Read more
"Throughout his long life, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoi (1828-1910) grappled with the major questions of human existence. Who are we? What is the purpose of life? Where are we going? (Paperno 2014) Almost all his major fictional characters are concerned with these questions and give different answers to them (Orwin 1993). In the autobiographical trilogy Childhood, Boyhood and Youth, the protagonist 'tries out' various philosophical beliefs, seeking to find what can give meaning to human life. These are also the aspects that elevate War and Peace from being a purely historical epic to becoming an existential drama"--
List of contents
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Tolstoi as a practicing orthodox; 3. Examination of dogmatic theology; 4. Tolstoi, orthodoxy and asceticism; 5. Lev Tolstoi and orthodox forms of spirituality: elders; 6. Tolstoi and the wanderer tradition in Russian culture; 7. Tolstoi and he ideal of 'the Holy Fool'; 8. Father Sergius: Kasatskii's spiritual journey to holy foolishness; 9. Tolstoi and the social ideal of the Eastern Church: John Chrysostom; 10. The Church mounts a counter-attack: threat perceptions and combat strategies; 11. Between 'almost orthodox' and 'Antichrist': images of Lev Tolstoi in Russian orthodox polemics; 12. The 'excommunication' and its aftermath; 13. A requiem for a heretic? The controversy over Lev Tolstoi's burial; 14. Summary and conclusions.
About the author
Pål Kolstø is Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Oslo. His previous publications include, as author or editor, ten academic books in English, and numerous journal articles.
Summary
Lev Tolstoi, one of the world's most famous writers, was also a religious thinker and influential critic of the Orthodox Church. This book offers a new account of his relationship with the Church, showing how most of his main ideas drew on his Christian heritage – a radical reinterpretation of the faith he encountered in his own life.
Foreword
Offers a new account of Tolstoi's relationship with the Orthodox Church, showing how the novelist was influenced by his Christian heritage.
