The II International Scientific Conference “Philosophy of Religion in the East and West” completed its work in Almaty

On May 16-18, 2024, the II International Conference “Philosophy of Religion in the East and West” was held in Almaty with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan.».

The forum was organized by: Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, the Department of Russian and Byzantine Philosophy of the John Paul II Faculty of Philosophy in Krakow, the UNESCO Department for the Study of World Culture and Religions of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after B.N. Yeltsin (Bishkek), Jesuit Society in Kyrgyzstan.

The conference also included leading experts in theological and secular humanities - representatives of higher educational institutions in Russia, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and France.

On the first day of the scientific forum, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the opening of the conference took place. After the conclusion of the greetings, the plenary session began with
report “The Image of Tradition in Heidegger’s Early Works: Between the Theoretical Position and the Experience of Facticity,” delivered by the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Russian State Humanitarian University S.A. Konacheva.

After the break, the conference continued its work in five thematic sections: “Philosophy of religion and religious studies: past and present,” “Philosophical theology and traditional theology: problems of interaction in the past and in the present,” “Religious philosophy in Russia,” the USSR and Russian emigration: ideas and personalities”, “Religious ideas and philosophy of religion in Russia and Russian emigration: sociocultural context”, “Identities and value guidelines of the East and West”.

Section “Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies: Past and Present” (moderator – Doctor of Philosophy S.A. Konacheva):

• “Freedom or God: Kojève and the critique of the main heteronomy of the ego” - Candidate of Philosophy, senior researcher at the Educational and Scientific Center for Phenomenological Philosophy of the Russian State Humanitarian University I.S. Kurilovich;
• “The process of secularization in Europe in the 16th–18th centuries: the influence of state institutions on religion” – Doctor of Law at the University of Paris-Saclay, member of the research laboratory “Law and Religious Societies”, Doctor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of Paris, Chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pontoise, Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Law at the Catholic University of Paris G. Prikhodko;
• “The Biblical text as a phenomenological description in M. Henri” – Candidate of Philosophy, researcher at the UC Phenomenological Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Contemporary Problems of Philosophy of the Russian State Humanitarian University E.A. Shestova;
• “The concept of evil and personified negative images in Russian Orthodoxy and Russian culture: dualistic aspects of the Christian worldview” – Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics B.K. Knorre, postgraduate student at the National Research University Higher School of Economics M.V. Gridneva;
• “Religious experience and epistemological justification: W. Alston on the rationality of belief in God on the basis of “mystical perception” - Candidate of Philosophy, Head of the Department of Religious Studies, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University E.V. Kuzmina.

Section “Philosophical theology and traditional theology: problems of interaction in the past and in the present” (moderator – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Deacon Evgeniy Abdullaev):

• “Theology and philosophy: ways of interaction and the search for a common language in interdisciplinary approaches” – candidate of biological sciences, candidate of cultural studies, independent researcher O.M. Zaprometova and Doctor of Philosophy, Leading Researcher, Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences L.P. Kiyashchenko;
• “Philosophical hermeneutics—is it possible to “return” to theology?” – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Head of the Department of Church-Practical Disciplines of the Tashkent Orthodox Theological Seminary, Deacon Evgeniy Abdullaev.
• “The narrative of eschatological expectations and prophetic genres of the first centuries: is there a subject in messianic time?” – Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor, School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics T.V. Litvin;
• “Paradigm change in Orthodox ecclesiology: the crisis of the modern paradigm and ways out of it” – graduate student of the Russian State Humanitarian University A.V. Shishkov;
• “The Necessity of the Incarnation: An Argument from Divine Omniscience” – researcher at Beijing Normal University G.D. Moore.

Section “Religious philosophy in Russia,” the USSR and Russian emigration: ideas and personalities” (moderator – Doctor of Philosophy K.M. Antonov):
“The concept of religious experience in the works of P. A. Florensky and N. A. Berdyaev” - candidate of theology, candidate of philosophical sciences, doctor of theology, associate professor of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University N.N. Pavlyuchenkov;
• “Religious theme in the works of S.L. Franc 1917–1922." – Doctor of Philosophy, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University K.M. Antonov;
• “Soviet name-glorification of Soviet Fedorovites: Valerian Muravyov, Alexander Gorsky, Nikolai Setnitsky” – Doctor of Philosophy, research fellow, Freie University Berlin D.S. Biryukov;
• “Philosophy of the name of Fr. S. Bulgakov, Fr. P. Florensky and A.F. Losev in the context of Russian language science" - teacher, branch of the Central Music School - Academy of Performing Arts "Baltiysky" L.V. Ivankovic;
• “Semyon Frank and the German mystics” – postgraduate student of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University, nun Ekaterina (Parunyan); • “On the sources of Florensky’s “Lectures on Kabbalah”” - Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Russian State Humanitarian University A.I. Reznichenko.

Section “Religious ideas and philosophy of religion in Russia and Russian emigration: sociocultural context” (moderator – Candidate of Philosophy N.A. Vaganova):

• “Church intellectual elite and the academic system of the Russian Empire (1721–1917)” – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after. A. I. Herzen T.V. Artemyeva;
• “Religion of Sophia”: prophets and communities” – candidate of philosophical sciences, associate professor of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University N.A. Vaganova;
• “The question of religion in early Russian Marxism” – student of philosophy, University of Zielona Góra K. Wojtowicz;
• “Eurasians of the 1920s. and Russian Oriental Studies” – Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies of the Ufa University of Science and Technology R.R. Vakhitov;
• “Political theology of L.N. Tolstoy” – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Higher School of Economics S.M. Klimova.

Section “Identities and value guidelines of East and West” (moderator – Doctor of Philosophy A.A. Sychev):

• “Religion in the struggle for values: from cultural wars to “new ethics” - Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of Mordovian State University A.A. Sychev;
• “Filioque: the connection between theological concepts and civilizational paradigms” - teacher of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, Archpriest Alexander Suvorov;
• “Apologetic discourse in Russian religious philosophy of the 19th–20th centuries.” – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, senior lecturer at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosova K.M. Matsan;
• “Religious life and ethnocultural identity: historical memory in the catacomb period of the Catholic Church in Kazakhstan” – candidate of historical sciences, associate researcher, French Institute for Central Asian Studies N. Manichkin;
• “Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya: between Orthodox Moscow and Catholic Rome” – graduate student, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov M. Tokareva.

On the second day of the conference, meetings of thematic sections continued.

Section “Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies: Past and Present” (moderator – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences I.S. Kurilovich):

• “Western eschatology” by Jacob Taubes in the context of the problem of time in post-Kantian philosophy” – candidate of philosophical sciences, associate professor of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University T.N. Frisky;
• “Western eschatology” by Jacob Taubes and “gnostic relapse” by Odo Marquard: evil, theodicy and philosophy of history in modern society” – vice-rector for scientific work of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, candidate of philosophical sciences A.P. Soloviev;
• “Philosophical search for the mystical as an alternative to modern ratiocentrism” – PhD candidate, Free University of Amsterdam D. Melnikov;
• “The concept of “emptiness” in the religious and philosophical traditions of the East and West (based on the novel by V.O. Pelevin “Chapaev and Emptiness”)” - Doctor of Philology, leading researcher at the Institute of World Literature. A.M. Gorky Russian Academy of Sciences O.A. Bogdanov.

Section “Philosophical theology and traditional theology: problems of interaction in the past and in the present” (moderator – Candidate of Theological Sciences, Priest Oleg Lisin):

• “Vedantic Pivot” 2019–2022. in Orthodox theology by D. B. Hart” – head of the biblical and theological department, candidate of theology priest Oleg Lisin;
• ““Union by hypostasis” or “sanctification through energies”: the polemic of Metropolitan John Zizioulas with V.N. Lossky around the concept of deification” – Candidate of Theology, Associate Professor, Department of New Technologies in Humanitarian Education, Institute of Distance Education, Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University I.I. Ulitchev;
• “The theology of the event in its relation to traditional theology” – candidate of philosophical sciences, doctoral student, University of Friborg L.A. Petrova;
• "O. Vasily (Grolimund): the Athonite view of Nil Sorsky and non-covetousness in a historical and theological context” - Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Russian Technological University D.V. Solodukhin.

Section “Religious philosophy in Russia,” the USSR and Russian emigration: ideas and personalities” (moderator – Candidate of Technical Sciences A.A. Gravin):

• “Russian philosophy of myth as a methodology for the philosophy of religion (V.I. Ivanov, P.A. Florensky, A.F. Losev)” – candidate of technical sciences, senior researcher, Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences - branch of the Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Researcher, School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics A.A. Gravin;
• “Religiosity of S. L. Frank” – Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor at the Institute of Personal Training and Consulting O.A. Nazarova;
• “Christianity in the reception of the authors of the magazine “New City” (30-40s of the XX century)” – Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor, Military Space Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky E.Yu. Mashukova;
• “Creation in the theology of Fr. S. Bulgakov and in the philosophy of N. Berdyaev” - Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Religious Studies of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University A.V. Tokranov.

Section “Religious ideas and philosophy of religion in Russia and Russian emigration: sociocultural context” (moderator – Candidate of Philosophy N.A. Vaganova):

• “West” and “East” of the city of Kitezh (“The Holy Grail” by S. Bulgakov, “Adam Kadmon” by V. Muravyov, “The Whole Man” by M. Prishvin) – candidate of philological sciences, senior researcher, Institute of World Literature named after A. .M. Gorky Russian Academy of Sciences; Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies; Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University E.Yu. Knorre;
• “Active Christianity of Russian religious thinkers versus trans- and post-humanism” – Doctor of Philology, leading researcher at the Institute of World Literature. A.M. Gorky Russian Academy of Sciences A.G. Gacheva;
• “Neither West nor East: on the attitude to Jewish thought in Russian culture of the late 19th – early 20th century.” – Candidate of Philosophy, Senior Researcher, Acting Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences K.Yu. Burmistrov;
• “Response of George Florovsky to the threat of the atomic bomb (based on archival materials)” – head of the department of Russian and Byzantine philosophy of the Faculty of Philosophy of John Paul II in Krakow, Professor Sister Teresa Obolevich.

Section “Identities and value guidelines of East and West” (moderator – Doctor of Philosophy A.A. Sychev):

• “Does the concept of nonviolence have a place in the modern world?” – Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Far Eastern Federal University O.Yu. Capon;
• “Transformation of Christianity in the People’s Republic of China” – Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Ufa State Petroleum Technical University M.G. Bresler;
• “Concepts of predestination and free will in Eastern and Western patristics” - teacher of the department of practical disciplines of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary R. Yakupov.
As part of the conference, a round table “Theology and metaphysics of the secular and post-secular: theological and philosophical premises of the theories of secularization and the post-secular” was held in the synodal hall of the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov). The moderator of the event was Doctor of Philosophy, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University K.M. Antonov. The following reports were presented to the attention of those present:
• “Critics and apologists for the idea of the postsecular: arguments and motivations” – Doctor of Philosophy K.M. Antonov;
• “Weak” strategies in understanding the postsecular” – Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Russian State Humanitarian University S.A. Konacheva;
• “Compensatory theory of modernity: modernity without the secular and post-secular” – vice-rector for scientific work of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, candidate of philosophical sciences A.P. Soloviev.
A total of 46 reports were read during the scientific forum.
At the end of the second day of the conference, in the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), a meeting was held between Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan with delegates of the scientific forum. Leading scientists who made a significant contribution to the organization of work in the field of theology, philosophy and philosophical theology were awarded awards by the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.
On May 18, conference participants gathered in the building of the Alma-Ata Orthodox Theological Seminary, where the results of the scientific forum were summed up. The rector of the theological school, Archpriest Evgeny Ivanov, thanked the scientists for the interesting reports and discussions, and also expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation. The conference participants noted the high level of its organization, the representative composition of the participants, and the positive and constructive atmosphere of its work.
At the end of the scientific forum, guests were given a tour of the sights of the southern capital and the shrines of the Alma-Ata diocese.