eschatology

“Let Your Lamps Be Ready”: Individual Destiny and Collective Identity in Eschatological Perspective (the Case of the Moscow Spiritist Circle)

The aim of this study is to highlight the links between eschatological ideas and social/ethical beliefs of the Moscow spiritist circle who viewed their fellowship as a religious eschatological community. Eschatological doctrine of the group could be characterized both as “catastrophic” and “progressive” millennialism. Eschatological social project suggested the elimination of the border between the earthly and heavenly realms and a shift towards egalitarian social model through a total renewal of the present world.

The Spiritual Version of History as Discursive Order of Political Eschatology: Theology of Ritual in Contemporary Orthodox Historiosophy and Conspirology

The article examines methods of argumentation used for constructing eschatological historical narratives in the discursive field of Russian Orthodoxy. The main presupposition of the analysis is that the essential discursive claim of a religion which has to exist and survive in secular society is that a religious person and especially religious expert can and even must see the deep meaning of historical events, which is not accessible for non‑religious individuals.

Technology and Its Representation as a Source of Religious Experience for Old Believers of Yenisei Region

The paper discusses an ambivalent interaction between Chasovennye Old Believers of Yenisei region and modern technologies. Old Believers have to rely on certain technologies and equipment for survival in severe conditions of taiga and mountains. Nevertheless, technology is strongly associated with Antichrist and signifies his imminent arrival. The paper is focused on the intensity of usage of certain technological devices by the Old Believers, and how these devices are interpreted in eschatological terms.

Antichrist, Katechon and the Russian Revolution

Today, the ideas of the Russian monarch or Russia itself as “katechon” are popular in the right‑conservative circles, and on this basis attempts are made to explain the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent events of the twentieth century as a fight against “katechon” up to his “ritual murder”. According to these views, the Freemasons and Jews were responsible for the Revolution, as they were preparing the coming of the Antichrist. What role such representations played in pre‑revolutionary and revolutionary Russia and whom did they attract?

“The Times They Are a-Changing’”: Ural Old Believer Discussions about the Past and Future in the Search for a “ True” Priesthood at the End of the 19th Century

This article is devoted to eschatological aspects of Old Believer discussions about the priesthood in the Urals and Siberia. The author’s method combines the study of Old Believer history with analysis of their written works. The paper includes an overview of the main trends found in polemics about the “ true” hierarchy of the priesthood in the 18th and 19th centuries. The key source is “The Discourse about the Times of This Century”, a text created by an unknown Old Believer author in the last quarter of the 19th century.

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