Alexei Khomyakov: Philosopher of Russian Identity. Orthodox Electronic Library Khomyakov Alexey Stepanovich main works
He is known as a Russian writer, public figure, one of the main ideologists of the Slavophiles. The wide range of his interests, works and knowledge is striking: poet and playwright, theologian and philosopher, historian and philologist, critic and publicist, economist and sociologist, journalist and artist, inventor and healer.
The name of A.S. Khomyakov. He is known as a Russian writer, public figure, one of the main ideologists of the Slavophiles. The wide range of his interests, works and knowledge is striking: poet and playwright, theologian and philosopher, historian and philologist, critic and publicist, economist and sociologist, journalist and artist, inventor and healer. He was a man of encyclopedic knowledge, vigorous energy and high culture.
Alexei Stepanovich Khomyakov was born on May 1 (13), 1804 in Moscow, into a well-born noble family of Tula landowners Stepan Alexandrovich and Maria Alexandrovna Khomyakov. The family lived in Moscow in the winter, and in the summer in the village of Bogucharovo near Tula, where Alexei Khomyakov, under the guidance of his mother, received a solid home education and a good upbringing, his father instilled in his son an interest in literature, a love of books and education.
Later, Alexei Khomyakov will become a volunteer at Moscow University, graduating with a PhD in Mathematics. And in the future, he constantly improved and replenished his knowledge, which was facilitated by systematic work, an inquisitive mind and a rich library of his father, which he significantly expanded.
Having become close to the philosophical and aesthetic circle of "Lyubomudrov", A.S. Khomyakov writes poetry, translates, and works on the historical poem Vadim. In 1821, for the first time, he appears in print with his translation from the Latin essay by Tacitus "Germany".
From 1822 to 1825 he was in military service: first in the Astrakhan cuirassier regiment, in the Kherson province, and then in the Life Guards Horse Regiment, in St. Petersburg. In the journal "Polar Star" publishes his poems. Having gone on an indefinite vacation, he lives in Paris, where he paints with passion, writes the historical drama Yermak. Returning to his homeland, he visited Italy and the lands of the Western Slavs. With the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829. A.S. Khomyakov is back in the army, in the Belarusian Hussar Regiment, participating in battles, was awarded for bravery and courage. At the conclusion of peace, he retired and took up agriculture on their estates in Tula, Ryazan and Smolensk provinces.
At this time, he was actively engaged in literary activities, collaborated in various Moscow magazines, wrote the second historical drama "Dmitry the Pretender". A.S. Khomyakov becomes the soul of that circle of Russian society in which a new direction of Russian social thought was born - the ideas of the Slavic brotherhood, Slavophilism. He outlined the main provisions of the teachings of the Slavophils in his article "On the Old and the New" (1839). The Slavophiles in many ways contributed to the study of Russian national culture, defended the idea of a historical community of destinies and interests of the Russian and other Slavic peoples. Interesting thoughts of A.S. Khomyakov about the need for a versatile, harmonious, university education of youth, outlined in his article "On Public Education in Russia". And his historical views were reflected in the extensive work Notes on World History (Semiramide).
In 1844, the first and only collection of the poet, "24 Poems", was published during his lifetime. In 1854, his poem "Russia", which was distributed in lists, received great success in the democratic circles of Russian society.
A.S. Khomyakov, in his socio-political views, was a supporter of autocratic power, but advocated liberal reforms: the convocation of the Zemsky Sobor, the abolition of serfdom and the death penalty, the organization of a trial with the participation of jurors, and the free expression of public opinion.
The last work of the writer and thinker “To the Serbs. Message from Moscow” (1860) was of great social and political significance for all Slavic peoples.
Living in Bogucharov and doing agriculture, A.S. Khomyakov took part in public affairs. In 1958, at the nobles' congress in Tula, he supported, together with L.N. Tolstoy, I.S. Turgenev and others, the proposal of a progressive group of Tula nobles on the need to free the peasants with an allotment of land for ransom. But he failed to live up to the peasant reform. On September 23, 1860, he died of cholera in the village of Ivanovsky, Ryazan province (now the Dankovsky district of the Lipetsk region), where he successfully treated the peasants, but did not save himself. He was buried in Moscow, in the Danilov Monastery, but in the 30s of the XX century, the remains of A.S. Khomyakova and his wife were reburied at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
In 1904, the 100th anniversary of A.S. Khomyakov. The pan-Slavic honoring was arranged in Vienna by the "Circle of Russian Language Lovers".
In the Tula Chamber of Antiquities, a small exposition dedicated to the anniversary of the remarkable Russian philosopher, theologian and poet was arranged.
In Soviet times, the name, thoughts and deeds of A.S. Khomyakov were not popular. Occasionally, works about him were published, but few works of the famous Slavophile were published.
In the creative biography of A.S. Khomyakov, the Tula period of his life and activity has a prominent place. In the first years of Soviet power in the village of Bogucharovo, not far from Tula, there was a museum in the Khomyakovs' house, but in the mid-1920s it was closed and the exhibits were taken to Moscow. At present, a serious restoration of the manor house is required, the restoration of the park, flower beds and ponds, it is necessary to complete the restoration of the temple in Bogucharovo.
Since 1994, on the initiative of the Tula Regional Branch of the Russian Cultural Foundation, the Khomyakov Society and with the support of the Department of Culture of the Tula Region, Khomyakov Readings have been held in Tula and Bogucharovo. Literary critics, historians, philosophers, clergymen and local historians from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Tula and other cities of Russia give interesting reports and reports.
We must cherish the memory of Alexei Stepanovich Khomyakov. He was a great son of a great people. His spiritual heritage, thoughts and deeds will contribute to the revival of Russia.
31. General characteristics and main ideas of Slavophilism (Fr. Khomyakov, I. Kireevsky).
Slavophilism as a current of social thought appeared in the early 1840s. Its ideologists were writers and philosophers A.S. Khomyakov, brothers I.V. and P.V. Kireevsky, K.S. and I.S. Aksakovs, Yu.F. Samarin and others.
The efforts of the Slavophiles were aimed at developing a Christian worldview based on the teachings of the fathers of the Eastern Church and Orthodoxy in the original form that the Russian people gave it. They over-idealized Russia's political past and the Russian national character. The Slavophils highly valued the original features of Russian culture and argued that Russian political and social life had developed and would develop along its own path, different from the path of the Western peoples. In their opinion, Russia is called upon to revitalize Western Europe with the spirit of Orthodoxy and Russian social ideals, as well as to help Europe resolve its internal and external political problems in accordance with Christian principles.
Philosophical views of Khomyakov A.S.
Among ideological sources of Khomyakov's Slavophilism, Orthodoxy stands out most fully, within which the idea of the religious and messianic role of the Russian people was formulated. The thinker at the beginning of his career was significantly influenced by German philosophy, especially the philosophy of Schelling. Theological ideas, for example, of the French traditionalists (de Maistre, Chateaubriand, and others) also had a certain influence on him.
Formally not adhering to any of the philosophical schools, he especially strongly criticized materialism, describing it as "the decline of the philosophical spirit." Source in his philosophical analysis there was a provision that “the world appears to the mind as a substance in space and as the power of its time».
Comparing two ways of comprehending the world: scientific (“by reasoning”) and artistic (“mysterious clairvoyance”), he prefers the second.
Combining Orthodoxy and philosophy, A.S. Khomyakov came to the conclusion that true knowledge is inaccessible to a separate mind, torn off from faith and the church. Such knowledge is defective and incomplete. Only "living knowledge" based on Faith and Love can reveal the truth. A.S. Khomyakov was a consistent opponent of rationalism. The basis of his theory of knowledge is the principle of "conciliarity ". Sobornost is a special kind of collectivism. This is church collectivism. As a spiritual unity, the interest of A.S. Khomyakov to the community as a social community. The thinker defended the spiritual freedom of the individual, which should not be encroached upon by the state, his ideal is "a republic in the field of the spirit." Later Slavophilism evolved towards nationalism and political conservatism.
The first main feature of Khomyakov's philosophical work is that he proceeded from church consciousness when building a philosophical system.
Anthropology appears in Khomyakov as intermediate between theology and philosophy. From the doctrine of the Church Khomyakov deduces the doctrine of personality, which resolutely rejects the so-called individualism.. “An individual personality,” writes Khomyakov, “is a complete impotence and internal irreconcilable discord.” Only in a living and morally healthy connection with the social whole does a person acquire his strength; for Khomyakov, a person, in order to reveal himself in fullness and strength, must be connected with the Church. Khomyakov criticized the one-sided nature of Western culture. He - religious philosopher and the theologian. Combining Orthodoxy and philosophy, A.S. Khomyakov came to the conclusion that true knowledge is inaccessible to a separate mind, torn off from faith and the church. Such knowledge is defective and incomplete. Only "living knowledge" based on Faith and Love can reveal the truth. A.S. Khomyakov was a consistent opponent of rationalism. The basis of his theory of knowledge is the principle of "sobornost". Sobornost is a special kind of collectivism. This is church collectivism. As a spiritual unity, the interest of A.S. Khomyakov to the community as a social community. The thinker defended the spiritual freedom of the individual, which should not be encroached upon by the state, his ideal is "a republic in the field of the spirit." Later Slavophilism evolved towards nationalism and political conservatism.
Philosophy of Kireevsky I.V.
Kireevsky received a good education at home under the guidance of the romantic poet Zhukovsky.
Kireevsky is a champion of Slavophilism and a representative of its philosophy. In the departure from religious principles and the loss of spiritual integrity, he saw the source of the crisis of the European Enlightenment. He considered the task of original Russian philosophy to be the processing of the advanced philosophy of the West in the spirit of the teachings of Eastern patristics.. The works of Kireevsky were first published in 1861 in 2 volumes.
The dominant place in Kireevsky's work is occupied by the idea of the integrity of spiritual life. Exactly “holistic thinking” allows the individual and society to avoid the false choice between ignorance, which leads to “deviation of the mind and heart from true beliefs,” and logical thinking, which can distract a person from everything important in the world. The second danger modern man If he does not achieve the integrity of consciousness, it is especially relevant, Kireevsky believed, because the cult of corporeality and the cult of material production, being justified in rationalist philosophy, leads to the spiritual enslavement of man. Only a change in "basic beliefs", "a change in the spirit and direction of philosophy" can fundamentally change the situation.
He was a true philosopher and never in any way hindered the work of the mind, but the concept of the mind as an organ of cognition was entirely determined by the deep understanding of it that developed in Christianity. Kireevsky in his religious life really lived not only with religious thought, but also with religious feeling; his whole personality, his whole spiritual world were permeated with rays of religious consciousness. The opposition of genuinely Christian enlightenment and rationalism is indeed the axis around which Kireevsky's thought work revolves.. But this is not a confrontation between "faith" and "reason" - namely, two systems of education. He sought spiritual and ideological integrity, without separating the philosophical consciousness from the theological (but he strongly distinguished between revelation and human thinking). This idea of integrity was not only an ideal for him, but he also saw in it the basis for the constructions of the mind. It was in this plan that Kireevsky raised the question of the relationship between faith and reason - only their inner unity was for him the key to the whole and all-encompassing truth. In Kireevsky, this teaching is connected with patristic anthropology. Kireevsky puts the distinction between "external" and "internal" man as the basis of the whole construction - this is the primordial Christian anthropological dualism. From the "natural" mind, one must generally "ascend" to the spiritual mind.
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Russian philosopher, theologian, poet, one of the founders of the direction of Russian social thought - "Slavophilism".
Khomyakov Alexey Stepanovich(1 (13) 05. 1804, Moscow - 23.09 (5.10). 1860, the village of Ivanovskoye, now the Dankovsky district of the Lipetsk region) - a religious philosopher, poet, publicist. Comes from an old noble family. In 1822 he passed the exam at the Moscow University for the degree of Candidate of Mathematical Sciences, then entered the military service. X. was familiar with the participants of the Decembrist movement, but did not share them political views, opposed military revolution". In 1829, he retired, taking up literary and social activities. X. made a decisive contribution to the development of the Slavophile doctrine, its theological and philosophical foundations. Among the ideological sources of Slavophilism X. Orthodoxy stands out first of all, within the framework of which the doctrine of the religious and messianic role of Rus was formulated. people. X. also experienced a significant influence from him. philosophy, and above all the works of Hegel and Schelling. A certain influence on him was also app. theological ideas, for example, fr. traditionalists (J. de Maistre and others). Formally not affiliated with any of the philosophical schools , he did not recognize materialism, characterizing it as "the decline of the philosophical spirit", but he did not fully accept certain forms of idealism either. The starting point in his philosophical analysis was the position that "the world appears to the mind as a substance in space and as a force in time." However, substance or matter "loses its independence before thought." At the heart of being is not matter, but force, which is understood by the mind as "the beginning of the variability of world phenomena." X. emphasized that its beginning "can not be sought in the subject." The individual or “private principle” cannot “result into the infinite” and the universal, on the contrary, it must receive its source from the universal. Hence the conclusion that "the force or reason for the existence of each phenomenon lies in" everything ". "All", with t. sp. X., contains a number of characteristics that fundamentally distinguish it from the world of phenomena. First, "everything" has freedom; secondly, rationality (free thought); thirdly, will (“willing mind”). Only God can possess such traits collectively. In these reasonings, many things are foreseen. provisions of the philosophy of unity V. S. Solovyov. X. understands the world as the result of the activity of "reasonable will", as "the image of a single spirit", which can be known only if one joins the "spiritual sphere". The main disadvantage of modern him. Philosophy X. considered her understanding of knowledge "without reality, as an abstraction", which manifests rationalism, an exaggeration of the meaning of abstract knowledge. Comparing two ways of comprehending the world - scientific ("the path of logical arguments") and artistic ("mysterious clairvoyance"), X. prefers the second. He was convinced that "the most important truths that it is given to know a person are transmitted from one to another without logical arguments, with one hint that awakens its hidden powers in the soul." Such intuitive insights are characteristic of Russian. philosophical tradition, they oppose Western European rationalism and consistency. The attitude of a person to the “creating spirit” finds a concentrated expression in his faith, which predetermines both the way of thinking of a person and the way of his actions. Hence the conclusion that religion can be understood "by looking at the whole life of the people, at its full historical development." It is a look at the Russian. history makes it possible to evaluate Orthodoxy, for it formed those "primordially Russian principles", that "Russian spirit", which created "the Russian land in its infinite volume." In his "Notes on World History" X. divides all religions into two main. groups: Cushitic and Iranian (see. Iranian and Kushite). The first is built on the principles of necessity, dooming people to thoughtless submission, turning them into mere executors of someone else's will, while the second is a religion of freedom that addresses the inner world of a person, demanding from him conscious choice between good and evil. Christianity expressed its essence most fully. Genuine Christianity makes the believer free, because he "does not know any external authority over himself." But, having accepted "grace", the believer cannot follow arbitrariness, he finds the justification of his freedom in "unanimity with the Church." Rejecting coercion as a path to unity, X. believes that the means that can unite the church can only be love, understood not only as an ethical category, but also as an essential force that provides "for people to know the unconditional Truth." The most adequate way to express the unity based on freedom and love can, in his opinion, only catholicity, which plays, as it were, the role of an intermediary between the divine and earthly worlds. Sobornost in X. opposes both individualism, which destroys human solidarity, and collectivism, which levels the individual. Representing itself as “unity in multitude”, it protects the human community and at the same time preserves the unique features of an individual. In the social sphere, conciliar principles, according to X., were most fully embodied in a community that harmoniously combined personal and public interests. It is necessary, he believed, to make the communal principle comprehensive and for this purpose to create communities in industry, to make communal organization the basis of state life, which will eliminate "the abomination of administration in Russia." The leading principle of relations between people will then be “the self-denial of each for the benefit of all”, thanks to which their religious and social aspirations will merge. Orthodoxy and community, according to X. and other Slavophiles, give rise to the originality of Russian. stories. Russia, unlike the West, is developing organically; European states are based on conquest, they are “artificial creations”, the “spirit of personal separation” dominates here, the pursuit of material well-being, Rus. the earth "was not built, but grew", moreover, on a cathedral basis, and leading role spiritual values play in it. True, Peter I violated the “natural course of Russian history” with his reforms, as a result, the upper strata assimilate the European way of life, they break with the people, who remained true to the “root principles of Rus'”. It is necessary to restore the organic principles of Russia, but this does not mean "a simple return to antiquity", it is about "the revival of the spirit, not the form." As a result, a society will be created, which will save Europe from degradation by its example. X.'s views were oppositional in relation to the Nikolaev bureaucracy, he was a supporter of the abolition of serfdom, opposed the omnipotence of spiritual censorship, for religious tolerance. The ideological heritage of X. had a significant impact on the domestic spiritual tradition, including the views of Herzen, N. A. Berdyaev, and others. Mn. ideas X. served as an incentive to create the original Russian. Orthodox theology.
In the library "Runivers"
main works
"Old and New" (1839),"On rural conditions" and "Once again on rural conditions" (1842),
"About Humboldt" (1849),
"Regarding Kireevsky's article on the nature of the enlightenment of Europe and its relation to the enlightenment of Russia" (1852),
"About the passages found in the papers of I. V. Kireevsky" (1857),
"On Modern Phenomena in the Field of Philosophy (letter to Samarin)",
"Second Letter on Philosophy to Yu. F. Samarin" (1859).
Alexei Stepanovich Khomyakov (May 1 (May 13), 1804 - September 23 (October 5), 1860) - Russian poet, artist, publicist, theologian, philosopher, founder of early Slavophilism, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Alexei Khomyakov was born in Moscow on Ordynka in an old noble family. Received home education. In 1821 he passed the examination for the degree of Candidate of Mathematical Sciences at Moscow University. He published quite actively (poems, translations). In 1822, Khomyakov was determined for military service, first in the Astrakhan cuirassier regiment, a year later he was transferred to St. Petersburg to the Horse Guards. In 1825 he left the service, went abroad, engaged in painting, wrote the historical drama "Ermak". In 1828-1829, Khomyakov participated in the Russian-Turkish war, after which he retired and left for his estate, deciding to take up farming. Collaborates with various magazines.
In 1836 he marries the sister of the poet Yazykov, Ekaterina Mikhailovna. In the article "On the Old and the New" (1839) he puts forward the main theoretical provisions of Slavophilism. In 1838, he began work on his main historical and philosophical work, Notes on World History. In 1847 Khomyakov visits Germany.
Since 1850, he paid special attention to religious issues, the history of Russian Orthodoxy. For Khomyakov, socialism and capitalism were equally negative offspring of Western decadence. The West has not been able to solve the spiritual problems of humanity; it has become carried away by competition and neglected cooperation. In his words: "Rome preserved its unity at the cost of freedom, and the Protestants gained freedom at the cost of unity." He considered the monarchy the only acceptable form for Russia state structure, advocated the convocation of the "Zemsky Sobor", linking with it the hope of resolving the contradiction between "power" and "land", which arose in Russia as a result of the reforms of Peter I.
Being engaged in the treatment of peasants during the cholera epidemic, he fell ill. He died on September 23 (October 5), 1860 in the village of Speshnevo-Ivanovsky, Ryazan province (now in the Lipetsk region). He was buried in the Danilov Monastery next to Yazykov and Gogol. In Soviet times, the ashes of all three were reburied at the new Novodevichy cemetery.
The fundamental work "Notes on World History" (Semiramide) remained unfinished, but journal articles have been preserved. The material world seemed to Khomyakov only an external expression of a freely creative spirit (God), and material factors community development- its external manifestations. History is a process of gradual manifestation of the fullness of the spirit in the social life of mankind. Each nation in its development expresses one side or another of the absolute. Accordingly, the history of the people was a process of manifestation in its social life of a certain primary idea originally inherent in it. Each nation had its own special substance, "beginning".
The philosophy of A. S. Khomyakov was based on providentialism. The historical development of each nation was predetermined by the absolute. However, in its development, the people, for one reason or another, may deviate from it and fail to fulfill the “mission” assigned to it.
The understanding by the Slavophiles (including A. S. Khomyakov) of the process of the historical development of this or that people as a gradual manifestation of its "beginning" had two indisputable advantages. Firstly, such an approach implied the desire to understand the meaning of the history of the people. Secondly, he forced to pay special attention to the specifics of folk life (it was the Slavophiles who were the first to pay serious attention to such a fundamental phenomenon of Russian reality as the rural community).
At the end of Perestroika, Orthodox society faced a task that was not entirely characteristic of it. It would seem that the years of persecution had passed, there was no longer a need to hide pectoral crosses, as well as to go to the temple, looking around, "gardens". Furthermore, Holy Bible, now bought from speculators for two salaries, could already be obtained completely free of charge from numerous visiting missionaries. Yes, and the wise and sedate newly-departed with the young and active newly-departed regularly spoke from the blue screens of the Central Television.
But at the same time, serious disagreements began to appear among the Orthodox, concerning not only and not so much purely internal church issues. Many have a need for open socio-political reflection (and for others, activity), refracted through the prism of the Orthodox worldview. However, this is precisely what became the basis for the division of socially reflective believers into several "camps", the key of which, by analogy with the political ones, are usually called "liberal" and "conservative".
Of course, stable clichés, according to which church "liberals" read Berdyaev in unison, thinking about ecumenism and translating services into Russian, and "conservatives" praying for portraits of Pobedonostsev and Tikhomirov (of course, without reading them), dreaming of autocracy, nationality and humiliation (and even better - destruction) of heretics and non-believers - have little to do with reality. On the other hand, the main trends, in general, are identified correctly - Christian-universalist and Orthodox-original, although the foundations of both have a very distant relation to "liberalism" and "conservatism".
And it is on the latter that I would like to dwell a little more today, without going into the details of the disagreements, but having considered one of the sources of the original trend in Orthodox social and historiosophical thought - the Slavophile movement of the middle of the century before last known to most from the school bench. I will do this using the example of one of its founders, the great Russian thinker Alexei Stepanovich Khomyakov, whose 150th anniversary we are celebrating today.
Alexey Khomyakov was born on May 1 (13), 1804 in the family of a representative of an ancient noble family (the roots of the Khomyakovs go back to the 16th century, although, according to some sources, the family itself is much older), a retired lieutenant of the guard. Stepan Khomyakov, according to his contemporaries, by no means adhered to a soil-based worldview, but, on the contrary, was a passionate English lover and was even one of the founders of the famous English Club in Moscow. However, another passion owned him much stronger - father A.S. Khomyakova was obsessed with the card game and, as a result, in his own club, he lost almost the entire family fortune, more than a million rubles. After that, as Sergei Khoruzhy aptly notes in his book “ Contemporary Issues Orthodox worldview”, “... a gender revolution took place in the family: the mother of the philosopher, Maria Alekseevna Kireevskaya, a lady of a strong, imperious, proud character, removed her husband from doing business and became the head of the house herself.”
It cannot be said that this “revolution” had a negative impact on the formation of young Alexei, who eventually received an excellent education, which in 1819 allowed the 15-year-old Khomyakov to translate Tacitus’ essay “Germany” from Latin (an excerpt from the translation was published 2 years later in “Proceedings of amateur societies Russian literature» at Moscow University). And already at the age of 17, Alexei passed the exam for the degree of candidate of mathematical sciences at Moscow University. Of course, the historical degree did not quite correspond to the modern one, but here Khomyakov can only be compared with the “idol” of the “Orthodox universalists” Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov. The latter was approved in the candidate's degree "only" at the age of 20.
But this is by no means the most surprising thing about the initial period of Khomyakov's biography. As a result, without becoming a mathematician, the young candidate of sciences entered the military service (first in the Astrakhan cuirassier regiment, but a year later he transferred to St. Petersburg to the horse guards, where he became interested in poetry - the first poems of the young poet were published in the almanac of Ryleev and Bestuzhev "Polar Star"). But in 1825, without waiting for the Decembrist rebellion, in which Khomyakov's close acquaintances also took part, the young lieutenant left in 1825, having gone abroad.
Far from his homeland, Aleksey Khomyakov, who even before that had become close to the “Lubomudrov” circle, actively studied German classical philosophy(mainly I. Kant, I.G. Fichte and F.V. Schelling), was engaged in painting, and also wrote the historical drama "Ermak". And here it is very important to note that in the outlook of the young thinker at that time, Western philosophical influences quite organically combined with deep Orthodox religiosity and sincere patriotism. As his personal friend Alexander Koshelev, another Slavophil of the “first wave”, Alexander Koshelev, later wrote in his memoirs about Khomyakov: “I knew Khomyakov for 37 years, and his basic convictions in 1823 remained the same in 1860.”
In 1828-1829, out of patriotic motives, Khomyakov voluntarily took part in (participated in battles in the Belarusian hussar regiment, was awarded for bravery and courage). At the end of the war, A.S. Khomyakov retired, deciding to take up farming on his estates in the Tula, Ryazan and Smolensk provinces, as well as literary work. One of the first works of the 30s was the second historical drama "Dmitry the Pretender". However, I will not dwell on the dramatic and poetic work of the thinker, but will go directly to his socio-political, historiosophical and theological work, which brought A.S. Khomyakov worldwide fame.
During the 1930s, the thinker developed a coherent system of views, which critics would later call "Slavophilism", a term that the early Slavophils themselves rarely used. The result of Khomyakov's worldview evolution was the writing of the article "On the Old and the New", which was not originally intended for publication and was read in the winter of 1838-1839. on one of the "environments" I.V. Kireevsky in Moscow. It was in this work that Khomyakov identified the key topics for further discussions between Slavophiles and Westerners: “Which is better, the old or the new Russia? How many alien elements have entered its current organization?.. How much has it lost its root principles, and were these principles such that we regret them and try to resurrect them?
I will not go into the details of the intra-Slavophile controversy that arose after Khomyakov read this article, I will only note that another outstanding founder of Slavophilism, the owner of the aforementioned “environments”, Ivan Kireevsky wrote a detailed answer to it. I believe that those readers who have already overcome the first half of my essay would be interested in getting acquainted with both texts not in retelling.
Aleksey Khomyakov expounded his historiosophical views in the unique for that time work “Semiramide”, alas, unfinished, but at the same time the largest creation of the thinker in terms of volume. In "Semiramide" the thinker attempted a systematic exposition of the meaning of world history, an attempt at that time comparable only to Hegel's "Philosophy of History".
Khomyakov's history is presented in the form of a centuries-old struggle between two opposite spiritual principles, named by him after the names of two ancient civilizations "Iranian" and "Cushite". The first of them is a symbol of the freedom of the spirit, the second - "the predominance of material necessity." At the same time, A.S. Khomyakov did not absolutize this or that beginning, but noted the relativity of this division, believing that “History no longer knows pure tribes. History also does not know pure religions. And at the same time, the only people who preserved the Iranian cultural and religious type, the thinker considered the Russian people. At the same time, while criticizing the West, Aleksey Khomyakov by no means idealized the Russian past, although he relied on the “resurrection of Ancient Rus'”, which kept the Orthodox ideal.
And it is precisely on catholicity, as one of the key categories of Khomyakov’s philosophical and theological work (moreover, he was the first to introduce this category into Russian philosophical discourse), that it is worth dwelling in more detail, since, according to the thinker, it is in catholicity that the basis of Russian identity lies. Of course, the conciliar ideal itself is not initially purely public, social, but is based on the religious principle contained in the ninth, ecclesiological, member "": "[I believe] in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church." But, based on this ideal, according to Khomyakov, a social vertical should be built (or, to be more precise, “descend”) - a fertile organic unity of a believing people on the basis of Orthodox faith. AT this case, in addition to Khomyakov's historiosophical works, there is his extremely important text of the 40s, published only in 1864, that is, after the death of the author. This is a relatively short article “The Church is One,” in which Khomyakov catechetically outlined his own vision of the Church as a living organism: “The Church is not a multitude of persons in their individual individuality, but the unity of God’s grace living in a multitude of rational creatures who submit to grace.”
At the same time, it is very important to note that at the heart of his criticism of the West, and, more precisely, of Western society, Khomyakov touches on a very important epistemological moment: rejecting Western rationalism (again, the “Cushite” principle) from, in fact, intuitive positions, the thinker substantiates the need for an integral knowledge (the so-called "living knowledge"), the source of which is also catholicity ("a set of thoughts, bound by love"). At the same time, as the basis for the Western rejection of “living knowledge”, Khomyakov quite rightly singles out , which, starting from pre-schismatic times (in particular, Blessed Augustine), went on a purely rationalistic path.
Criticizing Catholicism, Khomyakov noted in the latter such a significant drawback as the unlimited domination of the hierarchy. From the point of view of the thinker, the fact that the Western Church has actually become an institution of power is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of Christian teaching. On the other hand, Western Protestantism is even more contrary to the Christian ideal, since it is a departure from the apostolic and patristic canons and a manifestation of extreme religious individualism.
And at the same time, A.S. Khomyakov cannot be called a conservative thinker. So, he was a consistent supporter of reforming Russia, in some moments more radical than some Western liberals. At the same time, while remaining a Slavophile, he was an opponent of the Western ideal " rule of law”, rightly considering the basis of social life not law, but morality. At the same time, like many liberals, he advocated the liberation of the peasants with land (which for that time was a very radical judgment), and also opposed censorship, for freedom of speech and the press.
On this basis, Nikolai Berdyaev eventually even came to such a paradoxical conclusion as: "Khomyakov was, in essence, a liberal and a democrat with a populist and anti-state overtones." However, the categoricalness of this judgment remained on the conscience of a talented, but very often contradictory and inconsistent author (who, by the way, did not condemn Khomyakov at all, but, on the contrary, “protected” from largely well-founded criticism from outside).
And at the same time, A.S. Khomyakov, of course, considered the Orthodox monarchy the only form of government acceptable to Russia, although at the same time he advocated the convocation of the “Zemsky Sobor”, linking with it the hope of resolving the contradiction between “power” and “land”, which arose in Russia as a result of Peter's Western reforms. I.
Unfortunately, Khomyakov lived not so long life, and therefore could not answer many questions that were asked to him after his death. The thinker died exclusively in a Christian way. Being engaged in the treatment of peasants during the cholera epidemic, he became infected and very quickly the disease broke him. Alexei Stepanovich died on September 23 (October 5), 1860 in his native village of Speshnevo-Ivanovsky, after which his ashes were transported to Moscow and buried in the cemetery of the St. Danilov Monastery.
In 1931, the ashes of Khomyakov were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. And, according to some reports, when the body of Alexei Stepanovich was exhumed, it turned out to be incorrupt. Although this alone, of course, is not the basis for canonization, the need for which was discussed several years ago by some researchers of the life and work of this great Russian philosopher.
