What is it about?
The Church of Aphrodite was incorporated in the United States in 1939, headed by Gleb Botkin, son of the physician of the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II. Gleb Botkin emigrated to America after the Revolution in Russia, and in the 1920–1930s created a religious and philosophical system, which finally was embodied in his church. The church worshipped Aphrodite as the sole Creator and Goddess of the cosmos, ruling it through the cosmic power of love. The church didn’t survive its founder and vanished after Botkin’s death in 1969.
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Why is it important?
The article summarizes what is currently known of the history and theology of the Church of Aphrodite. Besides Botkin’s printed works the author makes use of Botkin’s letters to Philip Proctor (1944–1963) to reconstruct the theology of his church and his life as its Arch-Priest.
Perspectives
Gleb Botkin (1900-1969) is a remarkable, and practically forgotten figure of a considerable importance in the history of Russian emigre millieu in the USA. His biography is yet to be written, and the most important archival sources concerning the Church of Aphrodite are yet to be found (if extant).
Dmitry Galtsin
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Gleb Botkin and the Church of Aphrodite, Pomegranate The International Journal of Pagan Studies, July 2013, Equinox Publishing,
DOI: 10.1558/pome.v14i1.91.
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