The_Gospel_in_Brief
The Gospel in Brief
Story by Leo Tolstoy
The Gospel in Brief (Russian: Краткое Изложение Евангелия) is a 1892 synthesis of the four gospels of the New Testament into one narrative of the life of Jesus by Russian author Leo Tolstoy.[1]
Included in a larger volume in 1892, the 1896 account published as The Gospel in Brief is notable in that it excludes many of the supernatural aspects of the original gospels, such as their claims of Jesus's divine origins and ability to perform miracles. Instead, the work focuses on Jesus's teachings to his followers, presumably those which Tolstoy found most compelling. The Gospel in Brief is thought by some to be deeply reflective of Tolstoy's own interpretation of Christianity.[2]
The Gospel in Brief is said to be the result of Tolstoy's close study of the original Koine Greek New Testament.[3]
The account presented in Tolstoy's gospel is also notable in its sharp contrast with the contemporaneous views of the Russian Orthodox Church. Tolstoy was a fierce critic of the Russian Orthodox Church, which went so far as to excommunicate him for his writings on Christianity in 1901.[4]