The Philosophy of “a New Christianity” by F. M. Dostoevsky

The article is devoted to the philosophical views and world outlook of F. M. Dostoevsky. The author analyzes the validity of accusation of Dostoevsky in “a new Christianity”. Based on the comparison of the writer’s own thoughts and polemical statements about his work by such philosophers as V. S. Solovyov, V. V. Rozanov, D. S. Merezhkovsky, and M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky, the author provides the description of Dostoevsky’s “new Christianity”. The hermeneutical method allows the author to analyze both the primary sources of Christian thought (the New and the Old Testaments), as well as the works by Dostoevsky and the articles of his contemporaries, who discuss the writer’s philosophical views. The purpose of this work is to compare the concept of “the new Christianity of Dostoevsky” with the understanding of “Christianity” as such. This comparison, not previously considered, is a new perspective on the writer’s philosophical worldview. The article compares the main aspects of Christianity (freedom of choice, spiritual revival, the gospel as a source of enlightenment) in the first Apostolic understanding and in the works by Dostoevsky. Based on the analysis of the comparison, it is concluded that Dostoevsky’s “new Christianity” supports the principles of the first Apostolic Christianity. However, at the same time, Dostoevsky’s “new Christianity” sees the way of development of modern Christianity in a spiritual and moral, “educational” aspect. Thus the problem of whether Dostoevsky’s “new Christianity” is the author’s interpretation of Christianity by the writer is considered and solved.