Seven Days on the Roads of France: June 1940

Orthodox Profiles #2

by Vladimir Lossky, Nicholas Lossky (Editor)

This book follows Vladimir Lossky's attempt to enlist in the French army after the Nazi invasion of France in 1940. It records his reflections on suffering; the true nature of Christian or Western civilization; the rightness or otherwise of war; the problematic relationship between Church and State; what we mean by a "nation"; and secularization. Such issues are mulled over, not as abstractions, by someone who, as he walks across an increasingly war-torn landscape, quite literally has his feet on the ground.




This work will be a revelation to those who know only Lossky's more scholarly works -- here one discovers his rounded personality, his warm humanity, and his love not only of Christian France but of the West in general.

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential 20th century Eastern Orthodox theologian.

Reviews

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few thoughts that were gems, but too many footnotes!!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vladimir Lossky's family had been exiled from Russia after the revolution and they settled in France after a few years in Prague. In June 1940, the Germans are on their way to Paris and people are evacuating. Lossky's family had evacuated several days earlier but he stayed to try and join the army.

Chaos is everywhere. He keeps being told to leave, that the next town over will be able to take him. He's desperate to serve and help defend his beloved country. So on the road he goes...meeting death, close calls, and unexpected blessings along the way.

It's a short book and I won't spoil the ending.

What really struck me is Lossky's love for and defense of France, and insistence that all is in God's hands. Not being a Francophile, I never understood the appeal...but now I'm coming closer. He's a gentle yet unwavering cheerleader. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in WWII history, Orthodoxy, or France.

[w gall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A down to earth view of an Orthodox Christian theologian whose works are classics, but hard to read. For seven days he is traveling from Paris, seeking to enlist to fight the Nazis, and recording his impressions and thoughts. Short essays which give an overview of his life appear at the end. It's gratifying for me to see the human side of a brilliant theologian.

[Macaria Corbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a quick read comprised of journal entries by Vladimir Lossky as he is on the roads of France during the Nazi invasion. Lossky's theology is well known and illumnating. This book gives you the man. Although a Russian exile, France is his country of choice. He loves France and became a French citizen. This books is also an amazing bit of history--on the ground in the midst of a mass exodus in a time of war. Lossky is expecting to join the French armybut in each town he attempts this he is told to walk to another one and enlist there. Eventually he meets up with his family. His journal notes include descriptions of conditions of the road and country, the people he meets and notes on the history of the Frankish Church and her early saints and discussions about what it is exactly that motivates a man to be willing to fight a war.