The Spiritual Version of History as Discursive Order of Political Eschatology: Theology of Ritual in Contemporary Orthodox Historiosophy and Conspirology

Abstract

The article examines methods of argumentation used for constructing eschatological historical narratives in the discursive field of Russian Orthodoxy. The main presupposition of the analysis is that the essential discursive claim of a religion which has to exist and survive in secular society is that a religious person and especially religious expert can and even must see the deep meaning of historical events, which is not accessible for non-religious individuals. The contemporary Orthodox ideologists achieve this aim by using the so-called double interpretation, when they discover under the outer appearance of events of the past (such as the murder of the Russian Tsar's family), first, a conspiracy, and second, the transcendental universal meaning.