I. S. Aksakov about monasteries and monasticism(on materials of the correspondence with his wife)

Abstract

I. S. Aksakov's correspondence with his wife is a full-fledged source for characterizing his views on the widest range of issues. Due to the fact that they were deeply and confidently religious people, religious themes and issues are widely represented in their epistolary heritage. The materials of correspondence, which are touching the issues about the role and significance of the institution of monasticism, demonstrates that I. Aksakov welcomed its undoubted spiritual and educational and even state-forming role in Russian history. But he considered its official position in the synodal period to be rigid and not quite in line with the Christian ideal. At the same time, the Aksakovs were unanimous in recognizing the monasteries as the traditional centers of the heart of true holiness and spiritual feat of individuals.

Keywords

• orthodoxy
• monasticism
• monastery
• slavophilism
• christian ideal