SUMMARY:

In his article Paul Bushkovitch explores the input of the Orthodox church and religious consciousness to the formation of Russian national consciousness. While subscribing to the view that Orthodoxy was an important constituent element of Russian national consciousness, Bushkovitch revises the traditional view that this influence was captured in the formula “Moscow – the Third Rome” and suggests a more complex picture of relationship between Muscovite Orthodoxy and other Orthodox realms. Bushkovitch contends that the influence of the religious worldview resulted in the emergence of two proto-national perspectives: one connected with the dynastic idea which was gradually transformed into the notion of Russia as the only pillar of Orthodoxy, the other – the ethno-religious concept, which asserted the unity of Muscovites and other Orthodox Slavs. Bushkovitch also traces the influence of the Kievan clergy on the development of Russian intellectual life and finds that the 18th century idea of imperial territorial grandeur had roots in Orthodox religious discourse.