Religious Schism in the Russian Aristocracy 1860–1900 Radstockism and Pashkovism

169 Pages·1970·7.878 MB·English

by  Edmund Heier (auth.)

RELIGIOUS SCHISM IN THE RUSSIAN
ARISTOCRACY 1860-1900
RADSTOCKISM AND PASHKOVISM
RELIGIOUS SCHISM IN THE RUSSIAN
ARISTOCRACY
1860-1900
RADSTOCKISM AND PASHKOVISM
by
EDMUND HEIER
i
• o.
o 0
MARTINUS NI]HOFF / THE HAGUE / 1970
© I970 by Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-3230-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-3228-5
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-010-3228-5
To Mary
PREFACE
My research in the intellectual and spiritual sphere of nineteenth
century Russia revealed that ever since the penetration of the fashion
able anti-ecclesiastical views of the Encyclopedists into Russia, the
aristocrats had grown indifferent to religion. The spiritual vacuum
created as a result of such conditions could not last, however, for a
prolonged period of time; least of all during the decades following the
r860's when Russia's moral, socio-political, and religious problems
were most acute. The subsequent quest for salvation and the general
religious inquiry among Russia's elite, as they were known in the West,
manifested itself chiefly in the writings of such profound religious and
philosophical thinkers as V. Solov'ev, K. Leont'ev, N. Fedorov, Dos
toevskij, and Tolstoj. They constitute, however, only a fraction of
those tormented by the longing for religious truth and guidance in an
age of transition and uncertainty.
There existed among Russia's aristocracy in the second half of the
nineteenth century a widespread socio-religious movement known as
Radstockism or Pashkovism, which aimed for a religious renovation
and with it a transformation of Russia on an ethical and moral basis.
These aristocrats were men and women who in their youth were in
different to all faith, but who had never abandoned the search for a
solution to their own and to Russia's problems. The solution to these
problems they believed to be based on moral and religious principles
found in Evangelical Christianity. Evangelical Christianity in Russia
was not new. What was new, however, was the enthusiasm for this
teaching as well as the fact that the patrons of this movement were of
the aristocracy; which condition in part accounts for the success and
spread of the movement. The religious movement, initiated by the
English Lord Radstock in the r870's, was perpetuated by V. A. Pash
kov, Colonel of the Guard, and reached a staggering growth within the
VIII PREFACE
next few decades. This religious upsurge gave its age the appearance of
a Reformation within the traditional social and religious order. As
such, Radstockism attracted many members of the upper classes and
was scrutinized both in critical treatises and in the creative literature
of the time. "Not to be a Radstockist [in the r870'sJ meant to lower
one's self in the eyes of society and thus risk the danger of becoming
labelled a backward person. To take exception to the teaching of the
English Lord in a private home was considered equal to insulting the
host."
The success of this drawing-room revival was due primarily to the
fact that many had been disillusioned with "the staleness of traditional
viands" offered by the official church. As the nation's elite, the
aristocratic Radstockists constituted a potential peril to Orthodoxy.
The guardians of Russian Orthodoxy, on the other hand, rejected
Radstockism as an extraneous growth of foreign origin. This was
primarily done in several books and numerous biased periodical
articles in the later decades of the nineteenth century, an indication
of alarm on part of the Hierarchy of the established state church. The
lack of bibliographical references to these neglected sources necessitated
my perusal of many periodicals. These are listed in the bibliographical
appendix.
Although the importance of this religious movement has been
recognized by many critics, it has received in our time little scholarly
attention. Least of all has it been treated in the context of the general
socio-religious development of the second half of the nineteenth
century. For obvious reasons one studies the social revolutionary
movement of nineteenth-century Russia with greater zeal than the
movements which were already suppressed by the Tsarist government.
My hope is that my study of this movement will produce a greater
understanding of the Russian spirit, that is, the spirit resultant from
the various social and religious struggles following the emancipation.
It will reveal further that this movement, though Evangelical in nature,
sought no separation from Orthodoxy, and that its primary aim was
the revival of Christian ideals and their application. More important,
it will demonstrate that the movement among the aristocracy was a
force similar to Christian socialism, or Tolstojism, which aimed at
Russia's transformation through the application of moral and religious
principles.
In the present work I have endeavoured to present an objective
study of Radstockism and Pashkovism, first as a unique historical
PREFACE IX
phenomenon of Russian religious and social thinking, and second as a
literary motive in the belles lettres of nineteenth-century Russia. Special
attention is devoted to profound religious thinkers and writers like
Tolstoj, Dostoevskij, Leskov, and others like Boborykin and Prince V.
Meshcherskij, in whose works we learn of their attitude toward this
movement. A work of this nature necessitated an introduction setting
forth a discussion of scepticism and the general social and religious
disillusionment of the second half of the nineteenth century, for it is
out of the lack of faith and the apathy toward religion that Rad
stockism and Pashkovism were born. This brief account cannot survey
in detail the various social, political, and religious nonconformist
currents of the time; nor is it possible to present a full picture of
Orthodoxy. Excellent works on this subject are available by such
prominent scholars as Professor N. Zernov, F. Florovskij, ]. Meyen
dorff, and A. Schmeman. Inasmuch, however, as this work traces the
emergence of a religious movement nourished by the inadequacy of the
established state religion, it is necessary to refer to certain negative
features of the Orthodox practice which had an immediate bearing on
the spread of Radstockism among the Orthodox aristocrats and later
among the masses.
For the vast amount of source material used in the preparation of
this manuscript, I am indebted to many individuals and libraries, but
particularly to the University Libraries of Harvard, Vienna, and Hel
sinki, to the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the
British Museum, the State Public Library of Leningrad (Saltykov
Shchedrin), the Theological Orthodox Institute in Paris, and the St.
Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in New York. I must pay a special
tribute to the library staff of the University of Waterloo for their
assistance in the search for rare documents. I am indebted to the
Canada Council and the University of Waterloo for grants which made
the research for this work possible. I should like also to thank many of
my colleagues for suggestions and corrections.
EDMUND HEIER
University of Waterloo
NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION
Since this work is not directed exclusively to scholars specializing in
Slavic Studies, the system of transliteration employed is one which
suggests to the English-speaking reader something about the pro
nunciation of Russian names. For the sake of consistency, this system
is also used for all citations of bibliographical material. Surnames of
individual Russians who have adopted their own Latin alphabet
spelling, such as Mirsky and Berdyaev, remain unaltered in this text.
Aa - a RR - k Xx - kh
B6 - b .JIJI - I u:~ - ts
Bb - v MM - m qq - ch
rr - g HH - n IIIrn - sh
mID; -
,I.1;,ll; - d 00 - 0 shch
Ee - e IIil - P 'b - "
Ee - e Pp - r bl-y
.iRm - zh Cc - s b -
"
33 - Z TT - t 99 - e
MIl - i Yy - u !Oro - ju
nil - j <PIP - f .fIH - ja
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE (V)
NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION (IX)
CHAPTER I. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS DISILLUSIONMENT
OF THE AGE r850-r900 (I)
Old conservative and new liberal forces. Loss of the Crimean War and the be
ginning of a new age. Epoch of Great Reforms - the consequence of reforms -
discontent and disillusionment. Formation of new classes - bourgeoisie, la
bourers, men of various professions - the educated middle class - liberal and
revolutionary leanings of the intelligentsia. Chernyshevkij's What is to be Done?
The Nihilists - Avant-Garde intellectuals - their struggle for individuality.
Reaction and the radical youth. The populist movement. - Trek to the People.
Repentant nobility.
a. Literature: A Reflection of Social and Political Currents (8)
Saltykov-Shchedrin and writers of plebeian origin - utilitarian approach to
literature. Disillusionment and pessimism a literary theme - Uspenskij and Ne
krasov. Assassination and terrorism. Victory of reactionaries - persecution of
political and religious dissenters in the I880's. Prevailing scepticism - Garshin
and Nadson. Epitome of pessimism - Chekhov, Mikhailovskij - disharmony and
irreligion in an age of transition. Symbolism and escape from desolation.
b. Disillusionment in the Official Church (r6)
Spread of nonconformists. The Church's inability to provide guidance in an age
of religious uncertainty. Impact of European Protestantism among the aristo
crats. Socialistic ideas and sectarianism. Diffusion of atheism among the intel
lectuals. Failure of clergy as religious educators - Albov and Pomjalovskij. Rus
sia's aristocracy perplexed by scepticism and religious doubts - Golitsyn and
Boborykin. Apathy towards Orthodoxy among the aristocracy. Cultural and
social isolation of the state church. Lack of a theology in Western sense. Despair
and a quest for righteousness and religious truth. Seekers after God - Dostoev
skij and Tolstoj. Evangelical Christianity among the aristocrats; the beginning
of Radstockism and Pashkovism.
XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER II. LORD RADSTOCK AND THE RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN
RUSSIA'S UPPER CLASSES (30)
The "Religious Renaissance" ot the turn ot the century. Lord Radstock and the
religious revival of the 1870'S - his teaching. Radstock's activities in England.
Solov'ev and Radstock compared. Radstock's acquaintance with Russian
aristocrats - his arrival in Russia. Receptive mood among aristocrats for Rad
stock's teaching. Publication of a Russian Bible. Count Korff - distribution of
Bibles - British Bible Society. The Shuvalov's - Bible-reading. The Orthodox
Church's awareness of dissension - Metropolitan Filaret - attempts to modernize
Orthodoxy. Society of Friends for Spiritual Enlightenment. Old Catholics -
attempts to unify European churches. Radstock's meetings in the salons of the
aristocracy - presentation of the fundamentals of the Gospel. Drawing-room
meetings became the craze. Salvation by faith as opposed to good works. Rad
stock's teaching arouses ardent discussions. Prince Meshcherskij recognizes in
Radstockism a potential sect. Ideal of Christianity - that of personal help and
service is put into practice by the Radstockists. The teaching of Tikbon Za
donskij - the positive type of Russian sainthood. Dostoevskij's figures of Zossi
ma and Makar. A Radstockist princess and Vera Zassulich. Other foreign
preachers - Mueller, Baedeker. Radstockism and the Russo-Turkish war (1877-
78). Actual adherents to the new teaching. St. Petersburg a stronghold of Rad
stockism. Radstock in Moscow. Radstockists remain officially Orthodox. The
new teaching, a spiritual enrichment in addition to Orthodoxy. Colonel Pashkov
emerges as the principal leader of the movement. The Society for the Encourage
ment of Spiritual and Ethical Reading. Introduction of the new teaching among
the common people.
CHAPTER III. RADSTOCKISM AND PASHKOVISM IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE
OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (57)
Literature, the barometer of Russian spiritual life - representation of various
religious types. Radstockism in Russian fiction.
a. Dostoevskij and Zasetskaja (58)
Dostoevskij's rejection of Radstockism - his relation to Zasetskaja, a defender
of Radstock. John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Dostoevskij's portrayal
of Radstock in his Diary 0/ a Writer (1876).
b. Prince Meshcherskij (63)
Meshcherskij's novel Lord Apostle in High Society - satirical portrayal of Rad
stock and his followers. Presents Orthodoxy as ideal way of life - Prince Baja
nov, principal protagonist. Tendentiousness of the novel.
c. Leskov and Peuker (67)
Leskov's preoccupation with religious problems - his interest in the religious
revival among the aristocrats. His The Schism in High Society written in oppo-