Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin
Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin (1814-1885) was a Russian diplomat and Jesuit priest known for his significant contributions to religious and cultural discourse in the 19th century. Born in Moscow to a prominent family, he was educated at home before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he developed a keen interest in utopian ideologies and classical literature. Throughout his diplomatic career in various European cities, including Munich, St. Petersburg, and Paris, Gagarin engaged with notable intellectuals, including philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, and played a role in the literary scene.
In a pivotal moment of his life, Gagarin converted to Catholicism in 1842, leading to his resignation from the Russian foreign service and subsequent ordination in the Society of Jesus. His writings, particularly "La Russie sera-t-elle catholique?" (1856), sparked controversy in Russia as he advocated for the unification of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, emphasizing the potential for religious independence and social stability. Gagarin also founded the journal "Études de thèologie, de philosophie, et d'histoire" and established the Musée Slave to promote Russian culture in the West. Despite his deep affection for Russia, Gagarin was unable to return before his death, remaining a notable figure in discussions about religion and identity in Russia's history.
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Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin
Writer
- Born: July 20, 1814
- Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
- Died: July 20, 1882
Biography
A Russian diplomat and Jesuit priest, Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin was born in Moscow on July 20, 1814, to Prince Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin, a member of the senate, and Varvara Mikhailovna, née Pushkina. He was educated at home by a French tutor. In 1831 Gagarin began government service as a student at the Moscow Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Utopian beliefs and exposure to the classics inspired him to create constitutions for imaginary republics. In 1833 Gagarin was appointed attaché at the Russian embassy in Munich, where he attended lectures at the university, befriended the famous philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, became an agnostic, and spent time with Fedor Ivanovich Tiutchev, a fellow diplomat. When, in 1835, Gagarin moved to St. Petersburg to begin a new appointment at the foreign ministry, he brought with him some of Tiutchev’s poems to show to friends in the literary world. The following year, Alexander Pushkin inaugurated Tiutchev’s career by publishing many of his poems in his journal Sovremennik (the contemporary).
In 1837 Gagarin went to England as a diplomatic courier, and then on to Paris to work as attaché at the Russian embassy; he was promoted to junior secretary in 1840. In Paris, Gagarin kept a detailed journal of his meetings with a wide range of society figures, statesmen, and literati. Though he was in the foreign service, Gagarin was still able to spend time in Russia, where he joined the Les Seize group. He acted as the group’s link to Western European culture. In 1842 Gagarin secretly converted to Catholicism, a transformation that was partially the result of his discussions with the thinker Petr Iakovlevich Chaadaev, and he traveled to Russia to resign his diplomatic post. The following year he returned to France and took Holy Orders in the Society of Jesus. He studied theology for four years. In 1853 Gagarin was tried, in absentia, as a defector and an apostate by a Russian court. In his new home, Paris, Gagarin published polemical tracts on the history of the Russian church, which caused much outrage in his native land. He advocated a unification of the Russian and the Roman Catholic churches, an issue over which he debated a number of his slavophile opponents. Gagarin’s most famous book, La Russie sera-t-elle catholique? (1856), and his other writings contended that such a union would ensure the former’s religious and administrative independence and render revolution in Russia impossible. Gagarin started a journal, Études de thèologie, de philosophie, et d’histoire (studies in theology, philosophy, and history), to inform the West of Russia’s history and culture; between 1857 and 1858 six issues were published. To this end he also founded the Musée Slave, now called the Bibliotèque Slave. In 1859 and 1860 Gagarin traveled to Jerusalem and French Syria, and from 1862 to 1864 he taught church history in what is now Lebanon. Although Gagarin wished to visit Russia, a land he never ceased loving, once more before his death, it was not to be.