Algis Uždavinys (1962–2010) was a prolific

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n philosopher and scholar. His work pioneered the hermeneutical

comparative study Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and t ...

of Egyptian and Greek religions, especially their esoteric relations to Semitic religions, and in particular the inner aspect of Islam (Sufism). His books have been published in Lithuanian, Russian, English and French, including translations of Plotinus, Frithjof Schuon and Ananda Coomaraswamy into Russian and Lithuanian.

Early life

Brought up in Druskininkai, by the Nemunas River in southern

, Uždavinys moved to Vilnius to pursue studies at the former State Art Institute of Lithuania, now

Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts The Vilnius Academy of Arts ( lt, Vilniaus dailės akademija, previously ''State Art Institute of Lithuania'') in Vilnius, Lithuania, grants a variety of degrees in the arts. History The Academy traces its roots back to the creation of the Arc ...

.Kazimieras Seibutis, "In memoriam Algis Uždavinys", ''Acta Orientalia Vilnensia'' 9.2: 185–187.

Career

Upon graduation he came in contact with the writings and authors of the

Traditionalist Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to: Religion * Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group * Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th–cen ...

or Perennialist school, and this influenced his comparative exegesis, notably his studies on

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

, the

Ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in control ...

, and his assertion of the substantial continuity of Greek philosophical tradition from Pythagoras down to the latest Neoplatonic authors.See hi
Introduction
to ''The Golden Chain''. In this last claim he was expressly indebted to Pierre Hadot. Uždavinys was an active member of the editorial board of the journal ''Acta Orientalia Vilnensia'' and head of the Department of Humanities at the

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

Faculty; as an

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

, philosopher and intellectual he was a prominent figure in Lithuanian cultural life. In 2008 he spent time as a research fellow at La Trobe University in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was a member of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies and The Lithuanian Artists' Association, and a regular contributor to journals such as ''Sacred Web'', Vancouver, and ''Sophia'', Washington DC.

Death

Uždavinys died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on 25 July 2010 in his native village of

Kabeliai Kabeliai is a village in Varėna district municipality, in Alytus County, in southeastern Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 168 people. According to the 1921 census, the village was inhabited by 258 people, a ...

Works

Books

*''The Golden Chain: An Anthology of Platonic and Pythagorean Philosophy'' ( World Wisdom, 2004)
Introduction
*''Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism'' ( The Matheson Trust and Prometheus Trust, 2004)
A free sizeable excerpt
*''The Heart of Plotinus: The Essential Enneads'' ( World Wisdom, 2009) . *''Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity (

Sophia Perennis The perennial philosophy ( la, philosophia perennis), also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a perspective in philosophy and spirituality that views all of the world's religious traditions as sharing a single, metaphysical trut ...

, 2010) *''Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism'' ( The Matheson Trust, 2011)
PDF excerpt
*''Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism'' ( The Matheson Trust, 2011)
PDF excerpt

Academic Monographs in Lithuanian

*''Labyrinth of Sources. Hermeneutical Philosophy and Mystagogy of Proclus'', Vilnius: Lithuanian State Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Eurigmas, 2002. (). *''Hellenic Philosophy from Numenius to Syrianus'', Vilnius: Lithuanian State Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, 2003. (). *''The Egyptian Book of the Dead'', Kaunas: Ramduva. (). *''Hermes Trismegistus: The Way of Wisdom'', Vilnius: Sophia, 2005. ().

Chapters

*"From Homer to the Glorious Qur’an: Hermeneutical Strategies in the Hellenistic and Islamic Traditions," ''Sacred Web'', vol. 11, 2003. *"The Egyptian Book of the Dead and Neoplatonic Philosophy," ''History of Platonism, Plato Redivivus'', eds. Robert Berchman and John Finamore. New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2005. *"Chaldean Divination and the Ascent to Heaven," in ''Seeing with Different Eyes: Essays in Astrology and Divination'', eds. Patrick Curry and Angela Voss, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007.

Articles

"Putting on the Form of the Gods: Sacramental Theurgy in Neoplatonism"
''Sacred Web'' vol. 5, 2000, pp.107-120.

Research Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, 2007.
"Voices of Fire: Understanding Theurgy"
''Eye of the Heart'', Vol 1, 2008.
"Metaphysical symbols and their function in theurgy"
''Eye of the Heart'', Vol 2, 2008.

References

External links

*Kazimieras Seibutis
"In memoriam Algis Uždavinys"
''Acta Orientalia Vilnensia'' 9.2: 185–187.
World Wisdom author bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzdavinys, Algis 1962 births 2010 deaths Classical philologists Comparative religion Academic staff of the Vilnius Academy of Arts 20th-century Lithuanian philosophers Traditionalist School Lithuanian scholars of ancient Greek philosophy 21st-century Lithuanian philosophers People from Druskininkai Vilnius Academy of Arts alumni