Glagolev, S.S.: Mysteries on the Congo River

Title

Misterii na beregakh Kongo, “Bogoslovskii vestnik”, 1907 (3), 12, p. 698-722

Mysteries on the Congo River

Keywords

Summary

At the beginning of the essay, Glagolev quotes an article by Belgian lawyer and academician Eugène Goblet d’Alviella (De quelques problèmes relatifs aux Mystères d’Eleusis, 1903), in which the scholar had pointed out how peoples “with a low degree of culture” follow religious rites similar to the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries. One of the most important points raised by the article, states Glagolev, is the fact that “the beliefs, rituals and religious institutions of the lower peoples are far from being naïve, ridiculous and simple as usually thought”. Sharing this view, Glagolev explains his intention to familiarise the Russian public with a recent publication by Belgian ethnographer (and later colonial agent) Edouard de Jonghe (1878-1950), titled Les Sociétés secrètes au Bas-Congo (1907). The first section of Glagolev’s article consists of a retelling of de Jonghe’s work, interspersed with the author’s observations. The second part delves further into Congo’s religious traditions not only through de Jonghe’s perspective, but also through that of other scholars, like Henri Gaidoz and Henry Rowley.

Bio

Sergei Glagolev was a Russian theologian and historian of religions. After studying at Tula Theological school and seminary, he graduated from Moscow Theological Academy (1889) and soon began his academic career, which brought him to teach in Vologda and Moscow. He went several times abroad for scientific missions (Paris, Berlin). He took part in the publication of the Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia, and published many essays on the history of religions. Arrested several times between the end of the 1920s and the 1930s, he was sentenced to death in 1937, accused of counter-revolutionary activities.

Sources

“Glagolev (Sergei Sergeevich)”, in Entsiklopedicheskii slovar’ Brokgauza i Efrona, dop. t. Ia, Sankt-Peterburg 1905, p. 578;

A. Kazarian, “Glagolev Sergei Sergeevich”, in Bol’shaia rossiiskaia entsiklopediia: nauchno-obrazovatel’nyi portal, https://bigenc.ru/c/glagolev-sergei-sergeevich-a152be/?v=6584796

A.F.