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Sophiology (from Greek S?f?a "Sophia (wisdom)") (in Russian ?????) is a philosophical
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 concept regarding wisdom
Wisdom

Wisdom is knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and Intuition , along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems....
, as well as a theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 concept regarding the wisdom of God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. Sophiology has roots in Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization

File:Diadochen1.pngHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Ancient Greece influence in the Classical Antiquity from 323 BC to about 146 BC ....
 tradition, Platonism
Platonism

Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism....
, Gnosticism
Gnosticism

Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a Nature created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God, and is contrasted with a superior entity, ref...
, Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism

Christian mysticism is traditionally practised through the disciplines of:* prayer ;* fasting, broadly understood as self-denial in general; and...
 (Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German people abbess, author, counselor, Linguistics, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, visionary and composer....
 (1098-1179), Jakob Böhme
Jakob Böhme

Jakob B?hme was a Germany Christianity mysticism and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheranism tradition. In seventeenth-century England, he was also known as Jacob Behmen, the corrupted surname approximating the contemporary pronunciation of the German 'B?hme.'...
 (1575–1624), Jane Leade
Jane Leade

Jane Leade was a Christian mysticism born in Norfolk, England. Her spiritual Vision , recorded in a series of publications, were central in the founding and philosophy of the Philadelphian Society in London at the time....
 (1624-1704)), Esoteric Christianity
Esoteric Christianity

Esoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of Spirituality currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain Esotericism doctrines or practices, hidden from the public but accessible only to a narrow circle of "enlightened", "initiated", or highly educated people....
 (Rosicrucianism), Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
, Wisdom Theology, nineteenth and twentieth century Russian Theology (Sergei Bulgakov
Sergei Bulgakov

Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was a Russian Orthodox theologian, philosopher and economist....
 through the influence of Vladimir Solovyov
Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)

Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosophy, poet, pamphleteer, literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century....
), New Age
New Age

New Age is a decentralized western culture social movement and new religious movement that seeks universality Truth and the attainment of the highest individual human potential....
 spirituality
Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
, as well as contemporary feminism
Feminism

Feminism is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights to men. It involves various movements, Theory, and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender difference, that advocate equality for women and that campaign for women's rights and interests....
.






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Sophiology (from Greek S?f?a "Sophia (wisdom)") (in Russian ?????) is a philosophical
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 concept regarding wisdom
Wisdom

Wisdom is knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and Intuition , along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems....
, as well as a theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 concept regarding the wisdom of God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. Sophiology has roots in Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization

File:Diadochen1.pngHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Ancient Greece influence in the Classical Antiquity from 323 BC to about 146 BC ....
 tradition, Platonism
Platonism

Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism....
, Gnosticism
Gnosticism

Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a Nature created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God, and is contrasted with a superior entity, ref...
, Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism

Christian mysticism is traditionally practised through the disciplines of:* prayer ;* fasting, broadly understood as self-denial in general; and...
 (Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German people abbess, author, counselor, Linguistics, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, visionary and composer....
 (1098-1179), Jakob Böhme
Jakob Böhme

Jakob B?hme was a Germany Christianity mysticism and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheranism tradition. In seventeenth-century England, he was also known as Jacob Behmen, the corrupted surname approximating the contemporary pronunciation of the German 'B?hme.'...
 (1575–1624), Jane Leade
Jane Leade

Jane Leade was a Christian mysticism born in Norfolk, England. Her spiritual Vision , recorded in a series of publications, were central in the founding and philosophy of the Philadelphian Society in London at the time....
 (1624-1704)), Esoteric Christianity
Esoteric Christianity

Esoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of Spirituality currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain Esotericism doctrines or practices, hidden from the public but accessible only to a narrow circle of "enlightened", "initiated", or highly educated people....
 (Rosicrucianism), Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
, Wisdom Theology, nineteenth and twentieth century Russian Theology (Sergei Bulgakov
Sergei Bulgakov

Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was a Russian Orthodox theologian, philosopher and economist....
 through the influence of Vladimir Solovyov
Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)

Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosophy, poet, pamphleteer, literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century....
), New Age
New Age

New Age is a decentralized western culture social movement and new religious movement that seeks universality Truth and the attainment of the highest individual human potential....
 spirituality
Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
, as well as contemporary feminism
Feminism

Feminism is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights to men. It involves various movements, Theory, and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender difference, that advocate equality for women and that campaign for women's rights and interests....
. Some see Sophia as a deity in her own right, others see her as representing the Bride of Christ
Bride of Christ

The Bride of Christ is a metaphor for the Ecclesia , likening the relationship between Christians and Jesus to a betrothal pointing to a future wedding, when Christians are re-united with Jesus....
 (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.

Bibliography

  • Sergei Bulgakov
    Sergei Bulgakov

    Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was a Russian Orthodox theologian, philosopher and economist....
    , Sophia, the Wisdom of God: An Outline of Sophiology (Library of Russian Philosophy), Lindisfarne Books, 1993. (ISBN-10: 0940262606, ISBN-13: 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
  • 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
    Edwin Mellen Press

    The Edwin Mellen Press, based in Lewiston, New York is a niche publisher of scholarly material and advanced research in the humanities and social sciences....
    , 2007) ISBN 0773456090 and ISBN 9780773456099, 248 pages
  • 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


See also

  • Sophia
  • Holy Wisdom
    Holy Wisdom

    Holy Wisdom, also called Divine Wisdom is the Theology idea that perfect Wisdom is to be found in God alone.The word Sophia is encountered in both the Old Testament and of the New Testament....
  • Theosophy
    Theosophy (history of philosophy)

    Theosophy , designates several bodies of ideas since Late Antiquity. The Greek term is attested on magical papyri ....
  • Hildegard of Bingen
    Hildegard of Bingen

    Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German people abbess, author, counselor, Linguistics, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, visionary and composer....
  • Jakob Böhme
    Jakob Böhme

    Jakob B?hme was a Germany Christianity mysticism and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheranism tradition. In seventeenth-century England, he was also known as Jacob Behmen, the corrupted surname approximating the contemporary pronunciation of the German 'B?hme.'...
  • Jane Leade
    Jane Leade

    Jane Leade was a Christian mysticism born in Norfolk, England. Her spiritual Vision , recorded in a series of publications, were central in the founding and philosophy of the Philadelphian Society in London at the time....
  • Pavel Florensky
    Pavel Florensky

    Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky was a Russian Russian Orthodox Church theologian, philosopher, mathematician, electrical engineering, inventor and New-martyr sometimes compared by his followers to Leonardo da Vinci....
  • Theophilus of Antioch
    Theophilus of Antioch

    Theophilus, Patriarch of Antioch, succeeded Eros of Antioch c. 169, and was succeeded by Maximus of Antioch c.183, according to Henry Fynes Clinton, but these dates are only approximations....
  • Hagia Sophia
    Hagia Sophia

    Hagia Sophia is a former Patriarchate basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture....
  • Pistis Sophia
    Pistis Sophia

    Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text, possibly written as early as the Second Century. The five remaining copies, which scholars place in the Fifth or Sixth Centuries, relate the Gnostic teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples , when the risen Christ had accomplished eleven years speaking with his disciples....
  • Sophia of Jesus Christ
    The Sophia of Jesus Christ

    The Sophia of Jesus Christ is one of many Gnosticism tractates from the Nag Hammadi library, discovered in Egypt in 1945. The title is somewhat coded, since although Sophia is Greek language for wisdom, in a gnostic context, Sophia is the syzygy of Christ....
  • Valentinus
    Valentinus (Gnostic)

    Valentinus was the best known and for a time most successful early Christian Gnosticism theologian. He founded his school in Rome. According to Tertullian, Valentinus was a candidate for bishop but started his own group when another was chosen....
  • The Order of Christ Sophia
    The Order of Christ Sophia

    The Order of Christ Sophia is a non-denominational Christian organization that was founded in 1999. The OCS describes itself as a holy order and spiritual school that offers training in the doctrines of Christian mysticism....
  • Chokhmah
    Chokhmah

    Chokhmah, also sometimes transliterated chochma or hokhmah is the Hebrew language word for "wisdom". It is cognate with the Arabic word Hikmah, which also means 'wisdom'....
  • Sophism
    Sophism

    Sophism can mean two very different things: In the modern definition, a sophism is a confusing or illogical argument used for deceiving someone....
  • Phronesis
    Phronesis

    Phronesis in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is the virtue of moral thought, usually translated "practical wisdom", sometimes as "prudence"....
  • Christian mysticism
    Christian mysticism

    Christian mysticism is traditionally practised through the disciplines of:* prayer ;* fasting, broadly understood as self-denial in general; and...
  • Esoteric Christianity
    Esoteric Christianity

    Esoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of Spirituality currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain Esotericism doctrines or practices, hidden from the public but accessible only to a narrow circle of "enlightened", "initiated", or highly educated people....
  • Gnostic Christianity
  • Gnosticism
    Gnosticism

    Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a Nature created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God, and is contrasted with a superior entity, ref...


On-line resources


Icons and images of Sophia (Holy Wisdom):

  • - A good brief overview of the Sophia icon


Film:

  • - By John McGuckin and others


Essays related to Sophia or Sophiology:

  • - in Polish
  • - Presented at Florensky conference in Moscow, September 2005
  • - Contains a section on Sophia
  • - By Rosanna Gambino


In other traditions:



Bibliographic:

  • - From Mikhail Sergeev, Sophiology in Russian Orthodoxy: Solov’ev, Bulgakov, Losskii and Berdiaev. Lewiston, Maine: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006