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Durham E-Theses Durham E-Theses The Ecclesiology of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) ALDEA, LEONARD-DANIEL How to cite: ALDEA, LEONARD-DANIEL (2014) The Ecclesiology of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10710/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The Ecclesiology of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) Leonard - Daniel Aldea PhD Durham University Department of Theology and Religion 2013 1 Leonard - Daniel Aldea The Ecclesiology of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) Abstract The present thesis is a critical study of Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov's ecclesiology. Its central claim is that Archim. Sophrony, a twentieth century Russian ascetic and theologian, understands the Church as a created-uncreated Being, which is hypostatizable, soborny, and sophiological. Archim Sophrony’s theology stems from the idea of theosis, understood as the ontological meeting ‘ground’ between God and Man, which was the primary concern of most Russian theologians of the time. However, the differences of perspective among these theologians led to a variety of ways in which theosis is approached and defined. For Archim Sophrony, a theology of theosis needs to look first at the question regarding the simultaneous difference and identity between Divinity and Man. This exclusive concern with the ontological in-between, where God and Man become One Being, is the common concern of a series of other contemporary Russian theologians, most notably Fr Sergii Bulgakov, whose formative influence on Archim. Sophrony's thought will also be looked at in the present thesis. Archim. Sophrony addresses the question of theosis by developing a highly creative system of interpretations around the concept of Divine image, founded on the theologies of St Gregory Palamas and Fr Sergii Bulgakov. Thus, he distinguishes between three moments of human existence: essence, energy and hypostaticity, which reflect the three Divine modes of existence. Consequently, Archim. Sophrony makes three central ecclesiological statements: (1) that the Being of the Church is hypostatical; (2) that it is soborny; and (3) that it enters a special ontological relationship with the Divine Being which allows for the simultaneous absolute distinction and absolute identity of the two Beings. These three ecclesiological statements represent the three main claims of our research, and also generate the structure of the present thesis. 2 Table of Contents Chapter One. Introduction. Theological and Biographical Context I. General Introduction (10) The Claim of the Present Thesis (10) What the present thesis does not do and the reasons for not doing it (11) What the present thesis does and the reasons for doing it (12) Methodology (14) II. This present chapter: Aim and Methodology (16) Theological and Biographical Context of the Subject (17) 1 Ecclesiology before and after the Russian revolution (17) 2. Paris Ecclesiology (19) Introduction to Archim Sophrony: Biography, Bibliography, Theology, Main Influences, Research and Studies dedicated to his work (20) 1. Biography (20) 2. Bibliography (27) 3. Theology (32) Archim Sophrony’s Writing Style (32) Terminology: Hypostasis, Sobor and other derived terms (36) The Main Concepts of His Theology (38) Christology and Christological Revelation (39) Christology (39) Twofold Christological Revelation (41) Intra-essential Relationships: The Principles of Human Hypostaticity and Sobornost (43) Inter-essential Relationships (46) Commensurability of essences and the identity of Life (48) 3 Archim Sophrony’s Adams and Their Relevance to His Ecclesiology (52) 4. Main Influences (56) Modern Theology. Fr Sergii Bulgakov. Theological maximalism: the theory. (57) Monastic Theology. St Silouan the Athonite. Theological maximalism: the praxis. (60) Patristic Theology. St Gregory Palamas. Three modes of existence. (65) Archim. Sophrony. Synthesis – ontology / eschatology / maximalism. (68) 5. Research and Studies Dedicated to Archim Sophrony’s Work – A Bibliographical Contextualization of this Thesis (70) Chapter Two The Church as Hypostatical Being: Ecclesiology and Personhood I. Introduction: Aims and General Considerations (74) II. Archim. Sophrony’s Maximalist Interpretation of the Doctrine of Creation in the Divine Image Maximalist interpretation of the doctrine of Creation in the Divine Image (78) 1. Introduction (78) 2. Being like Christ in His perfect Humanity (79) 3. Being like Christ ‘in His Divinity, too’ (80) 4. Divine Humanity; Ontological Identity and Differentiation between Divinity and Humanity in Christ’s Divine-Human Hypostasis (82) 5. Hypostaticity as a methodological tool (86) 6. Anthropo-morphism versus Christo-morphism (87) Three fundamental interpretations of the Divine Image; Christ’s Hypostaticity as the Divine image of Man. (89) 1. The Christian Revelation of the three Divine modes of existence (90) 2. The three moments of existence as elements of human likeness to the Divinity (91) 3. Divine Image as Hypostaticity; Anthropology. (92) 4. Divine Image as Sobornicity; Ecclesiology. (93) 5. Divine Image as Sophia or Divine Life; Sophiology. (93) 4 III. Personhood and the Church: the hypostatization of the All-Adam (94) Hypostasis versus principle of hypostaticity. Definitions (94) Archim. Sophrony’s History of the Revelation of the Personal Principle (98) 1. History (100) 2. Hypostasis versus essence and how this is revealed through Christ (104) 3. Hypostasis versus energy and how this rapport is revealed through Christ (105) Archim Sophrony:between Chalcedonian hypostaticity and Modern personhood(107) Man: a being in-the-making (108) IV. Ecclesiological implications (116) V. Conclusions (127) Chapter Three The Church as All-Adam: An Ontologically Soborny Being I. Introduction: Aims and Methodology (132) Aims (132) Methodology (132) II. The Church: A Soborny Being (134) Introduction: Russian émigré Churches and Their Journals in the Late 1940’s (134) 1. The Karlovci group (135) 2. Metropolitan Evlogy and his Russian Diocese (136) 3. The Russian parishes under the Moscow Patriarchate (137) 4. Conclusion: Russian ecclesiastical groups in the Diaspora and their journals in the late 1940s (138) Contemporary Ecclesiological Discussions in Paris and Archim. Sophrony’s Involvement (139) The Publication of ‘Unity of the Church according to the Unity of the Holy Trinity – Orthodox Triadology as Model for Orthodox Ecclesiology’ (141) ‘Unity of the Church’: 1950 Original Text (144) 5 1. Introductory part: an account of Archim. Sophrony’s central theological principles (145) 2. The deleted text: a refinement in Archim. Sophrony’s understanding of sobornicity (153) 3. The Question of Khomiakov (156) II. Sobornost: An Anthology of Meanings and their Relevance to Archim Sophrony’s Ecclesiological Thinking (159) Introduction (160) Sobornost – several initial considerations (161) Archim. Sophrony and Sobornost (163) 1. Sobornost as a Political and Ethnic Concept (164) In Russian history (164) Relevance to Archim. Sophrony’s ecclesiology (168) 2. Sobornost as a Slavophile concept (172) In Russian history (172) Relevance to Archim. Sophrony’s ecclesiology (178) Sobornicity and autocephaly in the 1950 version of ‘Unity of the Church’: a mismatch of ontological and social interpretations of sobornicity (179) Monastic Sobornost: Fr Sergii Bulgakov’s use of Khomiakov’s social sobornost (185) 3. Sobornost as a Psychological Concept (187) In Russian history (187) Relevance to Archim. Sophrony’s ecclesiology (188) 4. Sobornost as an Ontological Concept. Fr Sergii Bulgakov (190) In Russian history (190) Relevance to Archim. Sophrony’s ecclesiology (195) Conclusions (198) Chapter Four The Church as Sophianic Being I. Introduction: Aims; Methodology; Terminological Observations (203) 6 Aims (203) Methodology (204) Terminological observations: between St Gregory Palamas and Fr Sergii Bulgakov (205) II. The Church: A Sophianic Being (210) Image versus Likeness (201) Sophianicity: an inter-essential, eschatological and ontological relationship (212) 1. Inter-essential relationship (212) 2. Eschatological reality: the Eschatological Church and historical local churches (213) 3. Ontological reality versus ontological process (217) 4. Conclusions (217) Sophianicity and Epistemology: Divine Life and Knowledge (218) Divine Life: eternal ascent versus dynamic rest (228) Denys the Pseudo-Areopagite and Apophaticism:From Divine Darkness to Luminous Darkness 233 Conclusions (238) Chapter Five Conclusions (242) Bibliography (248) 7 Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any format, including electronic and the Internet, without the author’s prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. 8 Chapter One Introduction.
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