Abstract:
It has been often said nowadays that since the fall of Constantinople, the Eastern-Orthodox
Church has not been concerned with political theology. In this research, we will try to show
that aspects of the aforementioned topic can be found even in works like the spiritual
autobiographies from that space. Therefore, our analysis will focus on the diaries of an
important Russian Orthodox priest, Saint John of Kronstadt, who lived in the second half of
the 19th century and in the first decade of the 20th century. An important personality of his
time, he was a great priest who developed the Eucharistic life, highlighting the relevance of the
Holy Liturgy in the Christian life, the social life, offering accommodation, food, money and a
place to work for the poor people from his parish and abroad. At the same time, he had a
political and intellectual life, being in a good relationship with the tsar and his family, and
wrote in his diaries, published during his lifetime and translated into English, his spiritual
experiences, his daily life ones and his teaching and opinions on different topics and so on. By
highlighting and investigating here episodes like his attitude towards the failed attempt for
revolution that took place in Kronstadt in 1905, his relationship with the poor ones and his
critique directed to the unfairly attitude of the rich people of his time towards the less fortunate
ones or even his preaches against the famous contemporary writer Lev Tolstoy, we will try to
show how political theology was understood by such a great father as John of Kronstadt and
to emphasise the actuality of some of his ideas related to this topic.
