“I’m Very Upset That We See Each Other So Rarely…”: Anthropological Motives in the Letters of N.O. Lossky to G.V. Florovsky (1933–1946). The Letters of N.O. Lossky to G.V. Florovsky (1933–1946), publication and notes by Elena V. Serdyukova

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the archival heritage of Russian thinkers abroad has become an area of particular interest for specialists in the history of Russian philosophy. Each new discovery, be it an unpublished scientific text, drafts, lecture texts, business corre­spondence or private letters, allows us not only to slightly lift the “veil of mystery” of the philosopher’s creative workshop, but also to immerse ourselves in the world of his existential experiences, revealing character traits and habits, way of living. The first part of letters being published is from N.O. Lossky to G.V. Florovsky, that come from the archives of Princeton University (Princeton, USA), covering the period from 1933 to 1946 before N.O. Lossky’s moving to America, the letters indicate not only that N.O. Lossky and his family had warm and friendly feelings towards G.V. Florovsky and staid in contact with him for many years, but also the intersection of the destinies of these two thinkers, first in Prague (teaching at the Russian Faculty of Law, N.O. Lossky’s opposition to G.V. Florovsky’s dissertation, participation in the ac­tivities of the Brotherhood of Saint Sophia, involvement in the “dispute about Sophia”, etc.), then in Paris (pedagogical activity at the St. Sergius Theological Institute). These letters very clearly show how communication with Florovsky influenced (albeit in a rather indirect form) the formation of Lossky’s interest in anthropological
issues.