Tradition and modernity: Sergei Bulgakov's quest for a Christian civil society in late Imperial Russia

Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov's (1871--1944) written work and other primary sources are examined in an effort to document his quest for a Christian civil society (khristianskaia obshchestvennost') in late Imperial Russia, an ambitious program of reform obscured by scholars' previous concentration on his specific philosophical or theological achievements. Analyzed here are Bulgakov's proposals between 1902 and 1912 offering a new intellectual basis for political activity, for theological education, for the social mission of the Russian intelligentsia, and for a new ethic of labor grounded in "sophiology," the most controversial aspect of his plan. Contemporary reaction to Bulgakov's vision is also examined, showing that his various proposals to renew public life in Christian terms encountered firm opposition on both theoretical and practical grounds. Mass support for Bulgakov's vision was therefore lacking, suggesting the limits of a putative religious renaissance during Russia's vibrant Silver Age of culture. Nevertheless, Bulgakov's agenda for a renewed civil society, timely in connection with the search for a humane post-Soviet society, called attention to an imperative for late Imperial Russia: the need for creative collaboration among political, ecclesiastical, and educational elites to alleviate the social fragmentation that crippled the empire in what proved to be its last years. His call can, I conclude, be viewed as a Russian response to the Western and, in time, global process of modernization.