The article reconstructs religious and philosophical concepts of the Samaritan theologian, exegete and mystic Ibrāhīm al-Qabāṣī (d. after 1547). Based on the unstudied al‑Qabāṣī’s treatise of “The Way of the Heart to Recognize the Lord” (Sayr al‑Qalb fī Maʿrifat al‑Rabb), the author comes to the conclusion that the Samaritan theologian depended on Arab‑Muslim discourse, and, in particular, on the categorical schemes of Sufism. The fragments of “The Way…” introduced into scientific use eloquently testify to Ibrāhīm’s familiarity with such Sufi concepts as ṭarīqah, šarīʿah, ḥaḍrah, as well as with the “ranks” of the Sufi hierarchy (quṭb, watad, badal); The connection between the scribe’s teachings and the legacy of ʾAbū Ḥāmid al‑Ġazālī (d. 1111) is separately noted. The study of al-Qabāṣī’s programmatic work is preceded by a brief biographical note, as well as an excursion into the textual history of “The Way…”.

The article explores the “conciliatory discourse” on the compatibility of Islam and socialism in the previously unknown work of the prominent Tatar theologian Musa Bigiev (1873–1949) “The Alphabet book of the Great Truths of Islam” (1923/1924). Discourse analysis of the manuscript, the historical context of its writing and the theologian’s practical activities in the 1920s reveal the nature of the “conciliatory” discourse on decolonization, which combined into a consistent concept revolutionary, socialist ideas with religious principles. The author concludes that the Bigiev discourse was based on the anti‑colonial, anti‑Western pathos of socialist and Marxist ideas, proving the necessity of cooperation between Muslims and Eastern countries and the Bolsheviks. At the same time, in the 1920s, Bigiev did not change his earlier convictions: he continued to rely on a reformist reading of Islam in the name of ideas of liberation and revival of the Muslim world. Temporary rallying around the “Bolshevik flag” seemed a convenient tool for decolonization. Bigiev reconciled in his beliefs and demonstrated that these worldviews were not contradictory. Involved in global anti‑colonial networks, the theologian was not a consistent communist and represented a vivid, but not unique for that era, type of theologian and politician who possessed a hybrid identity who possessed a hybrid identity characteristic of some Muslim thinkers, anti‑colonial leaders of the Russian Empire, Soviet Russia and the Eastern countries.

The historiography of the pre‑revolutionary Kazakh national movement often presents a simplistic dichotomy between pro‑Islamic traditionalists and secular national liberals. This binary view fails to capture the nuanced perspectives of Kazakh nationalists on religion and its role in shaping national identity. It is well‑known that many early Kazakh intellectuals from both sides participated in the Soviet secular nation‑building project, influencing the development of Kazakhness. My paper examines the history of early Kazakh nationalism through the lens of secularism, focusing on the educational and personal backgrounds of the intelligentsia and their reactions to historical changes and arguing that pragmatic considerations largely drove the evolution of their nationalist views. The study involves a historiographic review and a reassessment of critical moments that shaped the intelligentsia’s shift toward secularism. It reveals that, despite the controversy, the Alash movement included intellectuals who viewed Islam as an integral component of Kazakh identity. The diversity of their perspectives supports the thesis that the nation’s boundaries were negotiated before the Soviet national project.

When examining the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it’s crucial to recognize the significant role that Shia mythology plays. While pragmatic policies and Realpolitik often guide its relations with other countries, the context of this policy and the national discourse is uniquely shaped by religious myths. In the political discourse related to Iran’s Middle Eastern policy, the fight against so‑called takfiri groups, deemed apostates for declaring fellow Muslims as infidels, holds a central place. This struggle formed the basis of Iran’s Islamic‑political justification for its involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts. Shia mythology plays a profound role in shaping this religious‑political construct. During and after the 2020 Nagorno‑Karabakh war, this mythology also penetrated Iran’s South Caucasus political discourse, where the Syrian mercenaries used by Azerbaijan were labeled as takfiri groups. In both the Middle East and the South Caucasus, the presence and actions of mercenaries have been portrayed and interpreted through the lens of this powerful mythology, which emphasizes the themes of resistance, martyrdom, and the defense of the oppressed. This mythological framework informs Iran’s domestic political discourse and extends to its foreign policy narratives, allowing the Iranian state to construct a coherent ideological justification for its threat perception notions.

The article is devoted to the problems arising in the relations between the church and secular judicial bodies in the consideration of related categories of cases in the Russian Empire in the 18th century. The author shows that due to the change in the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts, which was not precisely defined in the legislation, there were numerous cases of disputes about competence between judicial bodies, which had to be resolved directly by the Holy Synod and the Senate. The shortcomings of the legislative regulation were gradually eliminated by practice throughout the eighteenth century. The article demonstrates another side of the relationship between secular and ecclesiastical bodies, which was expressed in mutual assistance in court cases. The article also considers the relations of the church court with the bodies of political investigation, which were mainly reduced to the fulfilment by the clerical bodies of the instructions of the Privy Chancellery and other bodies with similar competence.

The article considers the evolution of the visual policy of the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s in the sphere of “red rites” and (anti)religious propaganda. The materials of the journal “Antireligioznik” and archival antireligious documentary films “Komsomol Christmas” (1923) and “Komsomol Easter” (1925) are introduced into scientific circulation as sources. It is argued that in the 1920s the concept “red rites” —“Komsomol Christmas” and “Komsomol Easter” — was theoretically developed in the works of prominent party figures (N. K. Krupskaya, L. D. Trotsky, E. M. Yaroslavsky, A. V. Lunacharsky, I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov). This concept was based on the inversion of the main Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter) and was considered by propagandists as an effective means of constructing a quasi‑religious model of the new Soviet reality. However, the “red rites” did not become a functional equivalent of religious rituals. It is concluded that, in connection with the change in the official party socio‑economic course in the 1930s there was a final rejection of the “carnival” in Soviet rituals in favor of expanding the administrative‑political discourse. There is a transition to the development of ideological “anti‑Christmas” and “anti‑Easter” campaigns in the USSR as well as in the anti‑religious visual policy of the 1930s representing the class, exploitative essence of religion.

The article focuses on the experiences and reflections of young priests in Moscow parishes regarding their journey to becoming ordained. The main research questions are: how do these young clergy members perceive their ordination experience? What kinds of events and personal experiences occur during their journey to become a minister of the church? To answer these questions, the authors used an inductive approach to analyze indepth interviews with young clergy. The study is based on phenomenology, a methodology that focuses on subjective experience, allowing to identify key events and emotions surrounding ordination and its impact on the individuals’ lives. Interestingly, young priests see their priesthood as a Beruf which is partially different from both a vocation and a job. Another significant finding is that clergy no longer separate themselves from their experience as priests — it becomes a fully formed identity, subordinating other collective identities and aspects of their Self.

This study analyzes the stages of formation of conceptual ideas of the outstanding French philosopher Maurice Blondel (1861–1949) concerning the essence of Christian religious mysticism within the Catholic tradition. The content of his original philosophical teaching, which is a philosophy of action, includes the justification of the possibility of a mystical element. The author demonstrates that the justification of this possibility was carried out by the philosopher as an integral part of his program for the reconstruction of the harmony of faith and reason based on the radical criticism of the dualism of the natural and supernatural principles, which declared itself not only in the secular philosophical thinking of that time, but also in theology. The article argues that the systemic philosophical conceptualization of religious mystical experience was carried out by the philosopher in the space of interdisciplinary dialogue, as well as in the context of Catholic modernism. Much attention is paid to the consideration of the peculiarity of M. Blondel’s approach to mysticism, which consists in the justification of the rational principle in the fabric of mystical life. This allowed the philosopher to approach the solution of the fundamental problem of the relationship between philosophical reason and mystical experience from a new position. The article shows that, implementing a philosophical approach to mysticism based on the use of the categories “genuine — ingenuine”, “universal — particular — individual”, M. Blondel saw in mysticism a “window” to the highest wisdom, familiarization with which is the source of philosophical reason and allows philosophy to solve fundamental theoretical and practical issues.

This article develops Ch. Taylor’s secularization theory. Taylor’s framework enables to analyze secularization as a phenomenon that can coexist with high levels of personal religiosity and significance of religion in society. This perspective aligns with Taylor’s concept of “secularity‑3”, which views secularization as a transformation in the conditions of belief and disbelief. He articulates these new conditions through the notion of immanent frame. However, critics of "A Secular Age" have raised concerns regarding the applicability of Taylor’s theory to non‑Western contexts; its reliability as a sociological framework for understanding secularization in contemporary society; its accuracy as a historical research; the opportunity to interpret Taylor’s project as biased by religious apologetics. This article posits that such criticisms stem from ambiguities in the philosophical underpinnings of Taylor’s methodology. While he aims to delineate a pre‑ontological background, he overlooks the fact that such descriptions cannot be universally applicable, even within localized cultural contexts, as they elevate the pre‑ reflexive to a reflexive level. To address these issues, the article advocates for a shift from the concept of immanent frame to that of immanent logics, drawing on Wittgenstein’s rule‑following concept. This approach allows for a more pluralistic understanding of secularity, avoiding claims to provide a universal interpretation of the world and the self in the secular age. The article concludes by discussing the implications of this shift for both the historical study of secularization and current normative reflection.