Between saeculum and aeternitas. Theology of history in the history of theology

The reason for this historiographic study, dedicated to one of the important areas of modern theological work, was the noticeable revival observed in this direction in the development of Russian theology. It found its expression in the publication of a number of large and small scholraly texts, the holding of national scholarly and theological conferences and the activities of some research centers. The article consists of a problem statement and three unequal parts. The first part is devoted to solving the spatial-structural issue of the location of the theology of history on the map of theological disciplines and theological discourses, which makes it possible to establish structural and substantive similarities and differences in an extensive historical material. In the second chapter, a reconstruction of two of the most significant ancient projects of the theology of history is undertaken, associated with the activities of Eusebius of Caesarea and Blessed Augustine. The analysis of sources, as well as a dosed appeal to classical and topical research, allow us to offer interpretations and characteristics of these projects, which have both personal and historical patterns for their appearance. The concept of the theology of history by Eusebius of Caesarea appears in a kind of dynamic development from mature to late creativity: the original theology of history as the ecclesiology of history at the end of life is transformed into a sketch of the political theology of the Christian Empire, as the first project of Christian theocracy. The theology of history of Blessed Augustine is created as an anthropology of history, in which the focus is on man and his divine calling. The first successful projects reveal an invariable feature of the theology of history - the problem of the boundary between profane history and sacred history. Finally, the third part takes the reader to the middle of the 20th century, when the theology of history (“the new theology of history”) flourished again. The concept of the history of salvation (Heilsgeschichte) by O. Kulman is considered the most representative for this period. At this stage, the theology of history competes with a new theological discourse - political theology. The presented history of one theological discourse, spanning over one and a half thousand years, reveals its stable characteristics and delineates prospects for current theological work in anthropological, social and sacramental dimensions.