The Holy Synod and the Ecclesiology of the First Slavophiles: Aleksei Khomyakov and Jurij Samarin
The teaching of the Slavophiles regarding the concept of communion or sobornost of the church is in some ways a sort of trademark of Russian theological thought. In its final form, it seems to be very critical of the synodal tradition. However, a closer look at its origin and development reveals that the synodal reform and tradition itself provided the impetus and ecclesiastical background for the entire conception of the theory of sobornost.