Product Description

"The Russian Church and the Papacy" is a powerful defense of the papacy from Vladimir Soloviev, a Russian Orthodox theologian who was condemned by his church for his efforts at Christian unity. Pope John Paul II calls the late theologian Soloviev (1853-1900) one of the modern era's great "witnesses of the faith and illustrious Christian thinkers." Like the Holy Father, Soloviev was committed to the cause of Christian unity, and spent many years attempting to convince his Orthodox brethren to reunite with Rome under the pope. He even had an audience with Pope Leo XIII in 1888 and received a papal benediction in recognition of his efforts. However, Soloviev was condemned by his own Russian Orthodox church for his efforts and was ordered by the Russian government to cease all public activities. It was then that he wrote his great work, "Russia and the Universal Church," which combined a brilliant defense of the papacy with a plea for reunification of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Unfortunately, the book has been out of print for decades. "The Russian Church and the Papacy" is an abridgment of Soloviev's classic work, edited by Fr. Ray Ryland. It is a fascinating combination of history, philosophy, and apologetics. When you put down your copy, you'll have a better, deeper understanding of why Christ instituted the papacy--and you'll be able to defend the institution like never before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #688117 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 203 pages

Customer Reviews

A Powerful Little Book
Russian theologian Vladimir Soloviev had an encyclopedic knowledge of world and Church history, yet he was able to distill much of its essence into this compact but powerful volume. Part One, "The Papacy and Six Centuries of Eastern Heresies," is a real eye-opener and a must-read for anyone interested in ecclesiastical history.I found his analysis of the three main parties to these controversies particularly insightful and right on target.
Soloviev's descriptions of the nefarious and shameful goings on at the Latrocinium (the pseudo-council of Ephesus in 449) and the response of the Church at the Holy Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon were based on primary sources. They are extremely helpful in cutting through the fog of modern ecumenist waffling on and revisionist assessments of the great councils of the Church, especially Chalcedon.
The Russian theologian's God-given wisdom and equally God-given writing ability enabled him to dissect Byzantine caesaropapism with surgical skill and to allow us to see it for what it was.
This is a great book, one of the greatest I have ever read. I recommend it without reservation.

Challenging and thorough but somewhat harsh in tone
Soloviev is not a familiar name to western Christendom. Until this great theologian's work was revealed to us through Pope John Paul II, it would have been difficult to find anyone in the west familiar with this fiery Russian theologian. In this work, Vladimir Soloviev gives stinging rebuke to his fellow Russian Orthodox theologians concerning their rejection of papal authority. He demonstrates in the beginning of this work through an uncompromising polemic that the Orthodox church has inevitably traded the primacy of the Church of Rome for the primacy of Ceasar. In this stinging rebuke he furthers makes the case that Islam is the logical, necessary, and ultimate conclusion of Eastern Orthodox thinking. Islam, in that sense, is not a religion in itself but an eastern Christian heresy carried to its logical conclusion. The Islam heresy theory is not one Dr. Soloviev details here but he provides enough that it makes us want to give that theory and its implications much thought.

Dr. Soloviev continues in rather harsh polemic strains demonstrating that Orthodoxy leads ultimately to a church that has lost the ability to affect true reformation of culture but instead becomes the servant of that self-justifying culture. It salt that has utterly lost saltiness and that never challenges the state that tramples it underfoot.

With the tone of the first portion of this book, many may not last to the end and that is unfortunate. Those who endure to the end will reap a rich reward in the form of the scriptural exegesis Dr. Soloviev provides in support of the primacy of Peter. It is, perhaps, one of the most concise and convincing cases ever written for this key distinctive of the churches in union with Rome. It is a good summary of the key scriptures and how they are interrelated with the entire body of scripture to form the big picture of the Church that Jesus founded 2000 years ago.

Although the early chapters may be too harsh for some readers, the final summary of the scriptural basis of the papacy is worth the effort. It is an historic challenge to the eastern church from one of it's own and it is a challenge that should be difficult to ignore.

Good history and apologetics
This is a spirited defense of the papacy written by a Russian Orthodox theologian who was frustrated with the lack of interest displayed by his co-religionists regarding his proposals for reunion with Rome. It provides useful material for Catholics who need to defend papal primacy in an apologetics situation, especially when dealing with Orthodox polemicists.

Some Orthodox readers may find this book interesting; others may simply be irritated and exasperated by Soloviev's polemical style. For the latter, I recommend Oliver Clement's book _You are Peter_.

I found most helpful and interesting his argument that since the content of the Vatican I definitions of papal primacy can be found in the writings of Pope Leo, that Eastern Orthodox Christians of Leo's time supported these ideas, and that even now the Orthodox still consider him a saint, that there is no basis for the Orthodox to consider the modern Roman church to be heretical. He buttresses this argument with extensive quotations from primary sources.

The book was written in the late 19th century. Consequently, Soloviev's references to "current events" in Russia, Bulgaria, and so forth can seem odd. Reminiscent of his friend Dostoyevsky in _The Brothers Karamozov_, Soloviev seems to have seen Russia to have a Christian mission to spread the gospel, reinforcing the anachronistic feel of some of the text.

As mentioned earlier, this book is strongly polemical in tone. It is more useful for apologists than ecumenists. For the latter, I recommend Klaus Schatz's book _Papal Primacy: From its origins to the present_. The latter book gives a sweeping and detailed historical overview of papal primacy in a non-polemical fashion, from a Catholic viewpoint. I also highly recommend Oliver Clement's book _You are Peter_, which approaches this topic from an Orthodox perspective that is respectful of Catholic theology. It is really interesting to see Clement and Soloviev interpret the same historical events in dramatically different ways.

If you have the money, I recommend all three books. If not, I recommend first the Schatz book, then Clement, and then Soloviev.