Comparison of Approaches to the Comprehension of History in Eastern and Western Christian Traditions on the Example of the Works of Saint John Chrysostom and Blessed Aurelius Augustine

It is generally believed that interest in history in the Christian milieu appears in the West and is associated with the activities of the Latin bishop and theologian Blessed Augustine of Hippo, in particular with the publication of his conceptual work "On the City of God" (5th century). However, in Greek-Eastern patristics, despite the absence of a coherent historical concept, history was not neglected either. One of the Eastern Fathers of the Church, in whose writings one can find an aspiration to comprehend the historical process, is Saint John Chrysostom, who was a contemporary of Blessed Aurelius Augustine. The article analyzes the main works of these theologians, containing attempts to comprehend the historical process. The analysis compares cosmological concepts, the beginning of the historical process, the problem of evil, eschatological views as the finality of human history. The author concludes that the key difference between the approaches of the two thinkers lies in the conceptualization of the significance of human free will in the world historical process.