Introduction . Currently, traditional scientific approaches to understanding patriotism are insufficient and need to be supplemented. There is a need to develop new approaches and methods for constructing patriotic attitudes. An example of Orthodox patriotic Christian attitudes is the experience of Athos monasticism. The purpose of the study is to identify the role and significance of Athos Orthodox patriotism in the formation of spiritual and moral values. Materials and Methods . The hermeneutic method of analyzing religious texts and interpreting the Old and New Testaments, theological literary and philosophical texts is used. The methodology is based on cognitive, specifically historical and semiotic approaches to the analysis of Orthodox Christian patriotism. In the context of the study, the cognitive approach consists in the individual perception of the communicative flows of Orthodox values of Athos through the Black Sea region to Russian lands, in which the patriotic worldview is being formed. As arguments, correspondence of confessors and materials of letters from Athos are given. Results . The spiritual origins of the patriotism concept are analyzed. The role of the monastic tradition that developed on the Holy Mountain in shaping the idea of Christian patriotism that existed in the Eastern Roman Empire is described. Foreign and domestic political reasons for the transformation of patriotism in Byzantium towards the separation of the religious component from it are revealed. A historical review of the ideas of Christian patriotism in Russian Orthodoxy from the Baptism of Russia to the present is carried out on the material of monuments of literature and creations of the Holy Fathers. Discussion and Conclusion . The Baptism of Russia, its Christianization, with the important role of Athos monasticism, transformed patriotism in Russian identity and mentality into a phenomenon not of social or political order, but a spiritual phenomenon that strengthens faith in God and neighbor, and their Fatherland. It was concluded that the experience of Athos monasticism can be considered as the basis of the great unity of Russia and other Orthodox countries, overcoming hostility, alienation and hatred inflicted on people by destructive influences.
Milovanov et al. (Wed,) studied this question.