Interview with priest Andrei Lorgus: "It is not possible to solve most problems of serving society without psychology"

  1. Lemma
  2. Интервью со священником Андреем Лоргусом: “Большинство задач социального служения без психологии не решить”
  3. Russian
  4. Asliturk, Miriam
  5. Ecumenism and dialogue > Education - Orthodox Anthropology - Scientific theories and disciplines > Psychology-Psychoanalysis - Education, Science and Orthodoxy
  6. 31-01-2017
  7. Виноградов, Леонид [Author]. Интервью со священником Андреем Лоргусом: “Большинство задач социального служения без психологии не решить”
  8. "ЛЕСТВИЦА" - Центр православной культуры
  9. psychology - Psychology of religion - Higher Education - Russian Universities - Moscow State University - Russian Orthodox Church - Social Work - Social problems
  10. Click Here
    1. <p>Виноградов, Леонид (2012). Интервью со священником Андреем Лоргусом: “Большинство задач социального служения без психологии не решить". <em>"ЛЕСТВИЦА"- Центр православной культуры</em>. Retrieved from: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.lestvitsa.dp.ua/?q=content/intervyu-so-svyashchennikom-andreem-lorgusom-bolshinstvo-zadach-socialnogo-sluzheniya-bez">http://www.lestvitsa.dp.ua/?q=content/intervyu-so-svyashchennikom-andreem-lorgusom-bolshinstvo-zadach-socialnogo-sluzheniya-bez</a> </span></p>

    1. This is an interview with priest Andrei Lorgus, professor of anthropology and psychology at the Russian Orthodox Christian University (ROCU) and Moscow State University (MSU). Priest Andrei Lorgus became Orthodox when he was a student at the department of psychology of Moscow State University. He was baptised in his third year of undergraduate studies, which created a scandal within the department, but he was nevertheless able to complete his studies.

      Lorgus believes that atheist ideology has made the scholarship of psychology limited in Russia, meaning that psychology in Russia is incapable of describing the spiritual reality of the human. According to him, there are few works that touch upon the question of the human soul. The exceptions are the studies of B.S. Bratus and F.E. Vasilyuk. Lorgus also believes that Russian psychology schools are not fully developed yet, since high quality academic studies on Russian Orthodox psychology of the 18th-19th centuries do not yet exist. According to Lorgus, in twenty years such research will be done and we will be able to understand the basis of Russian Orthodox anthropology.

      Today the Russian Orthodox Church devotes much attention to social problems. And this is why, Lorgus argues, new Russian Orthodox psychology is needed. For example, special psychological help is needed at girls’ orphanages in abbeys as well as for handicapped children and difficult teenagers. Ordinary families need attention from Russian Orthodox psychologists because, as Lorgus puts it, we can’t wait until secular psychologists turn to God and change themselves: we need to prepare youth from the very beginning.

      Lorgus works on promoting psychology courses at religious schools and universities as it was done before the Russian Revolution. St. Petersburg scholar Y.M. Zenko conducted research on Russian Orthodox scholarship in psychology of the 19th century. The only problem, according to Lorgus, is that Orthodox researchers of the 19th century did not base their works on the ideas of the early Middle Ages Church’s Fathers.

      Lorgus believes that if a person is saint then there is no need in special education in psychology. However, an ordinary religious student must know the basics of spirituality including psychology. Ideally Lorgus sees teaching psychology at ROCU in the following way: secular professors would teach the basics of psychology and Christian professors would elaborate on the specifics of the Russian Orthodox approach to psychology. ROCU would invite secular professors from MSU who teach anatomy and physiology. The program would have two specializations: psychology of personality and psychology of religion.