If you are interested in the reunion of East and West, then this book will be of much interest to you! I was reminded of Jaroslav Pelikan's outstanding book, "Confessor Between East and West" while I read Beshoner's account of Ivan Gagarin.

I'll quote from the conclusion to let you know where the author goes with his thesis and then you can decide if you would like to read his supporting chapters. I personally do not agree with Garagin's belief that Roman Catholicism would bring Russia its political and intellectual "salvation", but I am greatly drawn to his commitment to his ideals. Moreover, any book that even promotes the agenda of reunion, in spite of the motives, is worth noting. Enjoy!

"Personal contact with the West and the influence of such thinkers as Schelling, Chaadaevm, Ancillon, and Joufffrey led Gagarin to the conviction that Russia's social and political backwardness was directly attributable to its separation from Catholicism. By following the Byzantine Empire into schism from Rome, Russia had separated itself from the mainspring of Western social and intellectual progress; in turn, the subjugation of the Russian Church to Russian secular authority became inevitable. Garagin, therefore, reasoned that church union reattaching Russian to Catholicism would restore Russia to social and intellectual parity with the West. Seeking the best means of personally fostering this union, he joined the Society of Jesus. Gargin's choice was costly. He lost the right to visit Russian and his family; he lost his inheritance; and he suffered decades of calumny- all to save the homeland that rejected him."

***Don't forget to check out Jaroslav Pelikan's "Confessor Between East and West"!