30th anniversary of the scientific, theological and spiritual educational activities of prof. A.A. Bronzova

This October 28th marks the thirtieth anniversary of the spiritual and educational service of Doctor of Theology, ordinary professor of the Imperial St. Petersburg Theological Academy in the Department of Moral Theology, Alexander Alexandrovich Bronzov. During this period, the venerable professor developed educational, pedagogical, scientific and literary activities of rare energy and fruitfulness, but, fortunately, he maintained his health in a flourishing state, and did not in the least undermine or weaken his amazing performance. Only thanks to his lucky abilities, outstanding diligence, rare endurance of character and tempered body and spirit, the venerable hero of the day won himself an honorable position in the official and scientific-literary fields. Life did not spoil the learned hero of the day with external successes; at times it was downright harsh, but it did not break the energy of the spirit, nor did it even darken the rare cheerfulness of the professor, who had been accustomed to poverty and deprivation since childhood. A native of the harsh north (the village of “Upper Chuzhboy” of Belozersky district, Novgorod province), the son of a large local local psalm-reader, a gifted young man, accompanied by need and deprivation, went through a harsh school - the Belozersky Theological School and the Novgorod Seminary, where - especially in the first - the ancient pedagogy with its rigors and measures that knew no mercy still reigned in full force. consequences for the slightest malfunction. However, A. A., from his school education and upbringing, did not bear the bleak impression that many who went through the school of that time received - he noticed and experienced for himself many good sides of the then pedagogy, which he stated in the press more than once, and about the Belozersky School for its anniversary he wrote the following - warmed by genuine love for the school that raised him, a thorough and extensive study, which is not the lot of everyone in higher education. establishments. At the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (from 1879–1883) A.A. Bronzov studied in the era of the brilliant flowering of its scientific and pedagogical powers, when a rare composition of the professorship was headed and inspired by such an extremely talented and original scientist and, at the same time, a tactful and sensitive administrator, which was truly archpriest (later protopresbyter) I.L. Yanyshev. The latter appreciated the outstanding talent and amazing performance of A. A-cha, who, having specialized in the theological department, wrote about. to the rector a candidate's essay, soon revised into a master's thesis. The subject of A. A.'s special classes in the fourth year was Basic, Dogmatic and Moral Theology. These successes, as well as A. A-ch’s dissertation, so highly recommended him in the eyes of Fr. I.L. Yanyshev that the latter appointed him to occupy the department of Basic Theology and only I. L-ch’s departure from the Academy delayed, for a fairly significant period of time, A. A-ch’s entry into the academic department. During the same intervening eleven-year period, A. A-ch served as a teacher at Theological Seminaries, first at Kursk - from October 28, 1883 to February 14, 1856 (on the Holy Scriptures and temporarily, in addition to this, he also taught German and Jewish languages, and Biblical History), and then (from February 14, 1886 until entering the academic department) - in St. Petersburg, where he temporarily He also taught Latin and Holy Scripture. Performed by A.A. in both (especially the latter) seminaries and some other assignments. Particularly a lot of time and energy was required from A. A-ch to fulfill (from March 1, 1889) the duties of a member of the administrative meeting for three years, as well as subsequently, at the Academy, to perform the duties of a member of the Board (from October 11, 1903 to October 6, 1906). But all this did not distract A. A-cha from scientific studies, which, even under the indicated unfavorable conditions, were accompanied by very solid results - both in the field of Greek philology and in the field of scientific translations of patristic writing (see below). But the real application of his strengths and talents is Professor A.A. Bronzov found him in his native Academy, and was elected on November 3, 1894 to the Department of Moral Theology. In developing this discipline, Alexander Alexandrovich generally followed the method of his teacher Fr. I.L. Yanyshev, but precisely - only in the general formulation and basic method. He independently critically and comprehensively assessed Fr.’s system. protopresbyter, improved it and supplemented it. Modern trends in science and society place special demands on this discipline. If earlier, even negatively minded thinkers, seduced by Christian dogma, bowed down to Christian ethics, then recently, this latter has been declared obsolete and must give way to other worldviews, often downright anti-Christian. A.A. Bronzov, in his readings, did not ignore this feature in the modern trend of minds, and criticized exaggerated and unfounded claims, scientifically defending the originality, absolute dignity and enduring significance of Christian ethics. Modernity, responsiveness to burning questions and liveliness of presentation, with a clear and distinct formulation and formulation of the question, inspired presentation - constitute an ever-present and integral feature of A. A-cha’s lectures, attracting and captivating the audience. The writer of these lines not only had to experience it himself, but also heard from others - up to and including representatives of the most recent generations of students - that in the lectures of Prof. A.A. Bronze students not only gain abundant scientific information, but also receive educational influence from it. Alexander Alexandrovich always delivers lectures in a lively, direct presentation, without the help of notes, with genuine enthusiasm, which is involuntarily transmitted to the listeners. Not limiting himself to the immediate audience, Professor A.A. Bronzov has always strived and strives to share the results of his scientific research with the general public - through the printed word and in this regard stands out for his vigorous efficiency, giving immediate answers to serious inquiries and pressing needs of our time 1. The interest with which many people read Alexander Alexandrovich’s articles is evident, among other things, from the many letters he receives regarding the content of his articles - letters - sometimes sympathetic, sometimes polemical, and sometimes questions are proposed to which they want to receive an answer from the professor. Only complete devotion to the Academy, which encouraged the professor to concentrate on his specialty without any entertainment and did not allow any dichotomy, made it possible for such a thorough and multifaceted development of difficult and complex issues of Orthodox theological ethics. The interestingness and breadth of content presented by the professor of the discipline, the modern and lively presentation of questions, the invariably benevolent, despite all the authority, friendly, patient leadership always attracted a lot of people who wanted to work, and when there was (before the introduction of the new academic regulations) a precisely fixed maximum of students writing candidate dissertations for one professor, Alexander Alexandrovich often had to review up to 15–17 such handwritten works, most of them very extensive. From master's theses, under the direct supervision of prof. A.A. Bronzova, written by S.M. Zarin "Asceticism according to Orthodox Christian teaching." Volume one – fundamental, book. I and II (1907) and Gr. V. Prokhorov: “The moral teaching of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan" (1912). As a result, by his thirtieth anniversary A.A. Bronzov has not only a complete and thorough course of lectures, with a very detailed apologetic-polemical section, which would be highly desirable to see in print, but also a very extensive scientific literature. Of the scientific works of Professor Alexander Alexandrovich Bronzov, first of all – naturally – we recall his master’s and doctoral dissertations. The first, under the title: “Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas in relation to their teaching on morality” (St. Petersburg, 1884), is based on the review of a specialist reviewer about I.L. Yanyshev, represents “a valuable acquisition of Russian theological and philosophical literature”, since it serves as “a completely reliable source of comprehensive acquaintance” with the moral teachings of these thinkers (Journal of St. Petersburg. Dukh. Akad. for 1884, p. 269). The dissertation indirectly contributes to the understanding of the features of the proper construction of the Orthodox Christian system of morality, in contrast to Roman Catholic heterodoxy, which largely reproduced the views of the pagan thinker and followed his system - of course, with the inevitable distortion and darkening of specifically Christian elements. In his doctoral dissertation, the professor strives to contribute to the fruitful construction of a system of science of Moral Theology in a direct and positive way, proposing a study “in terms of the study of the Christian principles of morality in their patristic implementation, in their patristic interpretation and understanding,” namely, dedicated to the characteristics of one of the most famous Egyptian ascetics - the teacher. Macarius of Egypt. This extensive dissertation, entitled “St. Macarius of Egypt,” Volume I. The Life and Works of St. Macarius of Egypt (St. Petersburg, 1899),” has the following. the main advantages. The venerable author has comprehensively and in detail studied all the sources and manuals related to the issue of the life of the teacher. Macaria; some of them first became known to Russian science, namely, through the named dissertation, and others (for example, Slavic manuscripts) before this work were actually not scientifically known at all, and were not used for these purposes. Based on such rich data, a detailed biography of St. is presented for the first time. father. For the first time in science, objections to the authenticity of Macagian have been collected and systematized with completeness and thoroughness, and a detailed analysis of these objections has been given, with the involvement of all those at the disposal of science, given in favor of the authenticity of Macarius’s creations. The accepted printed text of these works was compared with the Viennese manuscripts, as a result of which comparison the professor came to the conclusion that it “does not have the desired perfection and requires corrections.” For the first time, the author presents a complete bibliography and critical analysis of works devoted to the study of the works of the teacher. Macarius from the perspective of the peculiarities of their content (Journals of the Academy Council for 1899–1900, pp. 280–281). For the named essay, A. A-ch was awarded a full prize by the Academy Council. Metropolitan Macarius. Of the later, most extensive works, we mention the works “Moral Theology in Russia during the 19th Century” (1901), as well as “Belozersky Theological School for a Hundred Years of Its Existence (1809–1909).” Volume one (Sergiev Posad, 1909, pp. 1–714). This work, which cost the author great material expenses, not to mention the mass of effort expended in studying the enormous, mostly handwritten, material, is a grandiose scientific and literary monument to the professor’s love for the school that raised him and his complete self-devotion to the truth. For this work in 1910, Alexander Alexandrovich was awarded half the M.N. Prize from the Academy of Sciences. Akhmatova, although, according to prof. St. Petersburg University S.V. Rozhdestvensky, the essay deserved a full prize (see Collection of reports on prizes and awards awarded by the Academy of Sciences for 1910). Other less extensive, but still very respectable studies of the professor on various topics, on the most diverse issues of science and life, executed with the thoroughness usually characteristic of a scientist, and distinguished by the thoroughness of the subject and clarity of presentation, would make up several volumes in the general collection. In this case, we will limit ourselves to an approximate indication of only some of the professor’s works in approximate chronological order. “A Brief Etymology of Herodotus’s Dialect” (1888); “Syntax of the Greek language with an application of an outline of the grammar of the Homeric dialect” (1891). Translation of “Letters of St. John Chrysostom to the Deaconess Olympias" (1892) and from the works of St. John of Damascus: “Three words of defense against those who condemn holy icons” (1893); "An Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" (1894) - with learned introductions and notes. Having joined the academic corporation, Alexander Alexandrovich took an active part in the translation of St. Chrysostom for the “Complete Works” of the saint (published as a supplement to academic journals). Most of A. A-ch’s other works were published in “Christian Reading” and “Church Bulletin”, but also in other magazines - “Soulful Reading”, “Church Gazette”, “Missionary Review”, “Sober Shoots”, “Voice of the Church”, “Strannik”, “Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia”, etc. Let us name some of these works of the venerable hero of the day: “The Attitude of Man to Animals” (1895); “To characterize the moral side of modern society” - regarding his passion for Leo Tolstoy’s drama: “The Power of Darkness” (1896); “General characteristics of the current state of the University of Vienna and the organization of the science of moral theology in it” (1896); “Moral Indifferent and Permissible” (1897); "On the Conflict of Duties" (1897). “On the question of moral statistics and freedom of human will” (1897); “Christian self-love, an experience of its proper characterization” (1897); “The Essence of Christian Teaching about Man’s Relationship to His Neighbors” (1897); “The Essence of Christian Teaching about Man’s Relationship to God” (1898); "The Essence of the Christian Understanding of Prayer and Vows" (1899); “Christian love as the only true principle of human relationships” (1899); “Protopresbyter John Leontievich Yanyshev, as a professor of Moral Theology at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy” (1899); “Some data to characterize the moral worldview of the teacher. Macarius of Egypt" (1900); “Fundamentals of ethics by V. S. Solovyov” (1900); “About love for the fatherland, regarding the views of Leo Tolstoy” (1901); “On the Christian Family and Related Issues” (1901); "The Morals of Old and New Jesuitism" (1902); “Is it necessary” to “learn Christianity from Hippolytus” – Euripides’ tragedy?” (1903); “Is it possible and necessary to “adogmatize” Christian ethics” (1903); "The Christianized Enchiridion of the Stoic Epictetus" (1904); “Under what conditions could “eternal peace” come between people?” (1904); “The question of “kill-free nutrition” of a person, solved from a “Christian point of view”” (1904); “Borisov Tikhvin Convent” – travel observations and notes (1907); “Decadent nonsense,” - regarding Leonid Andreev’s essay “Judas Iscariot” (1907); "Is Christianity Barren" (1908); “The Christian commandment of love is a “new” commandment (Against Haeckel, Saladin, etc.” (1908); “False Catechism.” Oliver Lodge: “The Essence of Faith in Connection with Science. Catechism for Parents and Teachers" (1910); “Protopresbyter John Leontievich Yanyshev” (1911); "Modern Freemasonry" (1912); "Suicides" (1912); "The Modern Antichrist" (1912); “Friend or enemy of Christ – Tolstoy?” (1912); "Heaven on earth." Valaam impressions. (1912); “Lies against Christ” - regarding the book by O.D. Durnovo: “Thus Spoke Christ” (1913); “Funeral service” of Count Tolstoy” (1913); "Christianity and Life" (about 1600th anniversary of Christianity) (1913); “Archimandrite Hieron, abbot of the New Athos Simon-Canonite Monastery († August 14, 1912)” (1913). And there are countless more brief notes (for example, of a bibliographical nature) that came from the pen of the tireless worker-professor!... Let us wish the outstanding worker-professor-celebrator to continue his fruitful work for many more years for the prosperity of theological science, for the benefit of academic students, for the benefit of broad layers of the Russian Orthodox people, who need true religious and theological enlightenment - to tirelessly develop your activities in the prime of your spiritual strength, and with the strength and vigor of your physical strength. Many years to come to the learned worker who sows “reasonable, good, eternal” things!... A.A. Bronzov began his literary activity while still a student - his first printed work (about the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky) appeared on the pages of “The Wanderer” in 1880 (June-July).