Lev Tolstoy was rejected from the church for "insulting religious feelings"

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Many factors contributed to the renunciation of the cult Russian writer, Count Leo Tolstoy from the church. We will analyze step by step under what circumstances this happened and how it is related to Tolstoyism.

What is the essence of Tolstoyism

During the 1880s. Tolstoy published several works at once, such as "Confession", "What is my faith" and "Resurrection" in which the writer expresses his spiritual thoughts and ideas in detail. Subsequently, a new religious trend took shape, which became widespread not only in Russia, but also in Western Europe, India and Japan - Tolstoyism. A well-known proponent of the doctrine was Mahatma Gandhi, with whom the writer often communicated through letters.

The main canons of Tolstoyism were as follows: non-resistance to evil by violence, moral self-development and simplification. The life-teaching of Tolstoy was characterized by syncretism, so you will find common features with Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and other ideological currents. Being a supporter of this religious movement, a person freely becomes a vegetarian and refuses to use tobacco and alcohol.

The Holy Synod considered Tolstoyism to be a religious and social sect that had a harmful effect on believers. On this note, the writer's relationship with the church became ambiguous.

Was it anathema?

In the message of the Holy Synod about Leo Tolstoy, they publicly announced the excommunication of the Russian writer from the Orthodox Church. In addition to excommunication, the text called Tolstoy a "false teacher" who rejects the most important dogmas of Orthodoxy.

Indeed, Lev Nikolaevich denied the Trinity of God, the Immaculate Conception and the fact that Jesus Christ was resurrected, but as such he did not receive anathema from the church. This is because the excommunication procedure was abolished by 1901, and Hetman Mazepa became the last owner of the anathema in the 18th century.

It is worth noting that with the beginning of the development of Tolstoyism, a number of church hierarchs tried to officially excommunicate the great writer from the church, but for various reasons they failed to do this.

The attitude of people towards Tolstoy's "anathema"

The state of affairs was acutely perceived by the public and the count began to receive various letters criticizing Tolstoy himself, with subsequent threats and coercion to repentance. The priest of Kronstadt called the writer a traitor like Judas and a notorious atheist.

The Orthodox philosopher Vasily Rozanov believed that the Church could not judge Tolstoy, calling the Synod a "formal institution." Dmitry Merezhkovsky said that if the count is excommunicated, then let those who believe in Tolstoy's teachings be excommunicated as well.

The controversy over the excommunication of the count from the Orthodox Church continued until the death of the great Russian writer. Caring people began to write letters to the Synod with a request to leave the church, and after the decree “on strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” in 1905, such letters only became more frequent.

Count's reaction to the message

The writer's wife, Sofya Andreevna, answered the message at the beginning. Weeks later, she sent her letter to the newspaper "Definitions", in which she expressed dissatisfaction with the ideas of the Holy Synod about the refusal to service Lev Nikolaevich at death, and called the ministers of the Church "spiritual executioners."

A month later, Count Tolstoy would write his "answer to the Synod," which was published only in the summer of 1901 with numerous amendments. More than 100 lines of the letter were removed from the text by the censors because of “offending religious feelings,” and a ban was imposed on reprinting the text in other publications.

Later, the health of the Russian writer deteriorated, and his wife decided to try to reconcile her husband with the church, which caused many conflicts in their relationship.

Leo Tolstoy proudly rejected the return to church, until the end of his life, asking in his diary entries to bury him without church rituals. Sofya Andreevna knew about her husband's will and buried him the way he wanted.