In the Cathedral: Allusion to Kafka

This article by Father Lev Gillet, known as the "Monk of the Eastern Church," published in 1954 in the Cairo journal *La Part du Sable*, offers a pastoral and theological reading of Franz Kafka's work. Taking as its starting point the chapter "In the Cathedral" from *The Trial*, the author engages in a fictional spiritual dialogue with the Prague writer, in response to the Kafkaesque priest who is unable to offer help or hope. The study argues that Kafka's work possesses a fundamentally positive religious significance: despite the apparent failure of his heroes, it bears witness to an authentic quest for divine grace. Gillet analyzes the obstacles — familial, psychological, religious — that delayed this deliverance, and draws a parallel between Kafka's spiritual journey and the Johannine-Crucian dark night of the soul. The theological contribution lies in this orthodox and merciful rereading of a modern literary work as a path toward God.