Sergei Solov'ev, the author of several collections of Symbolist poetry, many verse translations, and a biography of the philosopher Vladimir Sergeevich Solov'ev, can scarcely be defined as a person whose major interest was putting well-crafted lines on paper. Despite the prolific output of his earlier years, his own poetry may best be described as a project in progress. A creative urge led Solov'ev from literature to other activities--including church politics--in which he always produced the impression of a person who was a poet first and a church activist second. Attempting a synthesis of creative versatility and religious commitment, he was able to achieve a certain degree of it, after many failures and crises, only in the second half of his life.

Sergei Mikhailovich Solov'ev was born on 13 December 1885 in Moscow into a family famous for its academic and artistic achievements. His father, Mikhail Sergeevich Solov'ev, was an educator...