Fedotov Georgy

Fedotov Georgy (1886–1951) – historian, medievalist, political person, specialist in the field of Russian religious thought and folk religion.

He studied at the St. Petersburg Technological Institute (1904 – 1905). In 1905–1906, he took part in political activity as a member of the Socialist Democratic Party. After his arrest (1906) and release (1907), F. went to Germany, where visited lectures at the University of Jena (1907-1908) and took part in the political activity. In 1908, he enrolled to the Historical and Philological Faculty of the St. Petersburg University; his supervisor was I. М. Grevs. Because of political persecutions, in 1910, F. had to go to Italy; having returned, he kept his education, but in 1912, he was sent out of St. Petersburg and moved to Riga.

Having returned, he passed through his Master exams and got a position of Ass. Docent, taught at the Petrograd University (1918-1920), his courses were: ‘Iro-Saxon Mission in early Middle Ages’, ‘History of England in the Saxon epoch’, ‘Ecclesiastic History by Beda the venerable on the base of a manuscript of the Public Library’. He worked in the Public Library (1916-1920), and wrote his Master thesis ‘Saint bishops of the Merovingian epoch’, which was not completed.

He took part in the work of religious and philosophical groups, building a copception of socialization of a Christian. In 1920-1922, he headed the Chair of the Medieval History at the Saratov University. In 1923, he returned to Petrograd and made translations.

He went to emigration in 1925; made lectures at the Theological Institute in Paris (1926-1940). Keeping his idea of Christian Socialism, F. was away from all political groups, but actively participated in ecumenical work.

In 1941, he went to the U.S.A., made lectures at the University of Yale and at the St Vladimir Seminary in New York.

In emigration he wrote a large number of works on the history of Russian spiritual culture.

Compositions

Letters of Blessed Augustine. (Classis prima) // By the 25the Anniversary of Scholarly and Educational Activity of Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs. 1884–1909. Collection of Articles of His Disciples. St. Petersburg, 1911. С. 107–138. (in Rus.)
Abelard. Petrograd, Brockhaus and Ephron, 1924. (in Rus.)
Lives of Saints. I. Lives of Saints in the West // New Encyclopedic Lexicon. St. Petersburg, 1914, vol. 17, clm. 923–926. (in Rus.)
Carolingian Reneissance // New Encyclopedic Lexicon. St. Petersburg, 1914, vol. 21, clm. 93–96. (in Rus.)
Gods of the Underworld: On the Cult of Sepulchres in Merovingian Gallia // Russian and the West. Historical Collection, edit. А. I. Zaozershy. Petrograd, 1923, vol. 1, pp. 11–39. (in Rus.)
By the History of Medieval Cults (On О. А. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya ‘The Cult of St Mikhael Archangel in Latin Middle Ages’) // Annales. 1923, No 2, pp. 273–278. (in Rus.)
A Wonder of Liberation // From Distant and Close Past: Collection of Essays from the World History in Honour of the 50th Anniversary of Scholarly Life of N. I. Kareev. Petrograd-Moscow, 1923, pp. 72–89. (in Rus.)
Feudal Common Life in the Chronicles of Lambert of Ardes // Medieval Way of Life. Collection of Artciles for Ivan Mikhailovich Grevs for the 40th Anniversary of His Scholarly and Educational Activity / Edit. О. А. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya, А. I. Khomentovskaya, G. P. Fedotov. Leningrad, 1925, pp. 7–29. (in Rus.)
St. Philipp of Moscow. Paris, YMCA-press,1928. (in Rus.)
Saints of Old Rus’ (X-XVII cent.). Paris, YMCA-press,1931. (in Rus.)
Spiritual Verses: Russian Folk Belief on the Base of Spiritual Verses. Paris, YMCA-press, 1935. (in Rus.)
The Fate and Sins of Russia. In 2 vol. St. Petersburg-Sophia, 1991. (in Rus.)
Christian in Revolution. Paris, 1957. (in Rus.)
Complete Works in 6 vol. Paris, YMCA-press, 1967. (in Rus.)
Works in 12 vol. Moscow, SAM and SAM, 1996. (in Rus.)

Bibliography

Bibliography of Works by G. P. Fedotov (1886-1951) / Comp. by Е. N. Fedotova. Paris, 1951. (in Rus.)

About him

Kovalevsky P. Е. Russian Abroad: History of Cultural and Enlightening Work of Russians Abroad for a Half Century (1920-1970). Paris, YMKA-press, 1971, pp. 256-259. (in Rus.)
Karpovich М. Orbituary // Novyi zhurnal. 1951, No 8, p. 16. (in Rus.)
Zernov N. Russian Religious Renaissance. Paris, YMCA-press, 1991. (in Rus.)

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