SAD REFLECTIONS ON A BOOK ABOUT METROPOLITAN ISIDORE

Abstract

In the present article, I analyse the modern historiographic situation concerning the period of the Ferraro-Florentine Union and the figure of Metropolitan Isidore using the materials of S. Yu. Akishin’s monograph “Metropolitan Isidore of Kiev”. The aim of the study was to assess the modern attempts to rethink the activities of Isidor from the standpoint of real history. These attempts are aimed at rehabilitating his image, rejecting his traditional image as a traitor to Orthodoxy and an advocate of the Union. The key method of analysis was the correlation of historiographic characteristics with the recognized facts of the fifteenth century’s history. It is concluded that the grounds for withdrawing charges against Isidor as "pushing through" the Union are insufficient. The theoretical contribution of this article is the distinction between supporters of Uniate transformations in the favour of the West and the adherents of Orthodox identity. This differentiation is the key to the analysis of contemporary challenges in the development of the Church.