Georges Florovsky and the Russian Religious Renaissance

by Paul L. Gavrilyuk

Georges Florovsky is the mastermind of a "return to the Church Fathers" in twentieth-century Orthodox theology. His theological vision--the neopatristic synthesis--became the main paradigm of Orthodox theology and the golden standard of Eastern Orthodox identity in the West. Focusing on Florovsky's European period (1920-1948), this study analyzes how Florovsky's evolving interpretation of Russian religious thought, particularly Vladimir Solovyov and Sergius Bulgakov, informed his approach to patristic sources. Paul Gavrilyuk offers a new reading of Florovsky's neopatristic theology, by closely considering its ontological, epistemological, and ecclesiological foundations.

It is common to contrast Florovsky's neopatristic theology with the "modernist" religious philosophies of Pavel Florensky, Sergius Bulgakov, and other representatives of the Russian Religious Renaissance. Gavrilyuk argues that the standard narrative of twentieth-century Orthodox theology, based on this polarization, must be reconsidered. The author demonstrates Florovsky's critical appropriation of the main themes of the Russian Religious Renaissance, including theological antinomies, the meaning of history, and the nature of personhood. The distinctive features of Florovsky's neopatristic theology--Christological focus, "ecclesial experience," personalism, and "Christian Hellenism"--are best understood against the background of the main problematic of the Renaissance. Specifically, it is shown that Bulgakov's sophiology provided a polemical subtext for Florovsky's theology of creation. It is argued that the use of the patristic norm in application to modern Russian theology represents
Florovsky's theological signature.

Drawing on unpublished archival material and correspondence, this study sheds new light on such aspects of Florovsky's career as his family background, his participation in the Eurasian movement, his dissertation on Alexander Herzen, his lectures on Vladimir Solovyov, and his involvement in Bulgakov's Brotherhood of St Sophia.

Genres: Theology, Russia

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Радостин Марчев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Това е първата книга на Гаврилюк, която чета, а Фловровски - авторът, който той разглежда - познавам подробно. Въпреки това на няколко места където навлиза в анализ на философски системи изгубих нишката поради недостатъчните си познания.
Гаврилюк пише много интересно и ерудирано като същевременно се изразява много ясно и без всякакво излишно затормозяване на езика със сложна, специализирана терминология- освен там където това наистина се налага. Ако нещо може да бъде казано просто той няма да го направи по-сложно отколкото е необходимо.
Личното ми мнение - при това на човек, който харесва Флоровски и си е направил труда да го прочете повече от веднъж- е, че книгата е справедлива. Прочита, който прави Гаврилюк е базиран на добро познаване както на съчиненията (вкл. малко известни) на Флоровски така и на неговата биография и на хората, с които общува. Критиката е ясно изказана и обективна. Разбира се, възможен е и друг прочит на Флоровски и на неговото наследство, но той ще изисква не по-малка аргументация от тази, която е представил автора.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a loving analysis of Fr. Florovsky's career, development, and spiritual journey. The work is a bit repetitive, but I suppose the repetitions have helped me understand the scope and details of the book affectively. Regardless, I disagree with some of the critiques of Fr. Florovsky's philosophy, but that may be owing to his ignorance about the details of the worldviews Florovsky was critiquing. Otherwise, I have to say that this book has definitely inspired me to undertake some projects of my own. The author highlights perfectly Fr. Florovsky's shortcomings.

[Mz · Rating 5 out of 5]

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