The Personalist Theology of archimandrit Sophrony (Sacharov) in the Light of Orthodox Tradition

Abstract

The article presents the personalistic theological studies of Archmandrite Sophony (Sakharov) regarding its authenticity to the teaching of the Orthodox Church. The applied methodology is a comparative analysis and an exegetical analysis elucidating the sense and meaning of the statements in question. The analysis deals with the personalistic attitudes of Fr. Sоphrony, such as the primacy of the Person in God as related to nature and the kenotic nature of the Person, whereby the unity of God and the perichoresis of the Hypostases are understood as the consequence of kenotic relation of the Hypostases and the kenosis is understood as the basis of the Life in Trinity. It is stated that in these beliefs Fr. Sоphrony follows Russian religious andphilosophical  thought, in particular Fr. S. Bulgakov. The patristic Tradition is studiedon the issue of the relation between nature and the  Hypostases in God and the kenosis in the Life in Trinity. According to the Sacred Tradition, the personalistic teachingof Fr. Sоphrony  on the Life in Trinity, its kenotic nature, which includes the teaching about the Person, the kenosis in God, and the unity of God, is considered to be a distortion of the Orthodox doctrine. The novelty of the research lies in the critical scrutiny of Fr. Sоphrony’s triadological views in their relation to the Orthodox teaching, which is conducted for the fi rst time. This paper is the extended version of the report, presented at the XI International Conference of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy held in September, 2019.