YUE FENG’S VIEW ON THE HISTORY OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

Abstract

The essay focuses on the life and works of one of the most famous Chinese researchers of Orthodoxy after 1949, the translator and historian Yue Feng (September 1928 - February 22, 2017). His “A History of the Orthodox Church” was the first authoritative study of the history of the Orthodox Church, published in China since the beginning of the “reform and openness” period (Gǎigé kāifàng; 1978 - present days). The article focuses on Yue Feng’s understanding of the history of the Orthodox Church and the features of the doctrine inherent in Orthodoxy which he chose to highlight. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that to this day there is a significant interest in the study of Orthodoxy in China itself: new research articles are published, dissertations are defended. Unfortunately, even today Yue Feng’s works, widely known in the Chinese-speaking academia, are known only to a small group of sinologists and students of the history of Orthodoxy in China in the Russian academic community...