1962 (6) Nicholas Berdyaev New Age Prophet

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1962 (6) Nicholas Berdyaev New Age Prophet

Nicholas Berdyaev — Prophet of a «New Age».

Introduction

The increasing popularity of the teachings of Nicholas Berdyaev is a phenomenon which cannot be overlooked, especially since not even all Orthodox believers are sufficiently aware of his extreme heterodoxy, while the non-Orthodox actually believe that Berdyaev in some way represents Orthodox Christianity, particularly in its Russian form.  He has in fact been variously described as "a Russian Orthodox theologian," as "Orthodoxy’s best known representative in the West", and as "a spokesman for Orthodoxy."  God forbid!

Although Berdyaev was a nominal member of the Orthodox Church and occasionally attended the Divine Liturgy, his worldview for the most part stands diametrically opposed to Holy Orthodox Truth and Tradition, being completely alien to both the form and spirit of Russian Orthodoxy, revealing the soul not of a humble and devout Orthodox believer but of a prideful and self-willed genius seeking to impose his own image on both God and man.  That pure and undistorted Orthodox Faith and spirituality of the great Russian Saints and ascetics, that Holy Orthodoxy known and upheld by all Orthodox believers throughout the centuries was "too narrow" for him.  Disavowing "official Orthodoxy" — Orthodoxy which is "Byzantine," "monastic," "ascetic," and "authoritarian" (1) — Berdyaev sought to create a "new religious point of view."  Thus his sometimes profound insights into modern life and civilization lost whatever significance they might have possessed, becoming completely overshadowed by his willful distortions of Divine Truth.

Due to extensive translations of his numerous writings into English, French, German, and other languages, Berdyaev has become very well known.  "Berdyaev study groups" are now found throughout the world, even in Latin America; part of his former house in Paris, rather incredibly, has been made into a "chapel," and is yearly visited by thousands of Berdyaev enthusiasts.  There in fact developed something of a "cult" of Berdyaev, who in widely different circles is ever-increasingly hailed as a "bringer of light."  It is our purpose to examine the nature of this "light" and to demonstrate the extreme heterodoxy of his teachings.

Admittedly Berdyaev never felt "at home" in Holy Orthodoxy; he preferred the writings of German "mystics" and "philosophers" to the writings of the Fathers, Saints, and Ascetics; the Startsi and the spirituality of the Dobrotolubye he found as distasteful as what he termed the "academic Orthodoxy of the seminaries."  Even at that center of Russian spirituality, Optina Poustyn, he was unmoved.  Consequently, he turned for his inspiration to the West, especially to Jacob Boehme but also to Meister Eckhart, Angelus Silesius, and Jaochim of Floris, as well as to Kant and Hegel.  Certain aspects of his thought, notably his "eschatological" views, were influenced to no small degree by the Satanic fantasies of the Russian "millenarian" N. Fedorov and the Roman Catholic "millenarian," Cieszkowski.  In them he found freedom from Orthodox Tradition, freedom from that Orthodox ascetic-monastic world view which he so vehemently opposed.

Despite the fact that Berdyaev condemned Anthroposophy, Theosophy, and other forms of modern gnosticism, many of his own teachings — such as his theory of "aeons" and the idea of the "Ungrund" which he adopts from Boehme — undeniably reveal gnostic influence and are utterly removed from Orthodox Christian teaching.  Even the Mother of God, he reduces to a gnostic "symbol" or abstraction, describing Her as "the female cosmic soul of humanity" (2).  Like the gnostics, Berdyaev was far more concerned with "knowledge," with the "penetration of the cosmic mystery" (3) and the creativity of man than he was with spirituality and salvation.

Freemasonry is not unrelated to gnosticism, and Berdyaev’s "mystical humanism" unequivocally points to Masonic influence.  Nor can one overlook the fact — mentioned by Berdyaev himself — that Jacob Boehme, whose writings Berdyaev so deeply revered, enjoyed an immense popularity among Masons who indeed were the first to translate and publish him in Russian.  Mentioning with approval the Masonic "search for the inward Church," (4) Berdyaev also states that "in the eighteenth century, the spiritual view of life found shelter in the Masonic lodges"! (5)  Whether or not Berdyaev actually belonged to a Masonic Lodge is unknown, but it is obvious that a very large proportion of his thought was in perfect accord with and actually embodied Masonic principles and ideals.

Berdyaev’s "intellectual brilliance" cannot be denied, and if he had turned to the spiritual "right," the path of his thought — despite its many flaws — might have been very different.  Such, however, was not the case; he turned to the "left" and began a movement away from that Holy Orthodox Truth which he had begun to approach, a movement which continued throughout his entire life.  Even his "Dostoyevsky" and "End of Our Time," books containing many profound insights which he later eradicated from his mind completely, are infected with many heterodox elements.

By the time of his death, no one could have ascribed even the slightest degree of Orthodoxy to Berdyaev’s world-view.  He had, in fact, ceased to partake of that Orthodox consciousness known to Orthodox believers of all times and places; he had moved beyond its confines into the vague humanist, utopian, and gnostic vistas which he himself had once condemned as "Satanic"; he had committed the ultimate error, the inevitable error of all "millenarians" or "chiliasts" — the confusion of the Kingdom of God with the Kingdom of Antichrist.  Like many propagators of heterodoxy throughout the centuries, Berdyaev — however lacking in humility — was undeniably a "good" man, possessed of a noteworthy kindness and sincerity, indeed even of a certain nobility of character.  One can only hope that on his deathbed his mind became clear and that he turned from those multiform thoughts and fantasies, that worship of self through which Satan had led him so far from Christ and His Holy Orthodox Truth.

Consistency and clarity were not characteristic of Berdyaev’s thought.  Indeed, his extremely subjective use of words and concepts, the constant contradictions and ambiguities, the meaningless mental abstractions, the complicated maze of illusions with which he sought to oppose Holy Orthodox Truth — all lend a vague "dissolving" quality, a deceptive elusiveness to much of Berdyaev’s thought, an elusiveness perhaps intended by the powers of darkness to confuse those who happened to fall under its spell.  Nevertheless, certain definite points of view which are undeniably heterodox emerge from the writings of Berdyaev, thus enabling us to ascribe to him a clearly-defined "faith" and world-view.

Berdyaev and the Church

Not only did Berdyaev’s early Marxist orientation endow him with a strong utopian idealism and an exaggerated sense of the social and economic aspects of life, but it also endowed him with a hatred of Orthodox Monarchy and its- principles as well as a prideful contempt for the "official Church" and her Hierarchy.  Indeed, it should come as no surprise to us that just prior to the Revolution, the Holy Synod found it necessary to charge Berdyaev with blasphemy and initiate proceedings against him* after he stated that the Russian Church "stinks like a corpse and is poisoning the spiritual life of the Russian people", that it was in fact "not the true Church of Christ." (6)

      *The Revolution, however, prevented the completion of these proceedings.

Throughout his life, Berdyaev remained a relentless enemy of true Orthodoxy, and especially of that faithful remnant of Russian Orthodoxy — the Russian Church in Exile whose strict conservatism and adherence to Holy Orthodox Truth and Tradition he unceasingly attacked.  Nor is it without significance that Berdyaev never ceased to adhere to and support the Soviet Jurisdiction, quite unperturbed by the fact that a considerable portion of the spirit and "reform" program of the so-called "Living Church" entered into and lives on within the Jurisdiction of the Soviet "Patriarchate," including precisely the same humanist distortions of Orthodox Truth, the same support of the anathematized God-hating Soviet Power, and the same interconnections with the Soviet Secret Police which characterized the "Living Church."  And consistent with his support of the Soviet "Patriarchate," he describes the Church in Exile’s refusal to compromise with Communism and the Soviet Power as "the worst possible evil which could happen" (7).

What was Berdyaev’s understanding of the Church?  "The Church," he tells us, "is still in a merely potential state."  It is "incomplete"! (8)  He looks to the future, to the development of a "new Christianity" and a "new mysticism, which will be deeper than religions and ought to unite them"; (9) he awaits "a purified spiritual religion," "a loftier sort of belief in God." (10)  He believes, he tells us, in the "Church Universal," "The Church of the Holy Spirit" which apparently stands above The Church and the "Churches," and at the same time includes them all within itself.  Presently an "inner reality", the "Church Universal" is to be concretely realized, according to Berdyaev, in "the New Era of the Holy Spirit" in which there is to be some manner of "new and final Revelation." (11)

Berdyaev does not conceal the fact that he is a "relativist" in regard to religion.  "Christianity," he writes, ’’should be capable of existing in a variety of forms in the Universal Church"! (12)  Even such a vague and relativistic concept as this, however, is not broad enough for Berdyaev.  Thus, he expands his views to include everyone and all religions — "There is a great spiritual brotherhood. to which not only the Churches of East and West belong but also all those whose wills are directed towards God and the Divine, all in fact who aspire to some form of spiritual elevation"! (13)  Such a statement could have been taken directly from some Masonic or Theosophical text, so well does it reflect the teachings of both these organizations.

Berdyaev’s views are indeed sufficiently "Ecumenical" and "non-denominational," modernist and unorthodox, to be universally acceptable to the untraditional and humanist-oriented of all religions.  Not without reason does Mr. Lowrie, his biographer, say that Berdyaev spoke to and was understood by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox as well as "seekers of other faiths."  We are even told that a Hindu reveres Berdyaev as his master. (14)  From its beginnings, Berdyaev gave his whole-hearted support to the so-called "Ecumenical Movement"; he was a frequent lecturer at the "Ecumenical Institute" at Bossey, Switzerland, and is said to have been "deeply moved" by the foundation of the so-called "World Council of Churches."  His ecumenist interests were, of course, encouraged by the Masonic leaders of the Paris YMCA who brought him into contact with Protestant ecumenists and who have in general devoted so much time and energy to subverting the Orthodoxy of the Russian emigres.  As Berdyaev always urged the participation of Orthodoxy in the Ecumenical Movement," how greatly he would rejoice today now that nearly the entire Orthodox world, with the primary exception of the Russian Church in Exile which he so deeply detested, has betrayed and compromised the Truth of Christ through entering the so-called "World Council," thus preparing the way for the "World Church" of the future.

Berdyaev, like many leaders of the "New Orthodoxy" such as Greek Archbishop lakovos of America, urges the development of "new Orthodox consciousness" — in reality a falsified or distorted Orthodox consciousness existing quite apart from true Holy Orthodoxy.  The culmination of this "new Christian consciousness" and "new spirituality" is, of course, the historical actualization of the imagined "Church of the Holy Spirit the "World Church" of the future which we know from Sacred Tradition will be no other than the ' Church of the Antichrist, who will give to it its final form.  We know that there can be no "New Revelation.", no "New Christianity," no "New Orthodoxy, no "New Spirituality," no "New Church" which is inspired by any other than The Great Deceiver, the Father of lies.  On the part of true Christianity, Holy Orthodoxy, there can be no Ecumenism or "movement towards unity."  There can be only a repudiation of heresy, an affirmation of Divine Truth in its fullness, and a return to the Holy Orthodox Church on the part of the heterodox.

Like the other ecumenists, Berdyaev blasphemously uses the Name of the Holy Spirit to veil the action of the Spirit of evil.  Obviously referring to what in reality will be some manner of "Satanic Pentecost," he writes, "The success of the movement towards Christian unity presupposes a new era in Christianity itself, a new and deep spirituality which means a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit"! (15)  Ritual and hierarchical forms are apparently of no importance as far as Berdyaev is concerned.  "In the new era of Christianity", he tells us, "the exclusively external forms of the cults and ecclesiastical institutions will no longer be the principal sources determining the characteristics of Christian life." (16)  In other words, a liberal Protestant relativism which places no value on outward form — ritual, dogmatic, hierarchical — is to prevail in the historical actualization of that "Church of the Holy Spirit" to which Berdyaev’s wife, a Roman Catholic communicant, claimed she belonged even now, having "gone beyond separate Churches."  Berdyaev even goes so far as to state that in the future "the part to be played by Christianity will certainly be enormous on condition that its old fictitious forms are left behind." (17)  He of course, does not say precisely what he signifies by "old fictitious forms," but one may easily enough surmise that he means Holy Orthodox Truth and Tradition almost in their entirety.  The dogmas, traditions, and rituals of the "old Christianity" are either to be abandoned or sufficiently "relativized" as to be completely deprived of their meaning.  For the ecumenist the only real "heresy" is anti ecumenism.  Indeed, if the Church is "incomplete" as Berdyaev maintains, she only becomes "complete" when she enters into communion with or incorporates heresies into herself!  "Into the fullness of faith, faith which is ecumenical," writes Berdyaev, "the partial truths of the heresies will also enter — the truth contained in Sabellianism, in Marcionism, in Pelagianism, and in Patropassionism." (18)  Nor is even this enough.  Berdyaev must go still further so as not to overlook the social and cultural endeavor of modern man — "All the humanist creative activity of man in modern times will likewise have its place in the fullness of faith, but that again as a religious experience consecrated in the Spirit." (19)

First and foremost, Berdyaev connects the "New Era of the Holy Spirit" — a Satanic fantasy which can be traced back to the Latin monk, Joachim of Floris — with the actualization of some manner of "Church Universal" and a "new spirituality."  But this is by no means all.  The "New Aeon" or "Era of the Holy Spirit" is also apparently to involve a "religious socialism" and "a world federation of free nations, surrendering their sovereignty and accepting the authority of a world organization"; (20) it is to involve "man's still greater control of the forces of nature", technics made subject to spirit," (21) and the "emergence of a new man" (22) — "a man of the Eternal," as the "New Aeon" is to usher in the Eternal Kingdom.

Berdyaev's "Eschatology"

Needless to say, the "eschatological" views of Berdyaev bear no resemblance to Orthodox Christian eschatology.  Indeed, when he speaks of "the eschatological or prophetic outlook," "the End", and "the new earth", he by no means signifies what Orthodoxy signifies by these terms.  By "the end of the world" for instance, he means simply "the end of the age" and "the coming of a new aeon." (23)   The "only true messianic belief, he states, "is the messianism which looks for a new era of the Spirit" (24) — "an eschatological era" when "the face of the world, and the character of history will be essentially changed." (25)  According to Berdyaev, this world does not really end; there is no catastrophic End, after which a new earth is brought into being by God.  Instead, this world having attained to a utopian unity and "perfection" passes into Eternity and is in some way transformed into the "Kingdom of God" and the "new earth."  By the "new earth," Berdyaev clearly means nothing other than this world entered upon the "New Aeon," the imagined "Era of the Holy Spirit." (26)  And man, he believed, was to actively participate in the "creation" or "building up" of the "new earth," above all in the establishment of religious and national "unity" as well as in some manner of utopian society.  Here we are face to face with the most dreadful perversion of the Truth that is possible — the confusion of this world with the other world, of Christ with Antichrist, and of the Holy Spirit with the Spirit of evil.  Nor does Berdyaev seek to conceal this blatant inversion of the Truth.  "All the powers of our spirit must be directed towards realizing the Kingdom of God in the world," he writes! (28)*

       * Such would seem to be the accepted view of the leaders of the "new Christianity."  Typical is a rcent statement by Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Connolly of Seattle — "We must transform this modern world into the Kingdom of God ..in preparation for His Return." (The Monitor, Aug. 31)

The Antichrist he variously describes as a symbolical representation of "the state" and of "authoritarianism" regardless of their specific forms, and even as "false millenarianism," (29) such as that contained in Marxism — as though indeed there is a "true millenarianism."  Speaking of Solovyev’s "Three Conversations," a study of Antichrist, which is perhaps the only worthwhile writing of Solovyev and which is for the most part an exposition of the traditional Orthodox eschatological teaching, Berdyaev says - "The story belongs to inaccurate and out-of-date interpretations of the Apocalypse ...It is passive and not active...  creative eschatology; there is no expectation of a new era of the Holy Spirit." (30)  "In his drawing of the figure of Antichrist, continues Berdyaev, "it is a mistake that he is depicted... as a humanitarian." (31)  But we know from Sacred Tradition that the Antichrist is precisely "a wolf who comes forward in the guise of a lamb," "false Christ."

In the world-view of Berdyaev the reign of the Antichrist is replaced by the imagined "Era of the Holy Spirit," the conditions of which, however, are almost identical with those which Orthodox Tradition has always associated with the reign of Antichrist.  Although in reality, Berdyaev is a prophet of the Antichrist, his entire world-view is based upon a denial of the coming reign of Antichrist and the catastrophic End of time and of history, upon a compromise with humanism and utopian idealism.  The catastrophic End of the world, the reign of Antichrist, and the Last Judgement are all to be dismissed as "a threat to mankind in its infancy." (32)  "It is impossible," he writes, "to understand the end of the world with which the prophecies of the Apocalypse are concerned as a fated destiny"; (33) he carries to its logical end Feodorov’s theory that "mankind can escape the fatal end of the world, the appearance of Antichrist, and the Last Judgement," thus "passing over directly into Eternal Life." (34)  He believes, he tells us, in "an active creative interpretation of the end of the world" and in "the creative vocation of man at the end of history, a creative vocation which also makes possible... the second advent of Christ"! (35)  And here it may be observed that like the Seventh-Day-Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other sectarians of the "millenarian"* type who emphasize what they call "the Second Coming," Berdyaev in reality signifies by the "second advent" not the Second Coming of Christ but rather the coming of Antichrist and his kingdom.

     * The term "millenarian" or «chiliast» is used to denote one who, misinterpreting the «thousand years reign» mentioned in Holy Scripture, believes that the historical process culminates in the "millenium" or the establishment of the Kingdom of God in this world at the time of the Second Coming of Christ. 

Nor is the "Christ" of Berdyaev the Christ of the Last Judgement, for this would run counter to Berdyaev’s liberal-humanist sensibilities.  Berdyaev does not in fact accept the traditional Orthodox teaching regarding Judgement and the posthumous state of souls; he does not accept the Orthodox doctrine of hell, which, he states, indicates that "the spirit of love has not yet won the victory," (36) thereby revealing his own isolation from the consciousness of the Mystical Body as well as his superficiality of understanding.  Although at one time opposed to the non Christian theory of the "transmigration of souls," he later came to believe that it is "preferable to belief in eternal hell,"and that "we can accept the idea of reincarnation on different levels." (37)  Such are the beliefs of one who is so often described as "the best known representative of Orthodoxy in the West."

Man and Civilization in the World-View of Berdyaev

"Within historical Orthodoxy in which the monastic ascetic spirit prevailed," Berdyaev tells us, "the subject of man has not been and could not be adequately revealed." (38)  Likewise, he informs us that "the anthropology of the Fathers was deficient." (39)  Berdyaev sought to remedy this situation through "humanizing" the Orthodox Christian view of man which he found "too servile."  Like all idealists, he was blind to the full implications of the Fall and underestimated the degree to which man’s fallen nature determines the path of human history and the conditions of the earthly order; consequently he developed a "doctrine" of man which is essentially pagan and gnostic.  Man, he believed, was not totally subordinate to God, not a servant of God.  Berdyaev chose rather to view man as a "partner" of God, even in some way "necessary" to God.  Needless to say, this is utterly opposed to Orthodox Truth.  Such a view is perhaps connected with Berdyaev’s idolatrous attitude towards human intellectual and aesthetic creativity as well as his exaggerated sense of "freedom."  Nor does he conceal the fact that he is a worshipper of "human genius" and "creative power."  For him, "human genius" is no less to be venerated than sanctity.  "The genius is a vehicle of the Spirit," he writes. (40)  He speaks even of "the need of God for the creative activity of man." (41)  God and man are apparently "equals," each needing the other to be "complete"! 

Echoing the view upheld by the contemporary Latin Church and the "New Christianity" in general, Berdyaev states that "the results of every true creative act of man enter into the Kingdom of God." (42)  "The paintings of Leonardo, Rembrandt, Botticelli; Michelangelo's sculpture and Shakespeare's dramas; the symphonies of Beethoven and the novels of Tolstoy; the philosophical thought of Plato, Kant, and Hegel... all enter into the Kingdom of God"! (43)  Such, of course, have nothing to do with the real Kingdom of God.  To the contrary, they are of the kingdom of this world, however charming, moving, or pleasing we may find them.  And it is this very worship of "genius," "creativity," "culture" which will undoubtedly play an important part in the realization of the kingdom of Antichrist.  In the great Orthodox Christian civilizations of the past all intellectual and aesthetic creativity was subordinate to and mirrored Divine Truth; in them a true sanctification of all aspects of life was possible.  But Orthodoxy must emphatically deny this of the "autonomous" secular creativity and culture of modern man.

Berdyaev is in revolt against the ascetic-monastic outlook of Orthodox Christianity.  He could not tolerate what he terms the "obscurantist reaction to culture" (44) within official Orthodoxy; he is repeled by genuine Holy Orthodoxy, that "conservative Christianity which denies human creativity and directs the spiritual forces of man only towards contrition and salvation." (45)  Berdyaev perhaps thinks that we should have aims other than salvation and that the creation of a symphony by a "creative genius" is considerably more important than the tears of contrition shed by a holy hermit!

The Orthodox Christian believes that God sustains the world due to the existence in it of saintly and righteous men, that the whole of the earthly creation is preserved by prayer, humility, and podvig of Holy Ascetics.  Berdyaev, however, would have us believe that the world is sustained by human "genius," by intellectual-aesthetic creativity and "promethean" self-assertion.  At best, he regarded sanctity and genius as qualities of equal significance.  "The genius of Pushkin," he writes, "is just as necessary as the sainthood of Seraphim." (46)  Actually, there can be no doubt that he increasingly regarded "culture" and "creative genius" as more important than sanctity.  Holding the views that he did, he could not but repudiate as "false" the very core of Holy Orthodoxy — monastic-ascetic spirituality.  "The world is moving towards a new spirituality and a new mysticism," he writes with approval.  "In it there will be no more of the ascetic worldview"! (47)

And this "new mysticism" is not unconnected with the "mission" of the Russian people, he believes.  Berdyaev values highly what he terms that "Russian idea which strives to realize the brotherly union of men and nations," (48) and in his boundlessly optimistic hopes for the "Russia of the future" speaks of "an approaching Russian period of universal history, "of a "return to spiritual principles and values," of a "repudiation of atheism and materialism" in Russia.  "A new Christian outlook," he states, is coming into being in the "new Russia." (49)  Indeed, we are even told that "the Era of the Holy Spirit" is in some mysterious way "being prepared in Russia," (50) and by "Russia" he means nothing other than the USSR.  Undoubtedly, he would have seen Pasternak as a herald of this "new Christian outlook."

Although Berdyaev naively believed that a "religious," "personalist," and "non-authoritarian" socialism was both possible and the ideal for the ordering of human life, it should be pointed out that he never ceased to denounce both the atheism and "authoritarianism" of Marxism, its lack of respect for the person, its "bourgeois values," and its restrictions on human creativity.  Yet, like most people today, he was opposed to Marxism and the Soviet State not from the Orthodox Christian point of view, but from a liberal-humanist or Masonic point of view; not in the Name of Christ and His Church, but in the name of "Man" and human creativity.  Consequently, he remained remarkably blind to the full extent of the evil involved in the Soviet State and ideology, viewing with approval much which the true Orthodox believer could not but view with horror and alarm.  Indeed, one cannot help but wish that Berdyaev was but a particle as "reactionary," "mystical," and "obscurantist" as The Great Soviet Encyclopedia apparently terms him, thus unintentionally giving a better impression of him than he deserves.  Although Berdyaev refused to return to the USSR, he admittedly "accepted" the Revolution.  The Marxist "Russia" of atheism, materialism, and collectivism together with the anti-spiritual aspects of world-wide modern civilization he viewed as "necessary" but short-lived phenomena.  He believed that the world is "passing through the darkness which precedes new religious illumination," (51) that a "spiritual revolution" (52) is taking place preparing the way for the "purified Christianity" of the future.

Essentially an anarchist who viewed all forms of government as evil, Berdyaev admits to no sanctification or consecration of "state" or "ruler" in any circumstances.  Likewise, he rejected what he termed "totalitarian civilizations" with their established order, dogmas, and traditions, regardless of their form.  The traditional Orthodox Christian civilization, which Berdyaev viewed as the "worst" possible form of "totalitarianism," had as its aim the spiritualization of the earthly order through subordination to Divine Truth and the principles of the Divine Order.  Such indeed was the aim of Orthodox Monarchy towards which Berdyaev always remained consistently and unequivocally opposed.  The idea and the historical reality of an Orthodox Emperor and Empire which Russia had inherited from Byzantium, he refers to as "a perversion of Christianity." (53)  "The principle of monarchy," he tells us, is "alien to Christianity"! (54)  Nor does this rejection of Orthodox Monarchy arise out of ignorance.  To the contrary, he is fully aware of God-revealed Orthodox Christian Doctrine and Tradition in this regard — of the theological-mataphysical basis of Orthodox Monarchy, of the Sacramental Rite of Coronation, of the ceremonial privileges and semi-sacerdotal powers of the Orthodox Emperor, of the place of the Byzantine Emperors in assembling the Seven Ecumenical Councils and formulating the dogmas proclaimed at those Councils.

Obsessed with a "promethean" or pagan sense of human "freedom" and "creativity," Berdyaev could not but reject all aspects of the traditional Orthodox Christian civilization* because it — being dedicated to Truth of a Divine or Absolute nature and seeking to embody this Truth in all spheres of life and human endeavour — could not but deny that "freedom" or "unrestrained creativity" which for Berdyaev was more important than salvation and Holy Orthodox Truth.

     * Best revealed in Byzantium, medieval Serbia, and pre-Petrine Russia — although continuing in considerably diluted form in Russia even up to the Revolution.  It might be added here that the fall of the Third Rome only became possible when that flight from God and His Truth originating in the West had fully penetrated Russia, infecting her with the spiritual sickness and displacing Orthodox Christian civilization with the "Luciferian" secular culture and values of the West. 

Jon Gregerson

The following abbreviations are used for books by Berdyaev listed below:

RI — The Russian Idea, London, 1947. Geoffrey Bless.

F-S — Freedom and Spirit, London, 1948. Geoffrey Bless.

B-E — The Beginning and the End, London, 1948. Geoffrey Bless.

RS-C — The Realm of Spirit and the Realm of Ceasar, N. Y., 1952. Harper 

TNE — Towards a New Epoch, London, 1949. Geoffrey Bless.

L — Leontieff, London, 1940. Geoffrey Bless.

(1) — RI-191. (2) — F-S-306. (3) — Ibid. (4) — RI-19. (5) — RI-18. (6)

— Russkaya Molva, Aug. 3, 1913. (7) — TNE-46. (8) — F-S-348. (9) RS-C-182. (10) — B-E-151-53. (11) — See Ibid. (12) — F-S-349. (13) — F-S, 357. (14) — See Lowrie, D., Rebellious Prophet, N. Y., 1960. Harper. P. 287.’ (15) — TNE-36. (16) — TNE-37. (17) — TNE-117. (18) — B-E-253. (19) — Ibid. (20) — RS-C-85. (21) — See RS-C-48. (22) — See RS-C-162. (23) — See RI-214 and B-E-251. (24) — B-E-204. (25) — B-E-167. (26) — See B-E-233. (27) — See RI-213. (28) — L-260. (29) — See F-S-357. (30) — RI-207. (31) — Ibid. (32) — RI-211. (33) — Ibid. (34) — Ibid. (35) —RI-207 (36) — See B-E-238. (37) — B-E-240 (38) — RI-96. (39) — Ibid. (40) — B-E-186. (41) — B-E-193. (42) — B-E-187. (43) — B-E-250 (44) — See Rl-Chap. 10. (45) — TNE-51. (46) — B-E-204. (47) — RS-C- 181. (48) — TNE-75. (49) — TNE-117. (50) — RI-255. (51) — TNE-115. (52) — See RS-C-160. 

(53) — B-E-204. (54) — F-S-346.