Sobornost and the Orthodox Tradition in the Thought of Dmitry Alekseevich Khomyakov

Abstract

This article examines Dmitry Khomyakov’s interpretation of the triad "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality", with a particular focus on his understanding of sobornost’ and the Orthodox tradition. The study reconstructs Khomyakov’s views by addressing three key questions: the meaning he assigns to the concept of Orthodoxy; his assessment of its influence on the state, mentality, and history of Russia; and the practical implications he draws from his conceptual framework within the historical context of his time. The analysis employs comparative- historical and historical- typological methods, as well as the genealogy of ideas — particularly in relation to sobornost’. The principal sources are Khomyakov’s own writings, published in their most complete form in a 2011 collected edition. The findings show that Khomyakov upheld the Orthodox tradition and the doctrine of sobornost’, using the latter to formulate an original historiosophical framework that integrated politics, society, family, nationality, art, and science. A distinctive feature of this framework is its emphasis on individuality, expressed as a pronounced personalism.