The original text of this work was published in the French journal Revue d'Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses. This English translation presents Kojève's attempt to unify the religious philosophy of Vladimir Solovyov into a metaphysical system that Solovyov strived for but was never able to fully articulate in his lifetime.

Alexandre Kojève was one of the great Hegelian philosophers of the twentieth century and a key figure in the founding of the European Union. Ilya Merlin has a PhD from Western University's Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism. He specializes in intellectual history, psychoanalysis, and political theology. Mikhail Pozdniakov has an MA in Theory and Criticism from Western University. He specializes in the philosophical history of ideas.