From Soloviev to Bulgakov: the Catholic reception of Russian Orthodoxy in France

This article examines the reception of Russian Orthodox thought in French Catholic circles, from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Michel Fourcade, professor at the University of Montpellier, offers a historical and intellectual study tracing the exchanges between Russian and French thinkers around the figures of Vladimir Soloviev and Sergei Bulgakov. The analysis highlights the ways in which Russian theology and religious philosophy were read, translated and assimilated within a Western Catholic context. The article shows how these cultural transfers contributed to the renewal of certain theological questions in France, while revealing the tensions and convergences specific to the dialogue between the two Christian traditions. This study constitutes a significant contribution to the history of intellectual and ecumenical relations between Catholicism and Orthodoxy during this period.