Word at the funeral service of Professor A.I. Vvedensky

“If someone were to ask us, who are now mourning and sick: What is the voice of this cry? - we could answer with the words of a people who have lost their precious shrine: The glory has departed from Israel!” (1 Samuel 4:14, 21) How long ago did he stand before us, full of thought and strength, and we were ready to sing his praises? And now he lies before us lifeless, and we will perform his funeral service. How long has it been since greetings came to him from all sides and everyone with one mouth and heart full of triumph and joy exclaimed: Many years to come! Only one summer has passed - and we came here to give the last kiss to him, who died, and with a heart pierced by bitter sorrow, to sing: eternal memory. Then with triumph and joy we counted how much we had received from him. Now we can only grieve and grieve from the consciousness of how much we have lost in this death. The tireless worker rested from his labors, even on that painful bed from which God judged him to lie down on the funeral bed, even on this bed asking God for life only to complete his labors. The teacher of life, who spoke to younger generations for many years about the meaning of life, has died. Alas! There will be no more generations in the academy about which one could say in the words of the biblical queen: Blessed are these thy youths, who stand before thee always, hearing all thy meaning (1 Kings 10:8)! Great power has gone, for the word of Scripture is not false: Wisdom is better than strength... Wisdom is better than weapons of war (Eccl. 9:16,18). Death struck the most powerful power, for it was “power over minds.” And what power! A power that is aware of its full responsibility. After all, the deceased was almost alone in Russia in recent years in speaking and writing about “philosophical responsibility” (Christian. 1908. Vol. 3. pp. 782–800), and he himself, both in deed and in word, preached the immutable truth that “power over minds” should belong only to those who recognize the power of faith over their minds. The deceased preached this truth in action because, being a scientist and thinker, he was and was not ashamed to be a faithful and obedient son of the Church. In a word, he preached this truth when he taught that only faith and immortality give meaning and value to the earthly life of a mortal man (see: Course notes in metaphysics. pp. 113–116), when he pointed to the realm of the eternal as the solution to the earthly and to the achievement of Divine Truth as the meaning of the “world tragedy of knowledge” (Theological Bulletin. 1908. Vol. 1. P. 181–182). The one who, along with the entire theological school, persistently called for the believer to have “power over minds,” died when, noting “a turning point in modern social consciousness,” he urged “to concentrate all the powers of reason on reviving in the personal and public consciousness the half-forgotten eternal truth, on bringing it into modern thought, into the prevailing moods, into living practical relations” (Theological Bulletin. 1911. Vol. 1. P. 132). The judge died, because the deceased, first of all, tried to be a judge himself and an appreciator of social sentiments, the dominant trends of thought, and thereby justified the word of Scripture: A wise man judges tongues (Proverbs 29:9). Now we, representatives of the highest church school, must say goodbye to those who so selflessly served this school, who were sick and grieved by its misfortunes, and were consoled by its joys. The deceased knew well and firmly remembered the precepts of the highest church school, he stood up for fidelity to these precepts, he himself carried the banner of the academy high and with honor and passionately convinced us, the young, to continue his great work until his last days. Truly he was the glory and adornment of our theological school, and we rejoiced to see him among us. Now we have no joy, because he is no longer among the living. The glory has departed from Israel! Daughters of my people, academic daughters! Girded with sackcloth and sprinkled with ashes, weep for the beloved, make you mourn bitterly, before desolation suddenly comes upon you (Jer. 6:26)! Desolation... This is what is especially painful in the academy after this death. It was as if a mighty oak tree stood dead among us, the young shoots. We have become accustomed to relying on him. They believed that storms and bad weather could not overcome him. Yes, the storms and winds did not break the mighty oak - a terrible disease, like a worm, undermined its strong roots, it fell and lies before us, dead and lifeless... We were orphaned, and it felt terrible for us, young, in the open... New and new storms, new and new trials are rushing towards our spiritual and church strongholds, but he is not with us. We are alone... That is why now, when the mighty spirit, having left this mortal body, ascends to the Lord God on invisible chariots of fire, a prayer is asked from the heart: “May his eternal spirit pass over the Jordan of death and dwell in paradise, Lord, so that the spirit that was in it may be in us” (see: 2 Kings 2:9)! According to our human understanding, the deceased ended his earthly journey early. This is God's will... Now we will bury his body. Let our prayer be for the peaceful repose of the soul of the deceased. Lord, turn the shadow of death into the morning (Am. 58), may He enlighten the soul of His departed servant like the sun in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father! Peace, our Savior, with the righteous Thy servant and this one will dwell in Thy courts, where there is no illness, no sorrow, no sighing, but where there is endless life! Published according to the publication: Sermon at the funeral service of Professor A. I. Vvedensky. – Theological Bulletin. 1913, March. No signature. The word spoken by Vladimir Troitsky before the funeral service of the Honored Professor of the Moscow Academy of Sciences Alexey Ivanovich Vvedensky. A. I. Vvedensky (1861–1913) was born into the family of a rural priest. In 1886 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy and soon, on the recommendation of his teacher, Professor V.D. Kudryavtsev-Platonov, was invited to the academy to the department of history of philosophy and took it with the rank of corrective assistant professor. In 1891, he successfully defended his master's thesis on the topic “Faith in God, its origin and foundations” and established himself as an associate professor at the Academy. Since 1892 A.I. Vvedensky took the department of metaphysics and logic, replacing the deceased professor V.D. Kudryavtsev-Platonov, and was confirmed with the rank of extraordinary professor. In 1902, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Theology on the topic “The Religious Consciousness of Paganism. Experience in the philosophical history of natural religions." In 1905 he received the title of ordinary professor, and in 1909–1910 he was a member of the commission at the Holy Synod to develop a draft of a new charter for theological academies. In addition to teaching at the Academy, A. I. Vvedensky lectured on logic at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute. In his worldview, A. I. Vvedensky, following the tradition represented by Archpriest Theodore Golubinsky (1818–1854), V. D. Kudryavtsev-Platonov (1854–1891), organically combines theological and philosophical knowledge. In his works concerning the issue of methodology for presenting Orthodox dogma, A. I. Vvedensky was a supporter of the so-called “genetic” method. “Behind each dogma, first of all, you need to spiritually hear the question to which it answers: “This is an analysis of the natural requests of the spirit regarding this or that truth.” And then it is necessary to establish the positive testimony of the Church, from Scripture and from Tradition: “And here is by no means a mosaic of texts, but an organic growth of the concept...”. Then the dogma will come to life and will be revealed in all its speculative depth” (See: G. Florovsky. Paths of Russian Theology. P., 1937. P. 387). Alexey Ivanovich was also distinguished by his sincere Christian piety. Saint and confessor Nicholas (Mogilevsky), who was at that time an archimandrite and assistant inspector of the academy, recalls the following about him: “Prof. Vvedensky Alexey Ivanovich. Every week he came from Moscow to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to teach at the academy. Alexey Ivanovich, when he came from Moscow, immediately went to the saint’s shrine. Sergius and stood with her for a long time, praying. And only then did he go to give a lecture. The next day, before leaving, he again came to bow to the Reverend. This was one of the most pious professors. Alexey Ivanovich did not live to a ripe old age. He became seriously ill and was in a hospital in Moscow. I visited him. – How are you in the mood? - I ask. “I must confess, Father Nikolai, that I even complained about God, protested against His will. I really didn’t want to die, especially since my son is young and not yet settled, and my wife is left alone... And then I thought about it and submitted to the will of God - so now even - the sooner I die, the better! – It wouldn’t hurt you to partake of the Holy Mysteries! - I say. “And I decided that, I’ll do it one of these days,” he answers. Soon he died as a Christian with hope in God’s mercy” (St. Nicholas, Metropolitan of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan. M., 2000. P. 20). Alexey Ivanovich died on February 23, 1913. His funeral service was performed on February 27 in the Church of St. Basil the Great by Bishop Anastasy (Gribanovsky), rector of the MDA Bishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky), abbots of Moscow monasteries, Archpriest John Vostorgov and numerous clergy. Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna and the artist V. M. Vasnetsov were present at one of the funeral services.