longer as inert and motionless as a stone, it strives to satisfy its needs, limiting itself so far to minimal efforts to achieve this: it turns after the Sun, absorbs water, etc. The animal stage, which is the third in a row, gives rise to an individual feeling of pleasure , because every animal is able to realize (even if instinctively) its own good and strive for its satisfaction in all available ways. The fourth stage is the last and highest, but its achievement is impossible without going through all the previous stages. What distinguishes a person from an animal is not the ability to satisfy individual desires (in this they are just similar), but the realization that another person can have his own desires, so the satisfaction of the needs of one should not lead to the detriment of the other.

The only means available to man to comprehend God is the interpretation of his manifestations, the main of which are the texts of sacred books. That is why the Kabbalists concentrated their efforts on combining the numbers of letters, believing that the magical formula obtained as a result of unthinkable efforts would be able to express the essence of God and give man the only way to comprehend him.

5.5. Modern Judaism

A new phenomenon in the development of the Jewish religion at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. was the emergence of such a direction as Hasidism. The term "Hasid" itself, which means "pious" in translation, was used in the Jewish community until the New Age as an epithet characterizing an educated, wise person who is able to give advice in a difficult situation and quote from the Holy Scriptures. In Hasidism, the meaning of this term changes dramatically: the founder of the new movement, Besht, argued that there is no need for education and skillful knowledge of the Talmud, and ordinary experience serves as a source of divine wisdom. It is enough to be able to see the world around and comprehend what is happening in order to support your less believing and understanding brother. Thus, Hasidism opposed the rabbis and the focus they preached on fulfilling even the smallest prescriptions of the Talmud, opposing the rituals with a righteous way of life and not bookish, but life wisdom. Hasidism saw the purpose of man in serving God, in the knowledge of divine secrets, in the desire to merge with the deity through enthusiastic prayer.

The embodiment of the Hasidic ideals were the tzaddiks - the righteous and sages, who preached a simple way of life and the absence of petty rituals. Any communication with such a person was considered an act of purification and approach to moral purity, and receiving a blessing from a tzaddik was a synonym for the remission of sins in the Christian tradition. This teaching became widespread in Eastern Europe, however, encountering almost everywhere resistance from rabbis and adherents of a conservative understanding of the Jewish religion, who eventually managed to significantly soften the initial sharpness of Hasidism and give it the features of a teaching that does not deny traditional Judaism, but integrates into it. .

The Jewish religion received a new impetus in 1948, when the issue of establishing a Jewish state in the Middle East, called Israel, was finally resolved. The centuries-old dream of the eternal exiles came true - they received their "promised land", the place that from now on they could consider their homeland. Judaism was proclaimed the official religion of the new state, but the vision of state Judaism was not unified among representatives of various trends and trends. The results of dogmatic disputes between the reformers, who proposed to transform Judaism in the direction of simplifying its rituals and softening some religious provisions, and the conservatives, who proposed medieval Talmudism as a religious ideal, brought victory to the latter. It was the conservative version of Judaism that was recognized as the official religion, and the decision on this was made even before the official declaration of Israel's independence - in 1947 in Zelisberg (Switzerland). At the conference held there, which brought together the most prominent representatives of the Jewish nation from around the world, a document was adopted, called the Ten Points of Zelisberg. It made an attempt to reconcile Judaism with Christianity, which for a long time spoke extremely negatively towards the representatives of the Jewish nation, arguing its hatred for the unseemly role played by the Jews in the process of condemnation and execution of Jesus Christ. The Seelisberg conference participants advanced the claim that the Jews' guilt in the death of Jesus was greatly exaggerated. In addition, Christ by his mother was a descendant of King David, whose figure is sacred to every real representative of the Jewish tribe, and for this reason alone none of them would harm him. In response to the conciliatory desire of Judaism, Christianity, in the person of the Pope, took its step. At the Second Vatican Council (1965), representatives of Catholicism officially recognized the absence of the Jews' guilt in the death of Jesus and apologized for anti-Semitism and the execution of Jews during the work of the Inquisition.

In modern Israel, much attention is paid to religious holidays. As before, especially many religious prohibitions apply to the Sabbath. On this day, you can’t work, and the formal observance of this prohibition extends to any action, up to cooking and carrying even a light object for a short distance. Many religious prohibitions relate to eating habits. An Orthodox Jew is allowed to use only kosher meat (from animals killed in a special way) for cooking, other meat is not allowed for food. A pig is considered a dirty (in a religious sense) animal, therefore a particularly strict ban is imposed on eating pork. Some rules set out the specifics of wearing clothes. In particular, it is obligatory to cover the head even during sleep, to use clothes made only from homogeneous fabric, to grow a beard and sidelocks that go down to the temples.

Topic 6. Early Christianity

6.1. Origin of Christianity. The historical background of the image of Christ

Christianity is one of the three world religions with the largest number of adherents and is widespread in Europe, North and South America, as well as in Asia and Africa. This religion originates in the variety of sects and directions of Judaism that developed at the beginning of the XNUMXst century BC. both in Palestine itself and in the cities of the Middle East and Greece, where there were large Jewish communities. Apart from the religious sect of the Essenes, which was discussed in the previous topic, it should be mentioned that it was at this time that crowds of wandering preachers roamed Palestine, proclaiming the imminent end of the world and calling their listeners to gain salvation (the existence of such prophets remained vague hints in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul). However, many of these prophets, who proclaimed themselves messiahs, came up with a more active program of action, which included an attack on Jerusalem and the cleansing of the holy city from filth.

Another source of Christianity is the Qumran community, the sacred texts of which were found in the caves of the Dead Sea only after the Second World War, but made it possible to radically revise the picture of the emergence of the Christian faith that had developed up to that moment. As far as can be judged from the surviving texts, the members of this religious community formed an extremely closed organization, not subordinate to the temple priesthood, but professing Judaism, albeit in a very unconventional form. Considering that it was the priests who brought filth into the official religion, the Qumranites refused to visit and venerate the Jerusalem temple, which resulted in a revision of the foundations of Judaism, which was based precisely on the veneration of this place as sacred and immaculate. It is interesting that, accusing the priests of violating the covenant (union) once concluded by the Jewish people with the gods, the representatives of the sect called their teaching and the texts reflecting it the New Testament, ahead of Christianity in this respect.

Refusal to visit the temple and sacrifices allowed members of the community to reformulate their attitude to faith, focusing not on the external (ritual) side of religion, but on its internal (spiritual) side. The life of the community members was strictly regulated. Each Qumranite had to work all day, providing the community with food, but not to forget about faith: "a third of the night" was allotted for the repetition of prayers and the study of sacred texts. Personal property in the community was forbidden, each new parishioner, joining its ranks, had to sacrifice his entire fortune, exchanging material wealth for the promised spiritual salvation. As for the doctrine of the Qumranites, it was full of eschatological expectations: the world is approaching the struggle of the "sons of light" with the "sons of darkness", the winners of which will come out precisely the "sons of light", after which all those who believe will find eternal bliss, and the rest - torment. A special place in the Qumranite texts is occupied by a certain "teacher of righteousness", whom the members of the sect placed much higher than the Old Testament prophets they also revered. If we assume that the person called the "teacher of righteousness" is a real historical person, then the approximate time of his life can be determined as the XNUMXnd century. BC e., although many Christian theologians shortly after the discovery of the Qumran texts suggested that the "teacher of righteousness" and Jesus are one and the same person.

From the point of view of the orthodox Christian tradition, the founder of Christianity is considered to be Jesus Christ (1-3 3 AD), regarding the historical authenticity of which there is still ongoing debate. The fact is that, despite the careful development of the image of Christ in the Gospels and later Christian literature, there are no written sources dating back to the time of his life and allowing him to impartially record his existence. Some of the most radically thinking critics, the first of whom back in the 33th century. German philologist and religious scholar Bruno Bauer appeared, on this basis they concluded that Jesus is a mythical character, whose image was collected from various religious and mythological traditions. [XNUMX]

Ancient historians, who tried to record all the more or less significant events that took place on the territory of the Roman Empire, mention the existence of Jesus only "in hindsight". At the end of the XNUMXst century Tacitus and in the II century. Tacitus Suetonius mentions Christ, under which any Jewish preacher can hide, since the Greek word "hristos" means literally "anointed one", so it was quite often applied to self-proclaimed messiahs in Palestine. Another historian, Josephus Flavius, in his book "Antiquities of the Jews" mentions Jesus, emphasizing his divine origin, but this very mention has the features of a later insertion made by one of the Christian scribes. In the original of his work, as far as one can judge, we are talking about "a wise man named Jesus", according to his disciples, who resurrected after death, but Flavius ​​himself is very skeptical about this news, which corresponds to his Jewish faith. On the basis of these testimonies, it can only be asserted that among the Palestinian prophets of that time there was also Jesus, nicknamed Christ, but the reliability of the information reported about him in the Gospels and the true content of his teachings remain the fruit of speculation and conjecture.

6.2. History of the Gospels. Canon and Apocrypha

If we can judge the founder of Christianity only by the extremely meager reports of a few sources, then the next stage in the development of Christian doctrine, at which it turned from a small Judaic sect into a separate religion, is covered by sources more widely. After the death of Jesus, his disciples were forced to leave Jerusalem, fearing persecution by the Sanhedrin and the Roman authorities. Only James, the brother of Jesus, who became the founder of the local Christian community, remained in the Israeli capital. According to Josephus Flavius, Jacob was executed in 62, but the leadership of this community, unlike the main line of Christianity, which did not break with Judaism, but continued to consider itself its direction, remained in the hands of his descendants (many researchers call this community Judeo-Christianity ). Information about the followers of Jacob disappears only after 132, when members of the Jerusalem Christian community took part in the Bar Kochba uprising, which was defeated, and its participants were killed or forced to flee.

Most of the disciples of Jesus settled in Syria and Asia Minor, where they launched their active preaching, which was hindered by Orthodox Jews in Palestine. Indirect evidence of this period in the development of Christianity is the tradition preserved in later church texts, according to which the very nickname of Jesus - Christ - was invented in Syria. A few decades later, the followers of Jesus brought his teaching to Egypt, where there were large Jewish communities, in which at first it could spread, gradually recruiting adherents among the indigenous population of Egypt - the Copts. According to legend, another disciple of Jesus, the apostle Peter, preached on the territory of the Roman Empire itself and led the Christian community in Rome, where he was caught by Roman soldiers and torn to pieces in the arena of the Colosseum in 67 AD.

The relationship of Jesus' followers with Judaism during this period was ambiguous. On the one hand, the gap between them became more and more distinct, due to the recognition of Christ as the messiah, which the orthodox followers of the Jewish religion could not allow. On the other hand, Jesus himself never tried to go beyond Judaism, deliberately emphasizing, as the Gospel of Matthew says, that he was "sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel." The break between Christianity and Jewish tradition was brought about by the efforts of the Apostle Paul, who was not formally a disciple of Christ. He did not belong to the number of the closest disciples who wandered with their teacher through the territory of Galilee, but was imbued with the teachings of Christ only after his death, taking the place in the circle of the apostles vacated after the betrayal of Judas. As a wealthy man who spent most of his life outside of Judea, Paul, as his epistles testify, from the very beginning of his sermons was focused on spreading Christianity not among Jews, but among representatives of other nationalities. To this end, he tried to cleanse Christianity as much as possible from the heritage of Judaism, without denying this religion belonging to the sacred truth, but arguing that it was necessary to follow the dogmas of the Jewish religion before the arrival of Jesus, who announced the emergence of a new faith based not on the words of ancient texts, anadelah. "So faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself" (James 2:17). Adapting the Christian teaching to the requirements of representatives of other nationalities, especially the Greeks, Paul had to make some concessions and changes. Thus, the image of Jesus began to be described as the ideal of human beauty precisely as a concession to the inherent Greek sense of beauty, without manifestations of which they could not conceive of the Son of God. At the same time, separate fragments of the Gospels, which convey to us the Judeo-Christian story about Jesus, are not so categorical. They do not describe the appearance of the messiah at all, focusing all attention on his inner beauty.

The earliest written sources belonging to the Christian tradition are the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, the time of creation of which can be approximately dated to the 60s. XNUMXst century In Soviet historical science, following the categorical statement of F. Engels, the opinion prevailed that among the earliest Christian works was the Apocalypse of John, the subject of which was due to the emotional upheaval experienced by the inhabitants of Palestine at the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Modern historians consider this problem not so unambiguously. The specific language of the evangelical texts attributed to John is evidence of their origin in a different Christian tradition than that which turned out to be fixed in the other three gospels, collectively called synoptic.

In the middle of the XX century. in Oxyrhynchus (Egypt) pieces of papyrus were found containing separate sayings of Jesus, including those unknown until that moment. Based on this material, historians have suggested that it was in the form of individual statements that the teachings of Jesus were first recorded in the second half of the XNUMXst century BC. At the beginning of the II century. from these statements a holistic story was built with the addition of biographical details and the beginnings of religious doctrine. The resulting works became known as the Synoptic Gospels. The gospels written on behalf of the apostles Mark, Matthew and Luke have similar features: certain moments of the life of Jesus are the same, but there are differences (for example, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus looks more like a man than the Son of God).

The process of creating the Gospels, as far as can be judged, went in parallel in all regions, where at the beginning of the 1875nd century. Christianity was spread, and each community preferred to use its own description of the life and teachings of Jesus, based on an internal tradition that could differ significantly from the traditions of other communities. The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip were found at Nag Hammadi and were revered by Gnostic Christians. In the writings of Christian theologians, there are still references to some texts that were revered in the early Christian communities along with the Synoptic Gospels - the Gospel of childhood, the Protoevangelium of James, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Shepherd of Hermas, etc. Only in XNUMX was a work discovered that many times was mentioned by Christian authors of the II-III centuries, but was not included in the final version of the Christian canon. We are talking about the Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), the creation of which also dates back to the turn of the XNUMXst-XNUMXnd centuries.

Most of the original Christian works have not survived, since at the end of the XNUMXnd century. the canon of Christianity was approved, which included four Gospels (from John, from Mark, from Luke, from Matthew), the Apocalypse of John and the epistles written by some of the apostles. The gospels and other works of the gospel cycle that do not belong to the officially approved canon are called apocrypha. All works not included in the final canon were banned from liturgical use, although some of them continued to be venerated in remote Christian communities for hundreds of years.

6.3. Making Christianity the official religion

By the middle of the II century. Significant changes are taking place in Christianity, which concern both the dogma (a list of canonical sacred texts is being drawn up) and the administrative structure. First of all, the well-being of Christian communities is increasing (at the end of the 1500nd century, the Roman Christian community had such significant funds that it could support XNUMX widows and orphans), which is explained by three reasons.

1. Christianity penetrates into the upper strata of the population. Even some of the senators and horsemen secretly professed this doctrine, which, in principle, reflected the religious situation prevailing at that time in the Roman Empire. Paganism has exhausted itself, and every educated person sought to find for himself that faith that would allow him to explain the meaning of life and give new incentives to spiritual development. Some of the representatives of the upper class turned to Eastern cults, syncretic (mixed) in origin (the cults of Mitra, Hermes Trismegistus), while others found solace in familiarizing themselves with the values ​​of Christianity.

2. Many Christians no longer take an openly anti-social position, which would have been understandable during the early Christian communities, but continue to engage in worldly activities, not forgetting to deduct part of their income in favor of the church.

3. Among the members of the Christian community, it is customary to bequeath all one's funds to the benefit of the community. In this case, the presbyter (high priest) of the community was proclaimed the official heir, who already transferred the bequeathed property to the general fund.

Gradually, the number of followers of the new faith also increased among government officials, which was considered unacceptable by the first Christians. The Council of Bishops, held in 305 in the city of Elvira, specifically focused on the fact that many pagan priests were considered Christians. The decision issued by the council deprived these people of the opportunity to be considered members of the Christian community, but left such an opportunity for those who did not directly participate in the sacrifices, but took part only in organizing festive games.

Another direction in the development of Christianity in the II-III centuries. becomes his penetration into the villages. If the first Christian communities that arose on the territory of the Roman Empire were concentrated in the largest trading centers, where Jewish communities already existed, on which they could rely, now Christianity is gradually replacing local cults, taking their place, and even merging with them. Christian burials of the XNUMXrd century, preserved in some areas of Asia Minor and North Africa, bear an ornament in which Christian symbols are intertwined with pagan signs, and written sources have preserved references to the presence of female priests in the villages. In Egypt, where the upper classes retained the pagan faith, such a phenomenon as "anachoresio" took place, that is, the departure of peasants and slaves from their masters with subsequent unification into communities located in hard-to-reach places. So in the II century. the first monasteries appeared. As a rule, the most oppressed segments of the population became their inhabitants, who tried to hide in the community from external problems and worries, concentrating their lives on serving God.

The process of transforming Christianity from a Jewish sect into a world religion was accompanied by important changes in the cult sphere. Another prominent Christian theologian Tertullian (XNUMXnd century AD) proclaimed the thesis that any Christian can make mistakes, but the opinion of the church is infallible. This is how the understanding of the church arises not just as a collection of people that make it up, but as something more - a mediator in communication with God and a custodian of Divine revelation. While the Gnostics insisted on an individual path of knowledge of God, arguing that the success of this process depended on a reduction in the number of intermediate links, representatives of orthodox Christian thought postulated the importance and indispensability of the church in this process. Within the framework of the church, the role of the clergy, the leaders of individual communities and monasteries, which included bishops, presbyters and deacons, is being strengthened. Initially, the rank of bishop was equivalent to the rank of presbyter (leader of an ordinary community), but gradually the role of bishops is growing. They become at the head of several communities at once in one locality (the earliest the formation of the episcopate takes place in Asia Minor), being the spiritual head of the Christians living in this territory. The change in status also affects the rite of elevation to the dignity. If in the early Christian communities the bishop was elected at a general meeting, now the rite of ordination, which is performed by another bishop, is becoming generally accepted, demonstrating the continuity and succession of spiritual authority, originating from the apostles.

The end of the period of the formation of the Christian Church should be dated to 313, in which the famous Milan Edict of Emperor Constantine (306-337) was issued, which abolished the persecution of Christians and proclaimed Christianity the state religion. Christianity, which penetrated all the pores of Roman society, became a new foundation on which, according to Constantine, the glory of the Roman state was to be revived, therefore the goal to which the emperor devoted all his further efforts was to ensure the unity of the ruling church.

6.4. Christian apologists. Church Fathers

Already in the second half of the II century. the process of not only administrative, but also theoretical formalization of the new religion began: theologians appear who sharply speak out against Judaism and paganism, defending and substantiating the claims of the Christian religion to world domination. This period (II-III centuries) was called apologetic, and the most prominent Christian thinkers of this time began to be called apologists.

The Greek school of apologists (Justin, Tatian, Aristides) placed emphasis in their works on the synthesis of the provisions of Christian doctrine with ancient wisdom - Plato and Aristotle. Justin (d. 165) argued that all previous philosophical systems claimed only a partial discovery of the truth, while Christianity allows the discovery of the whole truth due to the fact that it involves not only rational methods, but also religious faith. Representatives of the Greek apologists identify Christ with the Logos - the word of God addressed to the world and serving as a guarantee that this world, immersed in vices, still has a chance for salvation. Another idea of ​​Justin is that the human soul, contrary to what ancient thinkers argued, is not eternal and unchangeable, since it belongs to a created being. Only God is eternal and unchangeable: “The soul lives, but it is not life itself, it participates in life. Thus, what participates is different from the one in whom and in what it participates. The soul participates in life, for God desires it.” [34] The temporary combination of soul and body, which is called life, can be interrupted if it is not filled with divine content.

Despite the fact that the Christian faith had already become quite widespread by this time, the cult of pagan gods was still considered the official religion of the Roman Empire, so Justin had to pay for his bold statements - he was executed. Justin's successor was his student Tatian, who added to the main categories of his teacher - soul and body - a new concept of Spirit. It is the Spirit that is the offspring of God, and its presence ensures the existence of man and is the guarantee of his immortality.

Another option for the development of Christian doctrine was proposed by the Alexandrian school of apologists represented by its main representatives - Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Clement of Alexandria addressed the problem of the relationship between faith (pistis) and knowledge (gnosis), which was solved by representatives of the Gnostic heresy clearly in favor of separating these concepts and concentrating efforts on achieving true knowledge. Clement holds a different point of view: faith and knowledge are inseparable from each other, but it is faith that dominates in their connection, and reason plays a supporting role, supporting with rational arguments the truth that faith allows one to comprehend on an intuitive level. The Alexandrian thinker also refers in his reasoning to the concept of Logos, but for him Logos is an ambiguous concept, since it is present in the world in the form of three main manifestations:

1) the creative beginning of the world;

2) the divine impulse, which serves as the basis for the truth proclaimed by thinkers and theologians;

3) the source of salvation, manifested in the birth of Jesus.

The views of Origen (185-253), who embodied in his works ("Beginnings", "Against Celsus") the beginnings of the formation of the Triune dogma, became the pinnacle of the development of early apologetics. It was he who formulated the difference between cataphatic (cognition of God by listing his main qualities) and apophatic (recognition of the limitations of the human mind and focus on the intuitive path of knowledge of God) ways of cognition, choosing in favor of the latter. God cannot be expressed through material categories, since his essence is thought, but thought is not human, imperfect and contradictory, but divine thought, which has creative power. God the Son is equivalent to God the Father because his origin also has not a physical nature, but a spiritual nature - Christ is an emanation of the mental activity of God. The difference between God and Christ lies in the fact that the former embodies absolute unity, while the latter combines two different natures - divine and human, which are merged into one, but nevertheless serve as a guarantee of Jesus' intermediate position between the world of creation and the world of creation.

Theology of the 335th century developed under completely different conditions. Christianity by that time had already been recognized as the state religion, so representatives of Christian wisdom could not be afraid of persecution and the threat of physical violence. This period in the development of Christian doctrine was called patristics, since its main representatives bore the title of fathers (patris) of the church. The most significant among the theological trends of that time was the Cappadocian school, in particular, in the person of Gregory of Nyssa (394-331), Basil the Great (379-330) and Gregory of Nazianzus (390-XNUMX). Its representatives believed that the mind always tends to split up the surrounding world, but only faith is able to communicate integrity to both the world and the person himself. Any position of the mind must be confirmed in the Holy Scriptures - this is the main conclusion of the Cappadocians. Man has a unique ability to know not because he is a microcosm (a reduced likeness of the outside world), as the representatives of ancient philosophical thought taught, but because he was created by God in his own image and likeness.

The most outstanding representative of Latin patristics, which, unlike the Cappadocians, developed in the western part of the former Roman Empire, was Aurelius Augustine (354-430), famous for his works “On the Trinity”, “On the City of God”, etc., more famous under his honorary nickname "Blessed". The Trinity, according to Augustine, is not a speculative concept, since it reflects the internal structure of the human soul. To turn to God, you do not need to know the world around you; to do this, you just need to turn to your own soul to find answers to all questions in it. Man is capable of comprehending truth, which is not contained either in specific material things or in human nature itself. Truth is a product of the Divine will, but not every person is simply able to separate the absolute Divine truth from human opinions, which may be erroneous. Augustine confirms the existence of God using three main arguments:

1) the world needs a creator, who could not be anyone other than God;

2) the presence of the idea of ​​God in the souls of all people testifies to his existence;

3) the presence of individual goods in the earthly world forces one to assume the presence of an absolute good, which is God. For an ordinary person, goodness lies in boundless love for God, who responds to him with his love and grace.

6.5. Formation of a system of dogmas (Ecumenical Councils)

The name Ecumenical was given to councils that are convened on behalf of the entire Christian church to resolve questions about the truths of the dogma and are recognized by the whole church as indisputable sources of canon law. There are only seven ecumenical councils that would be accepted by both Western and Eastern Christian churches, although Catholics continue to collect their councils, calling them Ecumenical, until now (there are already 21 of them). The need to convene councils was due to the accumulation of contradictions that require resolution at the level of introducing additional dogmas and condemning unlawful points of view that distort Christian doctrine.

The First Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea (and therefore sometimes referred to as Nicaea), was convened by Emperor Constantine I (306-337) in 325 in order to condemn the point of view of the Bishop of Alexandria, Arius. The fact is that the position of orthodox Christianity at that moment was to recognize the equality of God and his son Jesus. Arius rejected such equality, appealing to simple common sense, which states that the son is never equal to the father. The Son of God is not a son in the essential sense of the word, but is a spiritual offspring of God. The relationship of blood ties between them was introduced precisely in order to emphasize the subordinate attitude of Jesus in relation to God the Father. consubstantial of the Son with the Father. In addition, the Council of Nicaea formulated the first seven provisions of the Creed (a set of dogmatic rules that set out the essence of Christian doctrine) and formed the hierarchy of the main dioceses. The Roman, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem churches were recognized as the most revered and respected due to the prescription of origin and unshakable spiritual authority.

The II Ecumenical Council, which met in 381 in Constantinople, finally approved the Creed, introducing the five remaining provisions there. Representatives of the Christian clergy, gathered from all over the Roman Empire, had to make every effort to refute the claims of the followers of Arianism, who considered the Holy Spirit to be the product of Jesus alone. The Trinitarian dogma, formulated at the Second Ecumenical Council, included provisions on the equality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. Some changes have taken place in the administrative structure of the Christian church. The second most important church after the Roman one was proclaimed Constantinople, which was the result of the strengthening of the eastern part of the Roman Empire with its capital in Constantinople and, accordingly, the increase in the importance of the Bishop of Constantinople.

The III Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus in 431 under the sign of disputes about the nature of Jesus. The fact is that Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople defended the point of view according to which Jesus was originally born a man, and his communion with the divine essence took place only at the moment of baptism. As a result of long disputes between representatives of various Christian communities, the teachings of Nestorius and his followers (later known as Nestorianism) were condemned as heresy, and the assertion was put forward as a dogma that Christ was by nature a God-man, therefore, he could not have any separate human nature. . Both natures of Christ - divine and human - form a single Hypostasis (Christological dogma). Despite the official condemnation at the Council of Ephesus, Nestorianism continued to actively spread to the East, gaining a large number of followers among the Turks and Mongols. Supporters of Nestorianism made up a significant part of the Mongol tribes as early as the XNUMXth century, when Christianity began to be gradually forced out of Asia by Islam, which was gaining strength.

The IV Ecumenical Council, which received the name of Chalcedon, was assembled 20 years after Ephesus, in 451, to condemn the heresy opposite to Nestorianism. Trying to avoid singling out the human nature of Christ, the Constantinopolitan priest Eutyches leaned towards the point of view according to which Christ's human and divine natures were merged into one, and the dominant side was divine nature - the teaching of Eutychius is therefore called monophysitism (from the Greek mono - one and phusis - nature). Having anathematized the Monophysite concept, the bishops who gathered at the IV Ecumenical Council formulated the position that Jesus Christ had two natures with the help of the following wording: these natures are united "unmistakably and invariably" (against Monophysitism) and "inseparably and inseparably" (against Nestorianism).

The V Ecumenical Council was again convened in Constantinople, but already in 553. The main purpose of its convocation was the return of internal unity to the Christian doctrine, which was undermined by the emergence of the Nestorian and Monophysite heresies. After the previous council, at which the condemnation of Monophysitism was proclaimed, the supporters of this trend claimed that the opponents, trying to defame their teaching, fell into the Nestorian heresy. The followers of three Syrian bishops (Theodore of Mopsuet, Theodoret of Cyrus and Willow of Edessa), in whose texts Nestorian motives were really strong, were anathematized in order to facilitate the return of the Monophysites to the bosom of the Christian church, which was the main result of this council.

The VI Ecumenical Council was convened by the Patriarch of Constantinople in Constantinople in 680-681, and the main reason for its convocation was the emergence of a new trend in Christianity - Monothelitism, which questioned the Christological dogma. The Monothelites argued that although Jesus had two natures, he had only one will, and that will was divine in origin. This provision created a threat to the perception of Jesus as an integral entity, harmoniously combining various natures, since it focused attention on the role of the divine component of the nature of Christ. At the council, monothelitism was recognized as a heretical trend, and a decision was made that satisfies the entire Christian world, according to which Jesus had two natures and, accordingly, two wills - divine and human, but his human will was submissive to the divine will, which completely excluded possible contradictions. The confirmation of the Christological dogma thus formulated was finally carried out only eleven years later, in 692, at a meeting of the highest hierarchs of the Christian church in the Trulli chambers of the royal palace in Constantinople. Sometimes this meeting is singled out as a separate cathedral, giving it the name of Trullsky.

The VII Ecumenical Council, which became the last of the officially recognized Orthodox churches, was assembled in Nicaea in 787 by the Byzantine Empress Irina. Its convocation was preceded by many years of persecution directed by the Byzantine emperors to eradicate icons, as if they were the legacy of pagan idolatry. At the Council of Nicaea, such views were rejected as heretical, the dogmatic essence of the icon depicting the divine face of Jesus or the saints was proclaimed, and permission was officially proclaimed to use icons in the process of worship, to keep them in churches, etc.

Topic 7. Christianity in the Middle Ages and Modern Times

7.1. Schism of Christianity (Orthodoxy and Catholicism)

Already in the initial period of its existence, Christianity was not a unified church in administrative terms. The process of approving the Creed at the Ecumenical Councils demonstrated serious differences between Western Christianity (Catholicism) and Eastern Christianity (Orthodoxy). On the territory of the western part of the Roman Empire there was a single Roman Catholic Church, which owed its foundation to the activities of the Apostle Peter, who preached in Rome and found his martyrdom there. The head of this church was the Pope (from the Latin pappas - father, father), in the 306st-337nd centuries. who performed the dangerous functions of a priest of the Roman Christian community (several popes were executed or died at the hands of the emperor’s soldiers). Later, the pope became the bishop of Rome, and subsequently gained power over the vast territories of Italy, Gaul, Germany and England. In the 35th century Representatives of the Catholic Church prepared a false document (the so-called “Gift of Constantine”), in which it was as if the Roman Emperor Constantine I (XNUMX-XNUMX), in gratitude for spiritual guidance and deliverance from the leprosy that tormented him, donated the entire Western world to the Pope for church administration. part of the empire. [XNUMX]

Originating in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, Orthodoxy, unlike Catholicism, did not undergo rigid centralization, but was a conglomeration (aggregate) of several separate churches headed by separate patriarchs. The most respected and oldest of these churches were four: Constantinople (its patriarch formally continued to be considered the head of the entire Eastern Church), Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem (which was the most ancient patriarchy on the grounds that the first bishop of the Jerusalem community would be James, brother of Jesus). But the educational activities of these churches led to the fact that Christianity penetrated into many countries of Eastern Europe precisely in its Orthodox interpretation. These countries included Serbia (late 865th century), Bulgaria (XNUMX), Romania (XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries), etc. Thus, we can say that not individual countries, but tribes were subjected to Orthodox baptism living on the territory of future sovereign (independent) states. Formally, these tribes were considered independent, but the recognition of the church authority of one of the Orthodox churches (as a rule, it was about the Patriarchate of Constantinople) made them subject, even in the church question, to Byzantium. Such a position, which suited the leaders of these tribes at the initial stage of relations, ceased to satisfy them later, when separate states began to take shape in the tribal territories, which preferred to adhere to independence in relation to religion. Taking advantage of the crisis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople associated with the invasion of the Turks into the territory of Byzantium in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, Bulgaria, followed by Serbia, chose to declare their churches autocephalous (independent) from the rest of the Orthodox churches.

Friction between the main directions of Christian doctrine arose shortly after the VII Ecumenical Council (787), which is officially recognized by supporters of the Orthodox Church as the last Ecumenical Council. Church contradictions are based not only on discrepancies of a purely dogmatic nature, the main of which is the addition by Catholics to the Creed "filioque" (translated from Latin - "and from the son"). The meaning of this addition is that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father, but also from the Son. An important factor in the final rupture of the churches were political reasons. Their essence was the confrontation between the Italian rulers and the Byzantine Empire, which for some time successfully carried out expansion into the territory of the Apennine Peninsula.

The first step towards a break was the schism (church conflict) of 862-870, provoked by the actions of the Byzantine emperor Michael III, who deposed the Patriarch of Constantinople Ignatius and erected in his place Photius, who was by his convictions an absolutely secular man. Pope Nicholas I considered this moment convenient to prove his power and came out with a condemnation of the new patriarch and a demand for the return of Ignatius to the patriarchal throne. Photius, outraged by the interference of the Pope in the internal affairs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, convened a council in 867, which condemned the initiative of Pope Nicholas I. But at that moment the situation changed dramatically, since the patron of Patriarch Photius, the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, was killed, and the ascendant the throne of Vasily I “castled”, replacing the current patriarch with his predecessor Ignatius (870). However, this candidacy did not suit the Pope, which was facilitated by another aggravation of relations due to the ecclesiastical subordination of Bulgaria, which adopted Christianity in its Orthodox version, but was in the sphere of interests of the Catholic Church. A few years later, Ignatius died (879), and Photius again ascended to his place, forced to agree to a mutually beneficial exchange: Pope John VIII lifted the anathema (excommunication) imposed on Photius, but in return received Bulgaria into his submission. The fulfillment of the agreed terms of the contract turned out to be one-sided. Photius again ascended the patriarchal throne with great celebrations, but was in no hurry to give Bulgaria under the jurisdiction of the Pope. In 880, at the Council of Constantinople, which united the patriarchs of all the Eastern churches, Photius was acquitted of all charges brought by the Roman Catholic Church and was officially recognized in the patriarchal rank. This conflict, which did not result in a long confrontation, became the “first call” of unabating contradictions, the final aggravation of which occurred in 1054 and ended with the official division of the churches, which henceforth divided Christianity into two different directions. [36]

7.2. Features of the development of Catholicism in the Middle Ages

The rise of the papacy, associated with the emerging split of the formerly united Christianity into two branches and the concentration in the hands of the Pope of Rome not only of ecclesiastical power over the whole of Western Europe, but also of a significant part of secular influence, had a reverse side. The sharply increased prestige of the heir of St. Peter (as the popes were often called, hinting at the origin of their power from the first leader of the Roman Christian community - the Apostle Peter) made his place the subject of political intrigues and behind-the-scenes struggle between the cardinals and external forces interested in the choice being made. If in the first centuries of our era the throne of the Roman high priest was simply dangerous, later personified only one of the many churches of the Christian world, now it has become the arena of a real struggle, which was not slow to affect the moral qualities of people who sought to take possession of it. Period VIII-XI centuries. - the time of the moral decline of the Roman papacy, the constant change of popes, many of whom, being purely secular people, took the priesthood only in order to take enormous secular and spiritual power into their own hands. Indicative is the case of Pope Formosus (891-896), whose successor Stephen VII (896-897) was filled with such strong hatred for his predecessor that he ordered his corpse to be dug up and put on trial, as a result of which he was condemned and thrown into the Tiber. There were frequent cases when popes succeeded each other on the throne, after which the deposed candidate again regained the papal throne. So, Benedict IX in the XI century. managed to restore his right to the papacy several times, and, characteristically, most often he himself refused his post, selling it to another candidate.

According to the old saying that "the fish rots from the head," the rest of the Catholic Church did not remain indifferent to what was happening to its top: a mixture of secular and spiritual authorities, as well as commercialization spread to the entire building of the church, penetrating it from the upper to the lower floors. Among the feudal lords, the custom was widely practiced to buy the positions of a priest, bishop, or even archbishop. An ordinary knight could afford to buy the position of a priest and administer both secular and spiritual court over his servants. A baron or a count bought the position of a bishop and thus became vicegerents of the Catholic Church over individual cities or entire regions. The custom of buying and selling church offices cannot even be called corruption in the modern sense of the word, since the collection of the agreed amount took place quite officially, with the issuance of a receipt or receipt. Church celibacy (a vow of celibacy given by a priest upon entering the priesthood) was also significantly softened, since many cardinals, and even simple priests, openly cohabited with women, and children born in such a "civil marriage" were adopted by close or distant relatives, acquiring surname and significant rights. Such a mixture of powers led in the XI century. to another innovation, which would have seemed wild to the early hierarchs of the Christian church, military service became a vassal duty of the clergy. Priests, called upon to perform a peacekeeping function, from now on became full participants in feudal civil strife, and far from being the most peaceful. History has preserved many examples when bishops actively led their troops to storm enemy walls or to militia a neighboring feudal lord.

The social differentiation of the clergy increased significantly. It was divided into owners of parishes or individual dioceses (priests, bishops, archbishops), who had significant incomes due to the collection of payments from the population for the remission of sins (the so-called indulgences), and mendicant monks, who often did not have their own parish and were forced to spend time wandering in foreign lands. Naturally, this situation did not suit many representatives of the clergy, who tried to return the church, mired in worldly needs, to the service of the Christian faith. The most famous was the Cluny movement, which received its name from the name of the monastery of Cluny in France and gradually gained significant influence. Starting at the end of the 1073th century, it advocated the separation of the church from secular power and a return to the observance of the basic Christian commandments. A symptom of the changes taking place not only at the level of individual monasteries, but also at the very top of the Catholic Church, was the election to the papal throne of Gregory VII (1085-1056), a graduate of the Cluny Monastery, who for the first time dared to enter into an open conflict with the powerful Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry VI (1106-1075), defending the priority of spiritual power over secular power. In XNUMX, the Lateran Council, assembled by Gregory VII, issued a decree according to which the sale of church posts was prohibited, and the election of priests and bishops from now on became an internal affair of the Catholic Church, beyond the control of secular rulers. Taking advantage of the strife among the German princes, many of whom openly opposed the emperor, Pope Gregory managed to force Henry VI to bow his knee to him, recognizing the supremacy of the pope. Of course, the struggle between secular rulers and spiritual rulers was not over, but the papacy managed to achieve significant success.

The increased authority of the papal power and the growing economic power of the Catholic Church allowed the highest representatives of the clergy to implement a plan to spread their influence beyond Europe, even by force. An epochal event both in the history of the Christian Church and in the history of all medieval Europe was 1096, since it was in this year that Pope Urban II (1080-1099) at the Council of Clermont proclaimed a crusade against the “infidels” (Muslims), arguing for the need for violent conquering the Middle East by searching for and collecting surviving Christian relics (for example, the Holy Sepulcher). The result of the First Crusade (1096-1099) was the liberation of Jerusalem and the creation of several small states in the conquered territories, as well as the spiritual and knightly orders of the Hospitallers and Templars, who became obedient conductors of the papal will in the process of fighting against infidels and heretics. True, subsequent campaigns failed to repeat the success of the first, and already in 1187 the Turks were able to regain Jerusalem, after which all aggressive plans for the Middle East could only be spoken of as unsupported adventures. Some exception is the IV Crusade (1204), during which the crusaders managed to capture Constantinople and fragment the Byzantine Empire, establishing in its place the Latin Empire with its center in Nicaea, but this success was short-lived. Already in 1261, the power of the Latin emperor, supported by the Catholic Church, was overthrown, and the revived Byzantine Empire entered a short period of greatness, which, unfortunately, turned out to be the last in its long history.

1252th century period was the time of the emergence of a new institution within the Catholic Church, the name of which still retains a connotation of mystery and sacred horror. We are talking about the Inquisition (from Latin inquisitio - to investigate, investigate), the existence of which is usually dated to 1243, when Pope Innocent IV (1254-1966) officially allowed the use of torture in those court cases where it was a violation of the interests of the church. During the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, which account for the largest number of inquisitional proceedings, thousands of people (including Giordano Bruno) were accused of heresy and sentenced to a painful death, the only reason for which were confessions, knocked out with the help of sophisticated torture. Despite the fact that already in the XVIII century. The Inquisition practically stopped active, focusing not on the punishment of apostates, but on the inclusion of heretical books in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books), its actual prohibition occurred at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, and the legal abolition of the Inquisition followed only in XNUMX.

The papacy at the end of the 1294th century. fell into a new period of decline, which was provoked by the conflict between Pope Boniface VIII (1303-1285) and the French king Philip IV the Fair (1314-37). During Boniface's pontificate, alarming symptoms of the decline of the Catholic faith became noticeable, as evidenced by the increase in the methods of collecting various levies in favor of the church, as well as the moral decline of the clergy. The statement of Pope Boniface himself is typical: “Clerics must say what the people say, but this does not mean that they are obliged to believe in what the people believe.” [1305] Having put forward a claim about the divine origin of the power of the pope, Boniface VIII demanded that secular rulers recognize the supremacy of spiritual power, but his claims encountered a harsh response from the French king Philip, who at the beginning of the 1314th century. managed to begin the process of centralizing France and did not want to tolerate attacks on his property, even from the Pope. The chancellor of the French king, Philippe Nogaret, captured the pope in his own palace, which led to the sudden death of Boniface and the election of a new pope, which took place under the watchful supervision of the French king. The new Pope Clement V (1305-1378), elected under pressure from France, was forced to agree to move his residence from Rome to the southern French city of Avignon, which marked the beginning of the Avignon Captivity of the Popes (XNUMX-XNUMX), which became a symbol of decline and unquestioning submission of the heir Saint Peter at the will of secular rulers.

Only towards the end of the 1337th century. The Catholic clergy managed, taking advantage of the difficult situation of France associated with its participation in the Hundred Years War (1453-1431), to return their location to the historical center of the entire Catholic world - Rome. Unfortunately, the change in the location of the papal throne, although it made it possible to eliminate the direct dependence of church affairs on secular authorities, did not solve the problems that were growing within Catholicism itself. More and more priests called on the leadership of the Catholic Church to carry out reforms that could serve to raise its moral and political authority in the eyes of the entire Christian world. A symptom of a split in the ranks of the clergy itself was the emergence of antipopes, who were supported by a significant part of the clergy and often anathematized the popes themselves, elected by the conclave (meeting) of cardinals. In order to solve the accumulated dogmatic and institutional problems, the Basel Council (1449-1431) was convened, which managed to find ways to eliminate the Hussite heresy that had spread in Austria and the Czech Republic, but this council also failed to unite Catholicism by adopting certain decrees, since Pope Eugene IV (1447-1438) convened an alternative council in Florence (1439-1439). In 1453, it was at the Council of Florence that the Florentine Union was concluded, which summed up the opposition between the Roman and Constantinople churches, subordinating the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Pope. This union did not lead to the desired result, since the Byzantine Empire, which was thus trying to attract the troops of the Western European rulers to its aid, fell under the blows of the Turks in XNUMX, and the Russian Orthodox Church received in its hands a significant reason for putting forward its claims to the role of the most powerful among Orthodox churches.

By the beginning of the Renaissance, the papacy failed to find the necessary sources and strength to update religious dogma and the institution of the Catholic Church itself, which was the main reason for the emergence of the reform movement that unfolded in Europe at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.

7.3. Scholastic philosophy and mystical teachings

Dogmatic disputes accompanied the entire history of the development of Christianity (suffice it to recall the struggle between the Nestorians and the Monophysites), but in the Middle Ages these debates took on a new form, caused by the changing conditions in which the Catholic Church found itself. The development of natural science and the study of the works of ancient thinkers forced the representatives of the church not only to be content with the statements taken on faith, but to strive to substantiate them. Philosophy was assigned the role of a servant of theology, but even inveterate theologians had to use logical techniques to confirm their judgments, so philosophy was an obligatory subject of study within the medieval university. The philosophical justification of religious truths became the main subject of scholasticism, which occupied a leading place in the intellectual life of the Middle Ages. Another thing is what role was assigned to philosophy or, more broadly, to rational knowledge in the process of comprehending God and the surrounding world.

For the first time, such a question in the form of an antithesis (opposition) between reason and faith was raised by the medieval philosopher John Scott Eriugena (810-877), who argued that the sacred texts have indisputable authority, but to comprehend the depth of the ideas and ethical provisions expressed in the Bible is necessary not only and not so much by blind faith, but also by rational explanation and clarification of what is written. "Nemo intrat in caelum nisi per philosophiam" (No one ascends to heaven except through philosophy) - this is how he briefly formulated the essence of his position. According to legend, the ordinary parishioners were so outraged by Eriugena's "heretical" statement from their point of view that they killed him and burned the manuscripts that he had with him. Nevertheless, the works of the philosopher continued to be copied, which led to their official prohibition by the Roman Catholic Church, and twice - in 1050 and 1225.

In the future, any theologian faced the need to somehow resolve the issue of the relationship between faith and reason in the comprehension of God, which led to the formation of two traditions: rationalistic (scholasticism) and intuitive (mysticism). The rationalists insisted that the mind must necessarily participate in the process of cognition, while the mystics focused on the supersensible, intuitive connection of the soul with God. All the sharpness of the rationalist position was well understood by medieval theologians, since the danger lay in the initial freedom of reasoning, which could lead to conclusions that did not correspond to the dogma. The most striking example of the application of philosophical research methods to the solution of theological problems was the famous dispute about the nature of universals (general concepts), which divided the entire intellectual elite of medieval Europe into two currents: realists and nominalists.

Realists, whose most prominent representative was the theologian Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), argued that general concepts exist in reality, while individual things serve only as their imperfect similarities, which a person is forced to be content with due to the imperfection of his nature. The nominalists, the essence of whose doctrine was most clearly expressed by the English thinker William of Ockham (1280-1349), insisted on the opposite: only single things are real, and general concepts serve only as names (in Latin, nomina means "name"). Such a dispute, seemingly very abstract both from real life and from religious dogma, was nevertheless very important, since it boiled down to the interpretation of the Creed. If we take the position of nominalism and interpret general concepts as empty words, then we get an understanding of the Trinity as a simple combination of three gods, which has no connection other than linguistic, which in itself was already drawn to a heretical statement, since it violated one of the provisions of the Creed . If we adhere to a realistic position, then there was another danger - considering the Trinity as a general and indivisible concept led to the logical conclusion that the suffering of Jesus on the cross meant the torments of the cross of the entire Trinity, and this statement violated another position of the main dogma of Christianity.

The pinnacle of the development of medieval scholasticism was the work of the famous Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas (1125-1274). In his work "The Sum of Theology" he distinguishes two kinds of truth: "truth of faith" and "truth of reason", which have the same divine origin, but a different form, which does not prevent us from talking about the same thing. Reason can be guided as long as it does not refute church dogmas. If, in the process of searching for truth, reason and faith come to different conclusions, then only faith should be trusted.

Another significant step of Thomas in the process of rational substantiation of church dogmas was his formulation of five proofs of the existence of God.

1. Proof from movement. All things in the world do not move by themselves, but are set in motion by something, from which it follows that there is one and only thing that combines both the movement itself and its source, and this thing is God.

2. Evidence from reason. Things do not exist on their own, but for a certain reason that exists outside of things, but since this series cannot continue indefinitely, it is necessary to admit the existence of the first cause, which determines the existence of all the others.

3. Proof from possibility. The existence of things is accidental, since it is not justified by necessity, but since the world still exists, this means that there is a thing that cannot but exist, and this thing is God.

4. Proof from the hierarchy. Each person contains spiritual qualities, and their content is uneven: no matter how beautiful a person is, there will always be another who will be even more beautiful, therefore it is necessary to allow the presence of a being that embodies the ultimate norm of spiritual qualities that cannot be exceeded. . Such an Absolute, according to Thomas, is God.

5. Proof from the end. The emergence of each thing is accidental, but its existence is purposeful. Let the world as a whole not have a specific goal, but each element of this world has such a goal and strives to achieve it. The irresistible force that draws all things to the fulfillment of their own purpose is God. The purpose of human existence is the comprehension of God, therefore, we can say that God, giving a person the desire for a goal, thereby gives the possibility of his own knowledge.

The era of scholasticism can be characterized as a short period of time on a global scale, when religion, philosophy and emerging science tried to keep pace, but happily parted ways at the moment when the development of culture and society provided such an opportunity.

But not all theologians defended the rational path of knowledge of God. Some spoke out against the priority of the mind, seeing in this way the limitation and constraint of the framework of human thinking, which prevents one from ascending to merge with the Absolute. In scholasticism, mystics saw a distortion of the original contact of man with God, offering in return their own ways of restoring the lost connection. The most prominent supporters of the mystical trend in theology were Meister Eckhart (1260-1327) in Catholicism and Gregory Palamas (1295-1359) in Orthodoxy.

According to Meister Eckhart, God and man initially represent a unity, which is realized by God, since it was created by His Word, but is not realized by man, therefore the destiny of man is to rise to the awareness of his unity with God and be able to take it for granted. As a result of original sin, man fell away from God, but since God is love, his all-encompassing mercy leaves man a chance to return. God is not just the creator of the world, he is also invisibly present in all his creations, so a person first needs to look into himself, abandoning material temptations and vain lusts. Having managed to cleanse his soul of material sediments, a person will be able to discern God in his soul, who was hidden under these sediments. [38]

A person’s life is meaningless if there is no god in it, therefore any suffering causes pain to a person, but as soon as he understands that all sufferings are given to him from God and he experiences them for God’s sake, then the pain will be replaced by sincere joy from the not in vain of his victim - Eckhart comes to this conclusion.

Gregory of Panama belonged to a completely different religious tradition. Orthodoxy and Catholicism diverged in their dogmatic and political disputes so much that nothing could unite the lost unity of the Church of Christ), but in its initial positions and in the conclusions to which he came, his reasoning largely coincided with the thoughts of Eckhart. Created being has lost its original connection with God, but the source of divinity in the world of things remains light. Not created and not material, it is an attribute of divine existence, and only participation in this light serves as an opportunity for a person to return to the Kingdom of God. According to the largest modern researcher of the mystical tradition in Orthodoxy S.S. Khoruzhiy, “inherent in uncreated divine being is uncreated light, and this light is divine energy... Divine energies are the “actions” or “performances” of God, by which God acts in created being; and thanks to these His actions the union of man with God is made possible ". [39] Light spreads throughout being, therefore the absence of light is darkness, which is nothingness, and being is a heterogeneous formation, characterized by varying degrees of being filled with light. Light is a movement, the aspiration of God towards a person who has fallen away from him, but not every person is able to see the divine light directed at him, therefore the condition for a person’s return to the divine is the process of synergy - the merging of opposing energies. For an ordinary person, such a merger is an intuitive comprehension of the essence of the deity in an act of mystical insight. It can be said that the mystical experience is an opening of the eyes, only after which a person begins to realize to what extent he has been blind.

A feature of medieval Christian mysticism is a distinctly pronounced personalism (from Latin persona - personality). A person achieves a union with a deity, but does not dissolve in the Absolute (as, for example, occurs in classical Hinduism when Atman and Brahman merge), but retains his individual features, acquiring in addition divine properties, becoming a God-man and becoming like Christ himself in this capacity.

7.4. Sects and heresies

With the help of an extensive system of dogmas, the Catholic Church jealously guarded its right to priority in resolving religious issues, so every priest who allowed a free interpretation of Holy Scripture in his sermon could be classified as a heretic. During the Middle Ages, there were many different heresies, most of which have survived only fragmentary information.

Paulicians. This heresy arose in the XNUMXth century. in Armenia. Its founder was the priest Konstantin Silvan, who apparently combined in his doctrine the legacy of Manichaeism with the involvement of various Eastern cults. Having spread throughout almost all of Europe, the supporters of the Paulician heresy gradually concentrated in the south of France, coexisting with the heresy of the Cathars that arose there. There is practically no information about their teaching, it can only be stated with certainty that the Paulicians were supporters of a dualistic understanding of the divine nature, recognizing the presence in it of both a constructive (creative) and a destructive (destructive) principle. They did not recognize the Church and any church hierarchy, arguing that every person is predisposed to enter the Kingdom of God, and no one can help or hinder him in this. The disappearance of the Paulician heresy turned out to be the result of the inquisitorial activity of the Catholic Church to eradicate heretical sentiments in Languedoc (south of France). From the point of view of orthodox Christian views, the Paulicians were no less apostates from the true faith than the Cathars and Albigensians, although their religious doctrines differed. One way or another, but the crusade against the Cathars put an end to the existence of the Paulician current, although separate islands of his followers remained in Eastern Europe until the XNUMXth century.

Bogomils. The emergence of the heresy of the Bogomils is associated with the educational movement of representatives of the Eastern (Orthodox) churches, which at the beginning of the 865th century. made the Bulgarian kingdom, whose borders touched the northern borders of the Byzantine Empire, the object of their close interest. The result of their active efforts to Christianize the Slavs was the adoption by the Bulgarians of the Orthodox faith in XNUMX, but a side effect of the active spread of Christianity among the pagans was the penetration into their environment of dualistic beliefs, originating in Manichaeism. The founder of a new trend, widely known under the name of Bogomilism, or Catharism (from the Latin katar - pure), was a certain Jeremiah, who proclaimed himself the new apostle and heir of Jesus Christ on earth. He himself and his closest associates (whose names have been reported to this day, paradoxically, by the "Synodicus of Tsar Boris", the purpose of which was to anathematize heretics) - Stefan, Vasily, Mikhail and others - extended their influence not only to the territory Bulgaria, but also to neighboring states. To the amazement and indignation of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, adherents of the Bogomil heresy were even in Constantinople itself, and they were not forced to abandon their own convictions even by the terrible fate of Basil, one of the main preachers of Bogomilism, who was burned for refusing to repent of the sins attributed to him.

According to the beliefs of the representatives of the Bogomil heresy, the universe is dominated by dualism, which originates in the very act of the creation of the world. God does not create the entire universe, but only a bright and spiritual world, while Satanail, who is the eldest son of God, gets the creation of a material and sinful world in which man is condemned by nature to exist. Christ, being the youngest Son of God, is able to bring a ray of light and goodness into the world, but he cannot fix the world, which was originally created according to the laws of evil.

Pressed by representatives of orthodox Orthodoxy, supported by the secular Byzantine authorities, the Bogomils were able to keep their faith intact for several centuries: only in the XII century. traces of their movement are lost in Bulgaria. But even before the XNUMXth century, that is, until the Turkish invasion itself, the Bosnian Church retained its autocephaly (independence), borrowing a significant part of its doctrine from the heritage of the Bogomil heresy.

Cathars. Another name for the Cathars is Albigenses (named after the city of Albi). This is perhaps the most active heresy, which became famous thanks to the cultural upsurge with which their activities were associated in the territory of Southern France, as well as in Italy, Germany and some other European countries. [40] The choice of the place where the Albigensian heresy took hold and had a significant influence on cultural development is also not accidental, since the south of France was traditionally considered the most free-thinking region, which was explained primarily by historical reasons. For several centuries, it was Languedoc and Provence (the southernmost French provinces) that were subject to the beneficial influence of Arab culture, which preserved the heritage of ancient civilization and managed to exaggerate spiritual riches.

Unlike previous heresies, the Cathar movement arose somewhat later (at the beginning of the 41th century), but became more widespread, which caused justified alarm on the part of the Roman Catholic Church, since representatives of this heresy sharply opposed papal authority, arguing that every person he is free to seek his own path to God, and the existence of the church only hinders the fulfillment of these aspirations. Based on the letters of the apostles, supporters of the Cathar heresy denied Catholic priests their special right to hear confession and perform absolution, since, for example, the Apostle James said: “Confess your actions to each other and pray for each other so that you can be healed.” [XNUMX] The Albigensians also opposed the dogma of the trinity of God, rejected the veneration of icons and crosses, and rejected church sacraments, considering them unnecessary on the path of spiritual improvement. They revered only the New Testament as sacred books and rejected the Old Testament due to its inability to serve as a guide that could lead a person to God.

Fearing the further strengthening and spread of this movement, the Catholic Church was forced to resort to emergency measures to preserve its prestige and special place in the Christian world. Even the Lateran Council in 1179 anathematized all heretics, but this did not have the desired effect, since by that time the Cathars had already declared their church independent of the Roman Catholic Church, and secular authorities were in no hurry to eradicate heresy in their domains. Many French feudal lords themselves secretly adhered to the Cathar doctrine, and many of them dared to openly speak out against papal power. It was in the person of these rulers (who included the famous troubadours Bertrand de Born, Raymond de Saint-Gilles, Count Alphonse of Toulouse, etc.) that the Cathars found defenders and patrons capable of protecting them from claims from orthodox Christians. Unfortunately, this protection was short-lived. Already in 1209, Pope Innocent III declared a crusade against the Cathars and those laypeople (including those of noble birth) who adhere to, or at least tolerate, this heresy. The crusaders, who had come to destroy the Cathar heresy from all over Europe, were seduced by the omission of all sins promised by the Pope and began to actively eradicate apostates from the true faith. From 1209 to 1229, a crusade lasted against adherents of the Albigensian heresy, which resulted in their complete destruction, sanctioned by the authority of the papal government. According to the papal legate Arnold Amalric, which he said in response to a question from one of the crusaders about how to distinguish a heretic from a real Christian, everyone should have been destroyed, giving God himself the opportunity to distinguish his own from strangers.

Flagellants. The flagellant movement arose in the 1349th century. and it turned out to be connected with the desire for spiritual purification that spread in French and Italian monasteries, not just with the help of strict observance of all fasts, but also by mortifying the flesh with self-flagellation (flagellants in translation from Italian mean "flagellations"). This sect became widespread in Italy, Switzerland and Poland, and the Catholic Church initially did not see anything reprehensible in the actions of the flagellants. But when the scourging began to assert that the scourging of the flesh replaces the remission of sins received from the priest, the hierarchs of Catholicism were forced to drastically change their benevolent attitude towards the new religious direction. Already in XNUMX, a papal bull (decree) condemned the movement of the flagellants as heresy, and the Inquisition, which immediately joined the process of eradicating heresy, burned out the slightest manifestations of self-flagellation throughout Western Europe with "fire and sword".

7.5. Reformation period. Education of Protestantism

By the end of the XV century. dissatisfaction with the pope and his entourage, who denigrated not only the institution of the papacy, but also the Christian religion itself, became universal. Many thinkers, who themselves often belonged to a clergy, tried to find a way out of the current situation, to return to that life-giving Christianity, which contributed to the spiritual purification of people, and did not sell heavenly goods at reasonable prices. A simple Augustinian monk named Martin Luther (1483-1546), who taught theology at the University of Wittenberg, had to decide on the path of a radical reorganization of the church. The movement he started was called the Reformation (from the Latin reformatio - perestroika).

In the early morning of October 31, 1517, Luther posted 95 theses on the doors of the city church, which contained his objections to the church policy pursued by the papacy. In particular, he spoke particularly sharply about the sale of indulgences that free the conscience of a person from sins and bring good profits into the pocket of the Catholic Church in return. Luther was not alone in rejecting indulgences, but his merit lay in the fact that he tried not only to speak out against this phenomenon, but to uncover the roots of the deep crisis that had gripped all of Western Christianity. In this aspiration, he was supported both by the common people, who were constantly ruined by the forced acquisition of indulgences, and by the noble German feudal lords, who saw in his demarche against the Catholic Church a convenient excuse for separating themselves from the power of the Pope. The papal court was not immediately able to recognize the full magnitude of the danger posed by an ordinary monk, and therefore began to react too late, when all of Germany was engulfed in the flames of a religious uprising. Support from all sections of the population enabled Luther to take an unprecedented step: in 1520, in the presence of students, he burned a papal letter excommunicating him from the church, thereby finally fixing the gap between his followers and orthodox Catholics. Unfortunately, at first Luther's lack of a clear program capable of restoring lost authority to Christianity led to a simplification and distortion of his views: numerous itinerant preachers who flooded Germany and other European countries offered their interpretations of his theses, which completely confused the common people.

In order to overcome the crisis that broke out, Luther put forward his program to reform the foundations of the Christian religion, designed to restore the lost connection between man and God. God is able to endow a person with grace in response to his sincere faith, therefore the church, in the version in which it was presented by the Catholics, serves as an extra link in this chain. The role of the priest is not to act as an intermediary between God and man, but to show man the path, following which he himself will be able to achieve divine grace. To this end, Luther proposed to eliminate the sharp boundaries that existed between the clergy and the laity: priests were now allowed to marry, wear ordinary clothes and enjoy the same rights as ordinary citizens. The process of worship itself was greatly simplified, and the church was deprived of numerous paraphernalia - icons, complex rituals and rituals. The head of the church was the secular ruler of a particular country or city. This position of the Lutheran doctrine was especially beneficial to numerous German princes, since it deprived them of their church dependence on the Pope and made them full-fledged rulers of their own lands.

The result of the efforts of Luther and Calvin (1509-1564) was the emergence of a new trend of Christianity - Protestantism, which was not accepted by the Catholic Church. At the church council of 1545-1563. It was decided to equate the Protestants with heretics, which automatically meant the spread of the activities of the Inquisition to them. This cathedral marked the beginning of an era of religious wars that continued until the end of the 24th century. Perhaps one of the most brutal moments of these wars was the famous St. Bartholomew's Night (Paris, August 1572, 1598), during which the conspiring Catholics made a surprise attack on the Protestants (who received the name Huguenots in France), culminating in a massacre. The massacre that began in Paris continued in other French cities, dividing the country into two opposing camps. The end of this bloody struggle was put only by the Edict of Nantes in XNUMX, which proclaimed Catholicism in France as the state religion, but secured the right to freedom of religion for the Protestants.

The famous German sociologist and philosopher Max Weber (1864-1920) in his work “Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism” considers the emergence of a new system of ideals and values, embodied in the norms of Protestant ethics, as a reflection of the processes of the emergence of an industrial society taking place in the socio-economic sphere. In his own words, “a peculiar mentality, instilled by upbringing, in particular by the direction of upbringing that was determined by the religious atmosphere of the homeland and family, determines the choice of profession and the further direction of professional activity.” [42] Protestantism marked the beginning of a new attitude towards work, property, and the opportunity not only to have a certain fortune, but also to increase it. Man is predisposed not to be a blind toy in the hands of God, but he has the power to act and work, increasing his well-being in the earthly world, not forgetting about the heavenly world. As long as the desire for hoarding and frugality does not cross the boundaries beyond which it turns into greed and pride, Protestantism has a favorable attitude towards human economic activity and tries to encourage it by all possible means. It was precisely because of this approving attitude of the Protestant Church towards human labor in those countries where this religion was firmly entrenched (England, Holland, the USA) that the course of the industrial revolution and scientific and technological progress was significantly facilitated.

Topic 8. Modern Western Christianity

8.1. Counter-reformation. The period of religious wars (XVII-XVIII centuries)

After the birth of the reform movement in Christianity, which resulted in the emergence of Protestantism, the Catholic Church entered the period of the Counter-Reformation. The struggle of the Pope and the church headed by him to maintain their positions required new methods and means of retaining power, which led to the flourishing of the Jesuit order. This monastic order was founded in 15 by the Spanish nobleman Ignatius Loyola with one goal - to counteract Protestantism and fight against heretics and apostates from the true faith, by which Loyola, of course, meant Catholicism. A feature of the charter of the Jesuit order is the presence in it of a special fourth vow (in addition to the three ordinary ones, which include celibacy, obedience and non-covetousness) - absolute obedience to the Pope. At the first stage of initiation, members of the order fulfilled only traditional vows, but when they were initiated into the highest stage, they took an oath of allegiance to the pope, after which they became full-fledged Jesuits. The slogan of this order - "The end justifies the means" - served for the Jesuits as an excuse for any unseemly acts that they had to commit in the process of protecting the Roman Catholic Church from possible encroachments by other faiths.

In December 1545, the Catholic Church convened the Ecumenical Council in Trident, the unspoken goal of which was to develop tactics for combating those states (England, Germany) in which Protestantism had established itself. To reduce criticism from the followers of the Reformation, it was necessary to more clearly formulate the dogmatic foundations of the Catholic Church, first of all, to justify the inviolability of the church hierarchy and the structure of the sacraments, to confirm the binding role of the Catholic Church in the process of man's ascent to God. At the Council of Trent, the main dogmatic provisions of the Roman Catholic Church were confirmed and the preservation of its administrative structure in exactly the form in which it had evolved over many centuries was supported: the supremacy of the pope was recognized as unshakable, the order of confession was established and the cult of worship of saints was supported. Roman theologians returned to the principle of Tertullian, according to which faith is only a prerequisite for achieving the Kingdom of God, while the church acts as a necessary mediator in this process.

Second half of the 1618th century became the time of the beginning of religious wars between Catholics and Protestants, which took place both between different countries adhering to one or another branch of Christianity, and within one country, an example of which was France. In 1648-1648. there was a Thirty Years' War, in which the opponents were, on the one hand, Catholic Austria and Spain, on the other, France, in which the majority of the population were Huguenots (Protestants). Numerous German principalities found themselves on both sides of the barricades, since some of them were ruled by Catholic rulers (southern Germany), while the other part was ruled by Protestant rulers (north and west of Germany). France became the winner in this war, which finally secured freedom of religion in Europe, the elimination of which the Roman Catholic Church, having lost its former influence, could no longer claim. The Peace of Westphalia in XNUMX, which marked the beginning of an era of religious tolerance, was also a milestone in the history of the papacy, separating the period when the Catholic Church could rightfully claim power over almost the entire Christian world, from the time when such claims could only be perceived like wild dreams.

A symptom of the decline of the Catholic Church was the emergence of the theory of the Swedish Bishop Cornelius Jansen, who argued that the very nature of the world created by God contains the possibility of salvation. For this reason alone, both the Pope and the Jesuit Order, which supports the claims of the Roman Church to the sole representation of the Divine will on earth, are unnecessary. This view was condemned by Pope Urban VIII in 1642, after which its representatives began to be persecuted by the Jesuits, which did not prevent many prominent cardinals and members of the papal court from secretly holding such views.

Secular rulers exercised pressure on the power of the church from two opposite positions at once - absolutism and Enlightenment. Absolutism in the person of the French King Louis XIV (1643-1715) significantly limited the already infringed power of the Pope in France, introducing in 1682 the Synod, which was in charge of church affairs on behalf of the monarch. As a result of the War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1714), the papacy also lost power over Spain, which from time immemorial was considered the personification of the Catholic spirit. The Spanish government, offended by the pope's support for the French pretender to the Spanish throne, halved the annual payment sent by Spain to Rome.

The ideal of an enlightened monarch, formed in the first half of the 1699th century. French scientists and philosophers (Voltaire, Diderot, d'Alembert), became popular in many European countries (the Russian Empress Catherine II included herself among the enlightened rulers), which immediately affected the relations of these countries with the Roman Catholic Church. Even Portugal - another eternal ally of the papal throne in the fight against Protestants and heretics - was influenced by this ideal, which was embodied in his activities by Prime Minister Sebastian Lombal (1782-1706), who had a significant influence on the weak Portuguese monarch Juan V (1750- 1773). Lombal directed all his influence to eradicate the power of the Jesuit order in Portugal, the head of which surpassed even the Portuguese primate (high priest) in his power. Despite the active opposition of the members of the order, Pope Benedict XIV decided to find out whether the true state of affairs in Portugal corresponded to the description provided by Lombal, and therefore sent his commission, which confirmed all Lombal's accusations against the Jesuits. The result of this was the prohibition of the activities of the Jesuit order in Portugal, and in 1814 it was also banned in Rome (although in XNUMX it was restored, but already as a monastic, and not a supervising body).

8.2. Crisis of Catholicism in the XNUMXth century

The next blow to the Roman Catholic Church was dealt by the French Revolution, which overthrew and executed King Louis XVI (1774-1789), and Pope Pius VI celebrated a prayer service for him. In 1790, the new revolutionary government adopted a decree on the nationalization of the church and the appointment of bishops by secular authorities, which undermined both the spiritual authority of the papacy and its economic power (the Catholic Church owned 10% of the land in France). But this was not the end of the humiliation of the papal throne: in 1799, the French general Berthier captured Pope Pius VI, which the aged high priest could no longer endure and died shortly after his release. The next pontiff, Pius VII, turned out to be more loyal to the French emperor, therefore, the so-called French Concordat, signed by him and Napoleon in 1801, made it possible to preserve the independence of the Catholic Church and defend its position in France. In exchange for this, Pius VII was forced to agree to the anointing of Napoleon Bonaparte as emperor, which was officially formalized in 1804, and the first part of the coronation (the anointing itself) was carried out by the pope, and the second part (the solemn dressing of the crown) Napoleon himself performed, demonstrating once again the weakness and dependence of papal power. Unfortunately, the compromise turned out to be temporary: the unwillingness of the spiritual ruler of the Catholic world to indulge the conquest plans of the French emperor (Pius refused to divorce Napoleon from his first wife Josephine, because of which he could not marry the daughter of the Austrian emperor, Marie-Louise, which would greatly strengthen his political influence in Europe) led to sad results for Rome. The Papal States, which included the central part of Italy, was annexed in 1809 to the French Empire, headed by Napoleon Bonaparte.

A turning point in the relationship between secular and spiritual authorities occurred in 1814, when the emperor, weakened by failures in military operations, was forced to make concessions to the Pope - to restore the independence of the Papal States, which resulted in the resumption of the activities of the Jesuit order and the appearance of a ban on Catholics joining the Masonic lodge. The papacy managed to recover after a period of difficult trials, although it lost part of its territory, which went to Austria as a result of the Peace of Vienna in 1815, but it launched active missionary activity, especially in South America and North Africa.

A particularly stormy surge in the reform of the Roman Catholic Church was associated with the pontificate of Pius VIII (1846-1878), who energetically set about changing and bringing into proper order, in his opinion, the dogmatic and administrative foundations of the church. The administrative side of the reforms he carried out consisted in a tax amnesty and a simplification of the church hierarchy. The missionary activity of the Roman Catholic Church also gradually began to give its results, both in the New and in the Old World. After years of rejection, the Pope managed to restore the Catholic diocese in Great Britain, where in 1850 the Archbishop of Westminster was proclaimed the local head of the Catholic Church. In 1848, a bill was passed in Holland allowing the activities of Catholic priests in this country, and the Archbishop of Utrecht was proclaimed Primate of Holland. In 1875, for the first time, a cardinal was appointed to the papal curia to represent the interests of Catholics living in the United States of America, which was a significant progress, since the Protestant religion traditionally dominated in this country.

With the dogmatic side of Catholic worship, the situation was much more complicated. At the very beginning of his pontificate, Pius VIII turned to Catholic theologians with a question regarding the virginity of the Virgin Mary. Having received a favorable response, he managed to organize a meeting of bishops in 1854, at which this provision acquired the status of a dogma. Another statement, which the Pope also sought to elevate to the status of a dogma, was the provision on the infallibility of the Pope personally (the dogma on the infallibility of the Christian Church as a whole was developed back in the 1869nd century). Despite the sharp objections from many theologians and church historians (for example, the German historian Dellenger), who pointed out that this dogma has neither historical nor theological justification, Pius VIII collected in 1870-XNUMX. I Vatican Council, designed to resolve the issue of recognizing the dogma of infallibility at the official level. The Catholic bishops who gathered at the Vatican Council from all parts of the Christian world did not come to an unambiguous opinion regarding the proposed dogma. The dogma of the infallibility of the pope, put forward for a vote, nevertheless gained a majority of votes, although a number of bishops left the council before its official completion, because they did not agree with the proposed decisions.

The schism of the council also marked a split within the Catholic Church itself: opponents of the dogma of infallibility joined the Jansenists, not recognized by the official papal authority, and formed the Old Catholic Church in 1879. The completion of the work of the Vatican Council was overshadowed by another trouble: after the defeat of the French Emperor Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War, the Italians, who were allies of Prussia, captured the Papal States, after which the bishops were forced to leave the site of the council as soon as possible. By decision of the Italian parliament, only the Vatican and the Lateran Palace, as well as the summer papal residence of Castel Gandolfo, were left to the Pope. Disagreeing with such a limitation of papal power, Pius VIII locked himself in his residence and did not leave there until the end of his pontificate.

8.3. Modern Catholicism: Traditions and Innovations

At the beginning of the XX century. The Catholic Church has taken several important steps to break the isolation impasse in which it has found itself because of its previous policies. Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) proclaimed the relevance of Christianity in its Catholic interpretation and, accordingly, turned his efforts to reinforcing the dogmatic statements of the Catholic dogma with the help of scientific data and demonstrating the significance of faith in the modern world. Neo-Thomism (the teaching of the followers of the medieval scholastic Thomas Aquinas) was proclaimed the new official theology of the Catholic Church in 1879, and a few years later the study of the principles of neo-Thomism became a mandatory subject in all Catholic schools. It was the neo-Thomists, among whom there were many prominent scientists, who made attempts to synthesize the Catholic religion with the latest achievements of science, for example, they tried to justify the place of God in the evolutionary version of the origin of the Universe and man. Also, Pope Leo XIII announced a course towards establishing contacts between Catholics and representatives of the Eastern (Orthodox) churches, while his main goal, proclaimed in the encyclical "Satis cognitum" (1896), remained the possible unification of the entire Christian religion under the auspices of papal authority.

Subsequent Roman pontiffs continued the course of reorganization and renewal of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. In the first half of the XX century. the procedure for electing popes, which is still in force today, was approved, church law was canonized. Organizations also emerged (Academy for the Study of the Holy Scriptures) that sought to correct outright errors in sacred texts and to transmit eternal Christian truths in a modernized form to make them more accessible to the general population. For example, in 1936, a special papal encyclical recommended the use of cinema to broadcast Christian values, which is why bishops and parish priests were recommended to create their own film libraries with works of world cinema approved by the papal authorities.

Considerable changes took place in the political organization of papal power. By agreement with the Italian government in 1929, the independent state of the Vatican was proclaimed, which has its own government, currency and even an army (100 Swiss mercenaries). Already in the early 1930s. in this state, which was recognized almost all over the world (except the USSR), there were ambassadors from several dozen countries, including the ambassador from Shinto Japan.

Another side of papal policy in those years, which now prefers to remain silent, was the cooperation of the Roman Catholic Church with the fascist regimes in Italy and Germany. The desire to preserve the established infrastructure in these countries, as well as to save his followers from possible attacks and repressions, led to the fact that Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) was forced to agree to this agreement, although he soon realized that it was wrong. In his encyclical of 1937, he condemned both communism (which was anathema back in 1917) and fascism, but Pius XI did not have time to take more decisive steps, since he was poisoned on behalf of the Italian Duce Mussolini in 1939. Next the pope, Pius XII (1939-1958), turned out to be more cautious and did not openly oppose the fascist regime until 1944, when Italy was liberated by Allied troops. In fairness, it is worth noting that the official position of the Catholic Church, which in words supported the initiatives of Hitler and Mussolini, was compensated in practice by the considerable assistance provided by representatives of the Catholic clergy - from ordinary priests to cardinals - to the victims of the Nazi regime.

The post-war policy of the Roman Catholic Church was aimed at restoring its shattered reputation and at an uncompromising struggle against communism, in which the papal curia saw its main opponent. The most significant event of this time was the holding of the II Vatican Council (1961-1965). The official task of the opening Council, Pope John XXIII proclaimed the renewal of the Church and its reasonable reorganization in the spirit of modernity, the way out of isolation and openness to the world. The cathedral itself has become a place of confrontation between two parties - conservatives, who demand to keep the structure of the Catholic Church and its dogmatic provisions unchanged, and modernists, who seek to simplify the structure of the church and bring its theoretical provisions closer to the needs of modern society, which would attract a significant number of believers. The official result of the council was the adoption of a whole range of important decisions: on the holy liturgy ("Sacrosanctum concilium"); about the media ("Inter mirifica"); about the Church ("Lumen Gentium"); on the pastoral office of bishops in the church ("Christus Dominus"); about the renewal of monastic life with its application to modern conditions ("Perfectae caritate"); about Divine revelation ("Dei Verbum"); on the apostolate of the laity ("Apostolicam actuositatem").

In 1964, in parallel with the work of the Council, the visit of the Pope to Constantinople took place, where Pope Paul VI and the Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras lifted mutual anathemas proclaimed as early as 1054, which was an important step towards rapprochement between the two branches of Christianity. However, the significance of this step should not be exaggerated, since by that time only 1% of all Orthodox Christians were in the Church of Constantinople, while all other Orthodox churches, most of whose parishioners lived on the territory of the socialist camp, refused to make contact with the papal authorities .

Undoubtedly, the most significant transformations in the modern Catholic Church were associated with the figure of Pontiff John Paul II (1978-2005), in the world of Pole Karol Wojtyla. Actively advocating the renewal of the Catholic Church, he nevertheless never crossed the line beyond which the renewal could turn into a distortion of the teachings of Christ. For example, in 1979, several American bishops were expelled from the fold of the Catholic Church for misinterpreting issues of sexual ethics. As a result of numerous trips and meetings with spiritual and secular leaders of states and confessions, John Paul II managed to establish a dialogue between representatives of various religions, for which he enjoyed well-deserved respect both among Catholics and among representatives of other confessions. Another step that brought him universal respect was the public repentance of the Pope for the mistakes that were committed by the Catholic Church throughout its existence - the punitive activities of the Inquisition, cooperation with the fascist regime, etc.

8.4. Directions of Protestantism, their emergence and development

Protestantism, unlike Catholicism, could not maintain internal unity, dividing into many branches and directions, among which there is no single true one, and all are recognized as equal versions of Christian teaching: the choice between them is dictated by the personal preferences of the believer. That is why, in relation to Protestantism, it would be a big stretch to talk about sects, since in the conditions of freedom of worship, any direction has the full right to exist if it remains committed to the text of Holy Scripture and the spirit of Christian teaching. In addition to Lutheranism, which became the first, but not the main of the Protestant movements, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Baptism, Adventism and Pentecostalism are among the most significant. Mormons occupy a special place among Protestants.

Lutheranism. Following the founder of their teaching, Lutherans clearly distinguish between the spiritual and worldly spheres of human life. The spiritual side of a person’s life is devoted to serving God, but the worldly side is built according to its own laws, the main ones of which are work ethics, civic morality, etc. In terms of its cult component, Lutheranism adheres to an intermediate position between Catholicism and the extreme directions of Protestantism, since it preserves the external paraphernalia (organ, chants) and recognizes two sacred sacraments (baptism and communion), unlike other Protestant movements that recognize only baptism. The followers of Martin Luther, for the most part, focus their attention on solving current moral and social issues in the spirit of Christian teaching, but pay virtually no attention to the development of dogmas and theoretical positions, which largely contributes to their popularity in the countries of Western and Central Europe. There are currently approximately 75 million Lutherans in the world, most of whom live in Germany, the Scandinavian and Baltic countries.

Calvinism. The founder of this trend was an active follower of Luther's reforms, the French monk John Calvin (1509-1564). Another name for Calvinists, characterizing their orderly and measured lifestyle, is Puritans (from the Latin puras - pure). The essence of Calvinism was the complete elimination of church hierarchy and the concentration of man on such values ​​as moderation and frugality. A person’s fate is predetermined, but the meaning of predestination can only be revealed in the process of performing everyday duties. If a person is lucky in business, then this is evidence that God cares about him and shows his mercy towards him, but if a person is constantly haunted by failures, then this is a symptom of a negative attitude towards him on the part of God. People get rich not because of their own talents, but precisely because of the special mercy shown to them by God, therefore it makes no sense to rebel against the rich, since this automatically means resistance to the order that is established by the divine will. In terms of its numbers, modern Calvinism is the second Protestant movement after Lutheranism, numbering 50 million people belonging to three different branches of Calvinism: Reformation, Congregationalism and Presbyterianism.

Anglicanism. The emergence of Anglicanism as one of the main directions of Protestantism can be dated to 1532, when the Council of English Bishops proclaimed the independence of the English Church from papal authority. The official establishment of Anglicanism had its own tragic history: with the accession to the throne of Mary Tudor (1553-1558), who was a staunch Catholic, a renaissance of Catholicism began, and several English bishops who took part in the historic cathedral were executed for firmness in their convictions. Fortunately, the period of repression turned out to be short, and all subsequent English monarchs (with the exception of James II, who was expelled from the country in 1688) were staunch Protestants who were "part-time" and the spiritual pastors of their country.

The worship of the representatives of Anglicanism goes back to the Catholic model. Also borrowed are the Nicene Creed and the filioque, the statement that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. From Protestantism, Anglicanism took the reduction of the number of sacraments to two (baptism and communion), as well as the simplification of church rites and the denial of the obligatory mediation of the church on the path of knowledge of God. At present, the official head of the Church of England is the English Parliament, so no change in the dogmatic or liturgical part can be introduced without the sanction of Parliament. One of the most scandalous decisions taken within the Anglican Church was to allow women to occupy the episcopal throne (1988), which has already been carried out several times in the Anglican Communities of North America, although in Britain this decision remains only on paper.

Baptistism has an important place in the history of Protestant doctrine, since it dates back to the 40th century. Many features make Baptistism similar to other Protestant churches (simplified rituals of worship, priority of faith over cult). But there are also some differences: the replacement of solemn services with prayer meetings of community members, where the collective reading of the Holy Scriptures takes place, by which only the New Testament is meant. In Baptistism there is no veneration of saints, crosses and icons, as well as church organization and monastic orders, since Jesus Christ, who is the main object of worship within this movement, carried out his activities in the world, but was guided by spiritual principles. Following the example of Jesus, Baptists steadily carry out missionary activities, recruiting into their ranks representatives of other branches of Christianity, due to which their number is steadily increasing. Currently, representatives of Baptists, most of whom live in the USA and South Africa, number more than XNUMX million people.

Adventism. Representatives of one of the relatively new trends in Protestantism are the Seventh-day Adventists, whose doctrine dates back to the 1830s, when a certain W. Miller outlined his views on the future of mankind, predicting the imminent coming of the Day of Judgment. According to the beliefs of the Adventists, who practically negate the traditional Christian doctrine, accepting only two rites of the sacred sacraments, there is no immortal soul. After the death of a person, the soul plunges into a state of stupor, which continues until the Day of Judgment, when the souls awakened by the risen Christ will be divided into those that deserve heavenly bliss and those that are condemned to eternal hellish torment. Unconditional salvation awaits the souls of those who are followers of the Adventist doctrine, observing all its rules and ethical standards. The only sacred text for Adventists is the Bible. Most of the adherents of this movement live in the United States, although active missionary activity leads to the emergence of Adventist communities in many countries, including Russia.

Pentecostalism became one of the latest, but nonetheless influential offshoots of Protestantism that developed in the United States at the turn of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. The basis of the doctrine of this Protestant movement is the belief that on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, revealing their prophetic abilities. The strong mystical orientation of Pentecostalism is manifested in the presence in the rite of baptism, which is recognized by the representatives of this doctrine, elements of great emotional excitement and ecstasy, which, in their opinion, is a guarantee of the descent of the Holy Spirit into the soul of a new adherent of the faith. The mystical experience of the presence of divine grace, which can descend into the soul of a sincere believer, underlies the Pentecostal doctrine of the intuitive way of knowing the deity. From an administrative point of view, there is a strict hierarchy in numerous Pentecostal communities - starting from the presbyter, who is the unconditional spiritual authority within a separate community, and ending with ordinary parishioners.

8.5. Mormons

The spread of Mormon teachings in Russia in the early 1990s made the name of this Protestant movement, which is often characterized by domestic researchers as a sect, quite well-known, but, unfortunately, in a double sense. In the mouths of supporters of this movement, the Mormon teaching is the only true version of Christianity, which is undeservedly “overwritten” by other Christian movements and churches, but carries a deep truth behind the external simplicity of rituals and the complexity of dogma. Opponents of Mormons just as often use the name of this movement to characterize modern destructive sectarianism, although the activities of Mormons in Russia were officially permitted in accordance with Federal Law of September 26, 1997 No. 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations.”

The "Church of the Saints" (this is the official name of the Mormons) was founded in 1830 in the USA by Joseph Smith (1805-1844). He gained fame as a person endowed with strong psychic abilities, but at the same time as a cunning businessman who repeatedly turned intricate money frauds, one of which led him to prison, where in 1844 he was killed by opponents of the Mormon doctrine. From childhood, visited by various visions, Smith already in adulthood published the "Book of Mormon", containing vague divinations, which became for his followers the personification of the new Holy Scripture. The authorship of this book was attributed by Smith and his followers to the last Israeli prophet Mormon, who allegedly managed to embody in his sayings the most ancient wisdom that does not require any more additions, but allows for various interpretations.

Mormons accept most of the early Christian tenets, but lean in their type of church organization towards the early Christian church of the apostolic community period. The main daily requirement that Mormons make to adherents of their faith is to refrain from drinking alcohol and any tonic (up to tea and coffee). At the same time, representatives of the Mormon doctrine openly preach polygamy (some researchers believe that this point was borrowed by Smith from Islam), and also put forward demands for the creation of their own state with a theocratic structure, which Smith himself spoke about in his last sermons. The main value, the presence of which Mormons have in common with other currents of Protestantism, is diligence and the desire to increase prosperity (Smith himself devoted more than one page of his Book of Mormon to the development of this provision and specific advice on its implementation). Also, the Mormon doctrine is saturated with eschatological expectations, which are currently being interpreted in an unexpected way. Belief in the imminent onset of the Day of Judgment, followed by the onset of the Kingdom of God on earth, bringing bliss to all representatives of the true religion, echoes among Mormons with statements about the inevitability of a nuclear catastrophe. The desire to preserve their community, as well as the memory of the souls of those who passed away long before the Day of Judgment, prompted the Mormons to create a safe shelter in their general residence, carved into a granite rock, designed for a direct hit of an atomic bomb.

After Smith's death, his followers moved to the city of Salt Lake City (USA, Utah), which became the official center of the Mormon movement and remains so to this day, since it is there that the main governing bodies of the Mormon movement around the world are located, as well as institutions, having a cult character, despite their seemingly utilitarian significance. We are talking about the "Storage in Granite Mountain" and "Family History Library", the purpose of which is to store microfilms containing historical and genealogical information relating not only to the United States, but also to other countries of the world. Over the past 15 years, the Mormon repository has received many hundreds of microfilms containing information from Russia. We are talking about church books, population census data and other sources containing names, surnames and other data about people who once lived. The value of this information for Mormons comes from their conviction that each person is able to save, by converting to the true faith, not only himself, but also his loved ones, as well as ancestors, for which it is necessary to know at least their names. The Mormon religion allows baptism to be performed even in the absence of people participating in this ceremony.

Topic 9. Russian Orthodoxy

9.1. Features of the adoption of Christianity in Russia

The first news of the penetration of Christianity into the territory of settlement of Slavic tribes is associated with the name of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. According to the legend preserved by the Acts of the Apostles, he preached on the northern coast of the Black Sea, so that hypothetically he could communicate with the Slavs who settled there, however, reliable information about this communication has not been preserved, and it is unlikely that there could have been any. Nevertheless, the author of “The Tale of Bygone Years” wrote with absolute confidence that Andrei not only climbed the Dnieper, but also erected a cross at the site of the birth of Kyiv. The legendary nature of this news was established by the famous historian of the Orthodox Church E. Golubinsky on the basis of another chronicle testimony, according to which not a single apostle preached on the territory of Rus'. [43]

More reliable facts that make it possible to record the appearance of Christianity on the territory of the Slavic tribes long before the date of official baptism refer to 867, when Patriarch Photius of Constantinople (d. 891/97) mentions in the "District Message" to church hierarchs subordinate to Constantinople about the baptism of the Rus. Other sources of the same era, mentioning this event, attribute the leading role in it to the brothers Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (815-885) - the creators of the Slavic alphabet. Given the frequent attacks of the Rus (meaning the Eastern Slavs) on the territory of Byzantium throughout the XNUMXth century, it can be assumed that not the East Slavic tribes themselves were baptized, but the squads of one or more military leaders who wished to accept Christianity within Byzantine borders. Other researchers see in the news of Patriarch Photius evidence of the baptism of that part of the Rus that inhabited the Crimean peninsula. In favor of the latter assumption is also the fact of the establishment of the Chersonese bishopric, which was founded in the second half of the XNUMXth century. From that moment on, Christianity began to penetrate into the territory of the East Slavic tribes, along with merchants who served along the way as religious preachers; with soldiers returning from campaigns who converted to Orthodoxy on the territory of Byzantium. All these factors gradually prepared the perception of Christianity as "their" religion, no longer by individual representatives, but by society as a whole.

Of course, Christianity did not spread in all segments of the population, but among the nobility and the princely administration. The surviving sources testify that Christians were not subjected to infringement of their rights in comparison with pagans. In favor of the initially loyal attitude of the Eastern Slavs to the Orthodox religion is the fact that Princess Olga (d. 969), the widow of Prince Igor (d. 945), who converted to Orthodoxy during her trip to Constantinople in 952, did not lose the opportunity to govern country (later she was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church with the rank of a saint). Nevertheless, the adoption of the Christian faith by Princess Olga remained her private choice, which did not impose any obligations on the rest of the population of the Russian state.

The next step towards introducing the Slavs to the Christian religion was taken by Olga's grandson, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (d. 1015), who remained in people's memory under the nickname "Red Sun", while church tradition attributed to him another nickname - "Saint". In the mid-980s. he adopted the Christian religion in its Byzantine version, and in 988 he made Christianity the new official religion of the nascent Russian state. This step was preceded by an attempt to create a single pantheon of East Slavic deities led by Perun (the thunder god, patron of warriors), dictated by the internal political interests of Prince Vladimir. The creation of a new state, composed of various tribes that had cultural and religious originality within the framework of linguistic and national unity, was to be accompanied by the establishment of a state religion, but the mechanical union of the supreme gods of various tribes turned out to be unviable due to the impossibility of reconciling the contradictions that arose. [44] The adoption of Christianity, which was not a completely unfamiliar religion, had another obvious advantage - it became possible to establish international contacts on the basis of a religious community, which would have been difficult if paganism had persisted.

The first act of baptism of the inhabitants of Rus' was performed in 988 on the Pochayna River (a tributary of the Dnieper), after which a diverging wave of obligatory baptism rites swept across the bounds of the endless East Slavic plain. However, baptism did not always proceed peacefully. The conversion of Novgorod to Christianity in 990 became a symbol of the struggle that the Christian religion had to wage for complete establishment in the new territory. Only with the help of military force Dobrynya, the uncle and governor of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, managed to force the Novgorodians to throw idols (statues of pagan deities) into the river and accept Christianity. According to E. Golubinsky, “the complete submission of Russians in changing their faith to the will of the prince and the so-called peaceful spread of Christianity in Rus' is nothing more than an impossible invention of our immoderate patriots... There is no doubt that the introduction of a new faith was accompanied by considerable excitement among the people "that there were open resistances and riots, although we do not know any details about them." [45]

Some indirect information about how difficult the baptism of Russia went in the north and northeast, where this process was hampered by the belonging of the main part of the population to the Finno-Ugric community, is brought to us by chronicles. Already in 1024 an uprising against Christianity was raised in Suzdal. The unrest of 1071, which broke out in Novgorod, soon spread throughout northern Russia, resulting in such large-scale riots that it was possible to suppress them only with the help of the prince's squad. The instigators of all unrest against the new religion were, according to the chronicles, the Magi - the priests of pagan cults, the preservation of which, although in a hidden form, indicates that the process of Christianization of Russia dragged on for several hundred years. So, even in 1113, the Vyatichi (an East Slavic tribe living in the upper reaches of the Volga and Vyatka rivers) killed the missionary Kuksha, who was sent to this forest region on the orders of the Kyiv prince himself.

But even in those cases when there was no external hostility, and the inhabitants obediently agreed to accept Christianity and throw away the old idols, it was difficult to talk about the undoubted successes of the new religion. The ostentatious Christianization was combined with the preservation of faith in the former tribal deities, ancestors and spirits, hidden from prying eyes. Thus arose a peculiar phenomenon of Russian religious culture, called dual faith. The two religious systems did not exist independently of each other, but were closely intertwined: the new Christian realities found analogies in the usual pagan cults. The coexistence of Christianity with pagan polytheism was facilitated by the external signs of the new religion, which could easily be perceived as evidence of the existence of cults of individual deities. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as well as the Mother of God, the apostles and numerous saints and saints - all of them were endowed with pagan functions. The ordinary consciousness of an ancient Russian person easily identified the worship of the Mother of God with the cult of the pagan goddess Mokosha, transferring numerous attributes of paganism into Christian rituals. Christian saints underwent the same metamorphosis: St. Blaise was identified with the traditional god Beles, and in this new capacity began to be perceived as the patron of cattle. Now it is already difficult to establish which East Slavic gods were replaced by Saint Barbara, Saints Nicholas, Kosma, George the Victorious, who in the new Christian pantheon became responsible for fertility, blacksmithing, medicine, etc. It is interesting that the main deities of the East Slavic tribes, including Perun, were never perceived by the ancient Russian chroniclers, mostly related to the clergy, as dead. Even in the XIV century. these gods were mentioned as existing, but "losing" in importance to the Christian god. The intertwining of paganism and Christianity was also reflected in the cult sphere: new churches were often built on the same places where the temples of pagan gods were located, in order to attract ordinary people who had not yet had time to be imbued with the spirit of the new religion.

The church organization of the Russian Orthodox Church was created much later than the date of the adoption of Christianity: only in 1037 did the Patriarch of Constantinople appoint the first Metropolitan Theopemptus, a Greek by birth, to Kyiv. The next step towards achieving at least relative ecclesiastical independence was taken in 1047, when Prince Yaroslav the Wise managed to install the first Russian Metropolitan Hilarion in Russia, who became a famous Russian scribe and author of the treatise "The Word of Law and Grace", which was one of the obligatory for reading books of medieval Russian man.

9.2. Development of the Russian Church in the XIII-XVII centuries

During the years of the Golden Horde yoke, the church managed to maintain its well-being thanks to the condescending attitude towards it on the part of the Mongol khans. The customs of the Mongols forbade them to be derogatory to a foreign religion, therefore, among the dead in 1237-1240. there were extremely few priests, especially in comparison with the number of representatives of other groups of the population. After the yoke was secured by the consent of the Russian princes to pay tribute to the Mongol khan, the Russian Orthodox Church with all its possessions was exempted from paying mandatory tax, which allowed it to become a significant economic and political force.

In 1299, the Metropolitan of Kyiv Maxim moved his residence from the devastated and devastated Kyiv to the safer Vladimir, and a few more years later the metropolitan throne found a new home in Moscow (1324). This circumstance became a strong trump card in the hands of Ivan Kalita, since Metropolitan Peter thereby sanctioned the claims of the Moscow princes to primacy among all Russian rulers. The spiritual dominion of the metropolitan and the political weight that he had - all this could not be ignored both by the princes fighting each other and by the common people, in whose eyes the place of residence of the metropolitan was the religious center of Russia, its heart. From that moment on, the Russian metropolitans acted as faithful assistants and spiritual mentors of the Russian princes in the process of unification of the Russian state.

Another priority task of the church as a whole and of individual ascetics was the spread of Orthodoxy among non-Christian peoples (northern Russia and the Urals), as well as a significant increase in the number of monasteries and monks. Especially revered both among the nobility and among ordinary people was the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, founded by Sergius of Radonezh (1321-1391), who came from a noble family, but renounced earthly power for the sake of spiritual achievement.

While taking an active part in political and social processes, the Russian Orthodox Church was not able to avoid the consequences of this participation, which appeared rather soon. Already in 1377, after the death of Metropolitan Alexy (1353-1377), who enjoyed tremendous spiritual authority, the place of metropolitan became the subject of an active struggle between various ecclesiastical and secular groups. Pimen, who received the rank of metropolitan in Constantinople, was deposed by Dmitry Donskoy, who appointed his confessor Mityai in his place, and after his death - Cyprian, whom he himself drove away.

Such a frequent change of metropolitans and their obvious dependence on secular authorities turned out to be a strong destabilizing factor, the influence of which was overcome only in the first half of the 1453th century, when Orthodox Christianity faced a different task: to preserve the sacred Christian faith in the face of a new and very dangerous enemy - the Turks. Ottomans. The threat of the capture of Constantinople by them, which was realized in 1439, led to the fact that part of the Eastern churches, trying to avoid their final destruction, went to the conclusion of the Union of Florence with the Catholics. This union, signed in XNUMX, including by a delegate from the Russian Orthodox Church, meant recognition of the primacy of the pope and the loss of ecclesiastical independence. But Metropolitan Isidore, who signed this union, was taken into custody immediately after his return to Moscow, and the council of church hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church refused to recognize this union. Thus, the Russian Church not only refused the possible assistance of Western Europe upon the return of Constantinople, but also automatically opposed itself to the rest of the Orthodox Churches.

The changed political conditions compelled Russian theologians to formulate a new idea that expressed the essence of Russian Orthodoxy and became known as the "Moscow - Third Rome" doctrine. This doctrine was formulated in the writings of the Pskov monk Philotheus, who claimed that the reason for the death of Rome, and then Constantinople, was the heresies in which these cities were mired. Moscow, which inherited the spiritual supremacy of these cities, is freed from the vices that ate them, and therefore it is she who will have to embody the idea of ​​realizing a truly Orthodox state on earth.

End of the XNUMXth century for the Russian Orthodox Church took place in the struggle between the two main directions - the Josephites and non-possessors. The first, named after their spiritual leader, hegumen of the Volotsk Monastery Joseph, argued that the church serves as the vicar of God on earth, therefore all the lands belonging to it are the property of the Lord and are inviolable for worldly power. Their opponents (Vassian Patrikeev, Nil Sorsky) proclaimed the early Christian ideal of a monk, not burdened by earthly concerns, but rising in his thoughts to the spiritual world and, accordingly, not in need of any worldly blessings. The struggle of these two currents ended in the defeat of the non-possessors, who were condemned by the church council and sent to distant monasteries.

1551th century period became the time of the final registration of the Russian Orthodox Church as an official institution in the new centralized state. The Stoglavy Council, which took place in 100 (so named because its decisions amounted to exactly 22 chapters) unified the observance of church rules and norms throughout the territory of the Russian state, and also regulated the degree of inclusion of church norms in secular life. Laity, regardless of their social status, were forbidden to play chess (however, Ivan the Terrible successfully neglected this rule), shave their beards, watch theatrical performances and performances of buffoons. Another decision of this council consolidated the practice of canonization of saints. Such by the middle of the XVI century. there were 45 on a national scale and another 1589 on a regional scale. For several decades of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the number of saints increased several times. In almost every monastery, the relics of local saints turned out to be "acquired", and for a long time the main work of the monastic scribes was writing lives, which described the spiritual exploits of the deceased righteous, allowing them to be canonized as saints. The apotheosis of building the building of the Russian Orthodox Church was the establishment in XNUMX of the title of patriarch, which was awarded to Metropolitan Job of Moscow. Representatives of other Orthodox patriarchates, who at first prevented the Moscow metropolia from acquiring a higher status, were forced to agree to this step for fear of losing that powerful ally and patron, which the Russian tsar was for them.

9.3. Church schism in Russia. Old Believers

The prerequisites for a church schism were ripening in the Russian state for a long time. In the middle of the XV century. The Pskov abbot Euphrosynus undertook a journey to Constantinople, still under the rule of the Byzantine emperor, in order to find out how many times the exclamation "Hallelujah" should be pronounced during worship - two or three. In Russia, a triple form of pronouncing this exclamation was adopted, respectively, and the sign of the cross was made with three fingers folded into a pinch, which symbolized the dogma of the three divine hypostases. In the churches of Constantinople, as Euphrosynus found out, the exclamation was doubled, and the sign was performed with two fingers, therefore, returning to his native monastery, he began to introduce new orders, sanctioning their application by the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople. Many priests supported the established order of the triple sign, which resulted in long disputes, the end of which was put by the decision of the Stoglavy Cathedral, which approved the double sign and the doubling of the exclamation "Hallelujah" as the official form.

Patriarch Nikon, who occupied the patriarchal throne in 1652, made it one of his main tasks to eliminate the errors and contradictions contained in the old church books, with the aim that the unified state, which claimed to be the sole inheritance of the true Orthodox religion, would correspond to an equally unified church. Similar reforms were conceived as early as the 1653th century, but the Stoglavy Cathedral failed to eliminate all the contradictions that arose, to which new ones have been added over the years since its convocation, for example, the question of what church hymns should be - polyphonic or unanimous. Nikon was a member of the circle, which included the closest associates of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. It was within the framework of this circle that ideas arose that were to determine the further development of the Russian kingdom and the Orthodox religion, therefore the sanction of the monarch to carry out the corresponding changes was received by the patriarch without much effort. Already in XNUMX, Nikon single-handedly, without convening a church council, banned the double sign of the cross and the doubling of the exclamation "Hallelujah", replacing them with three; polyphony was also prohibited.

Archpriests Avvakum and Daniel prepared a petition to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in which they referred to the fact that the rejected elements of the cult had a long history and were consecrated by centuries of practice, but the petition was ignored, and its authors paid for their disobedience with freedom. Archpriest Avvakum, who continued to actively oppose Nikon's innovations even while in Siberian exile, was later burned (1682). Nikon also assembled a commission of monks who were immigrants from Ukraine and were fluent in Latin and Greek, in order to identify all the distorted places in church books and their subsequent correction. This work took several years, during which the new rules were actively introduced by the supporters of the patriarch, while the opponents of the corrections were anathematized in 1656 and proclaimed heretics - apostates from the Orthodox faith.

After such actions of Nikon, the church schism, which resulted in the division of the whole society into supporters and opponents of innovations, was inevitable. Despite the fact that the patriarch himself soon fell out of favor with the tsar and was exiled into exile, the reforms he had begun were continued and brought to their logical conclusion. A few years later, the corrected church books were officially recognized as the only true ones, and the old ones were ordered to be destroyed. But not everyone agreed with the church reforms. Opponents of innovations - they began to be called Old Believers - grouped around the Solovetsky Monastery, the abbot of which did not recognize the corrected books. The government had to use armed force to force the monks to accept the reforms, which was only possible after several years of siege of the monastery. The Old Believers, who did not want to put up with the new order, were forced to leave the central part of Russia and flee to its outskirts (the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, the Don), where the absence of tsarist troops left them the opportunity to observe rituals according to the old model. But even there the authorities did not leave the adherents of the old faith alone. Their villages were surrounded by regular troops, after which adults and children were forcibly forced to convert to a new faith. Those who did not consider it possible to sacrifice their own religious principles preferred to burn rather than renounce their faith. According to modern researchers, the number of Old Believers who voluntarily committed self-immolation in the last decades of the 20th century exceeds 10 thousand people, and the total number of opponents of church reforms who left Russia is XNUMX% of the total population at that time.

From time to time, the Old Believers tried to change the situation that had developed in the religious system of the country, but such attempts, as a rule, ended in failure. The famous Streltsy rebellion (1682) was perhaps the most striking event in the active confrontation between supporters and opponents of the new faith. In the Faceted Chamber of the Kremlin, a theological dispute was even arranged between supporters of each of the points of view, but this dispute ended only with mutual threats, and in the meantime the rebellion of the archers was suppressed, after which the Old Believers could only keep their faith in deep secret, not pretending to open fight.

It should be clarified that the Old Believers, opposing themselves to the supporters of the new faith, were not a holistic formation: within them there were groups that differed in the interpretation of certain provisions, as a rule, of a cult rather than a dogmatic nature. The key moment for the split within the Old Believers themselves was the end of the XNUMXth century, when those priests who had been ordained according to the old rules gradually passed away. Some groups of Old Believers introduced the practice of ordination as a priest of their future successor, which made it possible to maintain an unbroken line of custodians of the true faith - such Old Believers were called priests. Those Old Believers who ruled out the possibility of the unauthorized appointment of priests began to be called non-priests. Another controversial issue, regarding which the zealots of the old faith could not come to an unambiguous decision, was the permission or prohibition of a priest to marry. Representatives of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church, grouped around the Solovetsky Monastery, allowed their priests to marry and have children. An active supporter of such an interpretation of the Old Believer faith was the preacher Vasily Yemelyanov. From the Pomeranian Church at the very end of the XNUMXth century. the so-called Fedoseyevites (after the founder of the community, Theodosius Vasiliev), who considered it unacceptable for a priest to marry, separated.

9.4. Church under state control (1700-1917)

In 1700, a significant event in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church took place. After the death of the elderly Patriarch Adrian, Tsar Peter I decided not to appoint a new patriarch, but to appoint Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky (1658-1722), who became one of the prominent church figures of the early 1700th century, as the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. The peak of his career came just in XNUMX, when Yavorsky became the metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom. In the same year he received the title of locum tenens. This event itself marked an important change in the relationship between secular and ecclesiastical authorities.

Throughout the 1612th century the church repeatedly claimed a certain independence from the king. This was especially evident under Patriarch Filaret (1633-1651), the father of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, and Patriarch Nikon (1666-20), who openly advocated the priority of spiritual authority. From an economic point of view, the church was one of the richest landowners: only the Trinity-Sergius Lavra owned 1721 thousand peasant households (although for the sake of justice it should be noted that most of the monasteries located in remote places and not marked by high patronage had a much more modest income) . 1724th century ruthlessly dispelled political and economic illusions. The interests of the church were completely subordinated to the state, and after the death of Stefan Yavorsky, this subordination also acquired an administrative character. In XNUMX, by decree of Tsar Peter, the Most Holy Governing Synod was created, which was the state governing body of the church. The Synod was headed by the Chief Procurator. Another decree issued by Peter I in XNUMX significantly restricted the rights of monasticism: from now on, some of the monasteries were assigned to hospitals for sick and crippled soldiers.

The position of the Old Believers has changed. In 1716, Peter replaced the persecution and legal responsibility to which the representatives of the old faith were subject, with the possibility of freeing themselves from oppression by paying a significant fine. However, not so many Old Believers took advantage of this permission, since most of them perceived the decrees of the secular authorities as manifestations of the devil's skill and therefore did not want to listen to them.

Further restrictions on religious power were associated with the decree of Catherine II of 1764, according to which all land holdings of churches passed into the jurisdiction of the state - the secularization of church lands took place. From now on, all possessions of the Russian Orthodox Church became state property, and state benefits were issued for the maintenance of monasteries and churches. Only the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius stood apart, which was under the special patronage of the empress, thanks to which its annual maintenance was several times higher than the amounts allocated for the maintenance of any other monastery; In addition, most of the Lavra's income came from donations from members of the imperial family. The church hierarchy was also adjusted to the state administrative structure. By the end of the 1797th century. The number of dioceses increased significantly, and their borders themselves began to coincide with the provinces of the Russian Empire. Theological education is becoming widespread: semi-literate rural sextons who learn basic church texts by heart are being replaced by seminary graduates, the number of whom is steadily increasing. At the same time, the role and number of the clergy as a state class are being reduced. For a long time, priests automatically included their children, who did not perform religious duties, but were at the same time exempt from almost all taxes (except for the poll tax). In XNUMX, Paul I ordered that those priests who did not have their own parish (and their number in Moscow alone amounted to several hundred people), as well as the children of priests who were not studying at the seminary, were enlisted for military service.

The Orthodox Church, forced to submit to state necessity, took a more loyal position in relation to the Gentiles. Numerous Uniates (supporters of an agreement with the Catholic Church - the Union of Florence of 1439), who lived on the territory of Poland annexed to the Russian Empire, were delivered from oppression on the basis of religious affiliation. The Old Believers also received another indulgence: the government used to prefer to look "through its fingers" at the activities of the richest merchant families adhering to the old religion, but now belonging to the Old Believer faith has ceased to be a source of state persecution.

The official formula of Minister S.S. Uvarova - "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality" - legitimized the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in the sphere of state ideology. In the absence of the patriarch, the Russian emperor was considered the head of the church, and therefore his official, the chief prosecutor of the Synod, ran the church.

Missionary activity for the Christianization of the lands annexed to the Russian Empire acted as an important element of domestic political activity, since it made it possible to reduce tension in relations between the annexed population and the Russian administration. The conquest of the Caucasus, which was officially completed by 1856, was the beginning of the process of transition to the Orthodox faith of certain Caucasian peoples, who had been Muslims until that moment. A significant increase in the number of adherents of the Orthodox faith among the peoples of the Caucasus and Eastern Siberia was also due to the fact that the change of religion provided significant tax benefits.

At the same time, the position of the Russian Orthodox Church subordinate to the state could not satisfy many church hierarchs, who actively advocated the return of the church to its independence and the election of a new patriarch. Such views became especially popular among ordinary clergy and higher church officials at the end of the 1903th century, when the Russian Empire was going through difficult moments of its existence. On the one hand, the process of active canonization was going on (in 1906, Seraphim of Sarov was canonized), the position of the Old Believers was improving (in 1916, the anathema proclaimed in the 1917th century to adherents of the old faith was finally canceled). However, there were also negative phenomena. The royal family, which surrounded itself with religious charlatans, but at the same time continued to be considered the main example of Orthodox piety, discredited the Orthodox religion itself. One of the largest religious thinkers of the early XX century. Archbishop John of Kronstadt already in XNUMX took the initiative to convene a church council, at which the issue of electing a patriarch was to be decided, but the implementation of this initiative was possible only after the October Revolution of XNUMX.

9.5. Revolution and a new split in Orthodoxy

The revolution, which marked the end of the existence of the Russian Empire, also brought drastic changes in the fate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The elimination of the Synod gave hope that under the new government the dominant position of Orthodoxy would be restored, and at first this hope seemed to come true. In 1917-1918. the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was in operation, the main achievement of which was the election, after a two-hundred-year break, of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, which was the Moscow Metropolitan Tikhon (Belavin).

At the same time, bewilderment and disappointment in the church environment was caused by the appearance on January 23, 1918 of the decree of the Soviet government on the separation of church and state. Having got rid of the pressure of state power, the church itself was eliminated from the possibility of influencing society. In addition, the first months of the existence of the new government demonstrated rampant anarchy, which also manifested itself in relation to representatives of the clergy. Many monasteries were plundered, hundreds of monks died, trying to stop the robbers and murderers. All this forced Patriarch Tikhon to deliver a message on January 19, 1918, in which he demanded that the new government stop robberies and robberies, calling on the parishioners of Orthodox churches to defend their faith even with weapons in their hands.

Many church leaders who participated in the work of the Local Council (Antony Khrapovitsky, Andrei Ukhtomsky) took a more radical position, refusing to obey the decree and joining the White Guard troops in southern Russia and Siberia. The inconsistency of their position was that, recognizing their secular subordination to such figures of the White movement as General A.I. Denikin or Admiral A.V. Kolchak, these church hierarchs emphasized the primacy of Tikhon, who formally recognized Soviet power as the spiritual head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. This decision was enshrined at the Stavropol Cathedral in 1919, in which all the highest representatives of the church hierarchy, who were at that moment in the territory controlled by the White movement, took part. Along with the gradual establishment of Soviet power in almost the entire former territory of the Russian Empire (with the exception of the lands annexed to Germany and Poland and Finland, on whose territory independent Polish and Finnish Orthodox churches were founded), the opposition clergy were forced to leave Russia. The main centers of Russian emigration in the first half of the 1920s. became Germany and the Czech Republic, where the color of the intelligentsia was gathered, including the most progressive religious thinkers - Anthony Khrapovitsky, Evlogii and others.

Thus, the 1920s marked a new split in the Orthodox Church, provoked by the consequences of the October Revolution and the establishment of a new order, which was not recognized by many groups of believers. Already in 1917, the Georgian Orthodox Church emerged from the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church and proclaimed its complete independence in church affairs. In 1921, at the Karlovac Cathedral, Russian emigrants announced the creation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile, which declared its disobedience to the Russian Orthodox Church and accused the church hierarchs who remained in Russia of apostasy from the true faith.

The clergy who remained in Russia were forced to put up with the decisions of the new government or enter into open confrontation with it, which, as a rule, did not end in favor of the priests. Following the systematic deprivation of monasteries of their property and widespread anti-religious agitation (1921-1929), followed by a government decree "On Cults" (1929), which equated the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church with sectarianism. After this decision, the authorities had a formal reason for filing charges and arrests. In the 1930s a wave of arrests swept across the country, followed by sending to the Gulag or execution. The peak of these repressions came in 1937-1938. The total number of clergymen subjected to repressions during these years exceeds 600 thousand people, most of whom died in the camps or were shot.

Some indulgence of the Orthodox Church was made in 1942. This was due to the need to consolidate Soviet society in the face of an external enemy, which was Nazi Germany. Religious faith continued to be a powerful internal force, it was to it that the Soviet leaders turned, making some concessions of an administrative nature: the restoration of churches began, the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate was founded, which became the official printed organ of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The schism was partly overcome under Patriarch Alexy I, who assumed the patriarchal throne in 1944. The so-called "renovationists" joined the Russian Orthodox Church, proclaiming in the 1920s reforming the Orthodox dogma (transition to the Gregorian calendar, approval of the Russian language as the language of worship, etc.). The patriarchate demanded from them public repentance and the return of all hierarchs to those official ranks that they had at the time of falling away from the true church. Both of these conditions were met, after which the reunification was completed. In 1946, Uniates living on the territory of Ukraine and previously subordinate to the Roman Catholic Church officially joined the Russian Orthodox Church. At the 1971 council, an agreement was worked out on the official reconciliation of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Old Believers.

9.6. Renaissance of Orthodoxy in modern Russia

By the beginning of the 1990s. The Russian Orthodox Church was a religious entity undergoing a gradual revival. In 1988, the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' was celebrated at the state level, churches began to be restored, the total number of dioceses was increased to 76, and there were 18 permanently operating monasteries. After in the mid-1980s. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad received the opportunity to carry out missionary activities on the territory of Russia, and some of the parishes belonging primarily to the Moscow diocese recognized the primacy of the foreign church over themselves. This led to the emergence in 1989 of the Russian Orthodox Free Church, whose activities take place in Russia, but under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

The rapid rise of religious self-consciousness in Russia began in 1991, but it was initially connected with the return of religious consciousness as such, and not with the revival of Orthodoxy. Along with the increase in the number of parishioners in Orthodox churches, there was a numerical increase in adherents of Catholicism and Protestantism, which was not slow to take advantage of the missionaries of these religions. A large number of people, not finding a religion worthy of their expectations among traditional confessions, turned to various sects and cults, the number of which in Russia has increased exponentially over several years. Public opinion readily recognized that every religion is a positive phenomenon and that no one dares interfere with the inalienable right of a citizen to profess any of them and become a member of any religious organization. Thus, the fact that religiosity can be not only positive, but also negative, that there are a huge number of dangerous sects in the world and that many of them can be destructive, was denied, or rather, no attention was focused on it.

In the mid 1990s. the desire for religion was transformed into a craving for Orthodoxy, in which the active position of the Russian Orthodox Church played its role. According to the 1993 Constitution, which proclaimed freedom of conscience in Russia, the absence of a single state religion and established the equality of all world religions on the territory of the Russian Federation, Orthodoxy failed to acquire the status of uniqueness that distinguished it from other religious denominations for hundreds of years, until 1917 d. Nevertheless, very soon the Russian Orthodox Church managed to become "first among equals" thanks to the active support of the political authorities, seeking to legitimize their rule through appeal to the traditional dominants of the Russian consciousness, including Orthodoxy. At the same time, a number of decrees and laws were adopted at the federal level, limiting the activities of destructive sects and religious organizations in Russia as much as possible, which served as an additional incentive to attract people to traditional religion.

The Church managed not only to strengthen its economic base by returning property taken away during the years of Soviet power, but also to gain a foothold in such social institutions as the army and education. In 2004, a law was adopted on teaching the basics of Orthodox culture in secondary and higher educational institutions. Another significant step on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church was the signing in 2006 of an agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad on the latter's gradual entry into the Russian Orthodox Church. Of course, this process will take several years, but even now it can be stated that after a long period of church schism, Orthodoxy is gradually entering a phase of reunification, consolidating in the face of other world confessions, primarily Islam.

Speaking about the specifics of the modern religious situation in Russia, researchers tend to go to two extremes, either considering the increase in the quantitative indicators of believers as a characteristic of the rise of a religious culture that had long been forgotten, or paying attention to the qualitative characteristics of the so-called “new believers” and leaning towards an ideologized assessment existing trends. Many facts speak in favor of the latter opinion, for example, data from sociological surveys, according to which 52% of the population consider themselves believers, while only 6% regularly attend church, from which it is concluded that the growth of religious self-awareness is associated primarily with the awareness of attributive affiliation Orthodoxy to the complex of identification features that make up the portrait of a modern Russian citizen. The fact is that the return of Orthodoxy is taking place in a society where, for several generations, the overwhelming majority of people had no connections with institutional church life and Orthodox dogma. The gap that has arisen in the cultural memory of Russian society remains unbridged to this day. Modern Russian religiosity is dominated by external features - wearing a cross, irregularly attending divine services, while familiarity with the doctrine and basic tenets of the Orthodox faith is still at an extremely low level. The reconstruction of the system of religious education serves to restore the lost religious culture. In recent years in Russia the number of seminaries and departments of religious studies in the philosophical faculties of leading universities, such as Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, Saratov State University. N.G. Chernyshevsky and others.

Topic 10. Islam

10.1. Muhammad, the main sources of Islam

Islam is the third of the world's religions, the latest in time of occurrence, which has a positive effect on the historical data that modern historians of religion have regarding the circumstances of the birth of the Muslim faith. We know much more about Islam and its founder Muhammad than about Buddha and Jesus, due to the fact that the life and teachings of Muhammad were recorded in written sources a few years after his death, and not several decades later, as was the case with Christianity and Buddhism. But before talking about Muhammad himself, it is necessary to highlight the situation that developed on the Arabian Peninsula at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. and which became the basis for the birth of a new religion.

The Arabs are by origin one of the Semitic tribes, so their original customs have much in common with the customs of the Jews (for example, the ban on eating pork), but the development of their religion and culture went in a slightly different way. The nomadic way of life that the Arabs led, the location of their tribes at the intersection of caravan routes leading from Mesopotamia to Egypt, from India to the Middle East - these circumstances contributed to the fact that the concentration of the religious cult of all Arab tribes occurred in Mecca, which was located on the banks of the Red seas. It was there that a sanctuary was organized in which the relics of individual Arab tribes were kept, including the mysterious Kaaba stone, which, according to legend, fell from the sky and served as an object of worship for all Arabs, regardless of their belonging to a particular tribe or clan. Quite early in the Arab oases, foreign settlements also appeared. , originally merchants, in particular the Jewish and early Christian communities.

After the caravan trade entered a period of decline, the Arabs had to gradually switch to a settled way of life, which entailed the assignment of a clearly fixed piece of land to each tribe. The dispute over the boundaries of land gave rise to military clashes between different tribes, and the forced need to reduce these clashes to minimal losses, due to the constant presence of external threats, led to the emergence of rallying factors. One of these factors is the monotheistic religion, an example of which could be similar forms of belief observed by Arab nomads among their neighbors - Jews and Christians. Muhammad's preaching, which unfolded in such an environment, was doomed to success, although the founder of Islam had certain difficulties already at the beginning of his ascetic activity.

The figure of Muhammad himself is, of course, historical, although some details of his biography were clearly conjectured by subsequent Muslim chroniclers, who tried to present the founder of Islam as more powerful and invincible than he actually was. Muhammad ibn Abdallah (570-632) was born into a family descended from the Quraysh clan, which ruled in Mecca. But the family to which the future founder of the new religion belonged belonged to an impoverished branch of the family. Even as a child, the boy began to have seizures (modern researchers believe that we are talking about “muscular hysteria” [46]), during which mysterious visions appeared to him. Having lost both parents in early childhood, Muhammad was raised by his grandfather Abdal-Mutallib, took up caravan crafts early on and made several long trips on trade business. Muhammad's affairs were finally improved by his marriage to the rich widow Khadija, who bore him several daughters.

At about the age of 40, Muhammad finally decided to tell about the visions that visited him, sent down on behalf of the only god - Allah - to his messenger Muhammad for transmission to all other people. It is from this moment that the famous sermons of Muhammad begin, which brought him the respect of some and the hostility of others. For a long time, the wealth and nobility of his wife Khadija, as well as the patronage of the leader of his family, Abu Talib, acted as worthy protection for the prophet, although many of his supporters from the lower strata of the population had to leave Mecca and settle in Ethiopia. After the death of Abu Talib and Khadija, when the new head of the clan refused to provide all kinds of support to Muhammad, the future founder of Islam had to leave his native city and move to Medina, which was a trade rival of Mecca, and therefore favorably treated refugees from there. It is this move, which took place in 622, that is considered by Muslims as the date of the beginning of a new era - the Hijra.

Muhammad's preaching in Medina gave him so many followers that with their help he managed to capture Mecca in 630 and thus return to his hometown victorious. Even the tribal nobility, who had previously actively opposed the new teaching, considered it good to join the new religion, which was a powerful unifying stimulus among the Arab tribes. Even during the life of Muhammad, the state he founded becomes dominant on the Arabian Peninsula, since most of the Arab nomadic and sedentary tribes join it. The prophet himself in 631 sent letters to the rulers of neighboring states and governors of the Byzantine possessions in the Middle East with a proposal to convert to Islam.

After the death of Muhammad, which followed in 632, his teaching did not die out, but, on the contrary, unfolded even more widely. Mecca and Medina were recognized among Muslims as sacred cities, since the earthly life of the prophet was connected with them. He was born in Mecca, and it was in the vicinity of this city that Allah first appeared to his prophet and revealed his will to him - to convey divine institutions to people. Medina is associated with the final formalization of the Muslim faith, the formation of a system of rules and prohibitions, which included a ban on the use of alcoholic beverages, pork, and a ban on gambling.

10.2. Sacred texts and laws of Islam

Despite the fact that the Prophet Muhammad himself never wrote down his sermons, special scribes were present at his speeches, whose main task was to record the most wise sayings. After the death of Muhammad, scattered lists of his revelations remained, many of which also contradicted each other, so the urgent task facing the emerging religion was the codification of sacred texts. This work ended in 651 with the creation of the Koran, which became the main source of Muslim doctrine. To exclude the possibility of the emergence of alternative sacred texts based on the authority of Muhammad, all the records on the basis of which the Koran was compiled were destroyed. This circumstance also explains the amazing conservatism of the Muslim creed: it did not go through a period of coexistence of various schools and trends, like other similar religions (primarily Christianity). The Koran consists of 114 suras, each of which includes several dozen individual verses. There is no special order - neither thematic nor chronological - in the arrangement of the suras, but linguistic studies have shown that the suras of the Mecca (before 622) and Medina periods stand out quite clearly.

Another important part of the Muslim sacred literature, which began to take shape in the middle of the XNUMXth century, was the hadiths - legends about the life of the prophet Muhammad himself, which, as a rule, described individual actions of the founder of the Muslim religion and necessarily had a moralizing ending. In many hadiths, the influence of the Christian and Jewish traditions is felt, since situations are described that are similar to those in the Holy Scriptures and the Talmud. Thus, the Koran in Islam is similar in its meaning to the Holy Scripture in Christianity. The analogue of the Holy Tradition is the Sunnah - a collection of hadiths compiled by the most prominent Muslim theologians in the XNUMXth century. Not all Muslims recognize the Sunnah as a sacred text, many consider it just a collection of stories that do not carry a dogmatic load. The direction of Islam, which ranks the Sunnah among the foundations of its doctrine, is called Sunnism, and it is precisely this branch that is the most numerous in modern Islam.

Sharia is based on the Koran and the Sunnah - a set of legislative norms and religious guidelines that are mandatory for the faithful Muslim. Islam does not separate legal norms from religious ones, therefore the behavior of a Muslim in relation to another person, in relation to his family, to the state is determined by divine institutions. It is interesting that Sharia applies only to relations between Muslims, so the behavior of Muslims in relation to representatives of other faiths or secular authorities is determined by specially agreed norms that do not have a religious character. The third source on which, in addition to the Koran and the Sunnah, Sharia relies is ijma - the opinions of the most authoritative Muslim theologians of past centuries, which have no doctrinal significance, but can be used to resolve complex and intricate cases.

The essence of the religious dogma of Islam is as follows. The only god is declared to be Allah, who sent numerous prophets to earth (Noah, Moses, Jesus). The most revered of them is Muhammad - the last of the prophets and the most wise. Allah is great and omnipotent, therefore he determines in advance the fate of a person, which he cannot change, but he is able to achieve the favor of God by unconditional obedience to him. Unlike Christianity, Islam is not about the constant self-improvement of a person who seeks to compare with God, to achieve a divine-human state: the Muslim god is so inaccessible to his adherents that he only allows service, and not an attempt to equal himself. The mercy of Allah will manifest itself at the time of the Day of Judgment, when all the dead will rise, and those of them who led a righteous life or managed to atone for their sins will be in a state of eternal bliss, and the rest will be condemned to eternal torment. The ethical requirements that Islam imposes on every Muslim come down to the observance of justice (returning good with good, and evil with evil), obligations towards relatives and friends, generosity to the poor, etc. The relative simplicity of religious dogma also affects the observance practical rules and commandments, of which there are five:

1) the obligatory fivefold prayer, formalized to the utmost degree - not only the words spoken by the believer are subject to regulation, but also the body movements performed at the same time;

2) ablution before prayer, since at the moment of prayer a person must appear before God cleansed not only from physical dirt, but also from bad thoughts;

3) giving alms to the poor, which gradually transformed into zakat - the deduction of part of their income in favor of a religious community or state, if it is controlled by a Muslim monarch;

4) an annual fast (uraza), which is obligatory for everyone who has such an opportunity, but can be canceled for the sick and travelers;

5) pilgrimage (hajj) to the holy city of Mecca, which every true Muslim must make at least once in his life.

10.3. Early history of Islam. Shiites and Sunnis

By the time of the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Islamic state already occupied the entire Arabian Peninsula, although the spread of Islamic doctrine was much more modest, since most of the Arab tribes were included in this state on the basis of political subordination, and not religious unity. The first four caliphs - the political and religious successors of Muhammad - are recognized throughout Islam (regardless of the trend) as righteous. The first of them, Abu Bekr (632-634), was the father-in-law of Muhammad, and therefore became his first successor. However, in addition to family ties, he had the talent of a commander, which was useful to him already in the first months of his reign. In 632, many tribes announced their falling away from the Islamic state, proclaiming a new prophet of a certain Museylim, who claimed this status during the life of Muhammad. Abu Bekr was able to defeat the troops of the impostor in several battles, and took his own life, which made it possible to preserve the political independence and religious unity of the state.

Abu Bakr's successor Omar (634-644), who was a companion of Muhammad during his flight to Medina, continued the aggressive policy of his predecessor, significantly strengthening the state and the Muslim faith, although among the general population the idea of ​​a new religion was still vague. The sources mention a characteristic case: in 637, after one of the battles, when Omar decided to reward the warrior who knew the Koran best of all, only one of the entire Arab army was able to pronounce a religious formula. For the vast majority of the Arab tribes, who did not go into dogmatic details, it was enough to believe in the one God Allah and his prophet Muhammad.

The third caliph, Osman (644-656), was already a very old man at the time of his accession to the throne, so his reign was not marked by any significant events. Osman was not loved by the people for his greed, and therefore was killed by disaffected people who broke into his palace in Medina. Osman's successor was Ali (656-661), the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the husband of his beloved daughter Fatima. His accession to the throne of the prophet was not without a bloody war unleashed by representatives of noble Arab families, some of whom were unhappy that it was Ali who became the caliph. Despite the fact that Ali managed to cope with his opponents, defeating them in battles and gaining a foothold on the throne of the caliphs, his main rival, the representative of the Quraysh tribe, Muawiya, remained free and organized the assassination of the caliph in 661. It was Muawiya who became the new caliph, founding the Umayyad dynasty , who ruled in the caliphate until 750. At the same time, Ali's associates, who called themselves "shia" (party, group), remained faithful to their deceased leader and his sons, who were the grandchildren of Muhammad himself, which marked the beginning of the split of Islam into two main directions still existing - Sunnism and Shiism.

The most characteristic feature of Shiism is the recognition of the legitimate successors of Muhammad only to his direct descendants, who are also descendants of Ali. As a result, the Shiites deny the sacred nature of the Sunnah, which was compiled under the first caliphs: according to the followers of Shiism, the compilation of the Sunnah was of a tendentious nature, therefore, in the stories about the life of the prophet, the role of his son-in-law Ali was underestimated. The Shiites consider their spiritual and secular rulers to be the direct descendants of Ali - the imams, of whom there were only 12. The last of the imams went missing during the political turmoil in the middle of the XNUMXth century. This gives reason to one of the directions of Shiism - Mahdism - to assert that this imam did not die, but hid in a secret place, from where he would get out at the right time and become the savior (mahdi) of true believers. Imams in Shiism were given much more importance than in the rest of Islam, since their opinion was considered absolutely true and infallible. The followers of Shiism managed to gain a foothold only in Iraq and Iran, where most representatives of this trend still live (in Iran, Shiite Islam is even the state religion), while Sunnism has gained a foothold in the rest of the caliphate. In contrast to Shiism in Sunnism, only a council of the most respected theologians has the right to decide on the most important theological issues that remain unresolved within the framework of the Koran.

Under the Umayyads, the state expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula and, accordingly, the spread of Islam as the state religion of a new political entity to the vast expanses of Asia and North Africa. Already in the 711th century. the young Muslim state managed to defeat the Byzantine army and annex the Middle Eastern possessions of Byzantium. The conquest of North Africa led to the penetration of Islam into the territory of the Iberian Peninsula (732), the final consolidation of the Muslims on which occurred after the victorious battle for them at Poitiers (XNUMX). In the east, there was an expansion of Muslim possessions up to India and China, but such a significant increase in the caliphate led to the development of centrifugal tendencies. Already in the middle of the VIII century. the Umayyad dynasty, which discredited itself in the face of orthodox Muslims, was displaced by the Abbasids, descended from Abbas, the uncle of the prophet Muhammad, and the caliphate itself broke up into many separate states, the only unifying factor for which was the Muslim faith.

10.4. History of Islam in the IX-XIX centuries

Despite the fact that the Abbasid dynasty managed to establish control over the capital of the caliphate, which at that moment was Damascus, some areas fell out of its control: the surviving representatives of the Umayid dynasty took refuge in the Iberian Peninsula, founding the Caliphate of Cordoba; Morocco and Egypt were occupied by representatives of the Shiites. The further existence of the caliphate was reduced to an endless struggle against the raids of nomads and the change of dynasties. Relative stability was achieved only in 1055, when the Seljuk Turks, who came from Central Asia, captured Baghdad (then the capital of the Caliphate), after which they spread their influence over the entire Middle East. Representatives of the Abbasid clan continued to be considered caliphs, performing, in fact, only religious and ceremonial functions, while real power belonged to successive foreign dynasties. Nevertheless, despite the crisis of the Arab Caliphate itself, the gradual expansion of those lands where Islam became the official religion continued steadily. So, in Spain, the Arabs owned almost the entire peninsula, only the very north and the Pyrenees remained for the Christian kingdoms. At the beginning of the XI century. The Arabs managed to take over Sicily, making this island their outpost in the Mediterranean Sea and a staging post for the possible spread of Islam already on the territory of Europe.

The transformation of Islam into the state religion, in the presence of a large number of politically independent entities, became a prerequisite for the emergence of many movements and sects, some of which penetrated to the highest state level. The history of the Arab Caliphate knew the period of penetration of the Mu'tazilites into the ranks of representatives of the ruling dynasty. At the first stage of their existence, the Mu'tazilites remained in opposition to orthodox Islam, which was explained by their rather free interpretation of the basic Muslim dogmas. According to its religious foundations, this movement had much in common with the Judeo-Christian heresy of the Gnostics. At least, the surviving texts allow us to assert that the Mu'tazilites proclaimed the priority of reason over faith in the process of knowing God, and also defended the thesis of the fundamental unknowability of God, to which only an approximation is possible, but not a complete coincidence with him. At the beginning of the ninth century Mutazilism became the state religion of the Arab caliphate, but its triumph was short-lived: already in 847 it was time to return to orthodox Islam (kalam). One of the brightest representatives of the Kalam, Ashari (873-935) proposed a conciliatory position on the issue of overcoming the abyss between God and man: the Koran is God's word, which was imprinted in the souls of the prophets and the righteous, but found its expression only in the form of words and phrases of the human language, since this form turned out to be the only one accessible to the perception of the divine truth by the ordinary human mind.

Hard trials fell on Islam in the 1492th century, which turned out to be connected with the Tatar-Mongol invasion, which destroyed the Central Asian Muslim states and put an end to the existence of the Arab Caliphate. But the threat turned out to be temporary: having succumbed to the influence of the religion of the conquered lands, the Mongols already in the second half of the 1453th century. adopted the Muslim faith, and in the XIV century. their power was shaken by the appearance of a new power on the Asian horizon - the Ottoman Empire, which forced its neighbors to remember the conquering power and religious fanaticism of the first Arab campaigns. While other Muslim states are gradually losing their significance (in XNUMX, Grenada, the last stronghold of Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula, was in the hands of Christians), the Ottoman Empire is only gaining power, its peak was the capture of Constantinople in XNUMX, which ended the Byzantine Empire . The entire south-east of Europe fell into the sphere of Muslim influence, the consequences of which are still being manifested (Bosnia and Albanians profess Islam as the state religion).

A symptom of the crisis in the Islamic world was sharply manifested differences, but not between different areas of the Muslim faith, but within the Sunnis: individual states (for example, Iran) refused to recognize the spiritual authority of the Ottoman ruler over their countries. Gradual political weakening led to a sharp reduction in territory, and by the end of the 1876th century. Almost all of Europe was cleansed of the Ottoman Empire, and the empire itself became a fiction. The nourishment of Islam as the state religion was increasingly carried out by radical movements. Under Sultan Abdul-Hamid in 1922, an attempt was made to make so-called pan-Islamism the state religion and ideology of the Ottoman Empire. The essence of this trend was the call to all Muslims to overcome political boundaries and establish a single Muslim state on the territory they occupied under the rule of the Caliph. An attempt to implement this idea at the state level was unsuccessful, and in XNUMX the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist.

By the end of the XIX century. in the development of Islam (both Sunni and Shiite) there have been two trends - conservative and modernist. Conservatives (Wahhabis) called for returning Islam to its original foundation, returning to a literal understanding of the sacred texts and the theocratic power bequeathed by the prophet. Modernists (Bahais) saw a way out of the impasse in which Islam found itself in bringing some of its provisions closer to the realities of the modern world, without changing the essence of the teaching itself, but only making it more accessible and understandable.

10.5. Islamic sects (Ismailism, Sufism, Wahhabism, Bahaism)

In addition to the officially recognized areas of Islam - Sunnism and Shiism, this religion throughout its development provided food for numerous schools and sects. Some of them disappeared almost immediately after their appearance, while others either left a bright mark on history or still exist. The most famous of the Muslim sects are as follows.

Ismailism. This Shiite sect arose in the 1273th century. Its founder is Ismail, the eldest son of the sixth Imam Jafar, who was excluded from inheritance by his father, but found supporters among the radical opponents of Sunnism and non-Muslim religions. The location of Ismailism is Western Asia and Syria, in the mountains of which the residence of the supreme imam was located. In its structure, this sect resembled a military organization with a clear hierarchy and strict internal discipline. According to the teachings of the Ismailis, the divine soul is embodied in the figure of the imam, therefore the truths expressed by him have the character of divine revelation. There were seven imams in total, the last of them was Mohammed, the son of Ismail, so it was he who got the most complete knowledge about God and the truth that he wants to convey to people. The hierarchy of the Ismaili organization was also manifested in the presence of various levels of initiation, to which not all members of the organization were admitted, but only the most proven ones. At the highest levels, the Ismailis were inspired with confidence that the truth contained in the Qur'an is not reduced to its literal meaning, but is expressed with the help of allegories. Ismailism was not a single trend, the Assassins (a sect of hired killers) and the Druze (a more moderate wing of the current, the descendants of the Druze still live in Syria) separated from it. Despite the significant influence that this sect had in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, its heyday was short-lived. The final destruction of the Ismailis as a centralized movement occurred in XNUMX, when the residence of the supreme imam was destroyed by the Mongols.

Sufism. Similar to the Ismailis in their mysticism were the Sufis, whose origins date back to the 8th century. However, unlike the radical followers of Ismail, the Sufis focused their efforts not on achieving political influence, but on individual ascent to God. The key point of their teaching was the call to “Be in the world, but not be of the world.” Having emerged in the depths of Shiism, this movement quickly gained followers among the Sunnis. Sufis avoided centralized organization and attachment to one locality. The main form of their existence became wandering monastic orders, whose members were called dervishes. In terms of behavior and ethical requirements, Sufis showed absolute contempt for earthly goods, even the most basic (food, clothing, etc.), and also denied the need to perform cult actions. From their point of view, any rituals serve only as the embodiment of a person’s desire for God, but are not themselves the conditions for its achievement. The mystical content of Sufism and its denial of some Muslim dogmas put it in opposition to orthodox Islam, but attracted numerous adherents to it, thanks to which Sufism still exists.

Wahhabism. The founder of this most radical of the current Muslim movements was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who first preached to the Arabian nomads in 1730. The main requirement of his teaching was the return to Islam of the period of the righteous caliphs, which automatically abolished the cult of saints that had spread in late Islam, as well as monastic orders. A feature of Wahhabi propaganda was its radical nature: opposing both other religions and official Islam, the adherents of this doctrine demanded the unleashing of a holy war (jihad). In this requirement, they relied on the text of the Koran, which provided for the need for a holy war, but only against the pagans, and not against fellow believers and representatives of Christianity and Judaism.

Bahaism (Bahaism). This relatively new trend emphasizes its connection with Islam, but prefers to see itself not as a Muslim sect, but as an independent religion, although the dogmatic provisions underlying it are very similar to the provisions of Islam. The founder of this movement was Muhammad Ali, nicknamed the Bab (intermediary between God and man), who preached at the beginning of the 1850th century. the equality of all believers in their striving for God and the absence of religious partitions that could interfere with this equality. The harsh suppression of this trend by orthodox Muslims in 1844 led to its collapse, but one of the former followers of the Bab, Mirza Hussein Ali Behaullah, significantly changed the teachings of his predecessor, becoming the founder of Bahaism. The date of foundation of this trend is considered to be XNUMX, when Baha'u'llah read the first sermons (in addition to them, Baha'ism has its own sacred texts written by Baha'u'llah himself). The basis of the Baha'i doctrine is the proclamation of universal brotherhood and equality, non-resistance to evil and forgiveness of unrighteous deeds to each other and to man on the part of God. The significantly softened nature of the Muslim precepts preached by the followers of the Baha'i led to the fact that this movement found followers even in Europe and North America. Baha'i followers also live in Russia.

10.6. Modern Islam: Ways of Modernization and Fundamentalism

First half of the XNUMXth century became a time of cardinal modernization of Islam, which, however, was of a different nature from a similar process that took place in Christianity. The fact is that Muslim modernization was originally aimed not at solving purely theological issues, but at adapting theological dogmas to the changing realities of the modern world.

The judicial system was the first to be changed. Already in the 1970s. in many Muslim countries, the courts were divided into Sharia and secular, and the scope of Sharia law was limited to matters of faith. Numerous rules and regulations have undergone codification: many of them are outdated, and some contradict each other. The most fierce controversy, affecting even the theological level, arose at the end of the XNUMXth century. about the admissibility of the banking system in Islamic countries. The emerging crisis, due to the fact that many theologians referred to the sura of the Koran about the inadmissibility of usury, was successfully overcome by the publication of a special fatwa (decree), according to which banking was recognized not as usury, but as an honest activity. Similar incidents arose in other areas of industry and agriculture, but most of them were settled.

The modernization process was especially active in the first half of the 1926th century, when official relations were established between various countries whose population professed Islam, which had previously been absent due to contradictions between Sunnis and Shiites. In 1970, the first international organization, the World Islamic Congress, was organized, within which theologians from various countries tried to come to a common conclusion regarding the ways and acceptable degree of reform of the Muslim religion. Muslim organizations that functioned both at the governmental and non-governmental levels acquired the greatest weight in the 1969s, which was associated with the economic strengthening of a number of Islamic states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait) due to an increase in oil production. In 44, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was created, designed to solve the problems facing the development of the Muslim (and, more broadly, Asian) world as a whole. This organization currently consists of XNUMX states, represented by their leaders or prime ministers. Other organizations (the Islamic World League, the Islamic Council of Europe, etc.) are non-governmental in nature and focus on missionary activities to increase the spread of Islam, as well as on helping Muslim communities existing on the territory of other states.

In the second half of the 1979th century. The direction of the processes taking place in the Muslim world turned out to be changed almost diametrically, which was associated with globalization that was gaining rapid momentum. The natural reaction of individual states to external pressure aimed at changing their cultural and religious foundations was the strengthening of traditionalism and fundamentalism. Radical Islamic sects, such as Wahhabism, are currently experiencing a new wave of popularity. In many Muslim countries that officially adhere to moderate Islam, there are paramilitary organizations (Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas) that promote the defense of the foundations of Islam, even by armed means. The backbone of Islamic fundamentalism is Iran. The 13 revolution brought to power in this country a reactionary government led by Ayatollah (teacher) Khomeini; Sharia law was returned to secular legislation. In modern Iran, a woman is prohibited from appearing on the street without a hijab (a headscarf that covers her head and face), her spouse cannot seek a divorce, and the marriage age for women has been reduced to XNUMX years. But even in countries where radical Muslim parties do not have access to power, they can put pressure on the government, creating a silent dictatorship of Islamic fundamentalism.

The following methods of exerting pressure on the part of fundamentalists are distinguished:

1) limiting the sphere of influence of the ruling regimes through the threat of mass protests and disruption of government activities (for example, taking foreign tourists hostage);

2) inciting hatred towards certain religious or ethnic groups (representatives of Orthodox churches in the Middle East are chosen as the target);

3) pushing the authorities to carry out forceful actions, which serves as justification for the subsequent use of violence by radical groups.

Modern Islam is the second largest world religion, with a total number of believers of 800 million people. The majority of Muslims still live in Asia and Africa, although recently, due to immigration processes, significant Muslim communities are also forming in Europe and the United States. In 28 countries of the world, Islam has been declared the state religion, and in many other countries, Muslims constitute the dominant group of the population, even if this is not reflected at the constitutional level.

Topic 11. Religion in the modern world

11.1. The processes of secularization of religion

The beginning of the process of secularization (removal of religion from public life) can be associated with the period of modern times, when not religion, but science became the dominant strategy for explaining the world around. But the peak of this process came in the XNUMXth century, when religion (at least, various directions of Christianity) was finally deprived of influence on political, economic and cultural life, becoming an isolated sphere of society's life and a matter of individual choice of a person, and not group self-identification.

In its original state, religion played a dual role: in fulfilling its social function, it ensured the unification of society around sacred values ​​and specially designated places of worship for these values. On a personal level, religion pointed to the supertemporal nature of the truths it proclaimed, not reducing human life to the process of its earthly existence, but giving it a sublime meaning. The secularization of religion is connected with the crisis of both of its functions. In social terms, religious communities are inferior in their integrating capabilities to other types of "interest-based" organizations (the only exceptions are Islamic religious organizations, but their focus on the religious component is explained by the desire to emphasize their own characteristics compared to Western countries). In the personal aspect, religious values, although outwardly they continue to retain their influence (people go to church, baptize children, identify themselves with one or another religion), but, in fact, are being replaced by other, more sought-after values, which include a focus on efficiency. and quick profit, pragmatism in actions and intentions, etc.

The result of secularization processes is the emergence of a situation of "spontaneous polytheism", when the boundaries of traditional confessions are blurred. A person gets the opportunity to consider himself a Christian, Buddhist or Muslim, based not on his cultural belonging to a community professing a particular religion, or on the observance of all religious rules and norms adopted in this religion, but solely on his own desire. Choosing for himself only the most convenient features of religion, the modern believer does not try to rise spiritually to the requirements of a particular religion, but "adjusts" it to suit himself. The value of convenience, comfort, even in relation to the chosen religious affiliation, destroys the very spirit of religion, making it not a bearer of patterns of behavior, but a fashion item, a bright sticker that is easy to change in case of inconvenience. Religion is deprived of its superhuman significance, the connection between man and God is broken, which even before not everyone who was suffering from gaining divine grace could correspond.

Traditional confessions are forced not only to take into account the changes taking place in the perception and attitude towards religion on the part of the mass population, but also to adapt to these changes. The path of reformation in any church is fraught with the fact that there is no single point of view about how deep the reforms can be, how much the cult and dogmatic aspects of religion can be changed in order to still consider this religion authentic to its original state. Such processes are always accompanied by the emergence of various sects and trends that are dissatisfied with official changes and therefore offer alternative paths - either more conservative (aiming to give religion the features of a truly timeless education, depriving it of any variability), or more radical (claiming to radically update religious dogmas). up to their substitution for directly opposite, but resonating in the hearts of contemporaries).

Another characteristic component of "spontaneous polytheism" is the fundamental pluralism proclaimed by the very social and political structure of modern society. If in previous eras a person belonged to a certain cultural and religious tradition, with which he could agree or disagree, which he could transform and remake, now the media provide him with access to many religious traditions at once. A modern Western businessman no longer has to adhere to the Protestant faith, more precisely, he can follow the precepts of Protestantism in his work, but for religious advice, turn to a practicing shaman, a Buddhist monk, a voodoo sorcerer, or even representatives of quasi-religious practices (fans of the American mystic Carlos Castaneda , Scientologist Ron Hubbard, followers of numerous sects, etc.). For example, the famous Hollywood actor Richard Gere positions himself as a convinced Buddhist, periodically visits Tibet, which does not prevent him from ignoring the cult component of this religion and doing things that are not permissible for a true Buddhist.

Modern Christianity demonstrates the impossibility of adequately responding to the spiritual demands of the current generation precisely because of its dogmatic emasculation, the absence of even a touch of mysticism. Trying to get away from the ordinary, to return to the world of mystery, a representative of modern Western civilization is forced to turn to those religious practices that provide him with such an opportunity. So the secularization of Western society turns into a process of resecularization - the return of religion, but in the form of syncretic (mixed) religious practices and mystical cults, which are gaining more and more fans and supporters.

11.2. Modern sectarianism: main features

The consequence of the processes taking place in modern religious consciousness is the emergence of a large number of sects that no longer claim to follow a certain religious tradition and the only true exposition of the teachings of Christ, Buddha or Muhammad, but deliberately disown all official religions, establishing new moral guidelines and proclaiming new values. However, the problem is not that traditional values ​​that do not resonate in the hearts of believers are being replaced by others, but that many emerging sects are destructive in nature, focusing not on the return of religiosity to the secularized world, but on deceiving people and using their trust. for their commercial interests.

The official definition of a destructive sect is as follows. A destructive sect is an organization (a person or a group of persons) that uses in its activities methods of controlling a person (by means of psycho-emotional change and creating addiction) in order to seize the property of a person and use it in the interests of the organization, accompanied by a violation of rights and freedoms, causing damage to physical and mental health of a person, economic and political life of society. It is simply impossible to compile a complete list of destructive sects, since some of them arise, while others cease to exist at the same moment, but the most significant and influential of them should be told.

Among the sects that are recognized as destructive not only in Russia, but also in Western Europe, is Scientology. Its founder is the American Ronald Lafayette Hubbard (1911-1986). Active in satanic sects as a young man, Hubbard later moved away from them, formulating his own doctrine, which turned out to be a commercially extremely profitable project: by the end of his life, Hubbard had amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune, although he was repeatedly sued on charges of financial fraud. Currently, the center of the "Church of Scientology" is located in Los Angeles (USA), but its branches operate around the world, including in Russia.

The very religious doctrine of Scientologists is a combination of various elements related to the field of science fiction, Satanism, the European theosophical tradition and the data of modern psychology. It is interesting that Hubbard initially tried to find an application of the Dianetics he was developing in the scientific field, but, being rejected by official scientists, he was forced to "retrain" as a religious prophet. Starting from the Christian idea of ​​the second coming of Jesus, Scientologists proclaim their main goal to ensure the existence of man even after this coming, for which they develop a pseudoscientific doctrine. According to their views, in addition to the body and mind, a person has another important element that affects the formation of a personality - the so-called thetan, which can leave the physical shell of a person. The purpose of its development and improvement is the emergence of an active thetan, which at the ordinary level is manifested by the lack of focus on everyday troubles and everyday problems, and at the cosmic level - control over energy flows. This circumstance makes it possible for the acting thetan to ignore physical laws, to go beyond space and time, etc., and therefore, the acting thetan is the only life form that can survive the Day of Judgment. Thus, the "Church of Scientology", revealing the methods of psychological transformation of a person, serves as the only means of ensuring immortality.

Despite several injunctions against the activities of the Church of Scientology, a large number of Americans remain followers of this sect, including the popular actor John Travolta.

Another sect that has become widely known precisely because of its destructive orientation is the Japanese sect “AUM Shinrikyo”. Founded in 1987 by the Japanese Shoko Asahara, this sect initially positioned itself as one of the directions of Japanese Buddhism, as its name should have indicated: aum is the beginning of the traditional Buddhist mantra, indicating the ways in which man relates to the Universe. From a religious point of view, this teaching is based on the Tibetan version of Buddhism, the fundamental features of which are the eschatological interpretation of the existence of the world and man. The official goal of AUM Shinrikyo is to save all humanity through the implementation of three basic principles: ridding humanity of diseases; ensuring that every person achieves happiness; enlightenment and liberation. The hidden task of the sect, to which only a few close associates of Asahara were initiated, was preparation for the end of the world, which should not consist of passive waiting, but in carrying out a whole series of events.

The administrative structure of the sect is strictly centralized and hierarchically built, each person takes his rightful place in it and must strictly perform his function in order to ensure the success of the entire organization. Unlike many other sects (in particular, the same Satanists), which are limited to putting forward destructive slogans or holding isolated actions of a ritual nature, the Japanese sect turned out to be based on large-scale actions of a destructive nature. This was manifested during the terrorist attacks in Japan (in 1994 and 1995), when the gas produced in the laboratories of the sect was sprayed into the ventilation system of the Tokyo subway. Several hundred people became victims of these actions, after which the activities of the sect were officially banned, and its leader was taken into custody, although secret divisions of AUM Shinrikyo still exist in Japan to this day.

11.3. ecumenism

The ecumenical movement (from the Greek Oikumene - the Universe) arose at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. among Protestant theologians who came up with a program to overcome the differences that exist between traditional religions and their numerous offshoots, on the basis of the Christian religion. Opposing the process of secularization, ecumenists sought to strengthen the role of religion in the life of modern society and each individual, for which it was supposed to develop a general Christian strategy suitable for the implementation of all believers living in countries with different political systems and cultural differences.

The prerequisites for the emergence and growth of popularity of this movement were the processes that unfolded in the middle of the 47th century. in Western Christian churches. After several centuries of mutual accusations and anathemas [1965], Catholics and Protestants took several significant steps towards rapprochement. At the Second Vatican Council in 1983, representatives of almost all world religions were present as observers, and 1970 was proclaimed by Pope John Paul II as the “year of tolerance.” It was in the XNUMXs. An agreement was signed between the Russian Orthodox Church and representatives of various Old Believer movements, which put an end to the struggle that had lasted between them for almost three centuries. All these steps were not ecumenistic in nature, but they demonstrated the possibility of eliminating religious differences within one religion, and also revealed the need to establish dialogue between religions, without which civilized coexistence of different faiths is impossible.

Supporters of ecumenism consider various religious associations as social organizations that exist according to their own natural laws (the main ones being emergence, division, unification and dying), from which they draw an optimistic conclusion regarding Christianity. If Christianity once managed to emerge, and then had to undergo fragmentation, then it is quite natural for a situation to arise in which the fragmentation of the church can be stopped, and its internal unity restored. This premise, which prefers to view the church as a social institution rather than as “the representative of God on earth,” ignores the dogmatic and cult differences that exist between representatives of various faiths, which is opposed by orthodox theologians from both Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The famous Russian religious philosopher A.F. Losev (1893-1988) formulated his attitude towards ecumenism as follows: “The idea of ​​a synthesis of world religions is a consequence of a misunderstanding of religion as a unique spiritual phenomenon and is generated by the lack of true religious experience.” [48]

From the point of view of supporters of the separate existence of churches, ecumenists, in their desire to destroy all sorts of partitions between confessions, deprive each religion of its inherent unique nature, the unique character of the connection between God and man. This character is provided by each faith in its own way and, unlike the church organization, cannot be brought together, since it is based on fundamentally different spiritual foundations. From the point of view of each particular church, ecumenism deprives its claim to a special position in the world, considering it a human, but not a divine institution, which it, in essence, is.

This is precisely what determines the position of the Russian Orthodox Church, expressed by its leading theologians and consisting in emphasizing the anti-Christian position of this religious trend. Opposing the idea of ​​a meeting of the Council of All Churches, supported by Protestant theologians, representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate rightly argue that holding this council would automatically mean the priority of the Protestant point of view, and this is unacceptable from the point of view of the Orthodox faith. The Russian Orthodox Church, like other Orthodox Churches, continues to defend its own doctrinal originality and the absolute truth of the religious axioms it proclaims. A truly believing person will never admit that the path of knowledge of God he has chosen can be modified without much damage in the spirit of completely different doctrinal requirements.

Despite the fact that the ecumenical ideology does not find sufficient support among representatives of traditional churches, some steps leading to a reduction in the distance between them and the establishment of a normal dialogue continue to be made, and more and more actively of late. In 2006, Moscow hosted a world summit of representatives of the main religious denominations, at which representatives of various denominations of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and other religions gathered at a round table. Within the framework of such an organization of religious life, we are not talking about the unification of churches, but emphasizes their equality and irreducibility to each other in the process of comprehending divine truth, which reduces the danger of religious extremism and fundamentalism.

application

Hierarchs of the Catholic Church (popes)

1. Peter (60-67)

2. Lin (67-76)

3. Clet (76-88)

4. Clement I (88-97)

5. Evarist (97-105)

6. Alexander I (105-115)

7. Sixtus I (115-125)

8. Telesphorus (125-136)

9. Igin (136-140)

10. Pius I (140-155)

11. Aniket (155-166)

12. Sauter (166-174)

13. Eleutherius (174-189)

14. Victor I (189-198)

15. Zephyrin (198-217)

16. Calixtus I (217-222)

17. Hippolytus (antipope 217-235)

18. Urban I (222-230)

19. Pontian (230-235)

20. Anter (235-236)

21. Fabian (236-250)

22. Cornelius (251-253)

23. Novatian (antipope 251-258)

24. Lucius I (253-254)

25. Stephen I (254-257)

26. Sixtus II (257-258)

27. Dionysius (259-269)

28. Felix I (270-274)

29. Eutyches (275-283)

30. Guy (283-296)

31. Marcellinus (296-304)

32. Marcellus I (304-309)

33. Eusebius (309-310)

34. Melchiad (311-314)

35. Sylvester I (314-335)

36. Mark (336)

37. Julius I (337-352)

38. Liberius (352-366)

39. Felix II (antipope 355-365)

40. Damasius I (366-384)

41. Ursinus (antipope 366-367, 370-372)

42. Siricius (384-399)

43. Anastasius I (399-401)

44. Innocent I (401-417)

45. Zosima (417-418)

46. ​​Boniface I (418-422)

47. Eulalius (antipope 418-419)

48. Celestine I (422-432)

49. Sixtus III (432-440)

50. Leo I the Great (440-461)

51. Hilarius (461-468)

52. Simplicius (468-483)

53. Felix III (483-492)

54. Gelasius I (492-496)

55. Anastasius II (496-498)

56. Symmachus (498-514)

57. Lawrence (antipope 498, 501-505)

58. Hormizd (514-523)

59. John I (523-526)

60. Felix IV (526-530).

61. Boniface II (530-532)

62. Dioscorus (antipope 530)

63. John II (532-535)

64. Agapius I (535-536)

65. Silverius (536-537)

66. Vigilius (537-555)

67. Pelagius I (556-561)

68. John III (561-573)

69. Benedict I (574-579)

70. Pelagius II (579-590)

71. Gregory I the Great (590-604)

72. Sabinian (604-606)

73. Boniface III (607)

74. Boniface IV (608-615)

75. Adeodates I (615-618)

76. Boniface V (619-625)

77. Honorius I (625-638)

78. Severin (640)

79. John IV (640-642)

80. Theodore I (642-649)

81. Martin I (649-653)

82. Eugene I (654-657)

83. Vitaliy (657-672)

84. Adeodate II (672-676)

85. Domne (676-678)

86. Agathon (678-681)

87. Leo II (681-683)

88. Benedict II (684-685)

89. John V (685-686)

90. Conon (686-687)

91. Theodore (antipope 687)

92. Paschal (antipope 687)

93. Sergius I (687-701)

94. John VI (701-705)

95. John VII (705-707)

96. Sisinniy (708)

97. Constantine (708-715)

98. Gregory II (715-731)

99. Gregory III (731-741)

100. Zechariah (741-752)

101. Stephen (752).

102. Stephen II (752-757)

103. Paul I (757-767)

104. Constantine (antipope 767-768)

105. Philip (antipope 768)

106. Stephen III (768-772)

107. Adrian I (772-795)

108. Leo III (795-816)

109. Stephen IV (816-817)

110. Paschal I (817-824)

111. Eugene II (824-827)

112. Valentine (827)

113. Gregory IV (827-844)

114. John (antipope 844)

115. Sergius II (844-847)

116. Leo IV (847-855)

117. Anastasius (antipope 855)

118. Benedict III (855-858)

119. Nicholas I the Great (858-867)

120. Adrian II (867-872)

121. John VIII (872-882)

122. Marin I (882-884)

123. Adrian III (884-885)

124. Stephen V (885-891)

125. Formoses (891-896)

126. Boniface VI (896)

127. Stephen VI (896-897)

128. Romance (897)

129. Theodore II (897)

130. John IX (898-900)

131. Benedict IV (900-903)

132. Leo V (903)

133. Christopher (antipope 903-904)

134. Sergius III (904-911)

135. Anastasius III (911-913)

136. Landon (913-914)

137. John x (914-928)

138. Leo VI (928)

139. Stephen VII (928-931)

140. John XI (931-935)

141. Leo VII (936-939)

142. Stephen VIII (939-942)

143. Marin II (942-946)

144. Agapius II (946-955)

145. John XII (955-964)

146. Leo VIII (964-965)

147. Benedict V (antipope 964-966)

148. John XIII (965-972)

149. Benedict VI (973-974)

150. Domnus (antipope 974)

151. Boniface VII (antipope 974, 984-985)

152. Benedict VII (974-983)

153. John XIV (983-984)

154. John XV (985-996)

155. Gregory V (996-999)

156. John XVI (antipope 997-998)

157. Sylvester II (999-1003)

158. John XVII (1003)

159. John XVIII (1004-1009)

160. Sergius IV (1009-1012)

161. Gregory (antipope 1012)

162. Benedict VIII (1012-1024)

163. John XIX (1024-1032)

164. Benedict IX (1032-1044, 1045, 1047-1048)

165. Sylvester III (1045)

166. Gregory VI (1045-1046)

167. Clement II (1046-1047)

168. Damasius II (1048)

169. Leo IX (1049-1054)

170. Victor II (1055-1057)

171. Stephen IX (1057-1058)

172. Benedict x (antipope 1058-1059)

173. Nicholas II (1059-1061)

174. Honorius II (antipope 1061-1072)

175. Alexander II (1061-1073)

176. Gregory VII (1073-1085)

177. Clement III (antipope 1084-1100)

178. Victor III (1086-1087)

179. Urban II (1088-1099)

180. Paschal II (1099-1118)

181. Sylvester IV (antipope 1105-1106)

182. Theodoric (antipope 1100)

183. Albert (antipope 1102)

184. Gelasius (1118-1119)

185. Gregory VIII (antipope 1118-1121)

186. Calixtus II (1119-1124)

187. Celestine II (antipope 1124)

188. Honorius II (1124-1130)

189. Innocent II (1130-1143)

190. Anaclete II (antipope 1130-1138)

191. Victor IV (antipope 1138, 1159-1164)

192. Celestine II (1143-1144)

193. Lucius II (1144-1145)

194. Eugene III (1145-1153)

195. Anastasius IV (1153-1154)

196. Adrian IV (1154-1159)

197. Alexander III (1159-1181)

198. Victor IV (antipope 1159-1164)

199. Paschal III (antipope 1164-1168)

200. Calixtus III (antipope 1164-1178)

201. Innocent III (antipope 1179-1180)

202. Lucius III (1181-1185)

203. Urban III (1185-1187)

204. Gregory VIII (1187)

205. Clement III (1187-1191)

206. Celestine III (1191-1198)

207. Innocent III (1198-1216)

208. Honorius III (1216-1227)

209. Gregory IX (1227-1241)

210. Celestine IV (1241)

211. Innocent IV (1243-1254)

212. Alexander IV (1254-1261)

213. Urban IV (1261-1264)

214. Clement IV (1265-1268)

215. Gregory x (1271-1276)

216. Innocent V (1276)

217. Adrian V (1276)

218. John XXI (1276-1277)

219. Nicholas III (1277-1280)

220. Martin IV (1281-1285)

221. Honorius IV (1285-1287)

222. Nicholas IV (1288-1292)

223. Celestine V (1294)

224. Boniface VIII (1294-1303)

225. Benedict XI (1303-1304)

226. Clement V (1305-1314)

227. John XXII (1316-1334)

228. Nicholas V (antipope 1328-1330)

229. Benedict XII (1334-1342)

230. Clement VI (1342-1352)

231. Innocent VI (1352-1362)

232. Urban V (1362-1370)

233. Gregory XI (1370-1378)

234. Urban VI (1378-1389)

235. Clement VII (antipope 1378-1394)

236. Boniface IX (1389-1404)

237. Innocent VII (1404-1406)

238. Benedict XIII (antipope 1394-1409)

239. Gregory XII (1406-1415)

240. Alexander V (antipope 1409-1410)

241. John XXIII (antipope 1410-1415)

242. Martin V (1417-1431)

243. Benedict XIV (antipope 1424)

244. Clement VIII (antipope 1423-1429)

245. Eugene IV (1431-1447)

246. Felix V (antipope 1439-1449)

247. Nicholas V (1447-1455)

248. Calixtus III (1455-1458)

249. Pius II (1458-1464)

250. Paul II (1464-1471)

251. Sixtus IV (1471-1484)

252. Innocent VIII (1484-1492)

253. Alexander VI (1492-1503)

254. Pius III (1503)

255. Julius II (1503-1513)

256. Leo x (1513-1521)

257. Adrian VI (1522-1523)

258. Clement VII (1523-1534)

259. Paul III (1534-1549)

260. Julius III (1550-1555)

261. Marcellus II (1555)

262. Paul IV (1555-1559)

263. Pius IV (1559-1565)

264. Pius V (1566-1572)

265. Gregory XIII (1572-1585)

266. Sixtus V (1585-1590)

267. Urban VII (1590)

268. Gregory XIV (1590-1591)

269. Innocent IX (1591)

270. Clement VIII (1592-1605)

271. Leo XI (1605)

272. Paul V (1605-1621)

273. Gregory XV (1621-1623)

274. Urban VII (1623-1644)

275. Innocent x (1644-1645)

276. Alexander VII (1655-1667)

277. Clement IX (1667-1669)

278. Clement x (1670-1676)

279. Innocent XI (1676-1689)

280. Alexander VIII (1689-1691)

281. Innocent XII (1691-1700)

282. Clement XI (1700-1721)

283. Innocent XIII (1721-1724)

284. Benedict XIII (1724-1730)

285. Clement XII (1730-1740)

286. Benedict XIV (1740-1758)

287. Clement XIII (1758-1769)

288. Clement XIV (1769-1774)

289. Pius VI (1775-1799)

290. Pius VII (1800-1823)

291. Leo XII (1823-1829)

292. Pius VIII (1829-1830)

293. Gregory XVI (1831-1846)

294. Pius IX (1846-1878)

295. Leo XIII (1878-1903)

296. Pius x (1903-1914)

297. Benedict XV (1914-1922)

298. Pius XI (1922-1939)

299. Pius XII (1939-1958)

300. John XXIII (1958-1963)

301. Paul VI (1963-1978)

302. John Paul I (1978)

303. John Paul II (1978-2005)

304. Benedict XVI (since 2005)

Supreme hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church (metropolitans, from 988 - in Kyiv, from 1299 - in Vladimir, from 1324 - in Moscow, from 1589 - patriarchs)

1. Theophylact (988-1018)

2. John I (1018-1037)

3. Theopempt (1037-1051)

4. Hilarion (1051-1071)

5. George (1071-1080)

6. John II the Good (1080-1089)

7. Ефрем (1089-1091, 1095-98)

8. John III Skopets (1090-1091)

9. Theodore I (1091-1095)

10. Nicholas (1098-1101)

11. Nicephorus (1104-1121)

12. Nikita (1121-1126)

13. Michael (1130-1147)

14. Kliment Smolyatich (1147-1156)

15. Constantine I (1156-1159)

16. Theodore II (1160-1163)

17. John IV (1164-1166)

18. Constantine II (1167-1177)

19. Nicephorus (1182-1198)

20. Matthew (1210-1219)

21. Cyril (1225-1233)

22. Joseph (1237-1240)

23. Cyril (1242-1281)

24. Maximus (1283-1305)

25. Peter (1308-1326)

26. Theognost (1328-1353)

27. Alexei (1354-1378)

28. Киприан (1380-1382, 1390-1406)

29. Michael (Mityai) (1384-1389)

30. Photius (1409-1431)

31. Isidore (1437-1441)

32. Jonah (1446-1461)

33. Theodosius (1461-1464)

34. Philip (1464-1473)

35. Gerontius (1473-1489)

36. Zosima (1490-1494)

37. Simon (1495-1511)

38. Varlaam (1511-1521)

39. Daniel (1522-1539)

40. Josaph (1539-1542)

41. Macarius (1542-1563)

42. Athanasius (1564-1566)

43. Philip (1566-1568)

44. Cyril (1568-1572)

45. Anthony (1572-1581)

46. Dionysius (1581-1586)

47. Job (1586-1605)

48. Hermogenes (1606-1611)

49. Ignatius (1611-1612)

50. Philaret (1612-1633)

51. Joasaph I (1634-1640)

52. Joseph (1642-1652)

53. Nikon (1651-1666)

54. Joasaph II (1667-1672)

55. Pitirim (1672-1673)

56. Joachim (1674-1690)

57. Adrian (1690-1700)

58. Stefan Yavorsky (locum tenens, 1700-1721)

59. Holy Governing Synod (1721-1917)

60. Tikhon (1917-1925)

61. Sergius (1925-1944)

62. Alexy I (1945-1970)

63. Pimen (1971-1990)

64. Alexy II (since 1990)

References

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4. Grigulevich I. R. Inquisition. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1985.

5. Donini A. At the origins of Christianity (from birth to Justinian). M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1979.

6. Dyakonov I. M. Archaic myths of the West and East. M.: Editorial URSS, 2004.

7. Ioannesyan Yu. A. The Baha'i Faith. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-klassika, 2003.

8. Islam. Problems of ideology, law, politics and economics / ed. G. F. Kim. Moscow: Nauka, 1985.

9. History of the Ancient World / ed. I. M. Dyakonova, V. D. Neronova, I. S. Sventsitskaya. M.: Nauka, 1983. T. 3.

10. Kosidovsky Z. Tales of the Evangelists. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1977.

11. Kryvelev I. A. History of religions: In 2 vols. M.: Thought, 1988.

12. Laitman M. Kabbalah - basic provisions. Novosibirsk, 1993.

13. Levi-Strauss K. Structural Anthropology. Moscow: Eksmo-Press, 2001.

14. Lozinsky S. G. History of the papacy. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1986.

15. Martynov A. S. Confucianism: the classical period. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-Klassik, 2006.

16. Molchanov A. A. Perseids - Heraclides - Temenides: the idea of ​​continuous dynastic legitimacy in the official genealogies of ancient monarchs // Ancient states of Eastern Europe. 2002. M.: Eastern Literature, 2003. S. 151-159.

17. Naletova I. V. "New Orthodox" in Russia: type or stereotype of religiosity // Sotsis, 2004. No. 5. P. 130-136.

18. Osokin N. Heretical beliefs // History of heresies M.: AST, 2004.

19. The Tale of Bygone Years / ed. V. P. Adrianov-Peretz. M.: Nauka, 1950. Part I.

20. Propp V. Ya. Historical roots of a fairy tale. L.: Akademia, 1946.

21. Cancer I.V. Myths of Ancient Egypt. St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 1993.

22. Ranovich A. B. Primary sources on the history of early Christianity. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1990.

23. Rapov O. M. Russian Church in the IX - the first third of the XII century. Moscow: Higher school, 1988.

24. Rezvan E. A. Koran and its interpretations (Text, translations, comments). SPb., 2000.

25. Renan E. Essays on the History of Religion // Classics of World Religious Studies. M.: Kanon, 1996. S. 268-286.

26. Russian Orthodoxy: milestones of history. M., 1989.

27. Sventsitskaya I. S. Early Christianity: pages of history. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1987.

28. Filatov S. B. New birth of an old idea: Orthodoxy as a national symbol // Polis, 1999. No. 3. P. 138-149.

29. Freud Z. Totem and taboo // Freud Z. "I" and "It". Works of different years. Book. 1. Tbilisi: Merani, 1991, pp. 193-350.

30. Fraser J. J. The Golden Bough. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1983.

31. Shakhnazarov OL The role of Christianity in the political life of Western Europe.

32. Jung K. G. Divine child. Moscow: Renaissance, 1997.

33. Laoust H. Les Chimes dans l'Islam. P., 1965.

34 Marett RR Threshold of Religion. London, 1914. P. 31.

35 Schmidt W. Der Ursprung der Gottesidee. Vena, 1912-1955 (12 vols.).

Notes

1. Fragments of early Greek philosophers. 4.1. From epic theocosmogony to the rise of atomism. M.: Nauka, 1989. S. 172.

2. See: Chanyshev A.N. A course of lectures on ancient and medieval philosophy. M.: Higher school, 1991. S. 118.

3. Ibid. S. 499.

4. See: Holbach P.-A. Selected works. T. 1. M.: Nauka, 1963. S. 189-190.

5. See: Müller M. Introduction to the Science of Religion // Classics of World Religious Studies. M.: Kanon, 1996. S. 36-37.

6. Evans-Pritchard E. Theories of primitive religion. M.: OGI, 2004. S. 29.

7. See: Marx K. Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 // Marx K., Engels F. Sobr. op. T. 42. S. 41-174.

8. See: Engels F. The origin of the family, private property and the state. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1986.

9. The term "primitive" in religious studies does not carry a derogatory connotation, but serves as the name of the primary stage in the formation of religious ideas.

10. In Russian, excerpts from this book are available in the publication: Tylor E. B. Myth and ritual in primitive culture. Smolensk: Rusich, 2000.

11. See: Tylor E. B. Ibid. S. 143.

12. Lang A. The Making of Religion. London, 1898. P. 2.

13. In Judaism, the coming deliverer of the Jews from foreign oppressors was called the Messiah, whose coming would mean the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

14. The proposition about the existence of a primitive horde was borrowed by Freud from the Scottish anthropologist and historian of religion William Robertson-Smith (1846-1894). For more details, see: Robertson-Smith W. Lectures on the religion of the Semites // Classics of World Religious Studies. M.: Kanon, 1996. S. 305-308.

15. For more details, see: AI Zaitsev Greek religion and mythology. SPb. - M .: "Academy", 2005. S. 39.

16. Durkheim, E. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. London: George Alien & UnwinLtd, 1976.P. eleven.

17. See: Evans-Pritchard E. Theories of primitive religion. pp. 72-73.

18. In Russian, there is a tradition of translating this name as "Sacred". For more details, see: Krasnikov A. N. Methodology of the classical phenomenology of religion // Bulletin of Moscow State University. Series 7. Philosophy. 2004. No. 1. S. 74-97.

19. See: Eliade M. Sacred and mundane. Moscow: Moscow University Press, 1994, pp. 10-12.

20. See: Dumézil J. Supreme gods of the Indo-Europeans. Moscow: Nauka, 1986.

21. See: Hook S. Mythology of the Middle East. M.: CJSC Tsentrpoligraf, 2005. S. 7-13.

22. Now these texts have been published in Russian (see: E. W. Badge, Egyptian Book of the Dead. M. - St. Petersburg, 2004).

23. See: Herodotus. Story. M.: Nauka, 1972. S. 157.

24. See: The Epic of Gilgamesh//Poetry and Prose of the Ancient East. M. Fiction, 1973. S. 28-50.

25. For more details, see: Boyce M. Zoroastrians. Moscow: Nauka, 1988.

26. See: Zolotarev A. M. Primitive mythology. M.: Thought, 1964. S. 276-278.

27. See: Tokarev SA Religion in the history of the peoples of the world. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1976. S. 342-343.

28. It is in this capacity that Athena acts in the Iliad, intervening in the course of the battle if one of her favorites is in danger.

29. See: Tokarev S.A. Decree. op. S. 240.

30. See: Tibetan Book of the Dead / ed. C. G. Jung. M.: FAIR-PRESS, 2001.

31. See: Rothermundt G. Buddhismus fur die moderne Welt. Stuttgart, 1979. P. 13.

32. See: Frazer J. Folklore in the Old Testament. M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1989. S. 207-242.

33. From domestic researchers, I. A. Kryvelev adhered to a similar point of view (see: Kryvelev I. A. Bible: historical and critical analysis. M .: Publishing house of political literature, 1982).

34. Op. according to Reale D., Antiseri D. Western philosophy from its origins to the present day. T. 2. Middle Ages. St. Petersburg: Petropolis, 1994, p. 83.

35. The falsity of this charter was proven in the 1407th century. Italian humanist and philosopher Lorenzo Valla (1457-XNUMX).

36. In 1965, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople took a step towards the reconciliation of the warring churches, abolishing mutual condemnations, but the process of uniting Christianity stopped there.

37. Op. Quoted from: Taxil L. Sacred nativity scene. M .: Publishing house of political literature, 1988. S. 212.

38. See: Eckhart M. Spiritual preaching and reasoning. M.: Renaissance, 1991. S. 38.

39. Horuzhy S.S. Hesychasm and history // After the break. Ways of Russian Philosophy. St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 1994. S. 422-423.

40. The famous German historian Otto Rahn connects the emergence of the legend of the Holy Grail with the activities of the Cathars, which was called upon to set out in allegorical form the main provisions of their teachings (see: Rahn O. Crusade against the Grail. M .: ACT, 2002. S. 65- 72).

41. James 5:16.

42. Weber M. Selected works. M.: Progress, 1990. S. 63.

43. For more details, see: Golubinsky E. History of the Russian Church. M.: Sabashnikov Publishing House, 1901. T. I. Part I. S. 59.

44. It should be noted that Prince Vladimir was not the pioneer of the religious method of reconciling contradictions. With much greater success, the creation of a single divine pantheon from the supreme deities of individual tribes or social communities was demonstrated by ancient Greek and ancient Roman societies.

45. Golubinsky E. Decree. op. pp. 175-176.

46. ​​SprengerA. Das Lebenund die Lehre des Mohammad. bd. I. Berlin, 1961. S. 207.

47. According to one of the papal encyclicals, not only were personal contacts between Protestants and Catholics forbidden, but a strict ban was imposed on theological disputes between them.

48. Losev A. F. Daring of the spirit. M.: Thought, 1990. S. 85.

Author: Anikin D.A.

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