Sergei Bulgakov's Intellectual Journey (1900-1922), in: The Oxford Handbook of Russian Religious Thought, ed. by Caryl Emerson, George Pattison, Randall Poole (Oxford University Press, 2020), 276–292 (original) (raw)
By analogy to Kant’s question ‘how is knowledge possible?’, Sergei Bulgakov was driven by the following questions: how are history, economy, art, and religion possible? Bulgakov explored the ‘truths’ of modern thought—human dignity (humanism), human dependence on the material world (materialism), social equality (socialism), and striving for a better future (idealism)—that became the cornerstones of his religious worldview. In Vladimir Soloviev’s footsteps, Bulgakov developed a ‘synthetic philosophy’ that would reconcile faith and reason, metaphysics and science, and motivate Christians to engage in politics in order to build just societies. With a focus on the interplay of social and economic teachings with religious movements, his early works contribute to ‘post-secular’ reflections on the crucial role of religion in societies. The paradigm of the ‘return of the prodigal son’ motivated both Bulgakov’s personal and intellectual development: in his view, the radical departure from God in the age of modernity is an important, if not necessary step on humanity’s way back to its Father’s house, and faith is a double-sided God–human act of human religious thirst and God’s response. Thus, Bulgakov’s early works dwell on culture and history as God–human synergy within the framework of the concept of Sophia. The latter is Bulgakov’s answer to the question as to how God’s revelation, divine-human cre ativity, and the world’s salvation are possible.
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Sergius Bulgakov and Modern Theology
“Sergius Bulgakov and Modern Theology,” in Building the House of Wisdom: Sergii Bulgakov and Contemporary Theology: New Approaches and Interpretations, eds. Barbara Hallensleben, Regula M. Zwahlen, Aristotle Papanicolaou and Pantelis Kalaitzidis (Münster: Aschendorff Verlag, 2024), 501-520.
Building the House of Wisdom. Sergii Bulgakov and Contemporary Theology: New Approaches and Interpretations, 2024
Sergii Bulgakov (1871-1944) is one of the preeminent theologians of the 20th century whose work is still being discovered and explored in and for the 21st century. e famous rival of Lenin in the eld of economics, was, according to Wassily Kandinsky, "one of the deepest experts on religious life" in early twentieth-century Russian art and culture. As economist, publicist, politician, and later Orthodox theologian and priest, he became a signi cant "global player" in both the Orthodox diaspora and the Ecumenical movement in the interwar period.
The Soul of the Human Race: The Mother of God in the Theology Of Sergius Bulgakov
2013
This dissertation examines the role of the Mother of God in Sergius Bulgakov's Sophiology. It places Bulgakov's Mariology within the contexts of the Russian Religious Renaissance and Russian Sophiology. With respect to Russian Sophiology, Bulgakov systematically develops the insights on Mary proffered by Vladimir Solov'ev and Pavel Florensky. I demonstrate that his The Burning Bush (1926) should be seen as the fullest development of Sophianic Mariology initiated by Solov'ev. The influence of the Russian Religious Renaissance is evident in his emphasis on sexuality. Bulgakov incorporates the popular theory from this movement that each person 1 Rowan Williams observed in his book, Sergii Bulgakov: Towards a Russian Political Theology, that no secondary source has yet adequately treated Sergius Bulgakov's Mariology.
Bulgakov’s psychological and spiritual evolution can be reckoned as representative for his entire generation. Moving from Marxism to Idealism and finally conceiving his best known theory, namely Sophiology, he was considered by many one of the most influential and sometimes controversial Orthodox thinkers of the 20th century. The theory of Sophiology, his most disputed premise which lies at the center of his theological vision, is considered “a systematic attempt to work out the basis on which political action and policy could be seen as philosophically – and, eventual, theologically - legitimate” . If we reflect on our present cultural and political context we will find a renewed relevance in studying the evolution of Bulgakov’s theological and politic thought, due to the similarities of both periods. Just like in the last turn of the century, we also face issues of legitimacy of the political action, a new cultural paradigm and an economical crisis.
2019
Sergij Bulgakov: The Apocalypse of John. An Essai in Dogmatic Interpretation. Translated by Mike Whitton, revised by Michael Miller. Edited by Barbara Hallensleben und Regula M. Zwahlen (= Epiphania 12). Münster: Aschendorff Verlag, 2019. The Russian Orthodox theologian Fr. Sergii Bulgakov’s final work, The Apocalypse of John, is more than an epilogue to his major systematic trilogy, On God-humanity. Published posthumously in 1948, this commentary on the final book of the New Testament can be considered the conclusion of his work as a whole. Written “in the face of the very apocalypse of life” during the Second World War, Bulgakov’s commentary is not focused on trepidation before final judgement, but reflects deeply on the possibility of hope in the midst of the tragedy of human history, and joy at the prospects of God's final triumph, the transfiguration of creation: it is ‘the divine story of the victory of the Lamb’. Fr. Sergii Bulgakov (1871-1944), expelled from Russia in 1922, was professor of dogmatic theology and dean at the St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris. In addition to Bulgakov’s commentary, this edition contains photographs of the frescoes by Sister Joanna (Reitlinger; 1898-1988) produced between 1946 and 1948 for the ecumenical chapel of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius in London. They were inspired by and dedicated to her spiritual father, Sergii Bulgakov."
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