Description
Book SynopsisIn a private conversation on his deathbed, Rudolf Steiner informed his friend Count Polzer-Hoditz of three spiritual problems that would need to be resolved in the coming years: 'Firstly, the question of the two Johns [John the Baptist and John the Evangelist]. Secondly: Who was Dmitri? Thirdly: Where did Caspar Hauser come from?' Tackling these issues, said Steiner, would be of critical importance for humanity's future. He added: 'In all three problems it is important that one's gaze is directed not towards death but towards birth. Where did they come from and with what tasks?' In Dmitri's case, Steiner emphasized that the most important thing was to discover what was to have been achieved through him. --- Utilizing the significant clues left by Rudolf Steiner, Sergei O. Prokofieff takes on the second of these tasks, the great unsolved mystery of Russian history. Tsarevich Dmitri, the son of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, was tragically murdered as a young boy. Later, he was impersonated by a series of rogues and pretenders. Prokofieff's wide-ranging study integrates historical, psychological and spiritual-scientific perspectives to work towards the truth behind Dmitri's brief life, his mission and the distortions created by the 'false Dmitris'. He also examines the significance of Friedrich Schiller's unfinished play, Demetrius.
Table of ContentsIntroduction - Chapter 1: Rudolf Steiner on the Problem of Dmitri - Chapter 2: The Riddle of Dmitri from a Historical Point of View - Chapter 3: The Riddle of Dmitri from a Psychological Point of View - Chapter 4: The Riddle of Dmitri from a Spiritual-Scientific Point of View - Chapter 5: Friedrich Schiller's Demetrius and the Spiritual-Historical Reality lying at its Foundation: the Struggle against the Spirit - Conclusion: The Problem of Dmitri and the Present - Appendix: Eduard Winter: Russia and the Papacy, Extract from the chapter entitled 'Papal Diplomacy during the Time of Troubles in Russia' - Afterword to the Second German Edition - Notes - Bibliography - List of Historical Literature and Abbreviations used in the text and Notes - Commentary about the List of Historical Literature
