The Pillar and Ground of the Truth : : An Essay in Orthodox Theodicy in Twelve Letters / / Pavel Florensky.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Archive 1927-1999
• VerfasserIn: Florensky, Pavel,
• TeilnehmendeR: Gustafson, Richard F.; Jakim, Boris.
• MitwirkendeR: Gustafson, Richard F.,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2018]; ©1997
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

Pavel Florensky--certainly the greatest Russian theologian of the last century--is now recognized as one of Russia's greatest polymaths. Known as the Russian Leonardo da Vinci, he became a Russian Orthodox priest in 1911, while remaining deeply involved with the cultural, artistic, and scientific developments of his time. Arrested briefly by the Soviets in 1928, he returned to his scholarly activities until 1933, when he was sentenced to ten years of corrective labor in Siberia. There he continued his scientific work and ministered to his fellow prisoners until his death four years later. This volume is the first English translation of his rich and fascinating defense of Russian Orthodox theology. Originally published in 1914, the book is a series of twelve letters to a "brother" or "friend," who may be understood symbolically as Christ. Central to Florensky's work is an exploration of the various meanings of Christian love, which is viewed as a combination of philia (friendship) and agape (universal love). Florensky is perhaps the first modern writer to explore the so-called "same-sex unions," which, for him, are not sexual in nature. He describes the ancient Christian rites of the adelphopoiesis (brother-making), joining male friends in chaste bonds of love. In addition, Florensky is one of the first thinkers in the twentieth century to develop the idea of the Divine Sophia, who has become one of the central concerns of feminist theologians.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- INTRODUCTION TO THE TRANSLATION -- THE PILLAR AND GROUND OF THE TRUTH -- I. To the Reader -- II. Letter One: Two Worlds -- III. Letter Two: Doubt -- IV. Letter Three: Triunity -- V. Letter Four: The Light of the Truth -- VI. Letter Five: The Comforter -- VII. Letter Six: Contradiction -- VIII. Letter Seven: Sin -- IX. Letter Eight: Gehenna -- X. Letter Nine: Creation -- XI. Letter Ten: Sophia -- XII. Letter Eleven: Friendship -- XIII. Letter Twelve: Jealousy -- XIV. Afterword -- Clarification and Proof of Certain Particulars Assumed in the Text to Be Already Proved -- XV. Certain Concepts from the Theory of Infinity -- XVI. A Problem of Lewis Carroll and the Question of Dogma -- XVII. Irrationalities in Mathematics and Dogma -- XVIII. The Concept of Identity in Scholastic Philosophy -- XIX. The Concept of Identity in Mathematical Logic -- XX. Time and Fate -- XXI. The Heart and Its Significance in the Spiritual Life of Man According to Scripture (An extract from P. D. Iurkevich's article) -- XXII. An Icon of the Annunciation with Cosmic Symbolism -- XXIII. On the Methodology of the Historical Critique -- XXIV. The Turquoise Environment of Sophia and the Symbolism of Sky-Blue and Dark-Blue -- XXV. Pascal's "Amulet" -- XXVI. On the History of the Term "Antinomy" -- XXVII. Estheticism and Religion -- XXVIII. Homotypy in the Structure of the Human Body -- XXIX. Remarks on Trinity -- XXX. The Basic Symbols and Elementary Formulas of Symbolic Logic (for reference) -- Notes and Brief Comments -- NOTES -- CLARIFICATION OF CERTAIN SYMBOLS AND DRAWINGS -- INDEX