Divine economy and repentance in Discourse 4 of The Enlightener by Iosif Volotskii. Issue 1 (3rd April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Smith, T. Allan
• Is Part Of: Canadian Slavonic papers. Volume 60:Issue 1/2(2018)
• Page Start: 7
• Page End: 25
• Publication Date: 2018-04-03
• Subjects: The Enlightener -- Iosif Volotskii -- Judaizers -- heresy -- repentance; Slavic philology -- Periodicals; 891.8
• DOI: 10.1080/00085006.2018.1440845
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-5006

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The article examines the relatively neglected Discourse 4 of The Enlightener, Iosif Volotskii's famous treatise written to defend Orthodoxy against religious dissidents known to history as the "Judaizing" heretics. In Discourse 4, Iosif deals with the divine economy, the possibility of repentance, and with God's deviousness in achieving his purposes. In contrast to the other discourses of The Enlightener, here in Discourse 4 Iosif argues his case in a relatively non-polemical manner. The text has some significance for evaluating his work as a father confessor, and for his well-known severity towards heretics and apostates.