“Moscow - the third Rome”: on the 500th anniversary of the Russian medieval historiosophical concept. Materials of the round table of the scientific project of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy “Byzantine cabinet”

Abstracts and texts of reports sent to the editorial board of the Russo-Byzantine Herald and presented at the online round table “Moscow - the Third Rome” held on September 17, 2023, at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, as part of the conference “Russian-Byzantine Logos” and the activities of the scientific project “Byzantine Cabinet”, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the formulation of the famous Russian medieval historiosophical concept by the elder of the Spaso-Eleazar Monastery Philotheus are published. It is noted that the concept of “Moscow - the Third Rome” is the first attempt in Russian church thought at a holistic periodization of the history of Christ’s Church. It is also shown that it acts as an archetype of national self-awareness and a relevant basis for the revival of Russian historical consciousness and spirituality. The influence of the “Moscow is the Third Rome” theory on the domestic conservative thought of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its refraction in the legacy of priest P. Florensky, in the historiosophy of the representatives of Eurasianism, as well as its parallels with the ideology of “Romanism” in the first half of the 20th century - as a synthesis of national culture, Roman statehood and the Orthodox faith are considered. The appeal to the “Moscow is the Third Rome” theory by modern domestic scientists reveals new facets of understanding and significance of this enduring historiosophical and eschatological concept.