Clergy and Bookishness: Ivan Levanda in the Circle of Contemporaries

Abstract

This article examines the figure of Ivan Levanda, archpriest of Kiev’s St. Sophia Cathedral, in the context of Baroque bookishness. A historical-comparative method is employed to analyze the everyday dimensions of his intellectual activity, including his correspondence with fellow clergymen. This approach enables a multifaceted analysis of Levanda’s bookishness, highlighting both his wide-ranging interests as a preacher and the high intellectual standards of graduates of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. His letters and sermons reveal a complex interplay between religious reflection and considerations of science, social issues, and questions of war and peace—particularly in relation to the Napoleonic Wars. Several of Levanda’s views on contemporary science are best understood through the lens of Christian doctrine, as evidenced by philosophical positions similar to those expressed in the works of Hryhorii (Georgy) Konysky. The topics addressed by Levanda, characteristic of the second half of the eighteenth century, are presented through Baroque imagery and stylistic richness. By studying his writings as a representative of the clergy, the article also sheds light on the intellectual interests of his closest circle and the broader community of his contemporaries with whom he maintained correspondence.