Dostoevsky and The Gospel of Luke

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

We have seen renewed scholarly interest in the religious and theological dimensions of Dostoevsky’s fiction in the past few decades. It is not surprising that methodological approaches and assumptions vary widely, although one frequent assumption is that Dostoevsky should be read in a Johannine context, whether because of marks he made in his copy of the 1822 edition of the new Russian Synodal Bible or because of the importance of John in Russian Orthodoxy. When other Gospels are cited, they are often used episodically or as part of broader Synoptic context. However, it is the claim of this panel that Luke – author of a Gospel and Acts – warrants special attention because of Luke’s pragmatic approach to issues vital to Dostoevsky, including social justice and the challenge of overcoming enmity with one’s neighbors. Our panelists will each work with Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamzov, and they will focus on the Lukan concern with incarnational realism (Contino), terrestrial time (Parlin), and the neighbor (Wyman).

Sub Unit

• Literature: Russian and Eurasian

Chair

• Michael Mikhailovitch Ossorgin VIII, Fordham U

Papers

• The Gospel of Luke and Incarnational Realism in The Brothers Karamazov - Paul Joseph Contino, Pepperdine U

• Luke, Acts, and Active Love: The Validity of Terrestrial Time in The Brothers Karamazov - Maxwell Parlin, Princeton U

• An Ideal 'Thou': The Concept of Neighbor in The Brothers Karamazov - Alina Wyman, New College of Florida

Discussant

• Michael Mikhailovitch Ossorgin VIII, Fordham U