Abstract
<jats:p>The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the religious schism has not only a dogmatic but also a moral dimension, which allows us to analyze the reasons for the emergence of an unfriendly and even hostile attitude toward the Orthodox world in the West; to reveal the role of the Filioque dogma in the formation of rationalism, and to explain why the Slavophiles called rationalism «the sin of Europe»; and to examine existing theoretical scenarios for overcoming the schism. Methodological framework of the study. The empirical basis of the study is the works of Russian religious philosophers of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as theologians of the 7th and 19th centuries. A hermeneutic method of textual reconstruction, based on the principle of concrete historicity, is used, as well as methods of comparative analysis, analogy, modeling, and classification. The research results: explained why Khomyakov called the religious schism «moral fratricide»; shown the specifics of the formation of the Filioque dogma by the Latins, and explained how this specificity gave rise to a tendency to self-aggrandize a mind separated from faith, which became the basis of rationalism in the West; researched how European rationalism contributed to the further deepening of the West’s perception of the Orthodox world as a spiritual helot; shown the reasons for the unity of Protestants and Latins in their hostile attitude toward Orthodox Russia; analyzed existing theoretical scenarios and programs for overcoming the schism, and therefore the West’s hostile attitude toward Russia. The research prospects are to find philosophical, theological, political and other ways to convey to Western Christians the truth, firstly, about the harmfulness of the Western religious schism for the entire Christian world, and, secondly, about the true meaning of Orthodox teaching, which is based not on enmity, but on love.</jats:p>