Religious Philosophy as an Experience of Knowledge of God: Sergei Bulgakov and Semyon Frank on the Relationship between Philosophy and Religion*

Abstract

This article attempts to analyze the historical and philosophical views of S.N. Bulgakov and S.L. Frank about the meaning of religion, the nature of philosophy, and the essence of philoso­phical knowledge in the structure of religious experience. The article considers the correlation of religious and philosophical ideas of two thinkers and their positioning relative to each other. The article formulates the problem of the relationship and mutual influence of religious faith and philosophical reason in the legacy of Bulgakov and Frank, and raises the question of what role these outstanding authors of the Silver age assign to religious philosophy in the spiritual life of a Christian. The question of the place of conceptual thinking in the experience of understanding the Absolute is being clarified. The thesis about the role and significance of religious philosophy as a necessary beginning of discursive comprehension of the truths of faith (Bulgakov) and a holis­tic understanding of being (Frank) is being put forward.