Artur Mrowczynski-Van Allen

Alexei Khomiakov

Alexei Khomiakov (1804-1860), a great Russian thinker, one of the founders of the Slavophile school of thought, nowadays might be seen as one of the precursors of critical thought on the dangers of modern political ideas. The pathologies that Khomiakov attributes to Catholicism and Protestantism--authoritarianism, individualism, and fragmentation--are today the fundamental characteristics of modern states, of the societies in which we live, and to a large extent, of the alternatives that are brought forth in an attempt to counter them. Khomiakov's works therefore might help us take on the challenge of rescuing Christian thought from modern colonization and offer a true alternative, a space for love and truth, the living experience of the church. This book serves as a step on the path toward recovering the church's reflection on its own identity as sobornost', as the community that is the living body of Christ, and can be the next step forward toward recovering the capacity for thought from within the church. ""Highly recommended. This volume brings to light the great relevance of Alexei Khomiakov to our postmodern context. We are indebted to the continued and frutiful collaboration of Mrowczyński-Van, Obolevitch, and Rojek."" --Aaron Riches, Benedictine College, Aitchison, Kansas Artur Mrowczyński-Van Allen is Professor at the International Center for the Study of the Christian Orient and Instituto de Filosofia ""Edith Stein,"" Granada, Spain. He is the author of Between the Icon and the Idol: The Human Person and the Modern State in Russian Literature and Thought (Cascade, 2013). Teresa Obolevitch is Professor at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, Poland. Recently she published Faith and Science in Russian Religious Thought (2019). Pawel Rojek is Assistant Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.