“Apostle of (Self-)Consciousness”: The Figure of Saint Paul in Andrej Belyjʼs Istorija Stanovlenija Samosoznajuščej Duši

Hardly any figure in Andrei Belyiʼs Istoriia stanovleniia samosoznaiushchei dushi (ISSD) is mentioned more often than the Apostle Paul. Belyiʼs late philosophical treatise often, whether directly or indirectly, refers to the person and work of the Apostle.Ranging from biographical concerns and Pauline thinking to Belyiʼs adoption of the Pauline writings, a multifaceted preoccupation with the person of the so-called apostle to the gentiles can be observed throughout ISSD and Belyiʼs oeuvre. This article aims to chart the stages of Belyiʼs relationship with Paul, and to indicate the parallels he draws between his life and work as prophet of the new Christianity and his own biography, which leads him to describe the Apostle as the first bearer of what he terms the (Self-)Consciousness Soul.