St Philaret’s Institute and the House of Russia Abroad Celebrate the Centenary of St Sergius Theological Institute, in Paris

“St Sergius Institute played a significant role in the life of not only Russian but also global Orthodoxy,” said Viktor Moskvin, a Candidate of Historical Sciences and Director of the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad, as he opened the conference. “I recall the first YMCA-Press exhibition, held 35 years ago at the Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow. Nikita Alekseevich Struve brought both books and photographs to the exhibition. The display cases featured books and large portraits of Metropolitan Evlogy, Fr Sergius Bulgakov, Fr Vasily Zenkovsky, Anton Kartashev, Semyon Frank, and Nikolai Berdyaev. These men were not only authors published by YMCA-Press, but also the founders and first faculty members of St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, in Paris.”

“The uniqueness and outstanding role of the Institute lie in the fact that its founders and first professors were not only representatives of Russia’s intellectual elite but also globally significant thinkers who, thanks to their expulsion on the ‘philosophers' ship,’ did not perish. Paris gave them the opportunity to realize their potential under conditions of freedom, building upon the decisions taken by the Russian Church at the Local Council of 1917–1918.”

Moskvin recalled how highly current Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church had valued the role of books published by YMCA-Press, even when he was still Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. “When theological literature was banned in our country, the books written by the founders of Saint-Serge served as spiritual nourishment,” emphasized the Director of the House of Russia Abroad.

“In opening this conference, I would also like to thank St Philaret's Institute for many years of strong friendship and close cooperation,” he added.

“It’s hard to believe that St Sergius Institute is already a hundred years old. That’s a whole century, an entire era!” said Fr Georgy Kochetkov, Candidate of Theology, Founder of St Philaret's Institute and the spiritual father of the Transfiguration Brotherhood, as he welcomed conference participants. “We have gathered here to mark this date, but not only to mark it: we want not only to look to the past but also to do what they did at St Sergius Institute.”

“The conference is wonderfully named: ‘The Paris School: Treasures Old and New,’ making reference to the Gospel text. The name of St Sergius Institute has been inscribed in golden letters into global Russian and European history, as well as into Russian and worldwide Orthodoxy. It is of great importance that despite being relatively worn down by post-revolutionary vagaries, the founders and faculty of the St Sergius Institute were able to preserve the treasures of Russian spiritual culture in such a way as they would neither perish nor endure distortion, but even offer a fresh new word. This spirit of freedom, openness, dialogue, and the search for new paths is something very precious and much needed by us today,” Fr Georgy added.

“We would like to be successors of St Sergius Institute – bearers of its tradition. We greatly need the legacy it preserved through its often globally significant works. Back then, a hundred years ago, they brought the old from Russia and added something new to it. And now, we take the best from the ‘Paris School’ legacy as our ‘old,’ seeking to understand, develop, and move forward—not in opposition to anyone, but together. I hope this conference will be another milestone on this path. Because we all now need renewal and revival in both the life of society in Russia and our ecclesial life,” noted SFI’s founder.

“It is impossible to overstate the significance of the centenary we are celebrating — the 100th anniversary of the founding of St Sergius Institute, in Paris,” said Bishop Silouan of Peterhof, Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, in his address to the conference participants. “20th c. Orthodox Christian theological thought is largely associated with the legacy of this institution, its professors, graduates, and the traditions they established. Contemporary Russian theology has been significantly shaped by the ‘stars’ of Orthodox Paris in the second quarter of the 20th century.”

Bishop Silouan’s address was read by Fr Konstantin Kostromin, Vice-Rector for Academic and Theological Work at the St Petersburg Orthodox Theological Academy, Candidate of Theology, Candidate of Historical Sciences, who represented the Academy at the conference with a presentation titled “‘The Royal Priesthood’ and ‘Disciplina Arcani’: Two Liturgical Theologies within the Russian Theological Tradition.”

“The creation of the Institute vividly testifies to God’s unceasing care for His Church,” noted the Rector of the St Petersburg Theological Academy. “The theological thought of pre-revolutionary academies was at its qualitative peak and could hardly have disappeared without a trace simply due to a military coup in Russia. However, their thought could hardly have been called captivating: the empire's theology professors were both far from the forefront of societal thought and failed to particularly inspire their students. Where did they disappear to after 1917? Their fates varied… and God entrusted Russian Orthodox theology to the Russian intelligentsia abroad.”

“St Sergius Institute was not founded by graduates of theological schools (with the exception of Metropolitan Evlogy (Georgievsky) and Anton Vladimirovich Kartashev). To a significant extent, however, theological thought at Saint-Serge drew upon both Russian religious philosophy - which was in debate with academic theology - and the legacy of outstanding Russian pre-revolutionary theologians and church historians. Thus, in these difficult years of turmoil, the Lord found new forms for Orthodox witness to the world, gathered people of these very diverse views, and placed in their hearts the noble idea of creating the Institute. The baton of Russian Orthodox theology was taken up and they ran with it at the highest level,” emphasized Bishop Silouan of Peterhof.

“The history of Orthodoxy in the 20th century and the challenges of theological education and thought continually require reflection. The living thought which is evident to those who read the legacies of Fr Nikolai Afanasiev, Anton Vladimirovich Kartashev, Fr Sergius Bulgakov, Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern) and many others, must be passed on. I wish conference participants inspiration in their discussions of the legacy of St Sergius Institute and the historical circumstances surrounding its existence, as well as the remembrance that God, who rose from the dead, is capable of reviving any of His creations, including theological education, of which the 20th century is a vivid testament,” added Bishop Silouan.

“The legacy of St Sergius Institute offers much to draw upon and be inspired by for many years to come,” said Alexander Kopirovsky, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences and Rector of the St Philaret's Institute, in his address opening the second day of the conference. “Our modest task is not only to pay tribute and honour to those who stood at the origins of Saint-Serge but also to further develop the directions they instigated in their time.”

At the conference’s 29 April plenary session, presentations were given by:

• Dr Natalia Sukhova (DHis/Church History): Professor of the Department of History of the ROC at the St Tikhon’s Orthodox University of the Humanities (“St Sergius Institute and Russia's Pre-Revolutionary Theological School: Continuity and Innovation in Models for Theological Education”);
• Natalia Likvintseva (Candidate of Philosophy): Senior Researcher at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of the Russia Abroad (“The History of the ‘Paris School’ Based on Materials from the Journal 'Orthodox Thought'”);
• Dr Oleg Ermishin (DPhil), Senior Researcher at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of the Russia Abroad, Professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (“Concepts of Philosophical-Theological Synthesis in the Works of the Faculty of the St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute”); and
• Dr Alexander Antoshchenko (DHis), Professor of the Department of National History at Petrozavodsk State University (“The Role of A.V. Kartashev in the Establishment and Development of the Saint-Serge Orthodox Theological Institute”).

The first day’s sessions also featured presentations by:

• Yulia Antipina: a faculty member of the Theology Department at SFI, presenting on Fr Sergius Bulgakov’s approaches to teaching dogmatic theology;
• Alexander Abrosimov: a lecturer in the Department of Practical Theology at PSTGU, presenting on one of the most prominent heirs of the “Paris School,” Fr Alexander Schmemann;
• Viktor Alexandrov (PhD): an independent researcher from Budapest, presenting on the place of Fr Nikolai Afanasiev in the history of St Sergius Institute and the distinctive features of “Paris School” Theology;
• Alexander Burov: a Senior Researcher at the State Museum of the History of Religion, presenting on the continuity, parallels, and differences between the St Sergius Institute in Paris and its predecessor, the Petrograd Theological Institute, founded in Soviet Russia at the initiative of former faculty members of the Petrograd Theological Schools and Petrograd University, with the support of Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazansky) and Petrograd’s Orthodox brotherhoods, following the decree on the separation of Church from State and school from Church; and
• Tatyana Viktorova: Editor-in-Chief of the journal 'Herald of the Russian Christian Movement' ('Vestnik RSCM'), presenting on the reflections of art historian and Saint-Serge faculty member Vladimir Weidle on Christian unity in Europe.

Natalia Likvintseva, a Senior Researcher at the House of the Russia Abroad and Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, led a Russia House museum tour for conference participants, focusing on pages of history related to the activities of St Sergius Institute and its faculty.

The first day of the conference concluded with a roundtable discussion, “In Search of Language for the New Theology.” How did various representatives of the “Paris School” search for and find this language? What issues within ecclesia experience were revealed?

Which Russian scholarly-theological and religious-philosophical traditions was Saint-Serge able to preserve and develop? How did conservatism and innovation combine in the theological thought of the “Paris School” and in the teaching methods of individuals involved? How did prominent figures within the Russian diaspora influence the Institute’s life at different historical stages? How has the experience of Saint-Serge influenced theological education and religious thought in Russia and the world today?

The discussion was moderated by Natalia Likvintseva. Other participants included:

• Fr Pavel Khondzinsky (ThD): Dean of the Theological Faculty of the St Tikhon’s Orthodox University for the Humanities;
• Professor Yulia Balakshina (DPhil) of SFI and Herzen State Pedagogical University, Associate Professor of Theology;
• Dr Pyotr Mikhailov (ThD): Professor of the Department of Systematic Theology and Patrology at PSTGU;
• Dmitry Gasak: First Vice-Rector of SFI and Chairman of the Transfiguration Brotherhood;
• Sofia Androsenko: a postgraduate student at the Department of History of Russian Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University and Press Secretary of SFI.

The plenary session on April 30 opened with a presentation by Dr Andrey Kostryukov (DHis), Candidate of Theology, Senior Researcher at the Research Department of the Modern History of the ROC, and Professor of the Department of General and Russian Church History and Canon Law at PSTGU. Kostryukov traced the history of St Sergius Institute and ROCOR in an attempt to address reasons why relations failed to develop between the most brilliant and strongest theological school in the Russian diaspora (Saint-Serge) and the diaspora's main church structure (ROCOR) - despite the fact that ROCOR’s head, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) and other leadership had initially viewed the Institute very favourably.

The topic was further developed by Fr Ilya Solovyov. Fr Ilya is a Candidate of both Historical Sciences and Theology, Associate Professor at the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute for Postgraduate Studies, a lecturer at the Nikolo-Ugreshskaya Theological Seminary, and Chairman of the Society of Church History Enthusiasts. His presentation was entitled “Opposition to the St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute within the Russian Emigration.” According to Fr Ilya, the tragic conflict was almost inevitable due to the irreconcilable divide in views, aspirations, and ecclesiological positions held by ROCOR representatives and theologians of the future “Paris School.”

The close ties and interactions between St Sergius Theological Institute and the Russian Student Christian Movement were discussed by Kirill Sollogub (Paris), Vice-Chairman of the RSCM.

Andrey Teslya, a Candidate of Philosophy and Research Director of the Centre for the Study of Russian Thought at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kalinigrad), analyzed two foundational works by Vasily Zenkovsky—“Russian Thinkers and Europe” (1926), structured more as a history of Russian societal thought, and “History of Russian Philosophy” (1948), in which he sums up the philosophical works of not only the brilliant cohort of “Paris School” representatives but also their pre-revolutionary predecessors. Using the representative views of Alexey Khomyakov and Ivan Kireevsky and their place in the history of Russian philosophical and societal thought in Zenkovsky’s works, Teslya demonstrated how the great Russian historian Zenkovsky experienced evolution in his approach and methodology, also addressing how Zenkovsky defined and identified the chronological boundaries and meaning of the history of Russian philosophy.

An entire conference section was dedicated to the church life and fates of the faculty and students of the St Sergius Institute. Candidate of Theology Fr Georgy Pimenov, of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ at Warsaw Station in St Petersburg, presented a history of student brotherhood at Saint-Serge from 1925 to 1939. 

Candidate in Biology Ulyana Gutner, a research fellow at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences and author of a monograph on the history of the RSCM, spoke about the fates of Saint-Serge’s first students.

Candidate of History Konstantin Obozny, who is Dean of the SFI Faculty of History, traced the lives of several Latvian students from Saint-Serge who studied between 1928 and 1934, and later left their mark on the history of the Pskov Mission. Obozny based his presentation on correspondence and other archival documents.

Svetlana Zvereva, Candidate of Art History, Senior Researcher at the State Institute of Art Studies, and lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow), delivered a presentation entitled “The St Sergius Compound in Paris as a Church-Choral Centre of the Russian Diaspora in the 1920s–1940s and the Features of Its Church-Choral Tradition”.  Zvereva paid particular attention to the personality of Mikhail Mikhailovich Osorgin (1887–1950) and his role in the Institute’s history.

Professor Adriano dell’Asta of the Catholic University of Milan (Milan—Moscow) spoke on the influence of “Paris School” figures on European culture in the 20th century. Associate Professor at SFI and Candidate of Philosophy Viktor Granovsky presented a paper entitled “The Dual Image of Holy Rus’: Father Sergius Bulgakov and Anton Vladimirovich Kartashev”. Senior Lecturer at SFI Olga Kuznetsova analyzed the ecclesiological approach used by Fr Nikolai Afanasiev in his teaching of canon law.

The conference concluded with a memorial service for the departed founders and faculty of St Sergius Institute and a roundtable discussion, “A New Image for Christian Schools: The Domestic-Russian and International Legacy of St Sergius Institute.”

To what extent have the ideas nurtured by “Paris School” representatives—about the inseparability of spiritual education and church service, the experience of theological dialogue, and their bold commitment to both preserving and transmitting Tradition, as well as embodying and developing this Tradition, been embraced in contemporary theological schools and church academic circles?

This closing roundtable, which was moderated by SFI’s First Vice-Rector Dmitry Gasak, boasted the following participants:

• Fr Georgy Ashkov, ThM (Paris): Chairman of the Theological Group of the Vicariate of St. Mary of Paris and St. Alexey of Ugine, Lecturer at the Russian Department of St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris;
• Fr Georgy Kochetkov, Candidate in Theology (Moscow): SFI founder and spiritual mentor of the Transfiguration Brotherhood. Fr Georgy defended his dissertation at Saint-Serge in 1993;
• Fr Vladimir Yagello, ThM (Paris): Lecturer in Pastoral Theology, Liturgics, and Church Slavonic at St. Sergius Theological Institute, Chairman of the Voice of Orthodoxy radio station, Vice-Chairman of the Icon Society;
• Igor Zaitsev, Candidate of Philosophy (St. Petersburg): Associate Professor at the Fyodor Dostoevsky Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy;
• Anatoly Parpara, Candidate of Medicine (Sergiev Posad): Senior Lecturer at the Department of Theology of the Moscow Theological Academy;
• Daniil Struve (Paris): Professor at the University of Paris Cité, member of the editorial board of 'Herald of the Russian Christian Movement' ('Vestnik RSCM'), member of the executive committee of YMCA-Press.

Those who were unable to attend the conference can watch recordings of conference sessions on SFI’s VK and YouTube channels.