L. P. Karsavin and V. N. Lossky: ecclesiological parallels

Research literature often speaks of the influence of L.P. Karsavin’s ideas on V.N. Lossky, since the latter listened to the philosopher’s lectures at St. Petersburg University. This influence is mentioned by such authors as R. Williams, S.S. Khoruzhy, Prot. G. Florovsky, S. N. Nikitina and others. However, they all focus primarily on two points: the significance of Filioque in the development of Western civilization and the concept of personality. Hence the ecclesiological aspect in the heritage of both authors, which is certainly very important, remains beyond the scope of consideration. It is connected primarily with the question whether the administrative structure of the Church can be determined by its mystical life and, thus, whether it can have not a historically temporal and relative, but an existential significance. V. N. Lossky first poses this question in “The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church”, and gives the answer in his post-war works, first of all in the articles published in the new series of “Herald Of the Russian Patriarchal Exarchate” 1950: “Temptations of Church Consciousness " and "On the third property of the Church." They formulate the idea of “apostolic circles” of the hierarchy, which can be realized at the level of both the universal and the local Church, equally preserving their catholicity and, thus, being a reflection of the Divine Trinity. Based on the ideas of Joseph de Maistre, A. S. Khomyakov and V. S. Solovyov, Karsavin developed his concept of “symphonic personality” in the 1920s. According to Karsavin, the Church is also a “symphonic personality”. The symphonic personalities of local churches, being a part of the symphonic personality of the universal Church, at the same time possess its fullness. A comparison of these concepts allows us to come to the conclusion that V.N. Lossky in one way or another used the ideas of his teacher, transferring them from the philosophical to the theological horizon.