The author of the article offers his refl ections on the issues of the value of a human being and his mortal life, using as an example the disputes between Nikolai Berdyaev and Vasily Rozanov on the nature of Christianity and its attitude to human life and fl eshly world. According to the author, the ascetical character of Russian Orthodoxy and the special emphasis on the spiritual aspect of human life over certain periods of our history downgraded the value of material existence as well as the value of human life. Similar tendencies can be also traced in contemporary Russia, particularly in some trends of political thought and ideological works.