Andrei Desnitsky is a Russian translator, essayist and writer, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a staff member of the Institute of Oriental Studies. At the meeting in Kaluga he spoke about his books and answered questions from those present.
About the book «Christianity. The Real Thing»
According to the author, in the first part of the book, a series of essays, he has gathered the most interesting facts about the Bible in Rus and Russia and shared his own experience. «Through the adventures of the Bible in Russia one can study the peculiarities of our history, culture and religious life and write novels about it,» said Desnitsky. The second part is devoted to the present — the search for the main meanings that guide contemporary Christians. The third part tells about the future, or more precisely, about the urgent tasks that are visible today. The author noted that the book has few final conclusions; rather, they are hypotheses, often possibly mistaken, but if these conversations help someone to clarify or formulate their own point of view, he considers his task accomplished.
About the first Slavic biblical scholar
Desnitsky also spoke about the priest Upyr Likhy, whom he called the first Slavic biblical scholar known by name. According to the researcher, Upyr lived in Novgorod in the 11th century and was not only a priest but also a copyist of biblical books. «We know about him from a small note he made at the end of his own manuscript with Old Testament prophecies, dated 1047 in our calendar,» said Desnitsky. He stressed that Upyr Likhy is not a character from anti-clerical lampoons but signed himself that way: «I, the priest Upyr Likhy.»
The novella «The Islanders» and new plans
Those present heard the author read excerpts from the novella «The Islanders», which the writer calls his favorite, and from a new work, «Aquileia». It will be published next year. Andrei Desnitsky also answered numerous questions from the audience. One of them concerned the image of Christian Orthodoxy held by the contemporary ordinary person. According to Desnitsky, for many people today the image of Orthodoxy is gradually turning into something imposed and not very interesting in essence, when there is more and more of it but often no substantive conversation behind it. He gave his own experience as an example: «I was a Pioneer and a Komsomol member. What were the reasons for anti-Soviet sentiments then? Because it was imposed, broadcast from every iron, and it was clear that nine-tenths of what was said was not believed even by those who said it.»
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