ORTHODOX ESCHATOLOGY: UNDERSTANDING END OF HISTORY BY EASTERN EUROPEAN THEOLOGICAL TRADITION

Abstract

The Purpose of the Study on eschatology is to open the unknown parts of the Eastern European theology regarding the Apocalypse. It brings up unique features of the Orthodox Christianity and its ability to produce the “end of history” philosophy. The Research Methodology includes historical analysis, theological analysis, comparative and bibliographical methods which allowed to analyze the Orthodox eschatology within a paradigm of a multi-approach to understanding several ancient manuscripts as well as modern-era theories of understanding the Apocalypse. The Scientific Novelty of the article is based on analyzing the Eastern European eschatology along the lines of written and oral traditions, using the juxtaposition of medieval manuscripts on the matter with contemporary eschatological theories. Special attention is paid to the Kyivan Rus theological tradition which included several unique eschatological theories which were a product of the Ukrainian medieval culture, philosophy and ethics. The Conclusions. Using an analytical approach where medieval Ukrainian eschatology is put into a wider context of the Eastern European theory of Apocalypse, based on classical Bible studies, we defined the key features of understanding the “end of history” within the Orthodox theological tradition.