Holy Russia, Sacred Israel examines how Russian religious thinkers, both Jewish and Christian, conceived of Judaism, Jewry and the ‘Old Testament’ philosophically, theologically and personally at a time when the Messianic element in Russian consciousness was being stimulated by events ranging from the pogroms of the 1880s, through two Revolutions and World Wars, to exile in Western Europe. An attempt is made to locate the boundaries between the Jewish and Christian, Russian and Western, Gnostic-pagan and Orthodox elements in Russian thought in this period. The author reflects personally on how the heritage of these thinkers – little analyzed or translated in the West – can help Orthodox (and other) Christians respond to Judaism (including ‘Messianic Judaism’), Zionism, and Christian anti-Semitism today.

Dominic Rubin (Ph.D. in Linguistics, London University) is a lecturer in Philosophy, Biblical Hebrew, Old Testament at St.Philaret’s Orthodox Christian Institute and the Moscow Higher School of Economics.

Scott M. Kenworthy:
This book is a bold attempt to examine the place of Judaism and Jewry in Russian religious thought from Vladimir Solov'ev to Semen Frank. What distinguishes D. Rubin’s approach is that he takes Judaism seriously, he takes anti-Semitism seriously, and he also takes Russian Orthodox Christianity seriously, and he tries to look at their intersections in ways that bring out all the complexities. Although the book is primarily an intellectual history, it is also in part the author’s assessment of the contribution and continuing relevance of Russian religious thought to that dialogue.

Annotation ©2010 Book News Inc. Portland, OR:
"When Rubin (philosophy, Biblical Hebrew, and Old Testament, St. Philaret's Orthodox Christian Institute and Moscow Higher School of Economics) read Sergei Bulgakov's Sophia: The Divine Wisdom, he was struck by the parallels between Jewish mysticism and Orthodox Russian religious thought. He analyzes these similarities in historical, cultural, literary, and political contexts, plus how still-influential Russian religious thinkers of "Silver Age" thought from 1880-1950, e.g., Bulgakov, P. Florensky, N. Berdyaev, V. Rozanov, and V. Soloviev, thought about the Jewish question as a Christian question and how Jewish friendships influenced their writings."

Fr. Vasile Mihoc, Professor of New Testament Studies, Lucien Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania:
“This is a truly exceptional book. I have reread chapters time and again. In these pages, there are so many things of immediate interest, mainly, I think, for Orthodox theologians and Church leaders. The presentation and commentary on landmark figures like Soloviev, Bulgakov, Berdyaev and Florensky will be of great benefit in helping Orthodox Christians in the twenty first century understand in depth the past relationship between Christianity and Judaism in the Orthodox context, during a period that was of crucial importance for both faiths. Very few people are aware of the details of this relationship, and this book is invaluable in assessing how today’s Orthodox Christians can learn from the past.”

Brian Horowitz, Professor of Russian and Chair of Jewish Studies, Tulane University:
“Holy Russia, Sacred Israel is without a doubt a very important book and contribution to the field. With a deep and sympathetic understanding for both Judaism and Russian Orthodoxy, Dominic Rubin gives us new readings of some of the canonical figures of Russian thought: Soloviev, Florensky, Rozanov, Gershenzon, Karsavin, and Fedotov, among others. This is an important book for Russian culture because the author has no axe to grind and is unafraid of telling truth to power, facing both past anti-Jewish agitation and propaganda, while at the same time never surrendering hope for a future Russian-Jewish philosophical dialogue. Each figure is judged primarily on the merits of their thinking as theology and as humane expression, in a way which displays erudition, tolerance and a love for both Russian and Jewish culture.”

Most Reverend. Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury:
"Dominic Rubin's Holy Russia, Sacred Israel is a formidable and profoundly impressive piece of research, which needed to be done, and I was very glad to see it. It is a major piece of work."