Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin
Subtitle: The Search for Orthodox and Catholic Union
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
Published: June 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 321
ISBN-13: 9780268031664
Subjects: European history: c 1750 to c 1900; Orthodox Churches; Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church; Roman Catholic Church; History; Religion - Catholicism; History: World; Russia; Christianity - History - Catholic; Christianity - Orthodox; Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union; World - General; (Jean),; 1814-1882; 19th century; Catholic Church; Christian union; Gagarin, J; Gagarin, J.; Relations; Russkaia pravoslavnaia t; Russkaëiìa pravoslavnaëiìa ëtìserkov§
Description: "Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin analyzes questions of nationality and religious identity in nineteenth-century Russian history as reflected in the life of Jesuit priest Ivan Gagarin. A descendant of one of Russia's most ancient and politically powerful families, Father Ivan Gagarin, S.J. (1814-1882), dedicated his life to creating a union between the Orthodox and Catholic churches that would preserve the dogmatic and traditional beliefs of both.".

"Conventional understandings of Russian identity have emanated from the perspective of the dominant Orthodox religion; this captivating study uses the unionist work of Gagarian to illumine Russia's national identity from the perspective of Roman Catholicism. Gagarin, who regarded his unionist proposals as necessary for the preservation of Russian stability, often found himself in opposition to the Russian Orthodox Church.

While Gagarin believed that church union would preserve Russia from the threats of communism and revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church believed that union would mean the sacrifice of religious truth, ecclesial independence, and religious orthodoxy.".

"Jeffrey Beshoner's evenhanded analysis reveals that the Roman Catholic Church presented its own share of barriers to attempts at church union. Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin examines Roman Catholic attitudes of superiority vis-a-vis the Russian Orthodox Church and argues that the nineteenth-century Roman Catholic Church simply did not possess the humility or respect for Eastern beliefs that church union required."--BOOK JACKET.