Dostoevsky’s Theology in the Understanding of Berdyaev

The article analyses the methods used by N. Berdyaev to reveal andpresent the theological level of Dostoevsky’s works in his book “The Worldviewof Dostoevsky” and partly in “The Meaning of the Creative Act”. The article isdivided into two parts, as Berdyaev not only describes Dostoevsky’s religious andphilosophical system but also founds it on his own idea of the sacred essence ofthe creative act; this fact leads the philosopher to the necessity of forming a specialresearch method considering the deepest basis of the creative process. The first partof the article is dedicated to Berdyaev’s research method, based on the idea of a trueunderstanding reached through the creative act, that goes beyond art and revealsitself as an expression of the tension and movement of the human spirit searching forTruth. This first part considers the main statements of Berdyaev’s “theory” about theact of creating, underlying (as the philosopher thinks) Dostoevsky’s creative processas a process of an active relationship with God. The article analyses the researchmethod of the author’s spiritual world, described in “Dostoevsky’s worldview”. Thesecond part of the article describes the key moments of Dostoevsky’s theologicalsystem, showing how it is similar to every man’s spiritual path – i.e. showing howBerdyaev thinks about the writer’s theology not as a combination of statements aboutGod and the Divine nature, but as a practical method for the man to move towardsGod and a transfigured nature.