The Image of the Church – Present and Future – in the Works of Nicholas Berdyaev. Article two: Post-Constantinian Era and the “Chiliastic Hope”

This article focuses on the analysis of the image of the Church, both present and future, in the works of N.A. Berdyaev between 1911 and 1948. In the second part of the article the author demonstrates the impact of the philosopher’s interpretation of divine and human freedom, as well as of the Christian revelation of the fall and redemption on his understanding of the image of the Church. The anthropological meaning and ecclesiological significance of the myth of “uncreated freedom” (Ungrund) are explained. Berdyaev’s specific understanding of the eschatological dimension of the life of the Church is shown, in the context of which his idea of the Church as a Divine-human process is analyzed. The article grasps and explains the principal traits of Berdyaev’s image of Church – those which express his perception of its innermost nature – against a backdrop of the Post-Constantinian era, which commenced before the philosopher’s very eyes. The historiosophical and anthropological meaning of Berdyaev’s “chiliastic hope” is explained. The author shows how Berdyaev’s ecclesial intuitions went on to be embodied in the historical life of the Russian Church – both in Soviet Russia and in exile – in the 20th century.