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A review of Tolstoy's reflections and teaching "would make sense only if some proof were discovered that Tolstoy changed his views before his death," Father Chaplin said. "Otherwise, it makes no sense whatsoever." He added that excommunication was "not a curse, as some people think, but an attestation that the writer's beliefs very seriously disagreed with the Orthodox teaching."

Vladimir Tolstoy told ENI that "they [church officials] are trying to avoid the subject. But I received many letters and telephone calls. That reassured me that there is a lot to discuss here."

Copyright © 2001 ENI

Other media coverage of the Tolstoy excommunication review includes:

Russian church did not condemn Tolstoy — News24, Johannesburg, South Africa (Mar 2, 2001)

Tolstoy excommunication reviewed — Associated Press (Feb. 28, 2001)

Church asked to forgive Tolstoy's sins | Writer's great-great-grandson wants excommunication revoked, but historians say Tolstoy would never have asked for forgiveness from the church he scorned. — Associated Press/The Moscow Times (Feb. 27, 2001)

Tolstoy's works are available online through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Project Gutenberg other sites. The Christian Classics Ethereal Library's collection includes: Anna Karenina, Confession, Death of Ivan Ilych, Devil, Family Happiness, Father Sergius, Hadji Murad, Kreutzer sonata, Master and Man, Twenty-Three Tales, and Works of Guy de Maupassant. Project Gutenberg's library includes: Anna Karenina, Boyhood, Childhood, Father Sergius, The Forged Coupon, The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories, Master and Man, Resurrection, War And Peace, and Youth.

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March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45