CONTEMPORARY ORTHODOX

THEOLOGIANS
Berdiaev, Nikolai A. According to Berdiaev, all human
institutions, including the church, carry in
(1874–1948)
themselves the threat of enslaving human
KONSTANTIN GAVRILKIN
spirit and freedom when they cease to
encourageandpromotecreativity.TheRussian
Nikolai Berdiaev (also spelled Nicholas
revolutions, the collapse of the Romanov
Berdyaev) was one of the foremost
Empire, the two world wars, and the rise of
representatives of a generation of Russian
totalitarian regimes in the Soviet Union and
intellectuals, many of whom, after a shortlived
Nazi Germany – all of which he personally
interest in Marxism and socialism,
embraced Orthodox Christianity in the witnessed and experienced – he understood
1900s and gave birth to the so-called as the revolt of human spirit against the
Russian Religious Renaissance of the 20th institutions that enslaved freedom in the
century (Zernov 1963). Exiled from Russia name of false ideas. But the revolt itself led to
by the Bolshevik regime in 1922, Berdiaev, a greater tragedy still. Berdiaev believed that
after a short stay in Berlin, moved to France, the most tragic problem of modern history
where he spent the rest of his life (1924–48), was the inherent dualism, the opposition
playing a key role in uniting the intellectual between the church and the world. He was
hopeful that the church of the Third Testament
forces of the Russian diaspora both as promoter
– the Testament of the Spirit – would
of various academic and cultural
embrace creativity and freedom, and that
institutions and editor-in-chief of the
theosis and transfiguration of the world,
journal Put’ which, under his leadership
rather than its damnation and curse,
(1925–40), became the most significant
would again inspire the church in her path
Russian intellectual periodical of the time.
through history.
From the early books, Philosophy of
Freedom (1911) and The Meaning of SEE ALSO:
Creativity (1916), to the philosophic Russia, Patriarchal Orthodox
autobiography, published posthumously Church of
(1949), Berdiaev was preoccupied with REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED
the problems of freedom, creativity, READINGS
Berdiaev, N. (1950) Dream and Reality: An Essay in
and the dialectic of divine and human. Autobiography, trans. R. M. French. London:
Berdiaev believed that a static concept of G. Bles.
God needed to be replaced with a dynamic Vallon, M. A. (1960) An Apostle of Freedom: Life and
one in order to provide an adequate Teachings of Nicolas Berdyaev. New York:
Philosophical Library.
understanding of human life and history. Zernov, N. (1963) The Russian Religious Renaissance
He argued that freedom was ontologically of the Twentieth Century. London: Darton,
prior to God, who was bound by it himself. Longman, and Todd.
The creation of the world – of something
that never existed before – was a unique act
of freedom, the archetype of creativity.
Bulgakov, Sergius
Human beings received from God the gift (Sergei) (1871–1944)
of freedom: it is reflected in personhood PAUL GAVRILYUK
and creativity, the true image and likeness
of God. However, human existence in the Bulgakov combines many aspects in his life:
world is tragic, since freedom allows Orthodox priest, theologian, religious
individuals to choose evil which cannot be philosopher, and economist. As a thinker he
eradicated except by the same free will. was interested in all major questions of human
Furthermore, existence in the world is dualistic existence, offering a comprehensive religious
at its core: as a free and creative person, vision of the world, particularly in light of the
the human being belongs to the noumenal concept of Sophia, or “Godmanhood.”
world of spirit, freedom, and creativity; Born into the family of a provincial priest
as an individual, he or she is immersed in at Livny in Russia, Bulgakov began his
the phenomenal world of objectification education at church-run schools. Having
through body, society, politics, culture, experienced a crisis of faith and being
and economy. attracted to Marxism, he went on to study
law and economics at the University of Jacob’s Ladder (1929), which develops
Moscow (1890–4). On the completion of Orthodox angelology. Bulgakov developed
his studies, he taught economics at Moscow a comprehensive sophiological system in
(1895–1901) and Kiev (1901–6). During his second trilogy, On Godmanhood,
these years he became disillusioned with comprising The Lamb of God (kenotic
Marxist theory and gradually embraced Christology and a sophiological interpretation
a form of religious idealism, an intellectual of the Chalcedonian Christology);
evolution which he traced in a collection of The Comforter (pneumatology); and
essays entitled From Marxism to Idealism The Bride of the Lamb (ecclesiology,
(1896–1903). Upon his return to Moscow in universalist eschatology, anthropology, and
1906, Bulgakov rose to prominence as a public hamartology). While Bulgakov’s sophiology
intellectual, participating in the Russian was criticized by Vladimir Lossky and
religious and cultural renaissance known as the condemned by some church hierarchs
“Silver Age.” In 1909 Bulgakov cooperated as heretical, attention to his work continues
with Nikolai Berdiaev, Semen L. Frank, and to increase both in post-Perestroika
others in a collection of programmatic essays Russia and in the West, where his fuller
entitled Landmarks, which warned the Russian corpus continues to appear in English
intelligentsia against the devastating translation.
consequences of the socialist revolution.
Bulgakov construed revolutionary socialism SEE ALSO:
Florovsky, Georges V. (1893–1979);
as a form of surrogate religion, mimicking Lossky, Vladimir (1903–1958); Sophiology
various features of apocalyptic REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED
Judaism and Orthodox Christianity. In his READINGS
doctoral thesis, Philosophy of Economy Bulgakov, S. (1997) The Orthodox Church.
Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
(1912), Bulgakov offered an economic theory Bulgakov, S. (2001) The Bride of the Lamb. Grand
that moved further away from Marxism Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
and was informed by philosophical idealism. Bulgakov, S. (2003) The Friend of the Bridegroom:
The Unfading Light (1918), written On the Orthodox Veneration of the Forerunner.
during 1911–16, provides a first sketch of Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Bulgakov, S. (2004) The Comforter. Grand Rapids,
Bulgakov’s sophiological system, focusing MI: Eerdmans.
on such issues as the nature of religion, Bulgakov, S. (2007) The Lamb of God. Grand
apophatic theology, metaphysical problems Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
of the relationship between God and creation, Valliere, P. (2000) Modern Russian Theology.
Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
and human nature.
Bulgakov played a leading role at the
All-Russian Council of the Russian Dostoevsky, Fyodor
Orthodox Church of 1917–18. He was Mikhailovich (1821–1881)
ordained an Orthodox priest in June 1918. SAMUEL NEDELSKY
With the Bolsheviks in power, Bulgakov
was forced to resign from his post as Russian writer, essayist, and philosopher
a professor of economics at the University of famous for his exploration of the human
Moscow and moved to Crimea (1919–22). psyche within the Christian context of
Expelled from the Soviet Union in sin, repentance, and rebirth. He was raised
early 1923, Bulgakov eventually settled in in a devoutly Orthodox home in Moscow,
Paris,wherehebecamethefirstdeanofthe where he received formal religious instruction
newly established St. Sergius Theological and made annual spring pilgrimages
Institute. Outside Russia Bulgakov wrote the to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Following
so-called “minor trilogy” consisting of his arrest in 1849 for political conspiracy,
The Burning Bush (1927), which develops he underwent a gradual spiritual regeneration
Orthodox teaching regarding Theotokos following a “conversion experience”
and offers a critique of the Roman Catholic in the Omsk prison. In June 1878, following
dogma of the Immaculate Conception; the death of his young son Alyosha,
The Friend of the Bridegroom (1928), he visited the famous monastery of
which discusses the role of John the Optina Pustyn’ with Vladimir Solovyov,
Baptist in the history of salvation; and
where he had three meetings with Starets Ground of Truth (Russian original, 1914;
Amvrosii (Grenkov), who served as English translation, 1997), brings to the
a model for Starets Zosima in The Brothers tradition of Byzantine philosophy and theology
Karamazov. the rich resources of Russian mystical
spirituality and a thorough grasp of western
SEE ALSO: Elder (Starets); Optina; Solovyov, philosophy. The book is dialectical and
Vladimir (1853–1900) synthetic, traversing dichotomies in ways
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED
READINGS
that may seem paradoxical to the conceptual
Cassedy, S. (2005) Dostoevsky’s Religion. Stanford: landscape of Western Europe. And it is
Stanford University Press. indeed one of its primary claims that the
Frank, J. (1976–2002) Dostoevsky, 5 vols. Princeton: truth that matters most must appear
Princeton University Press. antinomial to discursive thought – that it
Jones, M. (2005) Dostoevsky and the Dynamics
of Religious Experience. London: Anthem Press. is something paradoxical, best encountered
Pattison, G. and Thompson, D. (2001) Dostoevsky in “discontinuities.” In a series of twelve
and the Christian Tradition. Cambridge: letters, each beginning like a haiku poem
Cambridge University Press. with reflections infusing seasonal and affective
Stanton, L. (1995) The Optina Pustyn Monastery in
the Russian Literary Imagination: Iconic Vision in
ambience with metaphysical insight, he
Works by Dostoevsky, Gogol, Tolstoy, and Others. proceeds from the principle of identity
New York: Peter Lang. (A = A) to an affirmation of radical otherness
(A + [-A]), maintaining that “the act of
knowing is not just gnoseological but also
Florensky, Pavel an ontological act,” and that “knowing is
Alexandrovich a real going of the knower out of himself.”
(1882–1937) Genuine knowledge thus entails a union of
BRUCE FOLTZ love between the knower and the known,
which Florensky understands in trinitarian
Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky was terms: from the side of the knower, it
a mathematician, physicist, engineer, and is truth; from the side of the known, it is
inventor, as well as a distinguished linguist, love; and from the extrinsic perspective of
art historian, theologian, and philosopher, a third party, it is beauty. Florensky maintains
who is often compared to Leonardo and that the only escape from the torment
Leibniz, as one of Europe’s great polymaths. of doubt, and from a skepticism that cannot
Of Russian and Armenian ancestry, his ground even itself, is to be caught up in the
youth in the Caucasus Mountains gave love of a trinitarian God whose unity of
him an enduring, mystical affinity for “one essence” (homoousion), affirmed in
nature. He graduated with highest honors the Nicene Creed, consists in the love that
from Moscow University in 1904, with an radically unites what is both same and
extraordinary thesis that earned him the other: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Pillar
offer of an immediate position in the and Ground is also known for its elucidation
mathematics faculty. Instead, Florensky of the Divine Sophia, or Holy Wisdom,
entered the Moscow Theological Academy, understood aesthetically as a numinous
where he was later appointed senior lecturer in depth of nature and principle of cosmic
philosophy. Ordained an Orthodox priest ordering, while stopping short of theological
in 1911, he insisted on wearing cassock claims that would become controversial
and cross while conducting his university in the case of his friend and colleague, Fr.
duties, even through the Stalinist purges. Sergei Bulgakov. It is a masterpiece of
He was exiled to the labor camps in Siberia extraordinary intellectual achievement,
in 1933, and ultimately to the infamous rare poetic beauty, and compelling spiritual
Solovetsky gulag on the White Sea, where power. Many of his later essays have been
he nevertheless conducted original scientific published posthumously (in Russian) as
research on Arctic flora, while ministering From the Watersheds of Thinking (1990).
to his fellow prisoners. He was murdered by In his aesthetics, Florensky was associated
the KGB in 1937, a loss lamented in with the Russian Symbolists, and some of
Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago. his more important essays on the theory
Florensky’s major work, The Pillar and and history of art have been translated
into English. at the University of Odessa. His first
academic appointment was at his alma
SEE ALSO: mater, but the 1917 Revolution compelled
Bulgakov, Sergius (Sergei) Florovsky and his family to abandon the
(1871–1944); Russia, Patriarchal Orthodox
Church of country. After an initial move to Sofia,
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED Florovsky eventually settled in Prague,
READINGS where he taught at the Russian Law Faculty
Bychkov, V. (1993) The Aesthetic Face of Being: Art for four years. His first theological appointment
in the Theology of Pavel Florensky, trans. R. Pevear
andL.Volokhonsky.Crestwood,NY:St.Vladimir’s
was as Professor of Patristics at the
Seminary Press. newly founded St. Sergius Institute of
Florenskij, P. (1995) “Christianity and Culture,” Orthodox Theology in Paris. Patristics was
in R. Bird (ed.) Culture and Christian Unity: to be Florovsky’s true academic vocation
Essays by Pavel Florenskij and Lev Lopatin. and a major force in the shaping of his
New Haven: The Variable Press.
Florenskij, P. (1995) The Trinity: St. Sergius Lavra theological thought. Florovsky taught at
and Russia, trans. R. Bird. New Haven: The St. Sergius until the outbreak of World
Variable Press. War II and most of his books, such as his
Florensky, P. (1986) “Mysteries and Rites,” trans. two volumes on the church fathers (four
R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky. St. Vladimir’s
Theological Quarterly 30, 4.
volumes in the English translation) and
Florensky, P. (1993) “The Point,” Geografitty 1, the Ways of Russian Theology, along with
1: 28–39. some of his most important essays, come
Florensky, P. (1996) Iconostasis, trans. D. Sheehan from this period. During the mid-1930s
and O. Andrejev. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Florovsky also became increasingly involved
Seminary Press.
Florensky, P. (1997) The Pillar and Ground of the with the ecumenical movement, especially
Truth: An Essay in Orthodox Theodicy in Twelve through the Anglican-Orthodox Fellowship
Letters, trans. B. Jakim. Princeton: Princeton of St. Alban and St. Sergius. A lifelong
University Press. member of Faith and Order, Florovsky was
Florensky, P. (2002) Beyond Vision: Essays on the
Perception of Art, ed. N. Miller, trans.
a founding member of the World Council of
W. Salmond London: Reaktion Books. Churches since its First Assembly in
Florensky, St. P. (1999) Salt of the Earth: An Amsterdam in 1948. He was a pivotal figure in
Encounter with a Holy Russian Elder, trans. the involvement of the Orthodox Church in the
R. Betts. Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska ecumenical movement.
Brotherhood.
McGuckin, J. A. (2009) “Fr. Pavel Florensky
Florovsky’s next academic appointment
(1882–1937) on Iconic Dreaming,” in J. Gattrall was as Professor of Dogmatic Theology
and D. Greenfield (eds.) Alter Icons: The Russian and Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox
Icon and Modernity. University Park: Theological Seminary in New York. In
Pennsylvania State University Press, pp. 207–23. 1949 Florovsky was appointed as Dean of
Slesinski, R. (1984) Pavel Florensky: A Metaphysic
of Love. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary St. Vladimir’s while simultaneously teaching
Press. courses at Columbia University and
Union Theological Seminary as adjunct
Florovsky, Georges V. professor. In 1956 Florovsky was appointed
Professor of Eastern Church History at
(1893–1979) Harvard University, a post he held until
PASCHALIS GKORTSILAS 1964. From 1964 to 1972 he was Visiting
Professor in the Departments of Slavic
Georges V. Florovsky has been called “the Studies and Religion at Princeton University.
most profound Orthodox theologian of His academic career was concluded at
the twentieth century” (Blane 1993: 9). Princeton Theological Seminary, where he
Florovsky was a historian of Russian thought held the post of Visiting Lecturer in Church
and a scholar of patristics as well as an History until his death.
ecumenist. His overall thought has not been Florovsky’s contributions to Orthodox
as systematically studied as the other Russian theology are a reflection of his character as
religious thinkers of the 20th century, such as a scholar that overcame the temptation
Berdiaev, Bulgakov, or Florensky. of over-specialization. Thus, his first
The son of a Russian clerical family, and primary achievement was his call
Florovsky studied history and philosophy for a neo-patristic synthesis, meaning
“a deeper search of the existential meaning a variety of subjects – theology, philosophy,
of patristic theology and a synthesis history, art, literature, science, medicine,
that requires rare creative abilities and engineering, and agriculture – but left
a synthetic charisma” (Zizioulas 1997: 15). no systematic study of any kind, as
The key for all Christian theology, the eight-volume collection of his works
according to Florovsky, is the person of attests, consisting as it does of essays,
Christ, and his insistence on that matter is correspondence, drafts of unfinished works, an
probably an outcome of his opposition to various notes. His religious views were
the Sophiology of Florensky and Bulgakov. shaped by a strict Orthodox upbringing
and an intense lifelong study of church
SEE ALSO: history and the fathers of the church.
Bulgakov, Sergius (Sergei) Khomiakov’sreputationasanOrthodox
(1871–1944); Contemporary Orthodox
Theology; Ecumenism, Orthodoxy and;
theologian rests on a number of ideas,
Florensky, Pavel Alexandrovich (1882–1937); especially ecclesiological, articulated in The
Sophiology Church is One and a few polemical essays,
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED articles, and correspondence with Roman
READINGS
Blane, A. (ed.) (1993) Georges Florovsky: Russian
Catholic and Protestant theologians. He
Intellectual and Orthodox Churchman. believed that the church was a “spiritual
Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. organism,” the unity in grace of free rational
Florovsky, G. (1972–9) The Collected beings, embodied historically in the
Works, vols. 1–5 of 14 vols. Belmont, MA: Orthodox Church, with its ethos of “unity
Nordland.
Florovsky, G. (1987–9) The Collected Works, vols. in plurality,” which was well expressed in
6–14. Vaduz, Liech: Buchervertriebsanstalt. the term “catholicity” (Rus. sobornost’).
Gudziak, B. (2000–1) “Towards an Analysis of the This vision of Orthodoxy is deliberately
Neo-Patristic Synthesis of Georges Florovsky,” and polemically contrasted by Khomiakov
Logos 41–2: 197–238.
Klimoff, A. (2005) “Georges Florovsky and the
with the depiction of the Roman Catholic
Sophiological Controversy,” St. Vladimir’s Church as a schismatic patriarchate which
Theological Quarterly 49: 67–100. substitutes the spiritual unity in freedom,
Kunkel, C. (1991) Totus Christus: die Theologie characteristic of the early church, with a
Georges V. Florovskys. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck compulsory “monarchic” rule, in short an
and Ruprecht.
Nichols, A. (1999) “George Florovsky and the ethos of “unity without freedom.” This
Idea of Tradition,” in Light from the East: deviation, in turn, generates a Protestant
Authors and Themes in Orthodox Theology. revolt, which he sees as continuing to
London: Sheed and Ward, pp. 129–224. fragment Western Christianity with an
Shaw, L. (1990) An Introduction to the Study of
Georges Florovsky. Unpublished PhD thesis,
ever-increasing loss of the sense and concept
University of Cambridge. of the church as “unity in love
Zizioulas, J. (1997) “Fr. Georges Florovsky: and freedom” and a turn towards ecclesial
The Ecumenical Teacher (in Greek),” Synaxi 64: identity as “freedom without unity”
13–26. (Khomiakov 1997).
Khomiakov’s critics, while recognizing the
Khomiakov, Aleksey S. importance of his attempt to renew discussion
on the nature of the church, pointed out
(1804–1860) that his ecclesiological polemic with Western
KONSTANTIN GAVRILKIN Christianity was self-serving rather than
open to dialogue. On the one hand, an idealized
Aleksey S. Khomiakov, a Muscovite landowner Eastern Orthodoxy was compared to
with broad intellectual interests, is the historic shortcomings of Catholicism
mostly known as one of the founders of and Protestantism, presented as embodiments
the Slavophile movement with its belief of opposite qualities (Solovyov 1901:
that Russia’s identity was shaped by its Eastern 170–1). On the other hand, while in the
Orthodox tradition, and that her writings addressed to the Russian public
authentic political, social, economic, and Khomiakov recognized the oppression of
cultural life had been seriously disrupted the Russian Church by the state and the
and corrupted by the westernizing policies absence of sobornost’ and freedom in her
of Peter the Great and his heirs. He studied life, when he spoke “before the West,” as
Berdiaev says, “he pretended that every- Lossky was to spend the rest of his life.
thing was fine in the East” (1971: 85). In Paris Lossky continued his education at
Khomiakov’s theological texts, first the Sorbonne (1924–7), studying the history
printed in Berlin in 1868, were allowed to be of western medieval philosophy
published by the censors in Russia only in under the supervision of E
1879 with a disclaimer, mandatory for ´
subsequent tienne Gilson.
reprints, that “the vagueness and During this period Lossky developed what
imprecision of some expressions were due would become a lifelong interest in the
to the author’s lack of proper theological mystical theology of Meister Eckhart,
education” (Khomiakov 1907). His eventually resulting in a doctoral thesis
ideas had a very limited impact on Russian posthumously published in French under
academic theology: in their essence, they the title Theologie negative et connaissance
repeated a century-long Orthodox ecclesiology, de Dieu chez Maitre Eckhart (1960). In 1928
while in style and formof argumentation Lossky became a member of the Brotherhood
Khomiakov’s “freshness” (to use Berdiaev’s of St. Photius, a group which promoted
term) appealed mostly to lay intellectuals the Orthodox Christian witness in
dissatisfied with the very dry academic liter- Europe.
ature on ecclesiology then prevalent. In the 1930s Lossky became involved in
the debate over Sergius Bulgakov’s
SEE ALSO: Sophiology. As an intellectual of a younger
Russia, Patriarchal Orthodox
Church of
generation, Lossky viewed the heritage of
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED religious idealism, especially Vladimir
READINGS Soloviev and the writers of the Silver
Berdiaev, N. (1971) Aleksei Stepanovich Age, with suspicion. To the end of his
Khomiakov. Westmead, UK: Gregg. life, Lossky would remain one of the
Khomiakov, A. S. (1907) Polnoe sobranie sochinenii,
Vol. 2: Sochineniia bogoslovskie, 5th edn. Moscow: most outspoken critics of Bulgakov’s system.
Kushnerev. In his essay The Sophia Debate (1935,
Khomiakov, A. S. (1997) “French Writings,” in original in Russian), Lossky faulted
B. Jakim and R. Bird (eds.) On Spiritual Unity: Bulgakov for converting Christian theism
A Slavophile Reader. Aleksei Khomiakov. Ivan
Kireevsky. With Essays by Yury Samarin, Nikolai
into a pantheistic system, for breaking
Berdiaev, and Pavel Florensky. Nudson, NY: down the fundamental ontological distinction
Lindisfarne Books, pp. 55–139. between Creator and creation, for confusing
Solovyov, V. S. (1901) “Slavianofil’stvo i ego nature and person in God, and for
vyrozhdenie,” Sobranie sochinenii 5: 161–223. a “Gnostic” lack of apophatic reserve when
St. Petersburg: Obshchestvennaia pol’za.
Tsurikov, V. (ed.) (2004) A. S. Khomiakov: Poet, speaking about the immanent Trinity. The
Philosopher, Theologian. Jordanville, NY: Holy condemnation of Bulgakov’s system issued
Trinity Seminary Press. by the Russian Orthodox Church was based
to a large degree upon Lossky’s summary
Lossky, Vladimir report. Lossky’s brief involvement with the
French resistance movement is reflected in
(1903–1958) his autobiographic essay Sept jours sur les
PAUL GAVRILYUK routes de France (1940). After the war
Lossky taught, among other places, in the
Together with Georges Florovsky, Vladimir newly founded Institute of St. Dionysius
Lossky is one of the main architects of the the Areopagite. His Mystical Theology of
turn to the Greek fathers in recent Russian the Eastern Church (appearing first in
Orthodox theology. Born into the family French, 1944) is regarded as a classic
of a well-known philosopher-intuitivist, exposition of Orthodox apophaticism. Using
Nicholas Lossky, Vladimir spent his childhood the work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopa-
and began his university education gite as his starting point, Lossky argues
in St. Petersburg, Russia. Expelled from that apophatic theology is more than
the Soviet Union in 1922, the Lossky family a corrective to Kataphatic theology, that
first settled in Prague (1922–4) and negative theology is rather a contemplative
then moved to Paris, where Vladimir practice intended to purify the human
mind from the idolatry of concepts Russian Catacomb Church. In his teens,
with the purpose of bringing the human Alexander had a spiritual experience
knower into union with God. The book that prompted him to write a book about
also defends the Palamite essence-energies Jesus: the first draft was finished when he
distinction in God against its Roman Catholic was 15, and The Son of Man, published in
critics. 1969, was its final version. Around the same
Lossky continued to pursue the question time, Alexander discovered the writings
of the knowability of God and related of the Russian philosopher Vladimir
epistemological problems in his lectures at the Solovyov, who shaped his understanding
Sorbonne (posthumously published as The of history and Christianity. In fact,
Vision of God, French original in 1962) and Solovyov’s idea to write a Christian
other essays (which became part of two interpretation of the history of world religions
collections: In the Image and Likeness of was later turned by Alexander Men into the
God, French original in 1967, and Orthodox six-volume series History of Religion:
Theology: An Introduction, English translation In Search of the Way, the Truth, and the
in 1978). Lossky was convinced that Life, published in Russian between 1970
the dogma of filioque was the root cause of and 1983.
the division between the East and the West. When, in 1958, he was expelled from
Lossky’s overarching “personalism” (the college for his religious beliefs, he was
claim that persons are ineffable, ordained a deacon and in 1960 a priest.
unobjectifiable agents, irreducible to He served in a number of parishes in the
common nature) has received continuing Moscow region; for the last twenty years of
attention in the works of Rowan Williams, his life as a pastor of the Annunciation
John Zizioulas, Aristotle Papanikolaou, and Church in Novaia Derevnia. In the 1960s
others. Fr. Alexander became a supporter of human
rights activists, some of whom joined the
SEE ALSO: Orthodox Church because of his influence.
Apophaticism; Bulgakov, Sergius He also continued to write on the Bible,
(Sergei) (1871–1944); Florovsky, Georges V.
(1893–1979); St. Dionysius the Areopagite; the history of salvation, and the Orthodox
Sophiology Church, publishing his books in the West
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED under various pseudonyms (E. Svetlov,
READINGS A. Bogolyubov, and A. Pavlov) with the
Clement, O. (1959) “Vladimir Lossky, un
theologien de la personne et du St. Esprit,”
help of the Catholic publishing house
Messager de L’Exarchat du Patriarche russe en in Brussels, La Vie avec Dieu, which
europe occidentale, 30, 1: 137–206. was instrumental in supplying Christians
Lossky, V. (1997) In the Image and Likeness of in the Soviet Union with Russian
God. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Press.
religious literature. In the 1970s and 1980s
Lossky, V. (1997) The Mystical Theology of the Fr. Alexander became a recognized spiritual
Eastern Church. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s leader of many Soviet intellectuals who were
Seminary Press. baptized and joined the Orthodox Church
Lossky, V. (1997) The Vision of God. Crestwood, NY: despite KGB harassment and political
St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
Lossky, V. (2001) Orthodox Theology: An
persecution.
Introduction. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s During the Gorbachev years, Fr. Alexander
Seminary Press. took full advantage of new avenues for
evangelization and ministry: he and his
Men, Alexander followers founded the Russian Bible Society
and the Open Orthodox University in
(1935–1990) 1990, created a network of Sunday schools,
KONSTANTIN GAVRILKIN and initiated charitable ministries at various
hospitals. An eloquent speaker with
Bible scholar, theologian, religious writer, broad knowledge of world culture, Fr.
and evangelist, Alexander Men was born Alexander used all available opportunities for
to a Jewish family, but in 1935 his mother public lectures and preaching, including
decided to become Orthodox Christian and national television, and his name became
he was baptized together with her in the synonymous with the spiritual awakening
of the period. At the same time, he spoke and only in the Lectures on
openly of the dangers emerging in Godmanhood (1878–81) did he turn to the
postcommunist Russian society: the rise of problems of religion. There he presents the
fascism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism, and history of humanity as leading inexorably
the emergence of an unrealistic nostalgia for to the incarnation of Divine Logos in the
the Romanov Empire and its statesupported person of Jesus of Nazareth (cf. Alexander
church. He was murdered near Men’s History of Religion, which was
his home on September 9, 1990. The case inspired by Solovyov). The next important
has never been solved. Both during his life work, the Spiritual Foundations of Life
and after his death, Fr. Alexander had been (1882–4), deals with Christology and the
attacked repeatedly by Russian Orthodox sacramental and spiritual life of the church,
nationalists, fundamentalists, and antiSemites, as well as the realization of salvation in
and there have been continuous human history. The union of divine
attempts on their part to marginalize and and human natures in Christ, or his
compromise his legacy. Since 1991 his Godmanhood, given through the church
books on the Bible, Jesus Christ, Christianity, to the world, is viewed by Solovyov not as
and the Orthodox Church have finally an abstract principle, but as a living
been published in Russia under his source of political, social, and cultural
own name. transformation of the world through a free
choice of autonomous human beings. This
SEE ALSO: vision would inform Solovyov’s approach
Russia, Patriarchal to all problems related to Christianity. The
Orthodox Church of; Solovyov, Vladimir
(1853–1900) assassination of Alexander II, the wave of
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED anti-Jewish pogroms of 1881–2, and the
READINGS counter-reforms of Alexander III prompted
Hamant, Y. (1995) Alexander Men: A Witness for Solovyov’s turn to the question of religion
Contemporary Russia (a Man for Our Times). and politics. Ancient Israel, Byzantium,
Torrance, CA: Oakwood Publications.
Men, A. (1998) Son of Man: The Story of Christ Roman Catholicism, Poland, and Russia
and Christianity. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s were interpreted by him as a series of failed
Seminary Press. theocracies (The Great Debate and Christian
Roberts, E. and Shukman, A. (eds.) (1996) Politics, 1883; Jewry and the Christian
Christianity for the Twenty-first Century:
Life and Work of Alexander Men. London:
Question, 1884; History and the Future of
SCM Press. Theocracy, 1885–7). At the same time,
while raising many of the problems of
the later ecumenical dialogue, Solovyov
Solovyov, Vladimir saw relations between Russia and Roman
(1853–1900) Catholicism in the light of their mu-
KONSTANTIN GAVRILKIN tual responsibility for the realization of
Christian mission in history (Solovyov
Russia’s most significant religious thinker, 1966–70, Vol. 11).
Vladimir Solovyov experienced a crisis of During the 1880s and 1890s Solovyov wrote
faith in his youth but returned to Christianity extensively on Russian identity, Slavophilism,
through the study of philosophy. nationalism (Solovyov 1966–70, Vol. 5), the
His teaching career was short: after graduation religioustraditionsinJudaism,Islam,and
from Moscow University in 1874, he China (Solovyov 1966–70, Vol. 6.), Russian
taught until late March 1881, until the occasion literature, and philosophy, especially in relation
when, during a public lecture, he challenged to the multi-volume Brockhaus-Ephron
the government of Alexander III Encyclopedic Dictionary, then appearing, for
to spare the lives of the terrorists who had which he wrote numerous entries as chief
assassinated his father, Alexander II, earlier author responsible for the philosophy
that month. Shortly afterwards, he left section. In the 1890s he also published his
university life and dedicated himself to key works: The Meaning of Love (1892–4)
writing. and the massive Justification of the Good
His early texts focus on western rationalism, (1897), which was his magnum opus on
ethics. His collection of poetry, including
meditations on the encounters with out cosmological Christology. The concept
what he called Sophia, the divine feminine of God’s creative wisdom is deeply rooted in
(Solovyov 1966–70, Vol. 12), were many ancient religious cosmologies (not
published in the 1890s as well. Finally, in least pre-biblical Egyptian). In their use of
his last year of his life Solovyov wrote Three Wisdom Christology the fathers followed
Conversations on War, Progress, and the End Greek and Hebrew sages before them in
of History, an apocalyptic drama inspired personifying the divine wisdom, hypostatically,
by the philosopher’s premonitions of the under the feminine figure of Sophia. This
disasters facing the 20th century. tradition continued despite the overall
Although his writings played a key role in preference of the patristic era for the
the Russian religious renaissance of the 20th (masculine) equivalent “Logos” (Word or
century, Solovyov’s legacy was viewed rather Reason of God) which was used heavily in the
negatively within conservative ecclesiastical conciliar christological tradition. The poetic
circles because of his sympathy for Roman play between creator and created, as evidenced
Catholicism, his mysticism, and his sometimes in the Sophianic Wisdom literature (see
sharp criticism of the Russian Church Prov. 8.22), precipitated a fierce debate in
and of Slavophilism. While Sophiology has the 4th-century Arian crisis. It is the ambiguity
been sometimes attributed to him of Sophia’s nature that lends her so
retrospectively, its significance in Solovyov’s easily to theological speculation. Sophiology,
own corpus of texts is often overrated. although subordinated after the 4th century
to the terms of Logos theology, remained
SEE ALSO: a significant part of the Orthodox mystical
Russia, Patriarchal Orthodox tradition, and was used to connote the eternal,
Church of; Sophiology
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED creative, and preexistent Son of God,
READINGS who entered into human history at the
Solovyov, S. M. (2001) Vladimir Solovyov: His Life incarnation, and as “Wisdom of the divine”
and Creative Evolution, trans. A. Gibson. permeates the substructure of the entire cosmos
Fairfax, VA: Eastern Christian Publications.
Solovyov, V. S. (1966–70) Sobranie sochinenii,
which that Divine Wisdom personally
13 vols. Brussels: Zhizn’s Bogom. shaped, and made, into a vehicle of revelation
Sutton, J. (1988) The Religious Philosophy of and grace. It is clear from this how
Vladimir Solovyov: Towards a Reassessment. pneumatology was closely related to Sophia.
Basingstoke: Macmillan. In the hands of later Orthodox thinkers
(including Sts. Maximos the Confessor and
Gregory Palamas) the study of Sophia
Sophiology became an issue of mystical initiation into
JUSTIN M. LASSER the communion of the divine life of the
Godhead, a way of considering Deification
In Orthodox theology Sophia represents Christology with more of a cosmological
an evocation of the mystical apprehension stress, an approach that emphasized that
of the divine mysteries in the life of the true knowledge was not summed up solely
Godhead and the symphonic apparatus of in the domain of facts, or Kataphatic discourse,
the cosmos. The term derives from the but rather pointed to the way that material
Greek word for “wisdom” (Sophia). It is realities open out beyond the world to signal the
the Greek translation of the biblical Hebrew domain of mystical apprehension. In this sense
concept Hokhma (wisdom) in the Old Sophiology is inherently an esoteric venture.
Testament scriptures, which contain a rich and Sophiology, as it became increasingly known in
diverse tradition about “divine wisdom” later times, became one of the controversial
(Deut. 34.9; 2 Sam. 14.20; 1 Kings 4.29; Job centerpieces of early 20th-century Russian
12.13; Ps. 104.24; Prov. 3.19; Prov. 8.22–31; theology in the writings of Solovyov, Berdiaev,
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 1.4, 7; 8.34). This Florensky, and Bulgakov. It was Bulgakov
tradition was taken up extensively, out who perhaps most made it a central pillar
of the biblical Wisdom literature, and also of his theological work, and most explicitly
with reference to Greek philosophicoreligious tried to demonstrate its central position in
cosmology, and used by the Logos Orthodox dogmatics. It was certainly this
theologians of the early church to sketch aspect of his thought that occasioned most
resistance from other Orthodox theologians trans. B. Jakim. Princeton: Princeton University
of his time, not least Georges Florovsky and Press.
Sergeev, M. (2007) Sophiology in Russian
the Synod of the Russian Church in exile, Orthodoxy: Solov’ev, Bulgakov, Losskii, Berdiaev.
fearing what they felt was its overly close Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.
association with similar esoteric trends in
Rosicrucianism and other heterodox
gnoseological approaches. Nevertheless, Staniloae, Dumitru
Orthodox understandings of Sophiology (1903–1993)
differ from gnoseology in this respect, that ARISTOTLE PAPANIKOLAOU
it stands for a summation of ways of “living
in,” more than ways of “knowing about,” the Dumitru Staniloae was born in Vladeni in the
Godhead. As Fr. Pavel Florensky wrote, Romanian province of Transylvania. After
Sophia is “not a fact, but an act” (Florensky studying in Romania, Athens, and Germany,
1997: 237). Staniloae began teaching in 1929 at the
Like her symbol, the great imperial Theological Institute in Sibiu. Between 1946
church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, and 1973 he taught at the Theological Institute
Holy Wisdom takes her place at the very in Bucharest, though between 1958 and 1962 he
center of Orthodox life. It is the Logos, yet was incarcerated as a political prisoner at
it is also the outreach of the Logos to the Aiud Prison. Early in his theological career,
world, in the intimacy of the human Staniloae rejected the Orthodox dogmatic
comprehension, as the scripture reveals. Sirach manuals, which he felt, together with his
(Ecclesiasticus) 8.34 teaches that Sophia “is Russian emigre counterparts in Paris, Vladimir
an initiate in the mysteries of God’s knowledge. Lossky and Georges Florovsky, were
She makes choice of the works God is under a “western captivity.” In his initial
to do.” Thus to learn wisdom (Sophia)isto theological studies he noticed that the
be united to God. She exists as the choice spirituality of hesychasm and the thought of St.
of God, and yet she makes God’s choices. Gregory Palamas were offering a different
Baruch 3.31–2 declares that “no one knows theological vision than that presented in the
the way to her, no one can discover the path manuals. His life work is a labor of
she treads. But the one who knows all attempting to articulate an Orthodox dogmatic
knows her, for God has grasped her with theology that is existentially relevant
God’s own intellect.” The Sophiological and not simply a set of propositional truths.
tradition in Orthodoxy, with various The fruit of this work began with the
degrees of success, is the continuing publication of his study on Palamas, The Life
contemplation of this ambiguity – the mystical and Teaching of Gregory Palamas (1938), and
path of the study of wisdom. Sophia is culminated with his three-volume Orthodox
manifested as teacher, bride, lover, and Dogmatic Theology (1978). Staniloae was
Christ; both as within and without the also responsible for translating the Philokalia
human mind and soul. To acquire Sophia into Romanian (a larger edition by far than that
is not to acquire scientific knowledge but to of St. Nikodemos; nine volumes between 1946
begin to see the totality of knowledge from and 1980). Up until his death, Staniloae
the right perspective. published numerous books and articles,
achieved a national reputation as a public
SEE ALSO: intellectual commenting on the political and
Berdiaev, Nikolai A. (1874–1948);
Bulgakov, Sergius (Sergei) (1871–1944);
cultural issues of Romania, and acquired an
Florensky, Pavel Alexandrovich (1882–1937); internationally recognized ecumenical stature,
Florovsky, Georges V. (1893–1979) with his work continuing to exercise influence
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED in both Orthodox and non-Orthodox circles
READINGS alike. He is one of the best-known, respected,
Bulgakov, S. (1993) Sophia, the Wisdom of God:
AnOutline of Sophiology. Library of Russian and influential Orthodox theologians of the
Philosophy. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne 20th century.
Books. Among the many theological insights contained
Donskikh, O. A. (1995) “Cultural Roots of Russian within Staniloae’s corpus, two stand out as
Sophiology,” Sophia 34, 2: 38–57.
Florensky, P. (1997) The Pillar and Ground of Truth,
distinctive. First, Staniloae insisted that
trinitarian theology must articulate more
explicitly the proper relation of the Son to the
Spirit. Against what he saw as Lossky’s
separation of the work of the Son and the Spirit,
Staniloae argued that the Spirit proceeds from
the Father and rests on the Son as the Father’s
love for the Son, and is reflected back from the
Son to the Father as the Son’s active love for
the Father.
Staniloae rejects the filioque because it
inevitably makes the Son a Father of the Spirit,
rather than seeing the relation between the
Son and the Spirit as a reciprocity that has
its source in the Father, and one that allows
for humans to share in the Son’s filial
relationship with the Father. The second
distinctive aspect of Staniloae’s theology is
his notion of creation as God’s gift that
initiates the possibility of an exchange of
gifts between God and human beings, who
function as priests of creation. This exchange
of gifts is simultaneously a dialogue
of love enabling a personal communion
between God and creation. The fact that
the world was created for the purpose of
communion between the personal God
and human persons is not simply a truth
of revelation, but is indicated, for Staniloae,
in the iconic human experience of freedom
and relationality.

SEE ALSO:
Filioque; Holy Trinity; Philokalia;
Romania, Patriarchal Orthodox Church of;
St. Gregory Palamas (1296–1359)
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED
READINGS
Louth, A. (2002) “The Orthodox Dogmatic
Theology of Dumitru Staniloae,” Modern
Theology 13, 2: 253–67.
Neamtu, M. (2006) “Between the Gospel and the
Nation: Dumitru Staniloae’s Ethno-Theology,”
Archaeus: Studies in History of Religions 10, 3: 4.
Turcescu, L. (ed.) (2002) Dumitru Staniloae:
Tradition and Modernity in Theology. Palm
Beach: Center for Romanian Studies.
Turcescu, L. (2005) “Dumitru Staniloae,” in
J. Witte and F. Alexander (eds.) The Teachings of
Modern Christianity on Law, Politics, and Human
Nature, 2 vols. New York: Columbia University
Press, vol. 1, pp. 685–711; vol. 2, pp. 537–58.