Collis, R. (2012) The Petrine Instauration: Religion, Esotericism and Science at the Court of Peter the Great, 1689 - 1725. Leiden, Boston: Brill. - 576 p.

The new book by Robert Collis "Peter's Restoration: Religion, Esotericism and Science at the Court of Peter the Great, 1689-1725" will certainly be of particular interest to the Russian reader, not only because of its consistently popular subject matter, but also because the author's careful and attentive attitude to Russian history and culture would be an honor to anyone to a domestic researcher. But let me ask you why the "Peter's restoration"? Not reforms, not transformations, but restoration? And R. Collis gives an answer to this question literally on the first pages of the book, and then, after a detailed presentation of his arguments, he turns to it again, but in the last chapter devoted to the personality of Peter himself.

An interesting feature of the book is that the author does not just present historical facts and analyze concepts; in the center of the story are images and ideas of people whose destinies are inextricably linked with the history of our country. Quirin Kuhlman, a follower of J. Boehme and a preacher of the fifth "Jesuit kingdom"; his supporter and "accomplice" Konrad (in the well - known tradition of changing names "in the Russian manner" - Kondrat) Nordermann; a merchant from the German settlement, who does not need special ideas, according to R. Collis, "a learned sorcerer at the court of Peter the Great"1, Yakov Bruce; a follower of Paracelsus, iatrochemist, life physician of Peter I and the first Russian archiatrist of R. Collis. Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom, locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne Stefan Yavorsky; Archbishop of Pskov, an extraordinary and ambiguous religious thinker and philosopher Feofan Prokopovich-this is not a complete list of those whose deeds and thoughts created a specific uniqueness of the era, which is characterized not only by the rapid development of natural sciences and the development of the spiritual world. technology, but also a unique synthesis of seemingly unconnected things - religion, science, and esotericism. And these are only the people whose names are included in the titles

1. A Scientific Sorcerer at the Court of Peter the Great-so R. Collis called one of the chapters of his book (pp. 49-120)-

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the list of sections of the book could be continued for a very long time. And, of course, a separate part of the book is devoted to Peter himself, but in R. Collis's work, the image of the tsar-innovator, which is familiar to many, appears in a curious perspective - the author slowly and thoroughly analyzes not only the traditional aspects of Peter's "glorious deeds", but also the role of religion and esotericism in the formation of Peter I's ideas about scientific innovations.2
Quirin Kuhlmann, Protestant mystic, ardent proponent of the ideas of the Self. Boehme, delivered emotional sermons, poetic and philosophical treatises, proclaiming the inevitability of the coming Kingdom of God on earth, where a single ecumenical religion would rule, people would live like Adam and Eve before the fall, in a society of equality and justice, without conflicts and division into nobility and common people, poor and rich, and the head of the Church would be the head of the Church. would be Christ himself. Well-educated, familiar with the writings of Raimund Lullius and Galileo, and interested in various branches of knowledge, Kuhlmann actively corresponded with Athanasius Kircher in his younger years, and participated in scientific discussions. In addition, R. Collis notes the influence on Kuhlmann's views of the ideas of "protopietist Johann Arndt and the mystic, physician and alchemist Paracelsus" (p. 3).

It is clear that such a complex synthesis of scientific, esoteric and religious ideas, even in our much more tolerant times, would be perceived, to put it mildly, ambiguously. It can hardly be called unexpected that when Kuhlman arrived in Moscow in 1689, he encountered not only supporters and admirers - there were quite a few of them, by the way, in the German settlement - but also opponents and detractors. The ideas preached by Kuhlmann were met with hostility by both Orthodox hierarchs and righteous Protestants. The result is simple, it is described in many sources, including fiction - the point in Kuhlman's sermons was put by a cruel sentence: in the same 1689, he and K. Norderman were burned in a log cabin (along with Kuhlman's works).

R. Collis examines in detail the views and practical activities of Ya. Bruce,

2. "The Role of Religion and Esotericism in Shaping Peter the Great's Vision of Scientific Reform" (The Role of Religion and Esotericism in Shaping Peter the Great's Vision of Scientific Reform).

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comparing his fate and career with the biographies of such famous scientists and mystical philosophers as E. Swedenborg, I. Becher, I. Kunkel, noting the similarity of their interests in the field of mining, metallurgy and alchemy. The author also mentions that E. Swedenborg and J. Bruce may have known each other personally, they may have communicated, in particular, at the Aland Congress (1718-1719), in which they participated as part of national delegations, and E. Swedenborg often communicated directly with the Russian delegation. Analyzing the religious views of J. Bruce, R. Collis notes that they are in many respects close to the pietistic "fusion of religion and science" (p. 3). The author draws interesting conclusions based both on historical facts and on the analysis of books from the library of J. Bruce, a list of which is given in one of the appendices.

Another figure quite characteristic of Peter I's entourage is Robert Erskine. This outstanding man, who, according to R. Collis, became one of the tsar's closest advisers, had "a significant influence on the formation of the great reformist project of the monarch" (p. 121). The author notes that unlike J. Bruce, R. Erskine did not receive the fame of a warlock among the Russian people, but his views on science and religion were largely similar. Even before his departure for Russia in 1704, he already had a reputation as a respected and talented physician and anatomist. In R. Erskine's library, an important place is occupied by alchemical treatises, their list is also given in the book. Hermes Trismegistus, Cornelius Agrippa, Robert Fludd, Albert the Great, Athanasius Kircher, Georg Agricola, Andreas Libavius, Raimundus Lullius, Marie Merdrack, Paracelsus, Martin Ruland, Angelo Sala, Otto Tachenius, Basil Valentine and many other well-known and unknown authors are among those whose works have attracted the attention of the Leib-medica.

A separate section is dedicated to Stefan Yavorsky and Feofan Prokopovich, which R. Collis called " Ukrainian Clerics "(Ukrainian Clerics, pp. 211-356). Talents of S. The author designated Yavorsky with the word wordsmith. It is difficult to translate this word unambiguously into Russian: this is how ghostwriters are called, that is, those who write for others (speechwriters), but also stylists, virtuosos of the pen; here the most appropriate word is "rechetvorets", which at least conveys the meaning, but does not imply ratings. Arriving in Moscow in 1700, S. Yavorsky,

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According to R. Collis, he found himself in "an extremely tense atmosphere, on the one hand filled with reformist zeal, and on the other - seething with religious and political indignation" (pp. 211-212). It was the speech-making and oratory skills of the Ukrainian cleric that drew Peter's attention to the figure of S. Yavorsky, who, thanks to the patronage of the tsar, quickly reached high levels in the church hierarchy. S. Yavorsky was well educated, accepted the union, studied in Poland, after returning from where he renounced uniatism and became prefect of the Kiev-Mohyla College (since 1701 - Academy) He taught rhetoric, poetics, and philosophy. His interest is known not only in theology and philosophy, but also in astrology. S. Yavorsky was well acquainted with the works of European astrologers, quoted them in his writings, and was also noted for identifying the zodiac signs of biblical characters, which could hardly be perceived unambiguously by both the Uniate and Orthodox Churches. Such a herald of Russia's great victories, its providential role, an excellent speaker and a subtle analyst, who correlated the realities of his time with the biblical prophecies at the level of symbols and signs, was simply necessary for Peter I, whose role, in particular, S. Yavorsky compared with the mission of Moses.

Considering the views of another Ukrainian cleric, F. Prokopovich, R. Kollis writes:"...Prokopovich's so-called "enlightened" views are actually based on three theological and philosophical pillars: 1) Pietistic Protestantism; 2) Orthodox faith based on the writings of the Eastern Church Fathers; 3) esoteric worldview, which includes eclectic elements of Aristotelianism, Christian Neoplatonism and Hermeticism" (p. 272). Hermetic and, in particular, alchemical interests of Fr. Prokopovich perfectly demonstrates the list of books on relevant topics in his library, which the author publishes in appendices. Among the authors - Otto Tachenius, Cornelius Agrippa, Robert Boyle, Peter Severin, Athanasius Kircher, Daniel Zennert, Ole Borch-a total of 34 author's works are on the list. According to R. Collis, the figure of F. Prokopovich deserves a more comprehensive review, including taking into account the influence of mystical Orthodoxy and esotericism on the formation of the worldview and ideas of a devoted supporter and ideologist of Peter's reforms. Archi's personality-

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The Bishop of Pskov was undoubtedly controversial, and the most extreme judgments were made about him, which amounted to an assessment of the role of F. Prokopovich's role in promoting the ideas of enlightenment and reform - both mostly positive on the part of Soviet historians, and unequivocally negative, reduced to accusations of anti-Orthodoxy, which was clearly formulated by the famous Orthodox theologian Archpriest G. Florovsky, who wrote: "Feofan Prokopovich... he was a terrible man. Even in his appearance there was something sinister. " 3
After presenting a detailed study of the religious, scientific and esoteric views of the brightest representatives of Peter's entourage, R. Collis concludes his book with an analysis of the personality of Peter the Great himself. The author believes that without taking into account religious motives and esoteric interests of the first Emperor of All Russia, it is possible to form a rather one-sided, one-dimensional image. Moreover, R. Collis emphasizes that the role of religion was central to the formation of Peter I's reformist beliefs. Everything done by the great reformer is comparable to the deeds of the biblical king David, and military victories were compared to the defeat of Goliath by the king's contemporaries.

But not only military successes and administrative innovations were the subject of reforms. Here it is time for us to return to the question of the "Peter's restoration". R. Kollis believes that the reformist mission of Peter the Great was realized by him and his entourage as a return to the sources of ancient knowledge available to people before the fall; the author writes about the attempt to "restore adamic knowledge" deeply realized in Peter's entourage (p. 358). This concept is a seemingly strange, but for that era more organic interweaving of elements of what we call science, religion and esotericism.

It is unlikely that R. Collis ' book will be received unambiguously, because the problems of crises and reforms, conservatism and innovations, relations between church and state, science, religion and esotericism are extremely relevant, and disputes do not subside even today. But the ideas of an unbiased and attentive researcher are likely to interest many.

3. Florovsky G. V. Puti russkogo bogosloviya [Ways of Russian Theology], Moscow: Institut russkoy tsivilizatsii, 2009, p. 122.

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