Ideas of active hesychasm in the Venerable Maximus the Greek worldview system

The paper analyzes the mechanism of expanding the personal salvation understanding in mystical hesychasm to the idea of active hesychasm, which is considered as formation of a system of ideal relations in the Christian community. It reveals further mechanism of the Athos monasticism views penetration into Russia and the process of adaptation of the hesychasm philosophical ideas in the system of the Russian Church views. Particular attention is paid to studying the influence of the hesychasm socio-political component on the worldview system of the Russian religious thought. Transformation process of the anchoritism “smart prayer” idea into religious and philosophical concept of communal monasticism is analyzed, as it was a characteristic of the system of views of Venerable Sergius of Radonezh and Venerable Nilus of Sora. The Platonism ideas influence on the Egyptian monasticism hesychasm system is indicated, as well as on the process of transformation and perception by the Eastern Church of philosophical and religious thought from the system of views of medieval Russia to the period of the XIV–XV centuries. The problem of finding dependencies in views of Venerable Maximus the Greek was analyzed taking into consideration the trends that determined social, political and cultural programs of the Byzantine religious thought. When analyzing the Venerable’s works, special attention was paid to studying the most important areas of his religious and socio-philosophical system of views on the fundamental ideas of Christian dogmatics and ethics. Dependence was reasonably established between the Venerable Maximus’s views and the principles of active hesychasm and the value system of its supporters, i.e. the so-called “non-acquisitives”. The problem of the Venerable Maximus the Greek’s understanding of the spiritual improvement conditions and the meaning of life in the Orthodox Church was analyzed. Connection was revealed between the Venerable’s dogmatic and moral teachings.

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