The concept of the Christian state by N.A. Berdyaev

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the views of the largest Russian political and religious philosopher Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1984-1948) on state-Church relations in the history of Russia. N. A. Berdyaev proposed an interesting concept, according to which the history of mankind does not know any real Christian States. Symbolically, States could be called Christian, but in fact they were not. Signs of formally Christian States were religious domination, clericalization, and lack of religious freedom. At the same time, a secular state subordinate to the religion of Satan can also be religious. Berdyaev believed that the task of the Church should not be to strive for religious domination, but to Christianize society. The lack of freedom of religion, the privileged position of any religion leads to the dependence of the Church on the state and the formation of a system of state ecclesiasticism. The spiritual impact of the Church and the Christian faith on the cells of society is important for the maximum and real Christianization of society.