Russian Icon,
Theotokos as
Sophia, the Holy Wisdom, 1812.
Sophiology (from Greek Σοφία "Sophia (wisdom)") (in Bulgarian and Russian: София) is a philosophical concept regarding wisdom, as well as a theological concept regarding the wisdom of God. Sophiology has roots in Hellenistic tradition, Platonism, Orthodox Christianity, Gnosticism, Christian mysticism (Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Jakob Böhme (1575–1624), Jane Leade (1624–1704), Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900)), Esoteric Christianity (Rosicrucianism), Wisdom Theology, New Age spirituality, as well as contemporary feminism, each of which has its own point of view[citation needed]. Some see Sophia as a deity in her own right, others see her as representing the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19), others as a feminine aspect of God representing wisdom (Proverbs 8 and 9), and others as a theological concept regarding the wisdom of God.
[edit] Sophiology in Christianity
[edit] Eastern Orthodoxy
In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Sophiology is considered equivalent to "Sophianism", which has been condemned as heretical by the Patriarch of Moscow: "The teaching of Professor and Archpriest S.N. Bulgakov -- which, by its peculiar and arbitrary (Sophian) interpretation, often distorts the dogmas of the Orthodox faith, which in some of its points directly repeats false teachings already condemned by conciliar decisions of the Church..."[1] and other Orthodox hierarchs, who decided to "...recognize the teaching of Archpriest Sergei Bulgakov on Sophia the Wisdom of God as heretical".[2] Personified representations of Holy Wisdom (Ἁγία Σοφία) or "Wisdom of God" among the Eastern Orthodox refer to the person of Jesus Christ, as illustrated in the Acts of the Seventh Ecumenical Council: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, the self-existent Wisdom of God the Father, Who manifested Himself in the flesh, and by His great and divine dispensation (lit., economy) freed us from the snares of idolatry, clothing Himself in our nature, restored it through the cooperation of the Spirit, Who shares His mind..."[3] More recently, it has been stated that "From the most ancient times and onwards many Orthodox countries have been consecrating churches to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Wisdom of God".[4] Orthodox Icons or Cathedrals exist with names often translated as "Saint Sophia" do exist. However, they do not refer to a specific individual, human or divine, named "Sophia". Rather, they are a mistranslation of Ἁγία Σοφία, or "Holy Wisdom", which is a convention used in the Orthodox Church to refer to Christ.
[edit] Bibliography
- Sergei Bulgakov, Sophia, the Wisdom of God: An Outline of Sophiology (Library of Russian Philosophy), Lindisfarne Books, 1993. (ISBN 0940262606, ISBN 978-0940262607)
- Oleg A. Donskikh, ‘Cultural roots of Russian Sophiology’, Sophia, 34(2), 1995, pp38–57
- Priscilla Hunt, "The Wisdom Iconography of Light: The Genesis, Meaning and Iconographic Realization of a Symbol" due to appear in “'Spor o Sofii' v Khristianskoi Kul’ture", V.L. Ianin, A.E. Musin, ed., Novgorodskii Gos. Universitet, forthcoming in 2008
- Priscilla Hunt, "Confronting the End: The Interpretation of the Last Judgment in a Novgorod Wisdom Icon", Byzantino-Slavica, 65, 2007, 275-325
- Priscilla Hunt, "The Novgorod Sophia Icon and 'The Problem of Old Russian Culture' Between Orthodoxy and Sophiology", Symposion: A Journal of Russian Thought, vol. 4-5, (2000), 1-41
- Priscilla Hunt "Andrei Rublev’s Old Testament Trinity Icon in Cultural Context", The Trinity-Sergius Lavr in Russian History and Culture: Readings in Russian Religious Culture, vol. 3, Deacon Vladimir Tsurikov, ed., Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2006, 99-122
- Caitlin Matthews, Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom (London: Mandala, 1991) ISBN 0044405901
- Brenda Meehan, ‘Wisdom/Sophia, Russian identity, and Western feminist theology’, Cross Currents, 46(2), 1996, pp149–168
- Barbara Newman, God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002 (ISBN 978-0812236910)
- Thomas Schipflinger, Sophia-Maria (in German: 1988; English translation: York Beach, ME: Samuel Wiser, 1998) ISBN 1578630223
- Mikhail Sergeev, Sophiology in Russian Orthodoxy: Solov’ev, Bulgakov, Losskii, Berdiaev (Edwin Mellen Press, 2007) ISBN 0773456090 and ISBN 9780773456099, 248 pages [1]
- Arthur Versluis, Theosophia: hidden dimensions of Christianity (Hudson, NY: Lindisfarne Press, 1994) ISBN 0940262649
- Arthur Versluis, Wisdom’s children: a Christian esoteric tradition (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1999) ISBN 0791443302
- Arthur Versluis (ed.) Wisdom’s book: the Sophia anthology (St.Paul, Min: Paragon House, 2000) ISBN 1557787832
[edit] See also
- People
[edit] On-line resources
[edit] Icons and images of Sophia (Holy Wisdom)
[edit] Essays related to Sophia or Sophiology
[edit] In other traditions
[edit] Bibliographic
[edit] References
- ^ Moscow Patriarchate (1935) Decision No. 93
- ^ Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (1935) Decision of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad of the 17/30 October 1935 concerning the new teaching of Archpriest Sergei Bulgakov on Sophia, the Wisdom of God
- ^ Acts of the Second Council of Nicea, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/nicea2.html
- ^ Sobolev, Archbishop Seraphim (1935) The New Teaching concerning Sophia the Wisdom of God. p. 121
