Saint vs. Lion: The Story of a Feud

19 hrs. 9 min.

Language Russian

Author Pavel Basinsky

Narrator Vyacheslav Gerasimov

Description

At the turn of the 19th–20th centuries in Russia there were two major sites of mass pilgrimage—Yasnaya Polyana and Kronstadt. Why then did crowds go specifically to Leo Tolstoy and to Father Ioann of Kronstadt? The well-known writer and journalist Pavel Basinsky, author of the bestseller “Leo Tolstoy: Flight from Paradise” (The Big Book prize), in the book “Saint against Leo” traces the history of the relationship between the most famous writer and the most beloved priest among the people of that time, who became sworn enemies.

Contents:

• Instead of a preface: The Tsar laughs
• Chapter One: The Saintly Lion, the Pope
• The Madonna in the chair
• The secret of the mother
• Chapter Two: Ivan and Ioann
• The unnoticed Vanya
• Ivan the First
• Will and Providence
• The secret of his mother
• Through the needle’s eye
• Chapter Three: The Ghost of Saint-…
• Leva-reva
• The Eternal Child
• It’s shameful
• A letter to the Tsar
• Save Private Shabunin
• On your knees
• Chapter Four: Once in Kronstadt
• They didn’t expect it
• A stranger among his own
• Father Ioann and the children
• Father Ioann and the authorities
• The temptations of Father Ioann
• Father Ioann’s family
• Misfortune helped
• The personal file of Father Ioann
• Chapter Five: Inexpressibly painful
• What was Leo Tolstoy afraid of?
• Upbringing and lack of upbringing
• “All her life was love…”
• Chapter Six: The Easter priest
• Lived in the church
• Two “childhoods”
• Church and theater
• The same, but not quite the same
• The viewpoint of the “professionals”
• The Kingdom of God is within us
• Fear and freedom
• Chapter Seven: The Gospel according to Leo
• A monster
• War of halves
• A trip that never happened
• At the crossroads
• Peter I and the Decembrists
• A proud person?
• End of connection
• What? Where? When?
• A sad story
• The veil of Maya
• Two brothers
• The lion’s impotence
• Chapter Eight: A doctor of souls and bodies
• A note in the newspaper
• Not everything is simple
• One for all
• The price of fame
• Personal confessions
• And again, it isn’t simple
• “Do you believe?”
• Leskov and Perzhan
• The money of Father Ioann’s father
• The ruler’s sick man
• Chapter Nine: Battle of giants
• Faith and the Church
• On war as on war
• A man and a heretic
• Who did Tolstoy tempt?
• Excommunication or apostasy?
• The Crimean exam
• Kronstadt against Tolstoy
• Tolstoy against Kronstadt
• Chapter Ten: A grave in the forest
• A lamp that swings
• A steamboat in the fog
• Appendix
• Definition of the Holy Synod dated 20–22 February 1901
• Leo N. Tolstoy’s answer to the Synod’s definition of 20–22 February and to the letters received from me on this occasion
• Letter from Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya to the senior member of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Antony (Vadkovsky)
• Reply of Metropolitan Antony (Vadkovsky)
• L. N. Tolstoy to the clergy
• Reply of Father Ioann of Kronstadt to Count L. N. Tolstoy’s appeal to the clergy
• Letter from D. A. Khilkov to L. N. Tolstoy
• M. A. Novoselov’s open letter to Count L. N. Tolstoy